White Zinfandel

by TheSillyAnon

Rating: mature
Tags: Main 6, Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Princess Cadance, Rarity, Romance, Shining Armor, Prince Blueblood, Sex
Length: 399378

Rarity has an untold history of her foalhood crush.

Rarity has an untold history of her foalhood crush. She met a young teen colt who was accompanying his father, the captain of the Equestria National Guard. Often times, he was called to escort athletes such as Rarity's father to his weekly hoofball games. The years have came and went since then and the young colt has even took a wife. Rarity, in seeing this, tries to move on with her life. She does so, until he's in need of a seamstress to repair his uncle's uniform...

Warning: There is no full-fledged foalcon in this story. Only IMPLIED foalcon.

Illustration by ShurikART.

Published 2013-09-13 04:30:03 UTC
Last updated 2014-05-18 06:34:34 UTC

ACT 1: Step It Up, Rookie!

"And this game is under way, John. The Ravens kick one deep into the field, it goes into the endzone and number 23 of the Chevaliers picks it up and takes a knee to start his team at the twenty-yard line."

"That's right, Tom. Coming on the field is the starting line-up for the Chevaliers' offensive line. And here he comes, Magnum is making his way on the field and he's looking great tonight."

"In speaking of great, listen to all these fans as they go nuts. What a stellar crowd."

Cheers from the many fans begin to deafen the players on the field. Even in the stands, individuals could not hear amongst themselves. As the announcers continued to provide commentary on the field, Shining and Rarity continued cheering as the game was underway. Pearl sat on the couch in the lounge area, admiring the heat that the others below did not receive due to the current weather conditions. It may have been autumn, but due to the city's elevation, it became colder than what it would normally be in Ponyville. Pearl looks at the two ponies, who's faces became glued to the cold glass, cheering their hero onward to victory.

"Yeah! Go daddy!"

"You can do it, Mr. Magnum! Run right through 'em!"

"...Hey, um... Mister Armor..." Rarity looked up to Shining.

"Mister? You don't have to call me that. Just call me Shining." Shining requested.

"Why can't I call you mister?"

"Because it sounds like I'm really old. I'm only sixteen by the way."

"Really, and how old is your sister?"

"She's actually a little younger than you. She's nine years old."

"Really? Does she live in Ponyville?"

"Eeaaagh... Ponyville? No. I don't think my family would even go anywhere near that direction."

"Oh... I see..." Rarity looked away and began to play with her hooves.

"It's not that it's a bad town. It's just rather... you know."

"Boring..." Rarity finished his sentence before continuing on to hers. "...Yeah, it is."

Pearl looks up from the magazine she was once reading to pay attention to what her daughter and the young stallion were talking about.

"But... I thought you lived here in Canterlot." Shining implies with surprise.

"Between you and me, I'm actually from Ponyville." She corrects him. "My mom and dad were born there. But I've always wanted to move here, where the city is so lively, the schools are so prestigious and the clothes are so magnificent. I could only dream to stay here for the rest of my life in earnest hopes of one day being a famous clothes maker."

Shining, who is surprised at her extensive vocabulary and ambitious dreams finally gives an answer to her statement.

"Wow... That's one heck of a dream. Keep it up. I wouldn't want you to quit. Who knows, maybe I just might come around and buy something from you."

Rarity begins to smile from ear to ear as she may have found her first customer.

"Goooo Mister Magnum!" Shining exclaims, waking Rarity out of her trance.

"Go Daddy, go! You can do it!" Rarity calls out.

Pearl remains quiet as she looks on to her daughter and thinks on how ambitious she is in comparison to most other foals her age. She starts to think to herself.

I've never seen a foal have such ambitions so young. I would normally hear that they would want to be a guard, a teacher, or a construction worker, but never have I seen a filly who would choose to move someplace where the market of her natural born talent would truly be recognized for what it was; art. But even then, even if my daughter can make her own clothes, even if she can copy a popular design straight from the magazine, even if she can wow all the citizens of Ponyville with her natural born talent... Why hasn't her cutie mark appeared by now. Is it because she hasn't realized her true talent? No, maybe it's because she's in Ponyville and not here in Canterlot. Maybe she needs to grow, and Ponyville is too small of a garden for her to stay in. Maybe... it is time to move on to new horizons... Rarity....

Looking to her daughter smiling out the window, cheering her father on, she decided that it would be best to talk to Magnum and try to convince him to move here to Canterlot. Not to mention that Pearl also had ambitions of her own.

I really don't want to deprive her of an opportunity to live out her dream. I even remember that I wanted to start a bakery here in the city. I know my chances of that are slim to none, but I do want to, at the very least, find a bakery that I could be of use to. But my dreams don't even hold a candle to her ambitions. So this would be for her, not me. Remember this Pearl.

She looks to her daughter once again. Only this time, she's on top of Shining Armor's head, screaming her lungs out. Shining appears to be enjoying himself as well.

"TOUCHDOWN! Wow, the speed, it was unreal! I've only heard about it on the radio broadcasts but I've never seen it in real life." Shining was jumping up and down as a young school filly would when he got a new toy for Heart Warming's Day.

"That's because you've never seen daddy play. Way to go daddy! Keep them on their hoofs! Don't let up!" Rarity screamed as she continued to jump up and down in joy.

"Did your father score again?" Pearl asked from the back of the room.

"Yeah, and he ran so fast this time." Rarity decreed with much jubilation.

"Oh, I see I'll have to reward your father tonight." Pearl responded.

Shining began to blush again at the implied meaning behind her statement. His heart began to speed up and his breathing began to get warmer. His mouth began to get dry and he started to get nervous. His mind began to wander in forbidden territories as he thought of the mare behind him crying out in lustful moans of pleasure. In that instant he felt as if that he would be better off hiding somewhere else than letting his shame be revealed in front of her.

"Shining dear, is something the matter? You look a little flushed." Pearl asked, concerned that their guest was feeling rather uncomfortable.

"Daaaugh-Where'sTheColtsRoom?" He spat out as if the entire sentence was a single word.

A surprised Pearl began to point slowly to the far wall. "Press boxes have private stalls, dear. You'll find ours over there."

And upon hearing those words, Shining blitzed to the bathroom in a blinding trail of white and blue.

"Mother, I didn't know Shining could run so fast." Rarity complimented.

Pearl turned to her daughter and began to levitate some bits out of her coin purse. "Rarity, dear. I need you to tell the guard outside to go get you some ice cream. Also, go cheer your father on the field."

"Of course!" Rarity called out before running out the door.

"Oh and don't forget your coat. It's a bit chilly out there."

"Yes mother." She acknowledged before leaving the room.

Pearl was then left alone in the press box. All alone, with her 'escort' who seems rather ill. Pearl walked up to the door slowly and began to speak.

"Dear, is everything alright in there?" Pearl called out.

"Uhh... Yeah, I'll be out in a minute." Shining quickly responded.

Pearl knew that he wasn't sick. She also remembered that he was rather young. He did act rather nervous. And his cheeks were flushed crimson. She had only one answer in her mind.

"Mmmm Shining, dear. I may not be one for infidelity, however I am willing to bypass that to a certain degree."

"N-no ma'am. I'll be just fine!" Shining called out.

Shining Armor was now sitting on the toilet seat, his legs parted to reveal a large erection that bobbed with every breath he took. He looked down, praying to Celestia that Pearl would not see him as his shame was displayed for the world to see. Sadly his prayers would go unanswered, as Pearl continued her auditory assault on Shining's ears. It was total bliss for him until he heard a serious voice speaking through the locked door.

"Shining, darling. Open up. Now."

Pearl continued to knock on the door. Asking him to open up. He initially refused, until she pulled out her heavy guns; blackmail.

"Open up or I will call security."

Shining Armor looked down and still saw the throbbing mass in front of him stand at attention. He didn't see that it was going down anytime soon. Shining gave up. He knew he was beaten. He sighed in defeat as he began his ascent from the toilet seat. He slowly made his way to the door, his stallionhood slapping against his inner thighs as it swung from side to side. He telekinetically unlocked the door, only to find that the door was soon opened by a glow not of his own. The door swung wide open to reveal Pearl standing in the doorway. She looked down and smiled.

"My my. You're almost as big as my husband." She squeed to herself as Shining made an attempt to hide his pulsing meat from her view. But she magically moved his hooves from view before moving him to the couch she was sitting on. As he landed, she jumped behind him and began to whisper in his ear.

"You've been a bad little boy, haven't you?"

Shining began to apologize, but he found himself shushed silent as she brought her hoof to his lips.

"No no. None of that." Pearl said as she shushed him.

Removing her hoof from his lips, she looked at him as he began to pant in anxiety, fear and lust. She slowly trailed her hoof from his lips, to his chest, and finally his lower abdomen. Shining became more flushed as he begin to pant harder. His eyes wandered to the back of his head as his mind continued to race against his will. He was not acting like he should and he knew she was a married mare, but the thought of a mare seeing him in his humiliation made him excited. He never experienced such a feeling in his life. Suddenly, he felt something brush against his stallionhood. Pearl, who did not seek to touch him where his virtue was once hidden, withdrew her hoof quickly to avoid any form of contact. But she was too late, as Shining Armor arched his back as he sought a pleasure most divine. Sucking the air through his teeth, he let his lungs empty in the sound of a throaty, low-pitched grunt. He looked to Pearl, who covered her hoof over her mouth, with half-lidded eyes that pleaded her to continue. Seeing this made something inside of Pearl snap. She decided on what she wanted at the time, and she wanted to see him squander.

"Sit up. As you were on the toilet, dear." She commanded.

He did not want to disobey as he spread his legs wide open, letting his erection throb freely. He continued to look at her with eyes of a naïve schoolcolt. Pearl looked at Shining as his shaft continued to throb. Not wanting the opportunity to go to waste, she took the time to admire his youth. Every aching throb. Every vein and artery. Every inch of black and pink flesh. Even the scent that it bore was something to be admired. She trotted to where Shining was sitting and began to nuzzle his inner thighs. With each time she moved, his essence would invade her nostrils. His pungent scent would cause her mind to go wild with the possibilities of what she wanted to do at that very moment. She raised her head and came into contact with the scrotum of the young colt.

"Play with it." She demanded.

"B-but." Shining stuttered

"Play with it. I want you to indulge... in your vanity, my dear boy." She demanded, now meeting the tip of his cock with her muzzle.

"B-but..." Shining gulped before continuing on. "Ahh-I never... umm... did it before."

"You WHAT!?" Pearl asked in astonishment.

"I never touched myself. My mom says that it's unsanitary, uncivilized as well as disgusti-"

"Well your mother is wrong." Pearl cuts him off sharply. "I don't antagonize your mother for trying to raise you, but she needs to realize that colts do have every right and privilege to explore themselves when they become of age. Colts will be colts after all." She says.

Shining tries to rebut her statement, but his thought process comes to a screeching halt as she places her hooves around his shaft. As she began to work her hooves up and down, she nuzzled his meaty knob, indulging in his musk. Shining was in disbelief as she continued her blissful assault against him. His breaths became fuller as he threw his head to the ceiling. His moans became more and more frequent with each moment that passes. Pearl say that her ministrations became too much for the stallion and decided that it was time for him to discover his internal instincts on his own. But before she could remove her hooves, Shining held her hooves down with his own, urging her to speed up.

Shining began to let his feral desires consume him. His breathing grew more shallow, rhythmic and desperate. He even resorted to using his magic to navigate his partners hooves to places he never knew could be so stimulating at a slight touch. Pearl began to lose control of herself as she too begins to breathe irregularly. With each grunt Shining made, Pearl began to match it with a moan of her own. Using her magic, she brought one of his hooves to her flank to encourage him to play with it. Shining felt the heat that emitted from her coat when he slid his hoof across her soft cheeks. He took his other hoof and reached for the cheek beside the other that was currently within his grasp. Shining moved his hooves inward and outward, up and down in a circular motion as he massaged her heated posterior. Pearl gasped at the sudden development of bravery and decided to let him explore her body.

"Do you feel that, dear?" Pearl asks. "Mmmmm- That is what a mare's body feels like."

"I-It's... amazing." The young colt responded as he continued his massage.

Shining's erection could harden no longer, his cock has reached it's limit as it twitched with each time she nuzzled. Pearl, on the other hoof, began to feel a heat radiating from inside of her. As she pushed herself against the hooves of the young Shining Armor, a small amount of liquid begin to fall from within her. She removed one of the hooves that was holding his twitching shaft and placed it between her hind legs. She worked her way further down, past her teats and finally reaching her objective. A loud grunt followed by a swift gasp for air was heard as Pearl hit the mound in between her legs. Shining stopped his advances to ensure that she was not in pain, but found himself face-to-face with Pearl as she started to bite into his neck. She pulls herself up and begins to whisper in his ear.

"I-ah... I want it. I want it so bad." She begged as she continued to grind herself against her hoof. "You want it, huh? You want it too, don't you?"

Shining, who was now fully aware of the situation, quickly responded. "Yes. I want it. I can't... I can't take it anymore."

Pearl, who gave a smirk, then teased. "I can't give it to you. I want to, but I can't. But I can do something for you."

"Please. I wanna... I-I gotta... PLEASE!" Shining asked in desperation.

Pearl was now on edge, seeing that her plan to see him squirm had succeeded in spades. She would continue to work her aching nub while she tried to take her time to finish off the helpless colt, who began to hump the air above him with each time she blew a warm stream of air against the tip of his cock. He gritted his teeth with each time he would thrust upward. Seeking that her little play-toy would calm down, she magically held him against the couch and started to nuzzle his crotch once again.

Pearl's horn glowed continuously while Shining was held down. She rubbed his cock against the side of her face, working it across her muzzle to her cheek. Then, she would bring herself to the tip of his cock and kissed the tip. Her soft lips would press against him and she would withdraw while a small stream of precum would bridge the distance between him and her soft lips. She would continue to kiss his twitching meat, worshiping every inch of it. Shining began to feel desperate as she continued her menacingly slow pace. Not wanting to take any longer, Shining resorted to using his magic to grasp his shaft, jerking himself as quick as he could. Pearl, who was already too busy with pleasing Shining and herself, allowed him but not before slowly licking him from his scrotum, navigating the veins of his shaft to the tip of his flare. She would come back down to press her tongue against his scrotum, tickling the urethra beneath. Shining Armor screamed loudly as he has finally reached Nirvana

Shining felt a powerful surge in his body, one that he has never experienced before. His hips began to work against the magic restraints that Pearl placed against him. Pearl continued her relentless assault against him as Shining brought a hoof to the back of Pearl's head, locking her in place. He grunted loudly as the initial surge became that of an explosion. He would compress Pearl against him as he rode out his climax. A thick strand of cum would launch into the air, landing on his chest. Another would land in Pearl's mane as the others that followed would land across her face. As his climax ends, there is an endless river of semen that runs down from his softening stallionhood.

Pearl, however, would edge herself off in ambitions of saving her best performance for her husband. She removed her hoof from her soaking marehood in thankfulness that he doesn't have the strength to go again. She looked at the colt on the cum-stained couch and began to think to herself.

"Goodness me. He's down for the count. Had he been ready to cum again, I might have rode this little one silly. I almost came because of this little fuck. But thankfully, I think I managed to wear him thin. In all honesty, I'd feel sorry for the next mare he meets..."

She smiles as she approaches him slowly, not wanting to provoke anything else to happen.

"Young lad, are you okay?" Pearl questioned as she continued her approach.

"Y-y-y-yes, ma-aam." Shining muttered as his body continued to jolt from the immense pleasure.

"Oh my. You're rather shaken up, aren't you?"

"A little. This was the first time I ever did this." Shining admitted.

"So in all honesty, this was your first sexual encounter?" Pearl asks out of interest.

"Yeah. It turns out that ejaculation feels WAAAY better than what the health books describe." He says in excitement.

Pearl's eyes shot open at that instant and she stood next to him in shock. "...So wait. You mean to tell me... That this was your..."

"Um... Yes?" Shining squeaked out.

"Oh my... Celestia forgive me."

"Way to go daddy!" Rarity cheered loudly. "I knew you could do it!"

"Well... with a cheering section like you... then who wouldn't.... my little munchkin." An exhausted Magnum panted out as he was pulled from the game.

It was the fourth quarter and there was three minutes left on the clock. He and his daughter looked up at the scoreboard and saw that this game was far from winnable for the other team. Many of the fans appreciated the fact that the score was a solid 56-17 and their home team was pulling up major offensive numbers. The clock continues as the Baltimare Ravens took to their next and final offensive drive. As the crowd continued to cheer, a young colt walked to the sidelines to meet the game winning athletes.

Shining Armor walked slowly, trying not to find himself in front of the hero, who he felt he has betrayed. His legs continued to wobble as he got closer, thinking about the consequences of his actions. He felt ashamed. He didn't know how he would face his hero. His stomach curled up from his abdomen to his upper chest. His heart, which was racing once before out of excitement, now raced in unadulterated fear. His steps became smaller and smaller as his vision of the sideline became larger. His mind was lost in a torrent of emotions. He knew that not only did he accepted the advances of Magnum's wife, but also violated the sanctity of their marriage. He even thought to himself that not only did he ruined Magnum's relationship with his wife, but that he also brought dishonor upon his own family. Shining could think of the limitless possibilities of his punishment before suddenly...

"HA! I win again!" Rarity calls out to Shining. "I told you that nopony could cheer louder or better than me! Especially when it comes to my dad!"

Shining laughed nervously. "Heh heh, yeah you beat me again." Shining wore a false smile as he continued. "So what's my punishment?"

"Punishment?" Rarity looked at him as if he spoke a foreign language.

"You know, I lost the bet. That means I have to do something for you." Shining proclaimed.

"Ummm... well in that case... hmmm..." Rarity continued to ponder her choice of action as she placed her hoof against her chin. Suddenly, her face lit up and her eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. "♪ IDEEEAAAA! ♪" She pointed to Shining with a look of determination. "You will have to show up at every game that I show up to!"

"But... I don't... think I could afford that." Shining said sheepishly.

"In that case, I'll get you an exclusive VIP package." Magnum interrupted. "You can come into all the home games and receive sideline access, press box access, and even food and sports gear. On me, of course."

"But... I... Bu-" Shining was left dumbfounded as he heard of all the things he'd get for free.

"And besides, if my little girl wants something, she usually gets it. And if she wants you to come to every home game, then I can't deny her."

Rarity looked at Shining as she walked along side her father, holding a hoof to her right eye and sticking her tongue out in a raspberry. "Plffffffffft." As her taunting continued, Magnum approached Shining and told Rarity to make her way to her mother. In the meantime, Magnum pulled Shining Armor to the side to speak with him. Shining was petrified in fear.

"Loosen up, my boy. You can't get the attention of a mare if you're so stiff." Magnum joked.

"If only he knew..." Shining thought to himself before speaking. "Yeah. You're right. Heh heh."

Magnum placed a hoof on his back urging Shining to walk with him as they made their way down the entrance tunnel to the locker room. They continued their conversation as they walked.

"Shining Armor, I don't know if you realized this, but I'm a family guy. Do you know what that means, Shini- wait can I call you Shiny?"

Shining Armor nodded before Magnum continued. "Right then. Now Shiny, that means that I do what I can to support them. You know, feed 'em, clothe 'em, put a roof over their head, the whole nine. Now how do you think I do that now? Not a rhetorical question, so feel free to answer."

"Ummm... Play hoofball?"

"Yeah that too, but it also means that I have to pay my taxes, which doesn't leave me with too much. So in place of that, I do a lot of interviews with the press, help promote businesses, get called in for ads, do a few publicity stunts, blah blah blah, et cetera."

"...That sounds like a lot, sir."

"It is a lot, Shiny. And I want you to think about this for a second. If I'm away doing all these things, then who's the male role-model around my daughter?"

"...Nopony."

"Bingo! Nopony whatsoever. So that means that she doesn't know who or what she can look up to. Especially in the later years when she begins to discover the paradigms of her thoughts and more importantly, her emotions."

"That's kinda hard to think about, sir."

"Well not really. You said you had a younger sister, didn't you?"

Shining looked at Magnum, wondering where he was getting at. "Well... Yeah, but-"

"Then what makes you think that you're not as good as a role model as I am, or even better due to my lack of attendance?"

Shining stopped walking and looked down in shame. "...I'm not."

"Sure you are, and plus I believe with your introduction from earlier tonight, you'd be a hell of a protective figure."

"But sir, what makes you think that I'm any better than anypony else?" Shining question while his mind was filled with shame and anger. "What is it that separates me from many others?"

"Shiny, now look-"

"How can I be anywhere near good enough? I'm just a colt. I mean sure, I have a baby sister and that I'd do anything for her but how does that equate!? I can't do anything more for anypony than I could do for myself! I'm not suitable-" Shining's rant was cut short as Magnus' large frame came into view, pointing down to something on his body.

"Because of that..." Magnus answers, pointing at the cutie mark of Shining Armor. "That mark is the mark of one who's destiny is beyond even my own. That is the mark that shows promise. It shows that despite your flaws and setbacks, you can and would do anything to protect others, especially those close to you. When I see that mark, I see a stallion who would one day surpass his own father. I see a role model. I see a hero. And I see a captain. And I even see one who could very well be a better example for my daughter than I could. That is why I'm asking you to make good on your bet."

Shining was speechless.

"I can't be around my daughter tonight, or many other nights like this. Hell, win or lose, I'm still talking to the press and going to a lot of functions that I can't bring my little princess to. I don't wan't her to be alone without somepony to talk to or to look up to. Can you at least do that for me?" Magnum pleaded.

Shining winced, for he knew that his answer could not be no. He decided that no matter what, he would try to make things right.

"...I'll do it. I can't promise you that I can show up at every game."

"You're being honest. I like that. I knew I could place my trust in you, Shiny."

Shining Armor stung at the words 'honest' and 'trust'. It was something that he betrayed, long before he even received it. His mind began to tear itself apart when he thought of the concept of trust. Luckily, Shining could not dwell on it for too long due to an interruption made by Magnum.

"Hey munchkin! I got some bad news and some good news."

"Hey, daddy. Is everything gonna be okay?" Rarity asked as Pearl slowly approached behind her.

"I believe your father may have things to do tonight dear." Pearl stated softly to Rarity, who looked down to her hooves in defeat.

"Hey, I know that it doesn't look good for tonight, but I will see if I can fit you in for this Tuesday. I don't have anything planned for then, so it will be a family day. I promise. But that's not the good news."

Pearl looked at him with a judgmental glare. "Okay. So what is the good news, dear?"

"Shiny here agreed to stick around you two for tonight. I know how things can get when I'm not around for the moment. So tonight, you will get to spend some time with him."

Pearl looked rapidly at Shining and Rarity, then looked at Magnum with dejection.

"...I guess so dear. Tuesday it is." She whimpered.

"Oh dear, you know I want only the best. So the suite I've set up for the three of you will be in the Cinquième Ciel and the room service is all on my tab. They will know who you are as soon as you register."

"Thanks dear." Pearl deadpanned.

"Oh that reminds me. Shiny, I let your father know that you'll be on assignment tonight. You think you can handle your first assignment, cadet?"

Shining Armor moved to the position of attention and exclaimed clearly. "Sir, yes sir!"

"My boy. Well, your carriage will be here in- Ah! There it is." Magnum announced as a cheap looking, horse-drawn carriage, came into view. "It looks rather run down, but it's only for appearances. The inside, however, is a totally different story. I assure you that you won't get the attention of the ritz while riding in here."

"Uh... The ritz, sir?" Shining asked in confusion.

"The paparazzi." Magnum mumbled in an annoyed tone.

"Ohhhh. Okay."

Pearl and Rarity entered the carriage and Shining was about to make his way in until Magnum stopped him to talk to him once again.

"Hey, one more thing, Shiny."

"Sir?"

Magnum walks up to the young Shining Armor, speaking at a low volume. "My wife appears to be a little frustrated. And Celestia knows that I don't like leaving her like that. So if you can, can you take care of that for me?"

"Um, sir. What exactly do you mean by 'frustrated'?" Shining inquired.

"My wife is in need of a little attention after I pull off a good performance. Plus she can be a bit moody when I don't give it to her. I don't want her to go back home tomorrow in that mindset, so have at it, tiger."

"Wait, what?" Shining question in a state of utter confusion.

"What I'm saying is this, Shiny: I. Need. You. To. Sleep. With. My. Wife. For. Tonight."

"....WHAAAAAAAAAT!!!!!!!"

ACT 1: The 5th Quarter

"I'm sorry sir, I didn't hear you as well as I should. Now you want me to do what now?" Shining Armor asked as he tries to convince his mind that he heard a different statement come out of Magnum's mouth.

"I believe you heard me right. And in case you didn't, then I'll make it easier for you. GO! GET! LAID!" Magnum reiterated to ensure that Shining got the message after he repeated it about four times following the initial request.

Shining was left dumbfounded once again as he looked back at the worn-looking carriage that held the mare in question. He was still trying to piece together all of the events that had previously transpired earlier during the game and tried his best to line it up with everything that is happening now. Shining felt as if he needed to verify, for the last time, what his first assignment as a cadet was. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes and exhaled to reset his mind before asking Magnum once again what he gave him the consent to do.

"Okay! So... you want me... to get into this carriage... to go to one of the best, if not the best hotels in Canterlot... to play with your daughter... followed by me trying to seduce and bed YOUR wife?"

"Geez kiddo, I didn't think you'd figure it out by the end of this century." Magnum stated sarcastically. "And now that you know your objective, can you follow through on it?"

"Sir, with all due respect, I would not mind holding your wife down, bending her over the bed, mounting her and rutting her until she became cross-eyed, followed by a second round on the balcony. And I know that you gave me the consent to do so, but is she okay with it?

"Trust me, Shiny. Besides, almost anything goes when it comes to an open marriage. But if there's one golden rule, then it is simple: You can do whatever you want, take as long as you want to, and you can even pay her visits as long as the press doesn't find out. But I will not allow you to try and take her for your own, capiscé?"

"Yes sir. I'm still not used to the fact that a stallion has asked me to bed his wife. Isn't it a little... y'know... frustrating?"

"Frustrating??? You wish!" Magnum walks closer to the young colt and speaks into his ear softly. "...And between you and me, She finds somepony to entertain her during the game, just so she ride me senseless after. It's kinky, but it gets us both off."

Shining looked at Magnum in amazement. To think that one of his heroes was into that kind of perversion. He continued to pick up his jaw off the concrete floor below and prepared himself for an interesting night. Shining, once again, took a deep breath in order to clear his mind of any exaggerations he had pertaining to the task ahead. Closing his eyes, he etched out the image of Pearl from earlier tonight as she was covered in his seed. He knew that he was given the best chance to finish what she had started. Exhaling, Shining made his way to the carriage.

The streets were filled with jubilant ponies that celebrated their team's victory over Baltimare. Fans of either team began to fill the local bars all across the city. The Canterlot fans were drinking in honor of their proclaimed hero, Magnus, who managed to rack up 312 rushing yards, 5 touchdowns, recovered a fumble from a teammate that led to a touchdown and a 4th Down conversion. The Baltimare fans, though not as large in numbers, proceeded to drink themselves under the table due to their humiliating loss. Some drank because they're team pride had been soiled by this crushing defeat, while others drank themselves to a stupor thanks to gambling debts they've recently acquired.

The streets were also littered with carriages, running up and down the streets. Some of the carriages held the rowdiest fans of the Chevaliers, screaming obscenities and throwing trash at the Baltimare fans that they called 'garbage'. Some of the inebriated fans on both sides would egg the passing carriages, only to be later held in custody, thanks to the Canterlot Royal Guards that were ever present in the city. The carriage that Shining rode in managed to escape the fate of many other due to it's unsightly appearance. The inside, however, was comprised of the richest red velvet interior that nobility has to offer. The interior was laced with gold trim and red velvet seats that felt as if Shining had sat on a cloud. The ride was rather smooth as well, ignoring many of the bumps and oblong stones set upon the road.

Shining looked from the outside window to Pearl, who sat across from him. Pearl continued to play with Rarity as they both giggled. Rarity was also speaking highly of her father, stating that he outwitted the other team and made them look bad. As she continued to praise her father's achievements of the night, her attention turned to Shining.

"Hey!" She yelled, surprising Shining Armor out of his daze. The startled Shining jumped up and set himself at attention.

"Ma'am yes... Oh sorry." A recovered Shining sighed. "I thought you were your mom."

"No. I'm not old." Rarity quipped as Pearl looked at her daughter in a blush. Pearl, who felt a little insulted at her daughter's response, took out a folding mirror from her carry-on and proceeded to look at herself, trying to detect any aging spots and wrinkles.

"No, you're not." Shining corrected himself before he went on. "And neither is your mom. She's not old at all."

Pearl's face ran red at the response Shining gave and slapped the mirror closed. She looked at him and pouted, crossing her forelegs and looking to the side before speaking. "Flattery will get you nowhere in life."

"Who said anything about flattery?" Shining asked. "I'm only being honest. You don't look a day over twenty-seven."

Pearl looked back to the young Shining Armor, her blushing still prevalent. "You don't mean that, do you?"

"Yeah, I meant it." He reassured as Pearl, who previously had her forelegs crossed, began to play with her hooves while smiling to herself.

"Hello??? Your attention is supposed to be on me, remember?" Rarity called out.

Pearl, who looked at the colt in front of her, snapped back to her daughter. "Oh, I'm terribly sorry dear."

"No, I'm not talking about you. I was talking to Mr. Shiny." Rarity corrected herself.

Shining Armor winced as he was called by the combination of his nickname and a formal title. "Please don't call me mister."

"And why not? My parents always told me to address my elders as mister, missus or miss if she is without husband." Rarity quoted.

"Because I'm not that old." Responded Shining.

Pearl, who was recently assured that she was, indeed, not old looked to Shining Armor and began to tease him. "And I thought that you said that I wasn't old."

"Well, yes. But since you-"

"And you call me missus, correct?"

Well... I uh-" Shining felt as if he was being interrogated.

"So that means that you will have to call me by a different name, am I correct?"

"Well... that's if you don't mi-"

"Wonderful!" Cried out Pearl, who was clopping her hooves in glee. "In that case, you can call me under the title of 'Milady'!"

"But I uh..."

"Is there a problem, my dear?" Pearl asked with a smile that secretly screamed to Shining 'if you value your life, then you'll do as I say'.

Shining whimpered in his seat and admitted himself into the maw of defeat. "No problem at all, Milady."

"That also means that you will have to call me 'the cutest filly alive'!" Rarity tagged along.

Shining sunk into his seat as he knew that he would have to deal with this for the remainder of the evening. He groaned to himself, realizing that this was just the beginning. The Cinquième Ciel, known for it's high-profile guests and business conventions, slowly approached the view from within the carriage that Shining, Pearl and Rarity was riding in. For Rarity and Pearl, it was a sight to behold. For Shining however, this carriage ride was indeed going to be a long one.

"I'm sorry sir, but I cannot allow you to park this vehicle here."

"Waddaya mean I can't park here!? I gatta right to park anywhere I want, buddy."

"I'll say, I am not your buddy, ol chum!"

"And I'm not ya chum, ya hear!?"

"Sir, you and that monstrosity are not allowed! I will call security!"

"Look here. Fuck you, fuck the carriage you rode in on, fuck them suits, fuck the hats with the belt on it, fuck that gay-ass-fairy-faggot accent, fuck them cheap-ass cigars, fuck yo yuck-mouth teeth, fuck yo hair piece, fuck yo security, fuck your manager, fuck Prince Blueblood and FUCK YO MAMMA!"

"Sir, I do not condone that kind of language and will kindly ask you and your ruffian entourage to leave here at once!"

"Bitch, I will slap the prim-and-proper outta yo ass!"

"Is that a challenge!?"

"Ohohohoooo-I hope your job has health care benefits because I'm about to beat the bitch up outta you! LET'S GO!"

Shining facehoofed as he heard the altercation that was taking place outside between the valet and the driver of the carriage they were riding in. Pearl continued to hold the filly Rarity's ears shut as the argument started to heat up. She was also taking an interest in seeing what would happen next as the two began to approach each other in close quarters. Shining, who had just about enough, decided that it would be best to take action and break up this skirmish that would no doubt bring more attention to Pearl and her daughter than they already had. Shining then exited the carriage at breakneck speed.

"What is the matter with you?" Shining interrupted as the driver backed off. The driver then proceeded to apologize to the cadet where as the valet brushed his presence aside.

"Young sir, I do believe that you are ill-deemed to partake in this discussion. Now move along and go play at the park, the arcade or whatever you children do these days." The Valet spoke with an upper-crust accent.

"Sir, with all due respect, I'm more than capable to handle the situation. I am a cadet at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. I am trained to handle these minor altercations."

"Then I'd advise you to do what is necessary young cadet and go home. This place is absolutely off limits to students and especially those who cannot afford the accommodations that we have to offer."

Shining took offense to that statement and rebutted with one of his own. "Then I wish to speak with your manager!"

"My manager will have nothing to do with you! Now leave us at once boy or else I will call the security!" He offered rudely.

"See what I have to put up with?" The driver called out from behind the hot-blooded cadet. Shining decided that watching over Pearl would have to wait for a brief moment as he would make a run inside to get a hold of the management. He trotted over to the carriage window to speak.

"Milady, I believe that I may have to take this matter into personal consideration. I will return shortly." He spoke with poise, reflecting his lessons that his father gave him when dealing with a hostile civilian.

"Give 'em hell, dearie." Pearl interjected. Shining acknowledged that her tone was one that equally expressed his bottled emotions. Shining turned around to see that a stallion who was well dressed in a black tuxedo with a red bow-tie and a rose adorning his coat exited the building.

"What is going on here!?" The tux-wearing stallion asked with much gusto.

"Sir, I wish to speak with the manager!" Shining announced.

"Sir there is no need to listen to the likes of him. He's just a regular who cannot afford what we have to offer." The valet states.

Pearl sits inside of the carriage, hearing the insult fly from the valet. She thinks to herself on how much she wants to drive her hoof deep into his mouth in hopes of knocking out a few of his teeth. She even thought of having her husband doing it in her place, which rewarded her a smile. Pearl continued to hold Rarity in her hooves as she paid attention to the development taking place outside.

"I am the manager. What is the issue?" The stallion in the tux asked, placing the valet on hold to hear the situation from the cadet's point of view.

"Sir, I apologize that my driver may have caused a bit of a ruckus, but I do believe we have a reservation here." Shining stated, trying to remain level-headed.

"Under what name?"

"Magnus Belle, sir. I am to escort a Pearl and Rarity Belle to their suite." Shining recalls. The manager proceeds to walk to the carriage window and looks inside to find that the cadet was of no fault and was indeed an escort.

"Madam, I sincerely apologize on behalf of the hotel. Please, if there is anything you need, it's on us."

"No need. My husband already paid for it." Pearl tells him but he waives his hooves to her in disapproval.

"Unacceptable! I insist that we repay you for this troubling incident. So your next visit will be free access to the Presidential Suite. Free room service and all. Drinks on us."

"Thank you sir, but-"

"No no no. The customer's satisfaction is always priority. Now if you don't mind me asking, what all has transpired while you've been stuck here?"

As Pearl begins to tell the story from her point of view, the valet continues his verbal assault against the driver and the cadet. As Shining continues to restrain the driver, his mind drifts off to thinking about what he could possibly be doing at this very moment. He dreams that he could be in a warm, relaxing bath in the suite that Magnus paid for. As the valet ceased his verbal onslaught, he continued to retain his anger until the manager walks up to the driver.

"Sir, I am giving you an all-expense-paid trip to the lovely Saint Isles for you and a second individual, to go along with my sincerest apologies." The manager announces.

"WHAT!?" The valet exclaims in total disbelief.

"And you, my young cadet. To find out that you're the son of the Captain of the Royal Guard, it humbles me to know that you have come to grace us with your attendance."

"No problem sir." Shining responds sheepishly as he mentally taunted the disrespectful valet, who's jaw was now locked to the ground below.

"I do hope that you and Missus Belle enjoy your stay." The manager said with a smile, which quickly turned into a death glare as he made his way to the valet.

"Forgive me sir. I-" The valet quickly halt his apology as the manager raised his hoof to silence him.

"I have but one thing to say to you. YOU'RE FIRED!"

"B-b-but sir-" The valet fumbled his words, trying to piece together a response until he was interrupted.

"This is the THIRD COMPLAINT THIS WEEK I've had because of you! Get out of my hotel! Get off my grounds! I don't even want to see you again!" Screamed the manager.

"...sir?" Whimpered the valet as he shook violently.

"GET OUT!"
The manager shouted with a thunderous roar that sent shockwaves to a local cathedral, causing the bells to chime slightly and the once-dormant birds to fly out in droves. The valet, who now had a stream of yellow liquid pooling around his hind legs, ran swiftly to avoid a second auditory blitzkrieg. The manager proceeded to clear his throat and face Pearl and Rarity, smiled and pointed to the door. "Please, this way."

"Please enjoy your stay."

"Thank you so very much."

As the manager trots down the hall, an exhausted Shining Armor carries the bags containing the clothing and accessories of Pearl and her daughter Rarity. The weight of the luggage felt as if the entire foundation of Canterlot was placed into a seemingly trans-dimensional space. Shining didn't know what was inside of those bags, but he knew that he was not done carrying them just yet. Finally making the doorway, he collapsed under the enormous amount of weight. Panting and sweating, Shining mentally cursed Pearl for insisting that he'd bypass the bell-boy and convincing her that he was not a weak, little stallion who couldn't carry his own weight. True enough, Pearl never said such things, but then again who is to say she wasn't thinking it?

"My dear boy, I can't believe you carried all of those bags up here like that!" Pearl praised him for his effort.

"No-hoo*gasp* problem-haa*gasp*, Milady-aah*wheeze*." Shining barely made out as he felt he was on the verge of death.

"But dearie, you could have just let the bell-boy take care of it." Pearl stated as she made her way to the fridge in the kitchen, hoping to find one of the overpriced bottled waters they had for the exhausted cadet.

"And-*huff* let-*puff* him take-*gasp* all of these-*huff* bags!? *puff* No way! *gasp*" Shining proclaimed, not wanting his already bruised ego to go further tarnished.

"But sweetie, it's their job." She reiterated as she levitated a bottle of water from the fridge, removing the price tag as she trotted over to Shining.

"I know that *gasp* but I wanted to *gasp* prove that I could *pant* do it as *wheeze* your escort." Shining proclaimed as he swiped the water from Pearl, quickly downing the contents of the bottle as he sweated profusely. He also pointed at the fridge. Regaining his breath he informed Pearl, "Hey. The fridge is open."

"Oh goodness!" Pearl cried out before magically closing the door before the contents of the fridge began to warm up. She turned to Shining as he rested and petted him on the top of his head. "Oh dear, what will I do without you?"

"No, what would I do without you? I'd be a corpse by now!" Shining admitted. Pearl smiled at him as she looked at his expression. Shining, on the other hoof, looked up to Pearl wanting to hug her for her show of generosity. They would smile at each other as there was a faint sound heard from the back of the room. They dismissed the sound as they both tried to speak to each other.

"Shining, I-" If you found this, then you must be a wizard to know that this was here. "Milady, I cou-"

They both looked at each other in surprise as the two began to laugh at each other. They were soon caught off guard as a bottled-water floated in between the two, enveloped in a light-blue aura. They looked around to find the source of the magic aura until they saw a white filly slowly walking up to them. Rarity, who's horn was glowing the same color, approached Shining Armor. She blushed and looked away before speaking.

"I wanted to give you this, because I knew you would like it." Rarity said shyly. "And if something happened to you, then I would've started crying because I don't like to see my friends hurt."

Shining blushed as she said that statement and Pearl looked to her daughter and smiled. Shining then levitated the bottle from her possession to his as he gave her a gentle smile. "Aww, thanks kiddo."

"Also, if something was to happen to you, then I wouldn't have my Mister Shiny to tell me that I was the cutest filly alive." Rarity mocked.

"Oh, I see what you were trying to do." Shining deadpanned as Pearl continued to giggle to herself.

"Well in that case..." Pearl interjected. "Let's see what they have on the menu for tonight." Pearl held up a foldable menu as the two, pure white ponies that stood across from her cheered. "Now I'm in the mood for a chef's salad with creamy buttermilk ranch dressing with a bottle of white zinfandel wine."

"Ooh! Mother, may I have the celestial soup with French rolls?" Rarity asked politely.

"Sure dear, anything you'd like. Now what would my young knight in shining armor like for this evening? There's no need to be shy." Pearl asks to the colt whom she wittingly called out to.

"Umm... I guess some smother-and-topped hay fries will do the trick." Shining requested, remembering some of the rumors that his friends at school had brought up about the hay fries here at the hotel.

"Mmmm. Sounds tasty. Hope it's good." says Pearl who looked at Shining Armor with a smile.

Shining couldn't believe where he was or what was going on. In a single night, he managed to hang out, if only briefly, with the star running back of the Canterlot Chevaliers, hung out at the press box, rode in an expensive carriage despite the outward appearances to deceive onlookers, stay in a suite at a five-star hotel, ordering room service and spending time with Pearl and Rarity, who was the family of Magnus himself. When he initially met them, he thought that they were going to have an elitist attitude. But in reality, they were no different than that of his own family. His father was playful whenever he was off duty, his mother was as loving as any mother could be to her own foal and his little sister, who obsesses herself with books and her studies, was indeed lively despite her introverted demeanor. Shining saw almost all of these things in the two that stood before him and he could honestly tell himself:

...he was at home.

Rarity, who was now asleep in her bed, dreamt of princes and fairy tales. Shining knew of it because he heard her mumble key words as she slept.

"You've come to save me...." Rarity whispered to her dream. "....save me from the wretched dragon."

Shining was standing by her bed has she slept, not watching her, but rather watching over her. Shining took into hindsight that he shouldn't have told her a bedtime story that consisted of dragons who ate princesses that were offered as a sacrifice every twenty years to prevent the royal palace and it's citizens from being burned to ashes. At first, she had a cheery reaction from the ending of the story. That reaction soon gave way to fear as she slept. She even ran into the room Shining was in screaming that she had a terrible dream. She had a nightmare in which she was the princess to be sacrificed, and was shortly eaten by the dragon. Shining then apologized to her and tried to send her off to bed, but she refused to go to sleep until she made Shining Armor watch over her.

FLASHBACK
"Promise me that you'll watch over me!"

"I promise. Now get some sleep."

"NOOOO!!!" Rarity screamed in protest.

"What's wrong?"

"If you leave me, then I'll be alone."

"I promise that the dragon won't come and eat you up, okay?"

"That's not what I meant!"

"Then what do you mean?"

Rarity trots to Shining Armor, embracing him in a tight hug. "Promise that you'll always watch over me."

Shining looks at Rarity in confusion. "Wait, what?"

"Daddy, whenever he's home, he would hug me... and hold me as I went to bed. He would tell me that he loves me... and that he would try to win the next game for me. I don't wanna be alone tonight." Tears begin to well in her eyes, breaching the floodgates unleashing a torrent of tears.

"But I can't be your-"

"I HATE BEING ALONE!" Rarity screams as she stomps her hoof to the carpet. She continues to sniffle and hiccup as the tears fall from her cheeks to the ground below. "My daddy barely has time for us. He tries, but those ruffians keep him away from us. All I ever wanted was to be with my dad. That's why I wanna stay here! So I can be home with him. But I can't.

"Rarity..." Shining knew first-hoof that a life in the limelight could result in time taken away from the family. He sometimes experiences it with his father being the decorated Captain of the Royal Guard. He was often deprived of any father-son time because of his duties, which is a reason why he chose to go to the academy. He wanted to be his own social class and not referred to as 'The Son of the Guard Captain'. He knew her pain, and he decided that it was for the best that he'd step up and be the role model she needed.

" *sniff* So... please..." Rarity tried to continue until Shining began to squeeze back. He held on to her tightly and whispered in her ear.

"I promise to look after you. You may not be my little sister, but you'll be a close second."

Rarity smiled at his words and was quickly led off to bed. Shining would also agree to stand guard next to her bed to keep the evil dragon away from her as she slept. Within a matter of minutes, the young filly was swept away to dreamland as her guardian continued to stand watch over her.

FLASHBACK ENDS

Shining realized it was getting rather late and that he couldn't afford to stay in the room any longer and decided that Rarity was sound asleep. So he crept past the sleeping filly, past the corner and made his way to the doorway. He opened the door, only to hear a loud squeak fill the suite. He panicked as he thought that it would wake up the serene form across the room. Luckily, she remained asleep and Shining took a sigh of relief as he exited the room.

"Mmmm... Please don't leave me, dear knight."

Shining's heart began to race once more due to the sound of the rustling bed behind him. He continued to remain still until the rustling stopped. As it turns out, Rarity was just merely turning over in her sleep. After what seemed like an eternity to Shining, he once again took a breath and continued his plan to leave the room. This time, he levitated the door upwards as he pulled the handle with his hoof. There was imminent silence this time, just what he had hoped for. As he made his way out, he closed the door using the same method as earlier to prevent himself from the possibility of waking up Rarity. As the door finally closed with a kerchack, he turned around to make his way to his room. But suddenly, the shape of a full grown mare appeared in front of him. Shining squinted to identify who it was and found that it was Pearl, who was wearing a night gown. She quietly approached the young colt and whispered out to him.

"Can we talk?"

Shining followed Pearl as he still tried to comprehend the magnitude of how beautiful the well-furnished suite appeared. As he passed, he would marvel at the gold silk curtains that adorned the red walls, the carpet that was embroidered with the colors of autumn, the ivory pillars that stood by every corner would be reminiscent of pegasi architecture, the light fixtures set upon the walls blended with the theme of the room and the view from the square pool out back revealed a breathtaking view of the world past Canterlot, revealing the rolling plains and mountain ranges in the distance. The pool was also indoors and was climate controlled. Shining Armor still followed Pearl until she stopped short of the pools edge, in front of a small podium that held a silver bucket. A bottle of wine sat lazily inside of the bucket and there was two glasses that sat in front of it. Shining hesitated to walk any further until Pearl beckoned him to come closer.

"Would you like some wine, dear?" Pearl asked as she levitated the glasses and the bottle.

"Umm... I'm underage." Shining retorted.

"And??? You're under adult supervision. And furthermore, no one is looking." Pearl rebutted, hoping to persuade her young guest.

"But... My mom said tha-" Shining tries to argue but is cut short.

"Sweetie, I understand that your mother is indeed a good mare and one of principals." Pearl admits. "But as for right now, I want you to live in the moment. Carp some Diem, dearie!"

Shining continues ponder on the repercussions of the choice he is to make. "What if I get in trouble?" He asks concerned.

"You won't." Pearl reassures him.

"But-" Shining is brought to silence as Pearl holds a hoof to his lips.

"You won't. I promise." Pearl insists as she gives him a smile. "Now come on over here and hold this glass."

"Yes ma-"

"Ah-ah-aaaah. Milady, my dear Shining Armor."

Shining corrected himself as he telekinetically held the glass. "Yes, milady."

"Great. Now hold that glass steady." She stated as she popped the cork off the bottle and poured the sparkling liquid in his glass. Shining looked on with worry, knowing that what he was doing was wrong. Pearl, who notices the look of concern on his face, begins to dissuade him from his worries. "You're going to love this. I know you will." Shining who looked at the bubbling liquid, thought to himself.

"What am I doing? Am I really going to do this? Is dad gonna find out? What if he does? What if the others find out? My dad could be in the eye of ridicule because of me. I should leave. But why do I also feel as if I'm overreacting? I feel as if this is only something minor compared to other infractions that my friends have already broken. What's the risk? Yeah, she said that no one will find out. And even if they did, they have the money to keep it under the rug. Maybe I have been playing it safe for too long. Maybe it's time I take a walk on the wild side. I did it earlier in the press box and I came out just fine. And no one knew of it then, so why be worried about it now? That's right! I'm gonna seize the day! In that case, BOTTOMS UP, SHINING ARMOR!"

Shining didn't hesitate after his final thought as he down the glass in the fraction of a second. He felt as if he took a major step forward by drinking the glass of wine. But then he felt self-conscious as Pearl began to giggle at his frat-boy antics.

"Sweetie, it's not a liquor or a shot of vodka. It's just wine. Take the time to appreciate the taste. Savor it." Pearl recommended as she licked her lips. Shining blushed once more in embarrassment as she filled his glass a second time. Shining, taking Pearl's advice into consideration, slowly drank the wine that now filled his mouth. As he slowly swallowed the foreign liquid, he began to realize a taste that he has missed out on for all of his life. Sensations of tangy fruit and slightly ticklish sensations began to mesmerize his taste buds, leaving him to want more. Pearl saw that Shining enjoyed the sensation of his first (and second) glass of wine and offered him more.

A half hour has passed as Shining begins to open himself up a little more, thanks to the persuasive nature of the alcohol of course. Pearl, who is on her fifth glass, is enjoying the newly outgoing Shining Armor, who managed to down a full two bottles.

"...and then I told him to go rut himself."

"Oh my! So you're not exactly a goody, four-hooves, are you?" Pearl question while laughing at the silly antics of Shining Armor.

"You think I'm goody? Well wait until I do... this!" Shining said before igniting his horn to hike up Pearl's night gown, revealing her bare flank.

A surprised Pearl squeaks as she tries to replace her gown over her rear quarters as she angrily stares at the naughty delinquent. Shining continues to laugh while walking towards her until his hind leg slips off the edge of the concrete and into the swimming pool below. The rest of his body follows suit and he soon finds himself briefly underwater. Shining climbs back up to the surface only to hear a laughing mare next to him. Pearl pointed at the young cadet and taunted him.

"That's what you get for lifting up my night gown! Now tell me, how does karma taste?"

Shining now donned an evil grin and proceeded to speak. "You tell me. Night gowns aren't the only thing I can lift."

Shining's horn once again ignited, this time he concentrated his magic around Pearl's body. Pearl look on in shock as she was helplessly suspended into the air. Shining turned his head in the direction to where her destination would be. Pearl screamed as she realized what he was going to do next. She flailed her limbs in hope of attempting an escape, but all of it was in vain. Shining, finally sending her to her destination, deactivated his levitation spell, leaving Pearl hovering above the center of the pool. She screamed as she undergone her impromptu bathing for the night. As soon as she reached the surface, a laughing Shining Armor awaited her reaction.

Pearl was furious at the level of embarrassment that she had undergone. Seeking revenge, she splashed Shining Armor as he laughed, causing him to choke up a bit. Pearl looked onward with satisfaction until Shining sank under the water's surface. She tried to run away, only to be picked up and body slammed back under. She came up the surface with an evil death glare, rushing to him and pinning the unsuspecting Shining Armor to the wall of the pool. Shining Armor continued to laugh at Pearl as she breathed heavily. Soon, his laughter subsided as Pearl held on to him.

She looked into his slightly reddened eyes as she loosened her grip, bringing her hoof against his chest. Pearl, who was worked up from the recent water play, breathed shallow but audible breaths. Shining who felt a familiar heat in his body, proceeded to bring his hoof to her flanks. She gasped at the sudden gesture, causing her marehood an aching pain. She slowly guided one of his hooves from her flank to her cutie mark. His excitement began to show as his sheath began to reveal the organ that hid within it. He tried to bring a hoof to his now-awakened member, but Pearl held his hoof against her as her body language read that she longed to be fulfilled. Shining acknowledges her request and runs his hoof across her cutie mark. She panted softly as he continued his advances, but she wanted him to go further. She once again guided his hoof, this time with her magic, past her cutie mark, inside her inner thighs and up to her aching marehood.

Cries of pleasure filled the room as she ground herself against his hoof, moving her flank in a circular motion. She rewarded him for his obedience by activating her magic to stroke his stallionhood to attention, eliciting grunts of ecstasy. Shining instinctively thrusted himself in and out the magic ring that enveloped his shaft. He sucked his teeth once more as he did earlier in the press box. Pearl didn't know exactly why that sound drove her to madness but she knew that she was turned on by it. She knew what she wanted and she decided that she was going to have it.

"You want this pussy Shining Armor?" She moaned into his ear before she bit down on the thin layer of flesh.

"Oooh. You sound so bad." He moaned as he kissed her neck.

"Nnnnff. I need to be punished." She recommended as she bit into the nape of his neck.

"Beg for it." He whispered as she changed places with him. She presented herself against the wall, lifting her tail to the side to expose her winking marehood. She whimpered in pain as her arousal began to physically hurt her.

"You're so horrible!" She exclaimed as she felt a pair of hooves clasp on to hers. Shining mounted Pearl, leaving his throbbing meat sandwiched in between her flanks. Shining teased Pearl by thrusting his hips into hers, rubbing his cock against her moistened slit and her puckered ass.

"What do you want?" He asked giving her a solid thrust, his cock running against her pussy and ass.

"Please, I want it." She begged as she felt herself on the verge of tears.

"What do you want?" He said as he backed off, this time letting his meaty slab beat against her teats

"Ahhh*gasp* your dick." She responded in desperation.

"Where do you want it?" He asks as he begins to prod each hole. His instincts begin to override his self-control and he starts to lean in against her, hoping that she answers him soon.

"Nnngh. In my wet pussy." She strung together as she practically lost her mind. She backed into him, hoping that he'd penetrate her inner flesh. She was disappointed in finding out that he backed up as well, leaving her to wait a little longer.

"Ohhh. Good little filly." He whispered as she curled her hoof around his neck to bring his muzzle to hers. The symphony of their lips filled the room as the windows began to fog up. His tongue clashed against hers as they fought for dominance. He whispers in between kisses.

"Who's a good little filly?" Their lips once again closes the distance between them before she whispers to him.

"I am. Now fuck me."

"Yes, milady." Shining attempts to close the distance as Pearl continues to draw away.

"I not a lady, I am a filly who wants my daily dose of dick."

Something about that statement made Shining come alive. He thrusted himself deeply into Pearl who in turn let out a hardy grunt as the sound of flesh slapping against flesh began it's cacophonous symphony within the water. The guttural moans made by Pearl begin to make it's presence known ad nauseum. That combined with the slapping of wet flesh and slopping water began to score the scene that was unfolding in the presence of the stars above. Shining, who was more than appreciating his first time, began to speed up without restraint. Pearl, who had a hard time controlling herself, tried to direct her young and hot-blooded partner to slow down. But she couldn't hope to tame him as he continued as if he became a wild beast of Everfree, that is, until...

"What the fuck are you doing, Shining Armor!?"

His consciousness took over his mind and instructed him to stop. Deep in his mind, he knew that he would never agree to going this far. He became mentally sickened.

"Shining baby, why did you stop?" Pearl asked to the stallion who was still inside of her.

Shining looked down to find that Pearl was below him. "What am I doing?" He proceeded to look at her in horror as he started to piece together what was going on. All that he knew that he was a little inebriated and that he was not himself. He became rebellious, which was the exact opposite of his normal demeanor. He suddenly felt a squeeze down below where his member would be. His pupils shrank to the size of pins as soon as he backed off, only to find out that he was inside of Pearl.
Shining realized he was fucking Pearl.

"What have I done?" Shining backs away slowly as he begins to panic. He looks at his own hooves, thinking that he has committed a crime akin to murder.

"Shining baby, is something the matter?" Pearl asks as she tries to close the distance between her and the panic-stricken stallion.

"WHAT HAVE I-" He looks to Pearl, scared out of his mind, thinking that he sexually assaulted her. He backs up, trying to gain distance from her. "Oh no... No.... No nonono. OH FAUST NO!!"

"SHINING, WAIT!" Pearl calls out to him but he ignores her as he enters a full gallop. He gallops down the hall, trying to gain distance away from the mare he felt as if he assaulted. He knew he would be in trouble for this. He knew that his father would be dishonored by this. He knew that his mother would disown him as soon as she heard the news that her son was a rapist. He knew that he could be banished for his crimes. He knew that he would never see his little sister again. He knew he betrayed Rarity. He betrayed Magnus and more importantly he took advantage of the mare who trusted him. The guilt that continued to assault his mind became too much to bear. He knew that he would have to confess to it eventually. He could only do the one thing that was far from helpful.

"I-I... I'm so sorry."

Author's Note

Well that was fun. Brownies for the first individual to find the hidden message. don't tell everyone what the hidden message is or the comment will be deleted.

And if you think Pearl is going to get off on a later date then you've got another thing coming. If you think Shining is in for more sexy milf time...

...then you're right.

ACT 1: Turnover On Downs

WARNING: This chapter may contain some imagery that contains graphic depictions of violence and gore. Individuals of weak constitutions may want to skip the second page break. Discretion is advised...
...
Aww read it anyways you wuss!

"...What have I done?"

A very distraught Shining Armor lays on top of his bed, tears streaking down his face as the inevitable guilt continued to plague him. He did the one thing that he promised himself that he would not do. Not only did he break his promise, but also he broke his oath to protect the others around him. He failed as a cadet, a student, a law-abiding citizen and as a son. He knew the consequences of his actions, and the repercussions that was in store for not only him, but his family as well. He dishonored his family name and everything that it stood for. He committed an act of barbarism, and it was all because he broke the rules and standards that his parents placed within him. He wanted to have fun, but not in the form of partaking in underage drinking and forcing himself on a mare he barely knew because he couldn't keep his hormones in check. He could never get away with it, the guilt was too much.

"I-I raped her..." He reinforced his mind with those very words, finally speaking it out of his mouth during the past forty-five minutes. The tears continued to pour, increasing it's flow as he hiccuped. Incoherent babbling came forth from his lips as he hissed at the thought of him being a cadet, who committed a terrible sin. His babbling, accompanied gasps and sharp intakes of air, did nothing but exhaust him mentally, and soon physically. The many minutes that passed continued to surmount his will to disallow sleep, and his eyelids began to grow heavy. His visioned blurred as the bitter sadness brought upon by the surreal thought of his cruel reality.

"I don't deserve this." He thought to himself as his eyelids edged closer. "A criminal should not have to endure such pleasantries. This is not where I should be right now. I don't have to be here any longer. I can't stay here." His body ignored the messages his mind sent to his limbs. He wanted to get up and leave but his body denied his request. It was as if he wasn't himself, but it was only the fatigue that prevented his body from taking action. "How can I look Rarity in the eyes again, after what I just did? Rarity would never want to be around me, not as I am now. I can never look at Magnus again. He would pummel me if he saw me again, not that I don't deserve it. My mother would disown me, crying out that she has no son and only a daughter remained to her. My father would be ridiculed as captain, even discharged for my actions tonight. I will never get to see my little Twily again. These are the things that await me..." His eyes close, his breath is calmed and his mind is temporarily granted ease. "...when I turn myself in." He says aloud in a soft whisper.

Sleep takes him. As his soft breaths become those of light snores, a shadow-like figure stands in the doorway, it's eyes piercing into him. The door quietly closes as Shining continued to rest. The shadow proceeds to trot down the hall and makes it's way into Pearls bedroom. The figure looms over the bed and glares downward.

"...He'll know of retribution soon enough." The shadow figure spoke softly, as the venom poured from her words.

Shining tossed and turned in his sleep, grunting as his dream continued at his displeasure. Deep in his dreams, he saw a shadow chase him. The shadow did not have a face, nor did it have any distinguishable features except for the large scars that ran across the area where it's face would be. Shining could feel the sweat that poured from beneath his glowing white coat. He continued to run in a dark hall that appeared to go on forever. As he ran at full gallop, he turned around to see that the figure behind him was only walking very slowly, as if it was taking baby steps. Shining faced forward to try and find an exit to the dark corridor that he was trapped in. As he passed, eyes began to open on the walls around him, with each eye looking directly to him. He could only close his eyes and continue to gallop until a cold breath swept past his ear from behind, giving him goosebumps.

S̺͌h̨̖̭͈́̆͋̿̚i̩̅̑̉ͣn͇͕̣͚̪̙̺͌ͯͩ̂̿ͮ͐i̛̳̲͙̘͋͐ͣ͐n̩͋̏ͅg̯͚̞̮̗̳͇̾͗ͧͥ.̟̺̲̳̊ͤ͌͌̏ͥ̈́̕ͅ.͙̣͇̉̾.̳͍͓̿̊̎

A voice devoid of life haunted the halls as well as Shining's earlobes. It was in a tri-toned, demonic voice, rather one that took life from the those who would hear it continued to ring in the halls as the eyes in the walls continued to pierce the very flesh of the victim that they gazed upon. Boils began to fester upon Shining's hide that no longer glowed. The pain that he felt as he ran was that of a million fire ants that continued to tear away at his coat. As the seconds ticked away, the boils broke one-by-one, causing a white-clearish ooze that poured from his body, emitting a foul odor that he grew nauseous upon smelling. His very flesh, began to turn a deep pink color as the ooze started to combine with the blood in his system. The liquid that trailed him began to boil and give off steam as it landed on the ground below him. He turned around to try and locate the figure that chased him, only to find that it's four legs were broken and inverted backwards as it continued to walk on the ceiling above, walking slightly faster.

S̺͌h̨̖̭͈́̆͋̿̚i̩̅̑̉ͣn͇͕̣͚̪̙̺͌ͯͩ̂̿ͮ͐i̛̳̲͙̘͋͐ͣ͐n̩͋̏ͅg̯͚̞̮̗̳͇̾͗ͧͥ.̟̺̲̳̊ͤ͌͌̏ͥ̈́̕ͅ.͙̣͇̉̾.̳͍͓̿̊̎

Shining galloped at a full pace as he turned around, trying to avoid the inverted pony that crawled on the ceiling as if it were an insect. His breathing increased as he continued until a claw erupted from the ground, holding on to his hind leg. He looked down to see the claw that was covered in the liquid that continued to eject from his body. Shining nausea overtook him as he vomited on the ground below, that also started to boil. He began to panic as he tried to pull his hind leg from the claw made of the offending mixture of blood and puss.

N̸̜̓̔̀̿̍̇̑o̪̙ͬͤ ̠̗͐̄ͫ͐̇ͥͬm̗̈͆̆͐͗̆̚a̹̿̌ͥt̘͉ͦ͑̈͌ͪ̀t̤̗̝̑ė͓̣̩̜̔̇̍ͪ̽̈ŗ̽̉ͤ̐ͨ ̪̒̒ͦͭͯͅw̾͒̉ͯ̂̔͏̘̰̙̗̟̪ͅh̛͒a͚̥͈̹͍͖̒ͭ͗̋̄̍̕t̷͇ ̡̏̓͛̊y̻̭͖͔̬̓ͭ̊ͬo̲̹̭̺̞̜͢ŭ͕̬̠̥͚̳͈ͨ ̛̑̊̍͗̎d̀҉͎̟͙̪ŏ̺͇̙̦̀̚ͅ.̻̮̲̐ͨͩ̓͘ͅ..̘͓͗̽

A screeching noise that sounded like a fire alarm, proceeded to burn into the inner sanctum of Shining's mind. He screamed as he pulled his hoof free from the claw that previously held him captive. He winced as he noticed that the claw took from him the skin of his hoof. Not wanting to be caught by the figure that was approaching him from behind, he continued to run as he tried his best to ignore the intense pain in his hind leg. He found what appeared to be the end of the long hallway in the shape of a steel vault door.

N̼̘̺͔͐̎̇ͮ̍̅̌̀o̡̻̰͎͈̫͙̪̜̎͆͂̿̔͂́͢ ̧̣͍͗́̿̾̃͒ͭ͂͡ṃ̖̦͖̺̗̫ͪ͆̃͑̈͒͟͟a͖͎͉̱ͯ̀t͚̟̜̱̹̼͐͊ͫ͠t̢̒̈́̋̍ͧ̊͆͟҉̰̩̦̮ẹ̛͇̟̈́̃ͩͪ̃ͥ͆͝r̨̧̠̜ͮ̃̿͌ ̵̫͔͍̩̗͕ͣ̿͑ͬ͐̚͠w̴̫͔̱̓͆̏̌̎ͤ̌͡h̟̱͓̠͍̣ͤ̍̏̽ͨ̀̚͘͘ͅe̶̦̞ͭ̆̄̈͢͠r̙̫̜͉̯̫̩͉̳ͦ́̃ͭe̵̦̰̭͈̻̓̈́̒ͯ͆̐̾͟ ̜̺̞̹̥̗͓͈̬̓̑̄͛ͥ͘͡y͓͉͎̺̻̌͂ͩ͟o̧͈̹̲̜̱̖̤̎ͭ̎̂ͨ̑ͅu͇͖̟ͫ̏͝ ̧̛̤̝̺̤͕̮͍̺̪̈͊́̚͡g̵̝̫͆ͦ͐̀ͦ̽͢͞ô̵̢͖̱͙̮̭̜̱̫ͧͫ̂.͑͗̋́̕͏͍̣̜̭.̶̝̳̯̹̣̬̩̠̉̈́̑͋ͦ.̯̻̟̳̌̒̽ͨ̀̓̚

He ran to the door, placing his hooves on the handle. It turned immediately as the figure slowly stumbled to him. Shining dared not to look back at the figure who followed him. His heart raced, pumping the blood that coursed through his veins at an imperceptible rate. He pulled the door, only to find that it was jammed shut. He desperately pulled to get the door open. With each tug, he nudged the door open by an inch. Inch-by-inch, the door started to open slowly as he continued pulling the door. Fear told Shining to look back as he continued to inch the steel door open, but instinct told him not to look and keep pulling. Shining didn't want to see the face of his fear, so he chose instinct and inched the door further, needing one last, strong pull to get it open. The figure reached out to Shining's shoulder and whispered in his ear.

Ỉ̴͈̮͛ ̣̳̺̻̤̝w̧̄̿ͥ͒͋̍̓i͙̗̲̺̱̍̎̍̋̃̄ͅͅl̸̮̣̑ĺ̡͉̞̙̰͉͑̋ͮ͂̽̚ ͓̘̆̔̉̄f̵̻̐ḭ̴̻̲̪͈̈́͛̎͗̃͛n̼d̴̜̪͚͎͗̂̈ͯ̃̈̐ͅ ̧̼͕̟̽y̑͛҉̖͚̬̱o͕͍͚̼͌̐u͖̙̟̹ͭ͠.ͫ.̶̙̭͔̻͓ͨ̾͊̏̀.̖̰̥̯̱̮̎̊.̩̬̙͜

With those words, Shining pulled the door open to reveal a blinding light. He ran through the doorway into what appeared to be an old bedroom covered in dust. The door closed as he stepped through. He continued his erratic breathing as he felt his coat. No signs of the boils or the rips in his skin remained. He wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, but he knew that this was far from over as he looked to the far end of the room. An empty rocking chair see-sawed back and forth in front of a old radio. The radio played nothing more than static and white noise. Shining's curiosity wanted him to change the frequency to see if it connected with any other stations, but he didn't think it would be wise. His mind was placed in discomfort as the rocking chair continued to squeak against the hardwood floor. Suddenly, a music box began to play in the distance. His eyes darted around the room as he panicked to try and find the source. He found that there was a small wooden box hiding in the corner. He looked inside of the box to find that it hid a dancing ballerina, without it's head. Slowly, the melody began to fade bringing an eerie silence. The room also fell into dead silence. The chair that once rocked, rocked no longer. The radio managed to shut itself off somehow. The ballerina stopped spinning. And then there there was nothing. Even the sound of Shining's own hooves was non-existent as he slowly walked away.

*BANG*

There was a large slamming sound made against the metal door. Shining jumped and ignited his horn as a means of a last stand. He readied himself, anchoring his hooves into the hardwood floor and aiming his horn at the steel door in the event that the creature that chased him had breached the door. After a silence of a few seconds, Shining lowered his guard and quenched his spell. Suddenly the radio whizzed and buzzed until...

"Don't you understand, Shining?"

A transmission, as clear as the summer day was patched through the old radio. Shining turned around finding that a smiling figure rushed itself to him before he could react. The figure, covered in scars stopped short of his face grabbing Shining's horn to prevent magic flow. The figure's smile then etched through the line-less features of his face to carve out an exact replica of it's captive. It's smile grew as the creature became completed as Shining on in immense horror. He tried to scream, only to find that his voice carried no volume before the room cut to black.

I̴͕̾ͫ͗ ḁ̶̰̘̭͕̳̖̓̓ͭ͊̎m̠̀̅́̚ ̘̥̤͖̃ͪ̈͂y̓͐ͦ̕ō̘̰̱̯̪̮͂̐ͅȗ̫͘.̑̓ͫ̈

Shining stood in the center of the pitch black room. It was only him this time as the view faded back to the suite. Shining looked around in panic to see that he had finally managed to escape. Silence was still an ever present virtue, only this time he could actually hear the hooves beneath him. Sighing in relief, he made his way to his room. He trotted down the intricately decorated hall until he ran into Pearl, who turned the corner. She smiles at him as she approaches him, wearing a silk night gown.

"Shining, dearie. Are you doing okay?" She asks as they get within mere inches from each other.

"Yeah, no problem... for the most part." Shining responded with a smile on his face he circled around the mare.

"The most part?" Pearl asked confused as Shining stops behind her.

"Well, only one problem... THIS!"

Shining sends a hoof to the back of an unsuspecting Pearl, sending her to the ground as she whimpered in pain. His smile grew bigger as he magically held her neck to the ground, causing her flank to be exposed to him. His eyes begin to trace the intricate outlines of her form. Pearl came back to her senses and quickly realized the position that she was placed in. Her heart raced as she tried to escape, only for Shining to squeeze his magic around her neck even tighter. She gasps as she desperately searches for air. Shining keeps his magic wrung around her neck as he rubs one of his hooves on her curvy, voluptuous plot.

"No, Shining please!" She barely makes out.

Pearl's cries go unanswered as she continues to squirm in the magical choke hold. Shining removes his hoof and quickly slaps her rear cheeks. *SMACK* She cries out in pain as her captor continues his relentless assault against her flank, leaving red hoof marks in his wake. With each hit she squirms on the ground below, her plot would wiggle in the air, flaunting her curvy posterior to Shining. *SMACK* He continues his remorseless beating until Pearl is left sobbing on the floor. Her tears falls to the floor, colored in black as the mascara mixes with the salty droplets. The once flawless carpet is now stained as small black teardrops pelt the floor below. Her cries of agony fill the room as Shining backs off of her. He looks on with a sense of pride as he succeeded in his method of breaking his victim into submission. He reaches out with his hoof to rub the red marks that adorned her coat. Pearl does nothing but sob as he continued his advances, rubbing his hooves across her flanks harshly and grasping them. Pearl winced in pain as Shining compressed her reddened cheeks together and felt relief as he released.

Shining knew that he had to make this quick, so he continued onward by magically massaging his half-erect stallionhood, licking his lips as he continued to play at the fallen mare. Her cries became filled with hopelessness as he pulled at her tail, revealing her hidden lips. She becomes slightly more defensive upon noticing what his next motive was.

"No. Please."

He ignored her cries as he jumped atop her back, trying to find his target.

"NO. PLEASE. NO. NOOO!" She cried out, reaching out to the distance in front of her.

He finds his target as he magically lifts himself to her entrance.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" She screams to the top of her lungs. Her voice fills the halls of the floor as she cries out for someone, anyone regardless of who or what they were.

Shining Armor prods into her gently. While he was trying to be quick, he did want to enjoy the experience for himself. He decided that if he was going to do it then he was going to do it now. He reached back, wrapping her tail around his hoof to prevent her escape. Seeing that she was ready, he opted to enter her folds, that is until...

"Mister Shiny, please don't do this!"

He looked up ahead to find the filly in question as he begins to hear her sob. He looks to his right, to find in his hoof, an indigo-colored tail in the shape of a curl. Looking to it's source, he found it was a filly; Rarity. She was sobbing softly as he looked down below. He bent down to speak with her.

"I don't know how you got here... but you're about to learn..."

" *sniff* please Shining Armor sir."

"...how to become a mare."

"NOOOOOO!!!"

He held her and pushed-

"NOOOOOOOO!!!" Shining awoke from his nightmare in a cold sweat. He raised himself up out of the bed until he was somehow pushed down. He also noticed that something was grabbing his horn.

"No! You stay your ass down there!" A voice that appeared to be that of a female spoke out to him.

He tried getting back up to confirm who it was, but the mare engulfed in shadow pushed him back down. He tried to scream, only for his cries to be muffled by a soft blue glow. His eyes followed the glow to it's source that was mere inches from his face. The glow illuminated the face in front of him, a pink mare with blue eyes and a blue, disheveled mane. She wore a menacing glare that sent a shiver down his spine. He tried to push her off, but to his surprise she placed his hooves behind her, pulling them to her flank.

"Fmmmmph?" He questioned as his mouth was latched shut due to the mare's magic.

"Yes dearie. I'm just here to finish what you've started." She stated with a particular tone in her voice as one of her hooves wandered from her chest to down below her teats. He trailed her hoof with his eyes, looking down to find that her moistened nethers were engulfing his shaft, greedily taking it as if it was a part of herself. Satisfied in seeing that he realized what she was doing, she removed the magic from his muzzle and proceeded to bounce herself up and down.

"Pearl? What are you-" He asked before he was cut of by a loud moan.

"Sssssssss-ooh. I love it when you call me that baby." Pearl whispered out as she rubbed herself as she rode atop Shining Armor.

"Please, get off of me." Shining tried to plead, but Pearl was not having it.

"NO!" She screamed out in anger. "How dare you get a mare worked up and horny, fuck her for a moment only to leave her masturbating for two hours trying to replace what she felt inside her." She continued to ride his cock, slowing down to an agonizingly slow pace, trying to egg him on. "I wanted to be punished, and you let me go with a slap on the wrist? Fuck no!" She rolls her hips into his as he begin to feel her squeeze him. "I wanted to have fun, and you run off like a sissy. Well not now!" His grunts pierce his lips and joins her argument. "I'm gonna fuck the bitch out of you!" She compresses her inner walls around his stiffening shaft. Shining grunts as he tries to resist, but he soon find that his resistance made her hornier.

"Please Pearl..."

"Nope." She licks his neck. "You're gonna..." She bites him softly, teasing his senses once more. "...lie there..." She kisses him on his neck, climbing up to his muzzle. "...as I..." She kisses him on his lips, causing an auditory smack to fill the darkness. She opens her mouth to speak once more. "...ride on your..." Shining closes his eyes, sucking his teeth as she described him. "...big..." His tongue lolls from his mouth as she slowly rises from him, falling hard onto him. "...throbbing, oh my goodness you feel so good..." She whispers after she falls on him. Something inside of her snaps. "...meaty dick. I'm gonna put it on you so good." She speeds up her pace, deciding that taking it slow was not in her best interest. Her soaking wet marehood left a white ring of her juices upon him as she frantically rose and fell. His breathing became as what it was when he was in the press box. Suddenly Pearl felt something enter inside her with tremendous force. She gasped at the foreign feeling.

"I-I can't..." He whispered to Pearl. He thrusted himself into her fleshy depths. "I can't. Nnnngh hah..." He found himself entering her marehood of his own will. "I... ca-hann't. Hah..." He pushed himself further within, seeking something that he has never felt. "Ah...Ha...ha...ha...ha...ah." He rhythmically pumped himself in and out, asserting himself with every stroke. Pearl guttural moans soon joined his pants of desperation. Their hips smacked into each other, becoming the rhythm that they would sing to.

"Shining Armor, where have you been?" Pearl mumbled as her aching arousal began increase once again. She rose and fell to meet him as he performed the same actions.

"I... want... it Pearl! I want to..." Shining felt a new strength rise within him as he lifted himself to meet Pearl face to face. She longingly clasped his muzzle to hers and their lips locked onto one another. Mixes of moans and smacks continues to fill the darkness as their tongues invaded each others dwelling. After the pink organs wrestle against each other, they finally separate by closing their lips leaving a small trail of saliva between them.

"Haa *gasp* You feel so good." Pearl whispers as she continues to bounce off of the teen colt. Shining dormant strength continues to rise as he picks up Pearl and hold her as he lifts himself off the bed. He pumps himself into her with intimidating force, her eyes meet the ceiling above. Her jaw drops as she is helplessly suspended into the air. Letting out a long throaty moan, she praises him for his strength as he stands on his hind legs, thrusting furiously. "Oh you ruffian. Take me as your own!"

"Can I have it?" He asked trying to invoke some word play.

"It's yours." She responds as she continues to lose control of her limbs.

"Is it mine?" Shining asks as his horn flares up his magic, causing a magenta aura to appear around Pearl's winking nub.

"Yeah *gasp* YES! THERE! OH I'M CU-" She screams as she is unable to finish her statement as a powerful climax approaches her. She stutters as she is kept on her high as Shining continues to thrust inside her. His climax soon approaches.

"Where do you want it?" Shining asks in desperation, he gains speed.

"I swear if you pull out, I WILL FUCKING RIDE YOU TILL TUESDAY!" She screams as the estrogen in her system is replaced with testosterone by the perpetual state of ecstasy that she is caught within. His thrusts began to get slower but with more power applied to them. His cock drills her depths as he shivers in anticipation of the final thrust.

"I'm cumming!" He screams as he takes the final plunge, spewing his seed inside of her womb. His mind finally breaks down and so does his body. He tosses Pearl onto the bed as he lands on all fours. He trots over to Pearl and spreads her lifeless body, seeking to taste the fruits of his labor. Shining nose-dives into her cum-covered slit, opens his mouth and suckles on the white nectar that her body can no longer take on. Soft coos come from the lips of Pearl as she softly rubs Shining's head, seemingly to discourage but rather appraising his ministrations. Her hoof caresses his mane as his tongue continues to dig into her, lapping out every inch of her. A second smaller orgasm hits Pearl as he curved his tongue over her g-spot while simultaneously pumping the white seed from within her. Her body rises against her doing as she yearns to be freed from the bliss that sought to abuse her. As Shining left her lower lips in search of the ones above, Pearl came back from the high she was previously caught in. Her vision blurred briefly, only for a white colt to come into focus above her. Knowing what to expect, she opened her mouth and Shining released the seed within his mouth to fall into hers. As his mouth empties, she pulls him down to a long and passionate kiss. Releasing him, she swallowed the contents that they shared and he did the same.

"...You're a natural at this dear. You'd gain the attention of a princess if you keep at it." She mocked him as she felt true satisfaction for the first time in many weeks.

"That... was... AMAZING!" Shining exclaimed, trying not to be any louder than they previously were.

"You are amazing, sweetie. I needed that for weeks." She admitted while trying to sit up.

"Wait... But I thought that-" He was cut off by Pearl who held a hoof to the air.

"Magnus? He's often quite busy so he doesn't have the time for me. And before you even ask, I would like to inform you that he is a cuckold."

"A-wha?"

"Cuckold dear. It means that my getting off is a pleasure for him, no matter who's giving it to me." She informed to the teen who's jaw was locked to the ground.

"Oh... my... but-" Once again interrupted by Pearl who this time held a hoof to his lips

"Oh heavens no dear. I take into consideration who I do things with. And being honest, you're the first one outside of my husband that I have ever had the pleasure of riding." She admitted with a smirk.

"I-uh... don't know what to say." Shining said with a flushed expression.

"Just don't say anything to the press, your family or your friends." She deadpanned.

"Hmmm... Okay, under one condition." Shining said with a smirk.

Pearl looked at him through the corner of her eyes "...And that would be?"

"Can we do this again? Tonight I mean." Shining asks sheepishly, hoping to get an answer.

Pearl looked at the teen with shock and awe. Not only did he finish ravaging her but asked her for a second round. Pearl started to laugh as Shining looked on with embarrassment. She stopped laughing to give Shining a sinister smirk. She then pushed Shining back on the bed, climbed on top of him and pinned him to the bed. She giggled as she slowly grinds against him whispering to him.

"Ohhhh...We're going to get along just fine, you and I."

Author's Note

Sorry about the nasty, festering boil scene. I wanted something that kinda reinforced the mood of the nightmare. But funny thing is that I wrote it on Friday the 13th. That little bit of (not)nightmare fuel aside, hope you enjoyed the chapter.

ACT 1: The Rushing Drive

The next morning, Shining Armor awoke from his bed with his mane disheveled and his facial expression riddled with fatigue. He sluggishly made his way out of the bed, trying to make his way to the door. As he moved, he realized that there was a pink hoof that held him down to a pony-shaped figure hiding underneath the covers. He tried to magically move the hoof as softly as he could, only for the hoof to clasp itself to his side once again. Shining repeated the action, only for it to fail a second time. This time, he would use his own strength to free himself, but the resistance indicated that the figure was not intending for him to let go. Soon the figure stirred to reveal a pink unicorn mare with a blue mane. She yawned as she stirred, speaking to the young stallion.

"Mmmmm-please don't leave."

Shining Armor himself yawned as he stretched his hooves into the air. With strain in his voice, he answered her. "Please let me go."

"Nnnmnnn. Not a chance."

"Please?"

"Nnnngh. Five more minutes???"

Shining looked at the mare in his bed and chuckled at her childish demeanor, reminding him of his little sister after a night of studying. "I do have to use the restroom."

Pearl groaned as she pouted in the bed, grabbing him by the waist with both of her hooves. "Hold it in. You're a guy. You can wait."

"Then you must not realize that using the restroom is a stallion's sacred morning ritual. It allows us to purge wastes from our bodies so that we may live a long and prosperous life." Shining joked.

"Then in that case, you must also know of the sacred ritual of estrus, where mares become so infatuated with the concept of sex that it literally oozes from within us. We suffer miserable cramps that causes us to twist and turn, itches that just so happen to occur behind the clitoris that only a stallion's dick can scratch, aches that become so annoying that it only makes us moan in pain as we even attempt to move and sometimes when we've been starved for so long that we begin to bleed as our-"

"Whoa there! Too much info!" Shining exclaims as he places his hooves in a T shape, indicating that he needed a break from the harsh reality of the mare anatomy and physiology.

"And if you think that's bad, then wait until you hear this. Sometimes when a mare has no stallion to mate with her first year, then she would go after the first male she's closest to."

Shining looked at her with fear as he began to imagine the worst-case scenario. "...Who would be-"

"Friends, acquaintances, the stallion next door, a stranger, a cousin, even her own father or brother if she was really feeling it." Pearl addressed to the nervous and worry-stricken stallion.

Shining did not want to even imagine the pain that the young Rarity would even feel or worse, the fact that his own sister could be eagerly watching him as he slept, waiting for a chance to engage in 'scientific study' as she would claim it to be. A cold shiver swept down his spine at the thought that his very own sister could one day, become a hormonally challenged filly who would begin to take advantage of every situation that they were alone together. And in Shining's case, that happened to be quite often.

"But hey, look on the bright side. At least the hormones in my daughter and your baby sister won't begin to control them at this very moment. That won't be happening for a long time." Pearl tried to reassure him as he continued to back himself into a mental corner.

Shining was lost in thought as he began to assess the problems of the estrus season and his little sister. It was assured that many fillies don't start their estrus season until the age of fourteen. But there was also the knowledge that despite that fact, there were indeed some fillies that developed their sexual maturity at a younger age. Those cases happened with fillies who managed become mentally mature and self-aware at an early age. And judging from Rarity's maturity, it would be best to assume that she would find her first season to occur the year after next, possibly even sooner. His sister would be the one to have it happen to her at the age of eleven, which in most cases is extremely young and very rare. His mind went into a mathematical gauntlet, calculating all the possible outcomes that could occur until he heard a sound in the distance.

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

Somepony was knocking on the door to their suite. Shining Armor snapped out of his self-induced anxiety episode and made himself presentable as he rushed out of the bedroom where he and Pearl slept.

"Don't take too long, dearie." Pearl said as he quickly trotted out of the room. He managed to walk past the bathroom, which he tried to desperately ignore. As he trotted out of the room and down the hall, he came into contact with Rarity's room. He stopped briefly as he checked in on her, cracking the door open to see if she was still asleep. She was snoring very lightly as she looked as if she had a pleasant dream. Shining smiled as he remembered the promise he made to her.

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

The knock became slightly louder as he closed the door to the room that gained access to the sleeping filly. He made his way to the foyer and unlock the door before magically turning the knob. As he cracked the door open, he discovered that it was room service offering a good morning to the young colt, and furthermore found that he knew the pony in the black and gold uniform.

"Azure Sword?" Shining asked as he looked at his friend in total disbelief.

"Shining Armor!? NO WAY! How are ya?" A young colt with a grey coat with a silver mane asked with excitement.

"I'm doing okay. But if I may ask, what are you doing here?"

"Well, I'm kinda caught in a rut. See, being that I was fooling around so much last year, I ended up failing one of my classes and barely passing the others. And lets just say that my parents were not too happy about it."

"Well that's what happens when you skip math class in order to seduces mares in gym."

"But it was worth it."

Shining looked on in absolute amazement of the statement his friend provided. "You weren't even enrolled in that class!"

"And? It was worth it, despite the inevitable consequences."

"The gym class was at another school!"

"Despite the inevitable consequences."

"The school was all the way across town!"

"Despite the inevitable consequen-"

"They caught you and and Fleur De Lis having sex in the locker room while you were wearing OUR school uniform, IN THE MIDDLE OF FUCKING GYM!" Shining shouted as the pent up frustration continued to fountain in the direction of his friend.

"Ahhh... Good times. Gooooood times." Azure sighed as he stared into the air.

Shining was fuming at the stupidity of his friend. "And you had the balls enough to tell the dean of her school that it was a 'fetish of hers'."

"Did I ever tell you about that one time I met this one pink mare who had BOTH a horn and a pair of wings?"

"..." Shining mouth was left ajar, producing no sound as his friend continued his previous statement.

"We never got past second base though. *tsk* Tragic." Azure looked down to the ground with a sigh, upset that he never managed an opportunity to mount said mare.

"...Aaand now I see why you had to repeat magic kindergarden." Shining sighed as he facehoofed.

"Hey, those classes were boring though. Anyways, my parents cut off all financial aid and left me to fend for myself. So now I'm stuck trying to pay my tuition for the year, aaaaand this is the only job that I could find that made me an offer that they'd take care of my tuition in exchange for no-paid overtime."

"Yikes!" Shining cringed as he imagined the long nights that his friend has to go through on a daily basis, "So despite all the hell you catch, those days that you spent rutting all the upper-crust girls made up for all of it, right?

"More than, my friend. More than." Azure admitted as he wore a distant smile on his face.

"... Ugh... My head hurts." Shining mumbled as he held both hooves to the side of his head, rubbing until the pain would begin to disappear.

"In speaking of head... What are you doing here? If I'm not mistaken, this is an upper-crust hotel." Azure asked as he zoomed in on Shining's position, wearing a suspicious frown on his face.

"Well..."

"AHA! So an upper-crust chick asked you to spend some 'special' time with her, is that it?" Azure smiled as he teased Shining, prodding a hoof to his side "The mice will play if the kitty's away, eh? Eh?"

"Eagh, N-n-no! It's not like that! Nope, not at all!" Shining stuttered as he chucked nervously. He feared that his friend may have seen through his ruse as Azure smiled expanded from ear to ear.

"ATTA BOY, SHINING ARMOR! Ya finally became a stallion! So, how was it? What does she look like and how rich is she?" Azure continued to interrogate the blushing teen as he proceeded to push the trays of food into the room. Shining did not like the fact that he had to lie to keep things at a low volume.

"No, not really rich. Actually, she's uhhh... aaaan... an old family friend! Yes, and she didn't want sex, she just wanted protection. Like you know... a... guard?" Shining made up as he helped his friend with the trays. Azure's facial expression let Shining know immediately that he didn't buy it. Azure moved in close as he wrapped his hoof behind Shining and brought his head within whispering distance.

"Now there. Everypony knows that you can't lie to save your hide. You would tattle on yourself if you stole somepony's lunch money. Now, tell me everything. There's no need to lie. Now if there's a confidentiality agreement, then just keep the name anonymous. Now, details!"

"Well... I-uh-"

"Shining dearie, is there something the matter? You haven't came back to be-"

Pearl who was walking from the bedroom, walked into the foyer looking for her bed mate. She did managed to find him, however she also found a servant who was bending to Shining, appearing to be asking him for private information. Both of the teens looked to her in dead silence as the colt in uniform's mouth was held agape in disbelief of who was standing in front of him. Shining's mouth was wide open as well, but for a different reason. He was the first to speak.

"...I can explain, milady."

Pearl stood there in abject betrayal as she found the colt whom she'd spent the night with in the company of the help, apparently dishing out details of the events before the dawn. She only straightened her posture as he beamed her sights to the nude colt in the servant's hoof.

"Proceed."

"...And that's how I know him personally." Shining finished.

Pearl and the two stallions were tending to the food in the suite. Shining continued to sweat nervously as Pearl looked to him with an angry disposition. She sighed and turned her attention to their guest in uniform, observing every inch of his figure, trying to asses on what method she should use to keep the colt silent on her current affair. She proceeded to speak with Azure, who's eyes shifted between the nervous Shining Armor and the angry mare that sat before him.

"So... You're enrolled with Shining Armor?"

"Yes ma'am."

"And you work here to pay your tuition for school?"

"Uh-Yes ma'am."

"JACKPOT!" She thinks to herself, finding the perfect means of keeping him quiet. "Oh, I see... Well then in that case, I will have you know that Shining Armor was my escort for last night. He was placed under security as my daughter and I came back from the game that my husband played." Shining breathed a sigh of relief. He thought that Pearl would confirm that his story is somewhat true from that statement. But Pearl decided that she should dig deeper into the matter. "Now, what all did Shining tell you?"

"Well, he did say that you were a family friend and that you were seeking some company. I asked him what kind, and he said that the matter was strictly platonic." Azure confirmed as Shining continued to breathe sighs of relief.

"Oh. Well yes I am a family friend of sorts, I am also a client of his but I never did ask him to come with me, he was assigned to me."

"Oh, well I guess that isn't so bad. I guess he got a little excited and gave me some details that were slightly altered." Azure stated in the defense of his friend as Shining was drinking a cup of tea.

"Let's see, what else am I forgetting? Hmmm..." She mumbled to herself as she tapped her hoof to her chin, looking to the ceiling in hopes that the idea would fall from above. "AH! I also managed to hold him against the bed as I rode him without his initial consent that led to three rounds of hot, pornographic, lusty and sweaty fucking in which my eyes rolled into the other room. How's that for details?"

Shining's eyes bucked from beneath his lids and his gag reflex triggered him to release the contents of his mouth, causing the tea to land on the floor in the distance. Coughing ensued as he looked to Pearl in absolute shock and horror, screaming internally as the previous endeavors that the two engaged upon last night was brought to light. Endeavors that he vowed to never speak of or even mention to his friends, were suddenly being disclosed by the mare whom he had performed them with. Azure slammed his hooves into the table as his jaw followed suit. His eyes rapidly shifted between Pearl and his friend. He couldn't believe what he just heard. Azure looked to Pearl before speaking. "Um... I... beg your pardon, ma'am?"

"And my goodness, he just wouldn't ease up. I can tell that he was quite deprived of exploring his hormones. He even mounted me desperately when we were in the pool out back before he ran to the room, leaving me unsatisfied. Which is why I held him down against the bed as I proceeded to return the favor. But he wasn't having it. He wanted to thrust me into the air as I kept pleading with him to stop, which in my case turned into pleads of don't stop." Pearl added as she took excitement in seeing her young cadet squirm in his seat, releasing the details of his debauchery.

"Wow! He must have really wanted it, didn't he!?" Azure asked as he laughed loudly, pointing at Shining Armor as he tried to hold himself together.

"Oh dear me, yes. He even threw me on the bed shortly after. And the things he did as I laid there defenseless and vulnerable... Are you sure he hasn't done this with other mares before me?"

"What other mares!? This guy is so straight-laced and vanilla that he'd rather stay single until he found the girl he wanted to marry! He even told me that he'd wait until it was his honeymoon. How did ya managed to break him into humping you silly?" Azure asked as he continued to laugh boisterously. Shining grew red from the neck up as the more intimate details flowed from Pearl's mouth.

"I managed to have him indulge in a little bit of wine. Soon he took on as many as two whole bottles by his lonesome."

"Heh, lightweight."

"I know!"

"Hey guys, I'm right here you know." Shining interjected as his face, neck and soon the top portion of his body ran a pinkish-crimson. He hid behind one of the lids that once covered the large platters of food. Pearl and Azure paid him little to no mind as they continued to laugh and joke to each other, at Shining Armor's expense.

"Oh my. *phew* I haven't had a laugh like that in ages." Pearl admits as she brings a hoof to wipe a small tear from beneath her eye while trying to regain her breath. "But I'm afraid that I cannot allow you to leave this room without knowing that you'll remain silent." Pearl's demeanor changes from that of a jubilant one to one of seriousness. "You will speak of this to no one."

"Not a problem ma'am. No one knows Shine like I do." Azure says while giving his friend a nudge as an embarrassed Shining Armor mumbles out to him.

"Not. A word." Shining spat out those words as if they were a searing venom set to temperatures of molten lava.

"Geez, you give me little credit Shine. I don't know whether I should be offended or sad." Says Azure in a sarcastic tone before laughing again.

"Then maybe I should give you an incentive to keep quiet then." Pearl states as she slowly walks to the teen filled with joy. "In that case, I will pay your tuition. Half now as a means to see if you can keep your word and the other half later as I see that you've done good on your end of the bargain. Deal?"

Azure's laughing comes to a screeching halt as he realizes what deal has been offered to him. "...You're serious?"

"Dead serious dearie. I'm a Belle and Belles make good on our promises." With those words, Azure felt as if a large burden has been lifted from his shoulders. He jumps into the air with glee as Pearl interrupts his celebration. "Now just a minute..." He stops to listen for a moment, coming from his emotional high before Pearl continued. "...You will continue to work here so that you may have some funding for whatever little things you wish to indulge yourself with. And also you will go into the room and feed my daughter as you awaken her from her slumber. Is that clear?"

Azure straightened his posture as he proudly responded to her request. "Yes ma'am!" He quickly grabs one of the smaller platters as he proceeds to quickly trot down the hallway to the rear room before Pearl interjects, instructing him that the door was to his immediate left. He grunted as he acknowledges her statement by walking into the room that she spoke of. Shining release the lid that he used to hide himself from view, looking to Pearl with a smile.

"Milady, are you seriously going to pay his tuition?" He inquires with happiness and a bit of concern.

"Yes I do. But it's only to keep him quiet. And in speaking of quiet..." Pearl pointed to the direction of the pool. "I do believe we should be quiet as continued from where we left off last night."

Shining looked at her with surprise. "But... I thought that we shouldn't be doing these kinds of things while the sun is out."

"My dear, we have all the way up until tonight. And also I'm feeling rather frisky, with me re-telling the events from last night and whatnot. And lets face it, your little friend is saying good morning."

Shining looks down to find that he managed to free himself from his sheath. "Uh-oh... I guess I kinda need to sit in the pool for a while." Pearl grins as she magically pushes him to the direction of the pool.

"And I will join you." Pearl adds.

Later that evening, Pearl, Shining Armor and Rarity begin to make their way to the Canterlot Train station. The train station is not as busy as it would be during the weekends, but it was just as busy as Ponyville's Regional Station. Ponies filled the halls and walkways that lead up and down the stairs. Many of the individuals who were leaving were the bitter Baltimare Raven fans who lost Sunday's game. Others were either assigned to business trips, being sent on deployment, or were headed to various locations for unknown reasons. Platforms that led to the larger cities like Manehattan, Baltimare, Las Pegasus and Maretropolis were the busiest. Some smaller towns such as Appaloosa, Dodge Junction and Trottingham still received a large group of commuters. Smaller towns or towns that required special access like Hoofington and Cloudsdale received smaller traffic due to their locations. And then there were towns like Wildwood, Andalu Valley, Spargos and Ponyville that received little to no commute due to their lack of tracks or just because the tourism is not as popular as the other cities.

Ponyville isn't a hard to find location due to common knowledge that Canterlot sat atop a mountain that looked over the plains and hills where the small town lies. But the tourism was practically zero, thanks to the locals who didn't take too kindly to ponies who wore business suits in the middle of the day. The only exception to that rule was that you've had to live there in order for you to be respected. Ponyville is a close-knit society that often takes care of it's own, which definitely chased many of the reporters who wanted an inside scoop on the big names who were there. And with that knowledge, Shining Armor knew why Magnus chose for his family to remain there, because the paparazzi wouldn't dare set hoof in a place where they'd be more likely chased out of town by what they would call 'angry farmers with torches and pitchforks'. And he respected that fact. Before Shining could think any further on the matter, he looked down as he felt a small hoof prodding his side.

"Mister Shiny, would you like to come to Ponyville with us?"

Shining looked down to the filly and smiled sadly as he knew that he would not leave with them. "No, not today. Maybe sometime later."

Rarity looked dismayed by his statement and offered her arguments. "Aww, come on. It will be fun."

Shining kneels down to Rarity's level as she looks up to him. "But I thought you said it was boring."

"Then we'll just have to make the best of it." She insists.

"But I have to stay here. I have to go to school." Rebuts the teen stallion.

"You could always transfer." Rarity states bluntly, to which Shining is surprised by her rash argument.

"It's not that easy. I'd need to find a place to stay."

"You can stay with us."

"But what about my family, my little sister-"

"I'll be your little sister."

"Rarity Andalusia Belle, you stop right there!" Her mother interjects as she saw that her daughter's arguments have gone too far.

"But mom, you like him and daddy likes him. He could be our-"

"No dearie, it's not that easy." Pearl whispers to her daughter, as Rarity anger starts to boil over.

"...Then I'm staying here, with daddy and Mister Shining!"

"Rarity-"

"NO! I wanted a brother for so long and now that I have one, you want to take him from me. It's not fair, I tell you."

"He is not your brother, he is somepony else's. Would you want to take him away from his family?" Pearl asked sternly.

"If it meant that we could talk to each other everyday..." Rarity looks to Shining Armor with tears streaming down her cheeks as Shining blushes at the thought of the filly wanting to spend more time with him.

Pearl looked at her daughter, who began to cry. She tried to think of an alternative to which her daughter could talk to Shining Armor without being there physically. She knew that letters would take too long to write compared to saying things in person and even longer to get a response from the pony to which it was addressed. But she also kept in mind that Rarity would not like the fact that she would only get to talk to Shining Armor every two weeks or so. So her options became limited until she considered sky-mail. Sky-mail is a means of delivering your mail and receiving it as quick as a full eight hours. It may not have been the fastest way compared to talking face-to-face, but it was still better than nothing.

"Rarity dear, how would you like to send Mister Shiny here some letters? Not only will you write him, but he will be able to write to you back." Pearl extended her hoof to retrieve the saddened Rarity. Before Rarity can say anything, Shining cosigns with Pearl's suggestion.

"That's actually not a bad idea. Not only will we be able to keep in contact, but I'll tell you a little about myself. And I would be glad to keep in contact with you."

Rarity looks at the large figure that stood in front of her, drying the tears from her eyes. She sniffles as a faint smile is brought upon her face. "Does that mean that I could still tell you about myself?"

"Well... Yeah, as long as you're comfortable with it." Shining confirms as he returns the smile Rarity has given to him. Suddenly, he is caught by surprise by a major weight shift. He opens his eyes to look to where Rarity went to, seeing that she threw herself at his side. Rarity dug into the young stallion as his weight shifts to accommodate for a softer impact on her behalf. Shining in response wrapped a hoof around her, whispering to her that he would still make well on the promise that he made to her the previous night.

"Write to me every day, please?" Rarity cried out as she was muffled underneath the massive frame. "I want to hear from you, and I wanna make you clothes, and I want you to tell me about your day, and I want you to write to me some bedtime stories." Shining smiles as the filly's trail of 'ands' continue as Pearl looks to him with a soft and sweet smile, appreciating that he was a kind-hearted and gentle stallion. Something warm begin to well up inside of her as she sees her daughter still clenching to the teen. She whispers to herself.

"My dear Rarity, if he is what makes you happy, then I will see what we can do to move here with your father and him. This is what you wanted, so I will do my best to give that to you."

*TOOOOOOOOOT*

The train to Ponyville pulls in from the distance to make it's way onto the platform, sending a cool breeze to rush by the three ponies that stood by. The train comes to a screeching halt as Pearl walks to her daughter to pick her up. Rarity hesitates as Pearl approaches from behind, refusing to let go of her newly acquired knight. Pearl slows her advance as she kneels down to Rarity to speak. "Our train's here. Now come along and say goodbye to Mister Shiny."

"No, he's not Mister Shiny. He's my prince!" She openly declares as Shining jumps in surprise.

"Wait-what?" Shining asks as he looks at the filly in confusion. Rarity runs to her mother's side and turns around to clarify her statement.

"You told me that there was a prince who saved the last princess from being eaten by the dragon. He also vanquished the dragon. You came to my bedside after I had that terrible nightmare and you told me that you would be my knight in shining armor. You slayed the dragon that haunted my dreams and stood by me as I slept. You were the prince in my dreams... and so I hereby call you my prince, Sir Prince Shining Armor." Shining stood speechless as Rarity continued to smile at him.

Pearl smiles at him also as Rarity gallops to his side. She stops in front of him and blushes as she plays with her hooves. Shining kneels down once again to give her a goodbye hug but the tables turn as Rarity grabs him by the muzzle and lowers him to give him a peck on the forehead. Shining became paralyzed as she removed her lips from his brow, her smile shining brightly as she retreated. Pearl gasps as her daughter performs the bold maneuver in front of her. Pearl drops a piece of paper with something scribbled on it as she watches her daughter gallops to her side once again to pick up the paper and levitates the small sheet to Shining Armor. Pearl scoops up her daughter and holds her on her back as Shining is left speechless with all that has recently occurred. A voice grabs at his attention.

"Shining my boy, how was the assignment?"

He looks up to find that there was a blue stallion clad in purple and gold armor speaking to him. He immediately recognized the figure to be his father, who managed to relieve himself of his shift. Shining was called by another set of voices shortly after.

"ALL ABOARD, TO PONYVILLE REGIONAL STATION!" The conductor shouts, signifying that the train was to soon depart.

"Farewell! Do remember to write dearie!" Pearl shouts as she waves a handkerchief outside of the window.

"Goodbye! See you later, Sir Prince!" Rarity screams out before the train whistle blows, drowning out their farewell cheers.

The train chugs off to the orange and purple distance, leaving large white pillars of smoke as it moved along. As the train continues it's journey to it's next destination, an armor clad Orion walks to his son and ask what was on the sheet of paper. Shining informs his father that it was a postal address to which he could send mail to Rarity, who's desire was that they would keep in touch. Shining's father giggled shortly after he confirmed what the reason was.

"What's so funny?" Shining inquires.

"She has a crush on you. It's cute actually." Orion answers to his son.

"What!? No way. She and I are just friends." Shining states, not wanting to imagine a ten-year-old filly chasing him down for his attention and affection.

"Friends you say? That's how they start. But we'll get to that later, how was the assignment? I do believe that you have quite a story for an old fellow." Orion and Shining makes their way from the train station platform, opting to make their way home.

"Well..."

Shining Armor and Orion made it in from the train station to the foyer of their home. It was nothing overly extravagant but compared to many other homes in Canterlot, it was well furnished and exquisitely decorated on the inside. Many trophies and plaques adorned the walls across the front room, signifying the collective accomplishments of the family. Shining had always thought that subtlety was not one of his parent's strong suits, but that he never held that against him because he himself had plaques that were hanging from the walls of the front room.

"Mom, I'm home!"

"Shining, is that you?" A female voice calls out from the kitchen. "Come on in here, dinner's ready!" Shining quickly walked to the room when suddenly a small voice calls out to him.

"Where have you been!? Me and Smarty Pants have been waiting for you all day!"

Shining looked down below and found a purple filly with a dark blue mane that was decorated with a pink highlight, who was holding a grey doll with black dreads. The filly tapped her hoof to the ground repeatedly as she demanded an answer from her older brother, who looked down at her giggling. She continued to pout until he magically scooped her up and teased her.

"Tell me what to do? Okay. Then I guess you don't mind if I let you pay a visit from... the tickle monster!" Shining taunted as his little sister kick and screamed as her older brother commenced his assault on her hooves and sides. She twisted and turned, trying to avoid the onslaught to no avail. She crackled as her brother smiled and blew raspberries on her belly, causing her to giggle in glee. He continued his advances until his mother called him off.

"Shining Armor and Twilight Sparkle, your food is getting cold!"

"Coming!" The two shouted as they both raced each other to the table. Twilight continued to giggle as her brother ran to the table and lit up his horn to push the Smarty Pants doll off her back, causing her to run back and retrieve her fallen comrade. As she picked up her doll, she looked ahead to find that Shining was seated before her. Twilight grew frustrated.

"No fair! That was cheating!"

"Is not." He argued.

The food came to the table as a mare with a light-grey coat with a purple and silver mane walked as she levitated the plates of steaming vegetables to the table. She walked to her son and began to tease him as he teased his younger sister, hoping to avenge her daughter's honor.

"Well if it isn't my sweet little baby. Momma missed you soooo much. How was your day?"

"Well, I had a lot of fu-" He's interrupted as his mother hugs him from behind.

"Did that mean-old-lady keep you busy all evening? I know you must be so tired after all that hard work." She teases him as he tries to break the hug.

"Actually mom, it was just fi-" Once again, his mother, Velvet, cuts him off.

"You didn't run into any mares, now did you?" She asks, the tone of her voice changes from sweet to menacing.

"Mom, c'mon..."

"Dearest, you know what they say about this time of year and what they say about cuffing season." She informs him as she breaks the hug.

"Mom-"

"You can never be too careful, especially when the estrus season starts up and-" This time Velvet is cut off by her son.

"MOM!" Shining yells as his embarrassment shows across his face.

"Oopsie. Sorry love, but I had to get you back for that little stunt you pulled on your sister on the way in." She clarifies as she winks to her daughter with a smile.

Shining looked to Twilight, who was giggling at his misfortune. She turned to him and stuck out her tongue at him in a victorious manner. Shining looked back to his mother as she walked to the kitchen once again.

"...But you didn't meet any girls, right?"

"No ma'am." Shining admitted.

"Good. The last thing you need is a mare who will seek to tie you down before you are even ready to be settled into any type of relationship."

"Mom..." Shining groans as he reaches for his food.

"No, I'm serious. Mare-hunting would be a bad idea in this time and age, especially after the war that your uncle served in. Now the mare-to-stallion ratio has worsened from five-to-one to eight-to-one. And you know that no son of mine will be herding a group of whorish mares everywhere he goes as if it was a parade of some sort."

"I promised that I'd only seek a monogamous relationship." Shining deadpanned as his mother came back from the kitchen to sit at the table.

"Very good. The last thing your sister needs to be brought up around is a brother who is swarmed by mares with every waking second." She states as the clanking sounds of silverware-against-porcelain fill the room.

"I can be big brother's marefriend." Twilight offers.

"Sorry Twily. I can't do that." Shining informs his sister.

"I don't see the reason why not." Velvet interjects.

"Mom, I don't see how that would work." Shining argues.

"Of course it can." Orion interrupts as he sits himself at the head of the table. "Now and days, fillies see their fathers and brothers and say to them that they'd marry a colt that was either just like them or close enough to be like them."

"Dad-"

"And fillies who are brought up around harems and herds are most likely to repeat the nature of the environment to which they were raised in. Science shows these statistics to be true and in staggering numbers, might I add." Velvet added to Orion's argument.

"Mom, please." Shining pleads, begging for them to stop with their ridiculous idea of him being a false love-interest for his little sister.

"I'm not saying you would have to marry your sister, but I am saying that you should be a mock colt-of-interest, that way your sister would take into consideration of who she would choose in the distant future to be her husband." Orion suggests.

"Aww. But I wanna marry Shining, NOW!" Twilight whines.

"Augh, not you too." Shining groans. "And besides, you don't even know what a coltfriend is for."

"A coltfriend is for the purpose of engaging in extracurricular activities to which can possibly lead to physical contact of the hooves, legs, lips and other parts of the body that I won't list because they sound really funny. These contacts can ultimately lead to physical exchanges that lead to modern-day mating practices that can result into strengthening the emotional bonds between two individuals. The bonds eventually become so strong, that the two will be betrothed in mind, body and spirit. Eventually the said individuals, whether pony or other species, will become emotionally invested into each other. The parties involved will then seek to expand their heritage by attempting to consummating their relationship and/or marriage and will proceed to have children/offspring of their own to raise in units that is commonly known as families." Twilight states with her eyes closed. She's a smart little fiend, isn't she?

Everyone stares at her in sheer amazement of the fact that a nine-year-old filly just explained the basics of life in a nutshell. Plates and silverware ceases all movement as every eye at the table is shifted towards her. Velvet held her drink in the air with her magic as her eyes bulged from her head as she admitted to herself that her daughter inherited her intelligence. Orion replaced the fork that was to enter into his mouth back onto the plate as he tried to convince himself that he hid all the biology books from within her reach. Shining's mouth was held agape as he tried to process what his little sister stated and how much she stated that was practically a lesson from his pony biology book. Twilight looks at all the attention she's getting as she continues to eat her food. She is the first to break the silence.

"...mmmph (what)?"

ACT 1: Reviewing The Play

Two hours after dinner, an exhausted Shining Armor made his way to the bathroom to take his shower. He wore a black bath robe with his cutie mark engraved on the front right-hoof side while levitating a bath towel that had his name stitched in silver on the very bottom. Shining took a breath, feeling relieved that the stress from the conversation they had at dinner began to fade into the back of his mind. With each step, every claim that his mother and father made in order to have him become a faux coltfriend to his little sister started to fade with time. His little sister was of no help due to the fact that she was egging them on with made-up facts of how her marrying her older brother could ultimately lead to a more harmonious relationship. And things only became even worse as his father revealed that he would be writing letters to a ten-year-old filly in Ponyville.

Shining's mom was livid as she stared at him with the intensity of a category-five hurricane. Twilight was no better as she proceeded to beat him up with the Smarty Pants doll, screaming on how she thought that he was the only mare for him. His father continued to sit and watch the comical scenery unfold as if he was merely in a lawn chair with a drink in hoof, watching the world as it incinerated around him until nothing remained but that of a searing pile of red-hot ashes and forgotten dreams with a smile on his face and a giggle caught in his throat. Shining's mother harshly scolded him for his stupidity, telling him that he should not be writing to those that he didn't know too well. She also made a side comment on how mares are being taught early on how to cuff-a-colt before the estrus season occurred, to which he dismissed with a quick breath. His sister just merely kept calling him a 'big, mean-old, two-faced, dummy stupid head' as the hits continued to pile up.

Soon after that, Shining made his way from the kitchen to his bedroom to finish up some of his studies. In mere minutes, he finished his final assignment of the weekend as he packed up his books and notes for school tomorrow. As he was packing, he would occasionally find that Twilight was standing in the doorway, looking at him as he packed. As soon as he approached the doorway to confront her, she would throw the doll at his head, hitting him squarely in the face while calling him a 'big-old dummy face'. Shining dismissed his sister's antics as he continued to arrange his books accordingly for the classes he had in the morning and afternoon. An hour later, he finished packing and cleaned his room until the dust itself had sparkled clean. Walking into his closet, he opened up the door to grab his towel and his bathrobe, placed the bathrobe upon his muscular figure and proceeded to walk to the bathroom.

As he reached the bathroom doorway, he magically turned the knob to the door and entered the bathroom. As the door quickly opened, he found a small-framed figure in the steam, holding a bar of soap and a rubber duckie. As the steam cleared, the figure was revealed to be his younger sister. Shining blushed as soon as he identified the dark blue and pink mane. Twilight merely looked at him briefly before she wore an expression of fear and embarrassment. She screamed at her intrusive brother and Shining ran out of the bathroom in response, but not before she threw the bar of soap at his head and insulting him.

"AAHHHHH! You pervert! Get out!" "

"Ouch! Was it really necessary to throw a bar of soap at my head?" Shining asks as he massaged the red mark left by the impact of the ballistic toiletry.

"GetoutGetoutGetoutGetoutGetoutGETOUT!!!!!!!" Twilight screams as she finds more items to throw at her older brother, including the Smarty Pants doll.

"Dear Luna, What did I do to deserve this?" Shining asks himself as he retreats to the safety of his bedroom, his sister following him and throwing items at him as they ran.

Twilight stopped in the middle of the hallway, watching her brother run. She turned around to make her way to the bathroom, mumbling to herself as she walked. Shining made his way to his bedroom to find that the door was open. He looked at the door, trying to clarify whether or not he left the door open as he exited. He assumed that he left his door closed before he made his way to the bathroom, but there was a voice that called him into the room.

"Shining Armor, come in here."

Shining looked inside of his room, scanning the area until he saw that his mother was sitting on the bed. She was obviously angry but she did not wear any expression on her face as she looked to her son. Shining acknowledges his mother's order and obeys as he slowly walks into the room.

"Close the door." She commanded as she pointed to the door. Shining obeyed, fearing that his mother may have found out the truth of the events that unfolded during the past weekend. He stood before his mother as his heart began to beat faster. Violet merely scooted to the far end of the bed, patting an open space right beside her as she signaled for him to take a seat. Shining gulped as he took heed to his mother's signals, sitting on the mattress beside her. The sound of the bed creaking under the weight shift was all that was heard until the two became still. Silence ensued as a faint ticking can be heard coming from the wall. Seconds chipped away as the silence became suspenseful. Shining began to fidget with his hooves until his mother finally spoke.

"Do you know why I came in here?" Shining remained silent as she continued from her previous question. "I felt as if you needed to be reminded of the circumstances that you've managed to get yourself into... What I am talking about is this filly that you're writing to." Shining's eyes grew with anxiety as his mother carried on. "Your father told me about her kissing you on the forehead as she was leaving. Now I know that you are a growing boy, and boys such as yourself do have urges."

"Mom, it's not like tha-"

"Let me finish. Now, I hear what you're saying. And I comprehend that you have no desires to engage in a relationship with this filly. But my question to you is this: If you started writing to her now and this continued for some time then what do you think she would feel in the not-so-distant future?"

Shining remained silent, knowing what that the answer was.

"That's right. She would become interested in you. Now let's say that her first estrus season starts, say... sometime next week? Yeah, let's go with that. Now let's just say that she's practically asking you for a visit, that turns out to be 'more-than-a-visit'. That 'visit' now becomes 'let-us-play-a-game'. Then that becomes 'let's-play-doctor'. Then THAT becomes a game in itself called 'mommy-and-daddy-doesn't-have-to-know'."

Shining Armor played out the visual scenario that his mother provided in his head, filling in the blanks as he went along.

"And that's not a very good image for you. That image will not only reflect upon you but also your father and I. Ponies will shun you based sorely on that image that they may not understand. To us, you would play the role of the victim because of the circumstances. But to others, you will be seen as a perverted criminal who takes advantage of young girls. And in this society, the society we live in, they would heed not to the fact that it was a consensual act but rather the fact that a grown stallion engaged in lewd and explicit behavior with one whom has not the power to give consent. Do you understand what I am saying?"

Shining nods in agreement, keeping his silence.

"Now I'm not saying don't write the letter, but I'm trying to say that you need to be careful on your approach. Fillies do have feelings and they haven't truly discovered the boundaries of how far those feelings can go with certain ponies. Take your sister for example, she said that she wanted to marry you but in the future she will not say those same words. And in the future, she may or may not try to cross those boundaries. But you have it instilled in the both of you that she is your little sister and that you would never hurt her. This filly is a similar yet different case because her attachment will be solely based on hormones and hormones alone."

"Mom, she isn't like that." He interjected, defending Rarity.

"And how would you know? You barely even know her." She rebutted, keeping a soft tone in her voice. Shining became silent, knowing that she had a sound argument. "Listen, I may be wrong, but I'm going off of what I know from first-hoof experience. So again, please be careful."

Violet hugged her son close to her as rocked and caressed him as if he was still a child. Shining understood where his mother was coming from. Despite the fact that she can be a bit protective over him, she only wanted what was best for him in the future. He returned his mothers hug as she rubbed his head lovingly, stroking his mane as she whispered that he was something so precious to her. Twilight, who eavesdropped on the two in the hallway, knocked on the door to inform to Shining that the bathroom was free.

Meanwhile in Ponyville, Pearl and Rarity were in the young filly's bedroom. Rarity rambled on about all the things that she and her prince accomplished today. Pearl listened to her with a smile as she personally thought about how gentle and passionate he was. She even blushed when she thought back to the times that her 'prince' shared in the bedroom. Becoming sidetracked, Pearl quickly shook her head and tried to evacuate the pervasive thoughts from her mind as her daughter continued her praises. But Pearl looked at the clock and knew that Rarity had to go to school in the morning. She alerted the ranting filly, letting her know that it was past her bedtime.

"Sweetie, I do believe it is time for you to get to bed."

"Aww, five more minutes??? Please?" Rarity pleaded as she held her hooves together.

"I'm sorry dearie, but you do have school in the morning and we can't let you be tired in class, ok?"

The filly groaned and placed herself beneath the covers, as her mother tucked her in. Pearl wished her daughter pleasant dreams as exhaustion took her into the world of dreams. Kissing her forehead, she looked to her daughter who quickly started snoring lightly. Rarity wore a smile on her face as she imagined that her prince would one day come to her again. Pearl walks from the bedside to the door, closing it softly as she left. As the door to Rarity's room closed, the front door of the home opened downstairs. Pearl quickly made her way to the front room, finding a stallion of a large build, walking into the room.

"Hey sweetkins, I'm home." Magnus calls out embracing his wife for the first time in many days.

"Welcome back. How was it dearie?" Pearl asked, kissing him fully on his lips.

"Well, I managed to break the record for most rushing yards in a game, our team managed to clinch a playoff berth, a few offers from some major companies, I've got a charity drive that I have to be at come tomorrow afternoon-"

"Tomorrow afternoon? But I thought that you said that tomorrow would be your day for us." Pearl interjected as she held worry in her voice.

"If you would have let me finished, I was going to tell you that I cancelled that in order to clear my day. My agent was really furious about that." Magnum added as he held Pearl close to him.

"And you told your agent-"

"To go fuck himself. I haven't had time with you two for a while and I think that it would be best if I started to balance out my life a little." He said as he kissed Pearl on the neck, teasing her and tickling her with his beard.

"Oh dear me, if there is anything that can never be imitated is the fact that you know how to make me melt the instant you touch me." Pearl gasps as she cuffs her hoof around his neck as he teased her from behind.

"Where's Rarity babe?"

"I just tucked her in maybe about ten minutes ago."

"Good, then maybe I can go on ahead and repay you for lost time."

Pearl pulls his head to hers and drives her lips into his. His hoof wanders to her teats beneath as their breathing increases in pace. "Ooooh, what do you have in mind baby?" She purrs as he continued his advances.

"You see that table over there?" He asks, pointing his free hoof to a table in the dining room.

"Haa-aah, yesss." She pants as the room begins to heat up. Her body temperature feels as if it is about to skyrocket to fevered heights.

"Mmmmph, I want you on it!" He roars as he picks her up and slams her to the dining room table, forgetting that Rarity is still sleeping. Pearl gasps, lost in a lustful state before she scorns him for his recklessness.

"If Rarity wakes up, then you won't be able to repay me until later."

"I'll keep that in mind. But the only talk I wanna hear is from your lips, now spread those legs." He answers as he pushes his muzzle into her winking bud.

Pearl moans softly as she writhes in agonizing bliss, trying to keep her mind from shattering from the volcanic surges of carnal pleasure. She loses the battle as Magnum licks her clit, sucking on it as he flicked his tongue across her swollen flower. He backs off as he feels her inner walls close around his tongue, removing himself all together. Pearl grunt's in protest as he giggles at her misfortune, licking his lips slowly as a means of teasing her of what she longed to have, of what could have easily finished her. Her blissful high denied, she turned to the one thing that she knew that would finish her off. But before she could activate her magic, he placed a hoof on her horn and magically bound her against the tabletop.

"Arrgh! You're so evil!" She spits at him with a mix of pleasure and disgust from her orgasm denial.

"Sorry, but you gotta move the chains before you can reach the goal line." He chuckled as he watched her squirm in her position, her hind legs splayed open into the air as she tried to grind against a force that was now absent from her leaking slit.

"I was in the Red-Zone, you fuckwit!" She grunted out as she felt herself come from the apex of her pleasure.

"Hey, the defensive line made a stopping play. Now you really gotta work for it. Red-Zone defense, remember?" He chided as he slapped her curvy flanks, causing a small but noticeable ripple to travel from the point of impact to the rest of her backside.

"How can I earn it?" She pleaded, wishing for the torture to end. Magnus took his hoof off of her horn to drag her body off the table and onto the floor. He landed on top of her as he grinned devilishly, his mind forming an idea.

"Remember when we were back in high school, where I used to eat you out under the bleachers during P.E.?"

"Oh how could I? You tried to make me scream while I tried to be quiet. You wanted us to get caught and we almost did that one time."

"Remember our little wager?"

"If I could be quiet the entire time, then you promised that you'd hike up my skirt and mount me under the bleachers during halftime at the football games."

"I let you win the first time, but name how many times you won after that."

"...Fuck you."

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

"...Well played."

"I'm all about the plays babe. On and off the field. In speaking of fields..." Magnum lowers his face to the region of her body that created a pungent aroma. Her lips winked as a white fluid leaked from within. "This field looks as if it needs a little bit of maintenance."

"Oh, so you do landscaping now?"

"Heh heh, I know a good field when I see one. I got the tools to clean up." He teased as he licked his lips before he blew a cool breeze against her soaking wet, heated mound.

"Enough wordplay landscaper. Now clean me up."

"Satisfaction guaranteed or... fuck it." He lost his creative flow but now he applied his creativity to the canvas beneath his muzzle.

He worked his tongue around the outside lips of her heated entrance, prodding into her with every few rotations. Pearl arched her back as a small but powerful jolt of energy ran through her body. Her mouth was left open during the ordeal, trying to take in as much air as she could. Her teats began to harden as her hoof traveled to them. Magnus once again flared his magic to restrict the movement of her hooves. He wanted her to suffer under his conditions and not of her own. She whimpered as she cried for more pleasure as if it was her sustenance, the very essence of her life force. As she twisted and turned against the magical bonds that held her down, Magnus continued to lightly brush against her entrance, teasing her hidden mound with his hooves. Her cries were stifled as he brought a hoof to her mouth in order to keep her volume in check. Pearl, on the other hoof, had plans of her own.

Pearl desperately tries to keep her voice to a whisper, despite the fact that her husband was not making this any easier with his constant advances. She kept in her mind that she wanted to win this bet this time, for the first time in fifteen years. His tongue dug into her, sliding against the the walls within. The agony he inflicts upon her made her cringe as he lapped his slippery organ in upward. As he reached higher his jaw followed suit, reinforcing his movements as she bit into her own shoulder. Her teeth dug into her flesh, leaving marks as she attempted to stifle her cries of pleasure. Her vision blurred into a black hole as she approached the point of no return. Gaining an opening, she used her magic to keep him from withdrawing. Her aura wrapped around the back of his head, pushing him deeper into her. Her hips swayed in a circular motion as she pushed into him, giving him little air to breathe.

"I may have lost this round, but I refuse to go down and not take you with me." She screamed, reaching her breaking point. "If I can't cum, then you can't breathe."

"Fmmm phmmmmph, mmm fmph mmmph (Fair play, you got me)." He admits as his words are choked short.

Wasting no time due to his temporary asphyxiation, he rolled his tongue against her clit until she eased off of him. But her easing was merely a calm before the storm as she threw her head back into the table. A loud thud echoed in the room from the impact, however her pleasure superseded the pain and overrode the aching sensation. Her climax became so intense that her body continued to thrust without her say, releasing the juices that was long suppressed from her lost orgasm before. His muzzle was now buried deep between her haunches. Her hind legs carried on where her magic left off, wrapping themselves and hugging his head into her now squirting marehood. She unleashed a throaty grunt as she thrusted her hips uncontrollably into him. Her cries pierced the halls of the house but not before Magnus sent his magic to cover her mouth, cutting the deafening scream short. He gagged as he took on much of her liquid essence as her eyes rolled into the back of her head. Her mouth shot open as her tongue lolled from her maw.

Her body went limp as soon as her climax ended and her husband coughed lightly as he regained the privileges to his oxygen. He shook off the dizziness that afflicted him for much of the session as he retreated from his position once more. Pearl lied on the floor, jolting and twitching as she descended from her orgasm. She did nothing but whimper and pant as if she was a broken dog, her tongue hanging out of her mouth as she was suspended in a state of ahegao.

"You okay, sweetiebun?" Magnus asked panting as he wiped his mouth.

Pearl did not answer due to the fact that her body began to shut down on her. Her eyelids grew heavy at the instant her orgasm completely subsided. Her breathing shallowed out into that of a light snore. Magnus giggled to himself as he whispered to her sleeping form. "Geez, I didn't think that I was gonna kill you. But I guess that's all you can handle for tonight. Goodnight sweetie." Magnus ignited his horn and levitated the sleeping mare onto his back. Afterwards, he climbed the stairs as he trekked onward to their bedroom. He opened the door and carried the exhausted body into the bedroom. But to the opposite side of the hall, a small shadow looked on as the large stallion carried the mare through the doorway.

Rarity looked on in amazement as she continued to hide around the corner, observing the actions that took place before her very eyes. A well of curiosity opened in her mind as she looked to her parents after the loud screams filled her dreams, awakening her from her slumber. A waterfall of questions filled her mind as the door closed in the distance. She wondered what it was they were doing, what made her mother squirm like that, if her dad was hurting her, why was his head down 'there', why was her mother enjoying what looked as if she was being hurt by her father.

She slowly walked to her room as she figured out how she was going to ask her prince on what she saw that night. That night, she knew that she would have to try and make Shining explain it to her.

Author's Note

I know one of the sentences looks like a run-on but I did it on purpose for the absurdity of the scene which Orion was one who just wanted to watch the world burn. Yeah he's a bit crazy. :pinkiecrazy:

Leave a comment please if you liked this chapter.

ACT 1: The Ruling Stands

*BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII-*

An alarm chimes as a large body jumps out of it's rest, frantically trying to silence the obnoxious sound of the perpetual, high-pitched ringing that assaulted his eardrums. Shining punches his hoof in every direction, blinding himself with the comforter that he slept under. He swung at the air, only hitting nothing but the dust that flew by. In his mind he only wanted one thing, and that one thing was a mere ten more minutes of peace. His mind came to realize that his ten minute snooze was not going to happen today. In frustration, he ignited his horn and aimed in the direction of the annoying ring.

*-RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII-* *KARAKLUCK*

Silence filled the air as the noise that once filled the room was brought to a gritty end as Shining untangled the sheets that obstructed his view. As he removes the blanket from his face, he sees a crumpled heap of metal and glass on the top of the dresser that sat next to his bed. The alarm clock, that awoke Shining every morning since he got it, lied on the floor in pieces. Small gears and cogs littered the floor as well as bits of broken glass. The hour hand was bent out of shape and the bells that sat atop were crushed inwards. The small latch that ensured that the alarm was enabled, was set to deactivate the alarm. But in this case, as Shining shook his head in shame, the alarm was indeed shut down for good.

Shining Armor brought a hoof to his eyes, wiping away any traces of crust and sleep from his eyelids. He yawned as he stretched his hooves far into the air. His jaw moved on it's own, stretching his eardrums as he exhaled with a loud sigh. Finally recovering from his state of pandiculation, his limbs relaxed themselves as his vision came into focus. His eyes ran red as he looked out the window, listening to the birds chirp and sing as they celebrated the coming of the sun once more. The light that pierced through the window began to cause a strain on his visuals, causing a small amount of pain. He shielded his eyes from the rays of the sun that shone brightly in the midst of his darkened room. His only saving grace was that the blinds that covered the window were not entirely open.

"Ugh, this sucks. Why do I always have to have school on the days that I would like to spend time playing hoofball with my friends outside?" He grumbled as he proceeded to clean up the mess he made with the alarm clock. "If I wasn't afraid of the fact that my dad is the Captain of the Guard and my mom is an Equish professor at the University of Canterlot, then I wouldn't mind too much when it came to skipping classes. But since they always stay in touch with all of my teachers, I won't be doing that unless I feel like cleaning up the gymnasium with nothing but a toothbrush and a bar of soap (water sold separately, batteries not included)."

As he telekinetically swept away all traces of the crime he committed against his alarm clock, he dumps the remains into a small bucket to the side of his wall, next to his closet. Before long, the homicidal crime scene that littered his bedside became nothing more than a distant memory. He sighed as he entered his closet, opening a large wooden chest at the bottom. Inside of the chest was exact models of the alarm clock he just previously destroyed in his frustration. He levitated one of the clocks, not caring which one, to his bedside. Winding up the alarm as well as the clock itself, he set the proper time and set his alarm. A slight groan comes from Shining's lips as he mumbles to himself once more.

" *smick* Man this sucks. I go through this every Tuesday morning. Why can't they operate like a normal school would and let us start at around eight-thirty or nine? Is another hour of sleep too much to ask? But nooooooooo, I have to get to school and be in class by seven-thirty on the dot." He sighs as he replaces the clock before he continues his morning rant. "And they don't even let us have a weekend to ourselves. What the hell, I swear that they just try to make our lives a living-"

"Shining! Twilight! Breakfast is ready!" His mother calls out, cutting his rant short.

"Come on slow poke! Smarty Pants can move faster than you!" His younger sister yells out to him as she makes a dash for the stairs.

"Coming! On my way down!" He screams as he looks out the window one last time before making a mad dash for the stairs himself. As he shot out of the room in a blinding haze of white and blue, he closes the door behind him, sending small shock waves through the room. As the shock waves reached the garbage can that sat next to his closet, a small sound was produced from the garbage pail as the sound of his hoofsteps faded into the distance.

*..... tink*

"Have a nice day at school dear!"

"Okay mom!"

"And NO MARES!!!"

"Stop it mom!"

"Oh, and remember to pick up your sister from school this afternoon! She'll be waiting for you!"

"Got it!"

Shining Armor screamed back and forth to his mom as he galloped down the street. He looked away in embarrassment as his mother continued her exchange, quoting on how he was her 'sweet little snugaboo bear'. Hearing those words only made his hooves gallop faster as the neighbors who stood outside picking up their newspapers snickered and laughed at his misfortune.

"Augh, why does she insist on calling me that every morning? It's so embarrassing." He panted to himself as he made his way to school.

Thanks to his current departure time, he knew that he was going to be late if he took his normal route. So he opted for the best route that would lead him to the school the quickest, and it just so happened to be the route that his friend, Azure Sword, took in order to go to the other school across town. Calculating an estimate time of his arrival at the school's front gates, Shining saw a carriage that was head to the direction of the school. He took a mental note of the speed that the carriage was going, and jumped on the rear end as it passed. As he held on to the moving vehicle, he noticed that the school was approaching very quickly. He also notices that the driver was indeed furious at him, shouting out expletives and insults. Shining knew that he had managed to get a free ride on a paying transport, but he also knew that this kind of thing was classified as a misdemeanor. The teen colt paid no heed to the driver as his destination was only a mere block away. He knew that he was breaking the law, but he also knew that breaking a law was a lot easier than dealing with his parents who would be fuming if they had found that their son was tardy to classes. Shining gulped at the possible punishments as they filled his head. Insert guitar solo

Before long, the driver pulled a right turn, heading away from Shining's destination. The young stallion made a daring leap from the back of the moving carriage, landing on all four hooves before he turned back on track. He smiled as the school gates were in view only a mere block away. Smiling as he looked at the gates, he broke into full speed trying to beat the clock. Before long, he made it to the blackened steel gates of the school. Above the archway was a signed that read 'Canterlot School for Gifted Unicorns' adorned by two unicorns that stood on their hind legs as if thew were about to charge into each other.

Canterlot School for Gifted Unicorns was only a place-title, however the school was indeed filled with a student body of mostly unicorns. There were pegasi and earth ponies that enrolled, but they were only a vocal minority at the school. Many of those who get in as another species are either seeking a school that they can go to without the ridicule of the upper crust citizens or wanting to get the best of their education at the best affordable price. Those who enrolled as a unicorn are often interviewed and auditioned for their entrance exams. The exam was pretty basic: you show what your special talent is, you demonstrate your levitation abilities, show off any special attributes and solve a magical puzzle. But aside from the multi-million-bit budget, the insane school functions, the ruthless knight-core system and the amazing sports programs, it was your basic Canterlot high school.

Shining ran into the courtyard, which was decorated with a myriad of flowers along the walking trail, emerald-green grass and a large central fountain. The other students that stood in the courtyard appeared as a blur to him while he galloped into the main entrance. Inside was a large statue depicting the legendary Starswirl the Bearded that stood in the main hallway. The main hall was a large oval-shaped rotunda that was adorned in gold and ivory. Different colors decorated the halls as they trickled down from the gold-leafed dome. The red represented the first year students (formally known as freshmeats) and it bled into a large hallway that was set downstairs below the main hall. The green represented the second years (sophomores) and it blended into an opposing hall that faced the red one downstairs. The blue represented third years (juniors) and bled into a hallway that was a floor above the main hall. The purple represented the final years (seniors) and their hall was the opposite side of the thirds. There was a trail of silver and black that intertwined into a hallway that stood in front of Shining Armor. That hall was known as the athletics hall. The orange trail bled into a central hallway below the athletics, it led directly into the cafeteria. The gold that remained untouched only accented the center white hall above the athletics, and that was the administration hall. The four stairwells themselves circled around the rotunda, curving outwards and into the platforms above and below. Shining looked at the clock above the athletics hall and noticed that he made it in with plenty of time to spare. With a sigh of relief, he trotted down the stairs and into the green hallway that held many of his classes.

"Hey, well if it isn't Shine-so-bright-that-the-sun-needs-shades Armor. All I see out of you is nothing but pearly whites. In speaking of pearls-"

"Shut it Azure."

"I said nothing on that bro, but I can say this: you've been grinning like that since the day we met at the hotel."

Shining Armor cheeks flushed lightly as he thought back to the night that he and Pearl spent a night together. Before his mind could go into all the details, his friend interrupted the flashbacks to that evening.

"Also, can you tell her that I said thanks for everything that she's done already? Because of her, I finally managed to erase the deficit that my account was growing from earlier last year."

"Wait a minute. Last year???" Shining asks as he looked at his friend with growing concern.

"Yeah. I needed the money because the my parents paid, was a little in the red."

"How much did you owe them? If you don't mind me asking."

"Three thousand bits."

"THREE THOUSAND!? Are you sure that you weren't swimming in the red?" Shining asked trying to comprehend how one could acquire a deficit so big.

"Yeah. And it didn't help that my parents stopped paying my room-and-board."

"So were you homeless?" Shining asked as Azure gestured for the two to keep walking to class.

"Still am, technically. I lived in a closet at the hotel I work in and I don't get paid directly. Everything is transferred to my student account, which in turn pays the debt, which would also allow me to attend on a regular basis. I mean I'm still in that same closet. But now that the debt's been erased, my tuition and my r-n-b has been paid in full for the semester. All I need to do is move my stuff from there and I'll be back to normal."

"Uh-oh." Said Shining as he stopped shy of the doorway.

"What's wrong? What does 'uh-oh' mean?"

"When you say 'back to normal', do you mean-"

"Nah. I'll just be peeking in on the girls here."

"Same old Azure, I see." Shining Armor snides as he opens the door, using his magic.

"Eyeap, that's me! Peeking in on the upper-years until I go blind." Replied Azure as he entered the classroom.

"Pfft, you better be lucky that you weren't expelled for that stunt from last year." Shining commented as he followed his friend into the classroom, making their way to their seats.

"Yeah, but guess what I found out." Azure takes out his notebook and places it on the desk with various school supplies.

"What?"

"You know that alicorn chick I met up with last year, she's actually a foalsitter."

"Are you still on that?" Shining asked while removing from his bag a composition notebook with his cutie mark on the front.

"How many opportunities would a normal guy have in sleeping with a mare who has either a horn or wings? Probable, right? Now think about seducing one who has BOTH, a horn and wings. Those upper-crust boys would be so jealous!"

"...Back to normal, I see."

"Hey, at least I'm allowed to be normal." Azure mumbled as Shining sharpened his pencils.

"Fuck you!"

"Wow, I didn't know you took up on swearing. It sounds kinda weird coming from you." Azure teased as he placed his saddlebags on the floor.

"Heh, you said coming." Shining chimed, mocking his friend.

"AHHHHH!!!! I need an adult! I need an adult! There's a stranger sitting next to me!"

"Not so funny when the stupidity you usually bring is brought to your doorstep, huh?"

"Fuck off, momma's boy." Azure dismissed as he waived a hoof to his friend.

"I am not." Shining argues in embarrassment.

"Are too." Azure rebuts as a large figure stands behind the two, going unnoticed until...

"That's enough from you two." Roared a deep masculine voice coming from the front of the room. A large shadow-like figure towered the two colts as if they were mere ants to a hydra. The figure wore a white shirt, with a red collar and a brown overcoat. He donned a pair of glasses that seemingly glowed phosphorus white in contrast to the black shadow that wore them. Shining and Azure were shaking violently, causing their seats to vibrate. Fear overtook the two teens as they feared for the worst to come. As the shadow pony retreated to the front of the classroom, his face came into view. He was a, earl-gray earth pony with a chiseled jawline and an unusually calm and gentle smile. His eyes were a soft blue and his demeanor was a gentle but forceful one. His cutie mark was a red ink pen and sheet of paper.

"Everypony sit down, shut up, and pull out your pencils. You know what time it is."

A student in the class raised their hoof to acknowledge that they would be speaking. "Um, excuse me Mr. Grade-"

"I do believe I told you to sit down and be quiet, did I not?" He shot down the student's request before the student could even make it out. He closed his eyes and smiled at the student. From a teacher's perspective, he was being nice about it and looked so kind. But from a student's perspective, that look was one of evil and malcontent, punishing anyone who dared to speak against him under penalty of death. The student shivered as he dropped his hoof from the air to his desk-side. Mr. Grade proceeded with his lesson.

"And for those that don't know, then I will expect to see you in study hall this semester. POP QUIZ!"

The class drew a collective groan as the teacher pulled out a large pile of papers to be given out.

*RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING*

"Okay kiddos, that's it for today's lesson. Those who are meeting for the newspaper club go next door. Ponies who have detention, come to my desk right now."

Students flooded the halls of the Ponyville Elementary Schoolhouse. Everywhere, fillies and colts ran from the end of the hall to the playground to catch the fresh air that awaited them outside. The sun shone brightly in the sky, the clouds were enough to give momentary relief from the sun's rays, the wind was set at a gentle breeze and the afternoon air was filled with the smells of pastries and sweets from not too far down the road. Foals screamed and cheered as they ran to the freedom of the outside air, many of them running back to where they last left off from recess. Two fillies played on the see-saw next to the swing set, four colts played with their toys in the sandbox, and two foal pushed each other on swing sets as the many others cheered when their parents came to take them to their respective homes. Many of them were excited due to the fact that their teachers let them off the hook with no homework for the evening. All was well.

" *snicker* You think that going to the city is where you belong?"

"Wow. You Apples must really do have dirt for brains!"

All was well until two twin fillies by the name of Surf and Turf came into view, and with them was their usual victim. Surf was a lavender-pink filly with a Columbia blue and turquoise mane. Her cutie mark resembled that of a blue-and-white surfboard and wore a yellow hairband. Turf was a cyan filly with a saffron and Jasmine yellow mane. Her cutie mark was that of a purple palm tree and she donned a small pink bow in her mane on her right side. They both took to offend an orange earth pony who's face was covered in freckles. Her mane was blonde fashioned to a ponytail with a small red bow that was tied at the very ends of her mane and tail. Surf and Turf constantly picked on the mare for one reason and one reason alone, her lack of a cutie mark.

"Hey freckles, how does it feel to be the last one in our class to not have her cutie mark?" Surf teased as she and her friend circled the victimized filly as two sharks would to their prey.

"I'm pretty sure she feels like dirt right now. I mean just look at her!" Turf added on before her list of insults continued. "She's so plain looking, her mane is tangled beyond repair, she has those, ughk, ugly freckles everywhere and not to mention, she has that weird, tangy accent that she uses."

"Say whatcha want! Ah don care, not one bit!" The orange filly lashed back as she was put on the defensive.

"What was that?" Turf asked as she mocked the filly.

"WE. DON'T. UN-DER-STAND. WHAT. YOU. ARE. SAYING(ah)! YOU. NEED. TEA-CHER! TEA-CHER. TEACH. YOU! YOU. SPEAK. GOOD!" Surf teased as the two continued to laugh at the orange filly's expense.

"Ah don't need no teacher ta teach me how ta speak! Granny Smith said that ah didn't have ta listen ta y'all-"

Surf and Turf both laughed as they cut the orange filly's statement short. Surf began to speak into the filly's ear. "Granny Smith said this. Granny said that. Granny said, Granny said. Well listen to me. What Granny says doesn't work."

The orange filly shut her eyes and gritted her teeth as she whispered to herself, trying to close off her hearing to the buttered tongue of her grandmother's words. "Sticks an stones can break mah bones, but words can never hurt me."

"Aww, she's trying to find her happy place." Turf mocked with a smirk. "Let's pay this filly with a reality check"

"I'm with ya on this one." Surf agreed. As their approach became menacingly slow, the orange filly repeated the mantra set in her mind as she locked out the oncoming verbal onslaught.

"Sticks and stones..."

"She's nothing, I mean just look at her. She not even worth our time." Surf whispered in her ear as their prey chanted to herself.

"...may break..."

"She doesn't even know the deal on why she's even here, does she." Turf teased, taking a turn at cracking the filly from within her protective shell of words. She continued to chant, drowning out their words.

"...my bones..."

"She's not even gonna have a life of her own. She'll never be interesting. She doomed to a life of a boring and pathetic existence." Surf took a swipe at the filly's mane as the defensive victim stays within her comforting mantra shield, gritting her teeth and holding her head down, hiding her face with her mane.

"...but your words..."

"And not to mention the fact that she take her advice from an old lady! Her brother must be all kinds of stupid because all he says is 'eeyup' and 'eenope'. Is he retarded or something?" Surf asked.

"Nah, that's just the 'dirt-for-brains syndrome' he caught being in the same family with this tree licker here. It's a shame 'cause he cute too, unlike his mud-ugly dog of a sister." Turf answered, hoping to gauge a response from the curled-up filly. The filly's inner voice cracked as she managed to reach the end of her mantra.

...will never...

"Hey, why do you think we never seen her parents?" Turf asked.

"Well it's because they wanted to leave for the city. They didn't want to stay with a failure-of-a-daughter like her. Forced to call something so hideous their 'pride-and-joy', it's so disgusting." Surf answered, landing a low blow on the filly's psyche.

...hurt... And the very last word, disgusting, landed it's piercing blow against the comforting shield of the filly's mantra, disabling her defense as the proverbial walls of her comfort came crashing down. It was as if the world came to a blinding halt as everything that protected her was suddenly abducted from her, leaving nothing but a flood of salty tears in the wake of the fallen fortress. Her shoulders dropped and her eyes could no longer hold back the flood that was to come. Her voice, once strong and defiant, broke into nothing but incoherent letters and sobs. Partial words leapt off her tongue, but could never leave past her fumbling lips. She could only choke on her own breaths as she held her head down, trying not to look into the face of her conquerors.

"Ha! I didn't know that dirt itself could feel an emotion." Turf exclaimed as she looked to the emotionally defeated filly as she choked and sobbed in silence, trying not to unleash wails filled of agony.

"Well, I guess it's true what they say. If you dig in the dirt deep enough, then you can find a well of water that would gush out!" Surf screamed as she removed the blonde ponytail from the crying filly's face, leaving her vulnerable to the world as the tear fell without restraint from her face to the dirt below.

"♪Who's a silly pony? You're a silly pony! Who is? You is, Applejack!♫" The both sang in unison before falling to the ground in laughter, producing tears of their own.

"My word! If you two could spend your free time picking on fillies younger than you, then maybe you could invest some of that time on proper grammar usage!"

The two bullies looked for the source of the voice. Before long, they found that the voice came from a pure white unicorn filly with an indigo mane fashioned into a curl. The two bullies picked themselves up as they found a new prey to pick on. Seeing that this filly was also devoid of her cutie mark, they assumed their formation once again to make ready their verbal barrage. They circled around the unicorn filly as they started to throw their insults at her.

"So, what is a blank flank loser like you doing here in this school?" Surf began as the two continued to circle around the firm-standing Rarity.

"Well, I'm not exactly a loser now am I? My father being a professional athlete and what-not should clue you in." She rebuts with a smile. With that argument resolved, Turf took a shot at the standing filly.

"Well you got that much going for you, at least. But that still doesn't explain how you can't even levitate as much as a single pencil."

"Hmm, now that you mention it..." Rarity smiled as she ignited her horn to pick up two small but sturdy switches behind the two bullies, who now stood in front of her, stopping their circular approach. "...I guess I'm not as well performed as your missing third."

"Yeah, you, like, better recognize." Surf added as Turf walked up to the filly to insult her some more, unaware that the switches that Rarity held up with her magic had managed to creep into position.

"I may not be good at levitation nor am I any good at teaching, I'm more into fashion, but I'd say it's time that you two learned some manners!" Rarity shouted as she took a step forward, a grin forming on her face.

"Oh really little bitch, and what are you gonna do then! Teach us this lesson you have set up for us." Surf spoke in a threatening tone as if she would pounce on the filly at any given moment.

"Okay, lesson one. PICK ON SOMEPONY YOUR OWN SIZE!" Shouted Rarity as she swung the thin slices of wood against the backsides of the two bullies. Surf and Turf screamed in pain as the switches swatted against their bare plots, leaving lines of red and a stinging pain as they made contact with their hind quarters and haunches. The bullies jumped and leapt high into the air, trying to avoid the constant barrage of the wooden objects. Rarity continued her 'lesson' for a well timed three minutes until the bullies themselves had been brought to tears. Rarity looked at them and merely smiled, knowing that justice was served.

"Argh!!! If Sunset Shimmer was here, then you'd be nothing more than a pile of ashes by now for that stunt you pulled." Screamed Turf as they rubbed themselves, trying to soothe the pain. Soon after, the two bullies made a hasty retreat from the area. Other fillies and colts who caught a glimpse of the action applauded and cheered for the standing victor. Rarity, however, wasted no time in celebration as she ran to the side of the saddened orange filly.

"Are you alright?" Rarity asked as she extended a hoof to the downtrodden filly. But as soon she reached within grabbing distance, Applejack slapped Rarity's hoof down in response.

"Ah'm alright! Now git away from me!" Applejack responded harshly trying to hide her tear-ridden face.

"But... I... was only trying to-"

"Help!? NO THANKS! Ah didn't need yer stupid help an Ah don't need it now!"

"But... you-"

"BUT WHAT!? Ya think that helping me is gonna get yer pretty self any closer ta me? Well guess what? Ah managed as long as Ah did without friends an Ah especially don't need yer stupid pity, let alone yer help!" Applejack lunged at the confused filly before her. "Now, GIT!!!"

"Why of all the..." Rarity answered, offended that the filly she helped could be so stubborn. Before Rarity could say anything else, Applejack gave the offended Rarity a sudden hug. Rarity withdrew in surprise as the other colts and fillies questioned what just happened before their very eyes. As Rarity offered to return the hug, Applejack pushed her to the ground as she ran the opposite way. Rarity looked up as her eyes tried to follow the pony that accosted her and pushed her to the ground, but two voices called out to her before she could find out where she went.

"Rarity, dearie! It's time to go!"

"C'mon kiddo! Time's a tickin'!"

Rarity immediately jumped up, dusted herself off and ran to the sound of the her parents voice. The other foals cheered as the hoofball star came into view. Many of them cheered for the large-framed stallion but the others were cheering on their own hero, Rarity. While many waved at Magnus, others waved at the filly who ran to her father and gave him a hug. Some of the teachers looked outside of the window and cheered for the hometown hero. Pearl embraced Rarity as she was released from her father's grip. Rarity, quickly climbed atop her mother's back, pointing to the road that lead to town as if she was a royal issuing orders to her loyal allies.

As the school faded from the view of the two adults, Rarity saw a filly who stood behind a tree, poking her hoof into the dirt as they passed by. The filly looked up to see who was passing by and noticed that the famous hoofball player had come to town, walking alongside his wife. But she quickly turned her head away upon seeing who rode atop their backs. Rarity caught a glimpse of the pony that hid behind the tree and became surprised upon discovering who it was. The orange filly spat at the ground and quickly ran off to the schoolyard. Rarity could only watch as the filly she rescued ran away as fast as she could. Rarity looked at the hoofprints that trailed her and finally looked to the sky above whispering to herself.

"What a silly pony..."

Author's Note

Welp, that's all I can do for the moment. Sorry that this chapter won't be as long as I hoped it to be. Between rehearsals and studio recording sessions, I've been swamped all week. Now I gotta head out to Indiana for this awards festival. By Monday or Tuesday, I should already started on the next chapter. Wish me the best this weekend. ^_^

I'm so fucking nervous!

ACT 1: Timeout

"Dear Diary,

Ah ran into a filly who had the nerve ta stand up ta those no-good, two-bit, cow-lickin', monkey-jumpin', banana-beatin', silver-tounged, good-fer-manure fillies, commonly known as Surf and Turf. Ah know that what she meant ta do was stand up fer me, but honestly, Ah just couldn't stand the fact that it was her an not me instead. Ah mean, she acted like she was so big-and-bad with her dad bein' a fancy-shmancy hoofball player. She even used her fancy magic jiggermabob on her head ta whip those fillies into shape. If Ah was her, Ah wouldn't 'ave even stopped whoppin' 'em until they ran far outside of town. But not only did she beat 'em at their own game, she tried to act as if we were equals.

We're not equals. Never have been. Never will be. She can get used to this dusty old town fer all Ah care. But I'm going to the big time like my mom an' dad used ta do. Mah mom and dad used ta own a real fancy bar in Las Pegasus before it got burned down all of a sudden. We didn't hear much from 'em since, except fer the few letters they sent since it all happened two years ago. Big Macintosh did what he could ta help out Granny Smith on the farm and all. But all Ah could do fer the moment is pick up the apples that Big Mac drops on the way to the barn. But that's nothin' compared to the bright lights of the city. One day, Ah promise myself that ah would learn to speak proper and fancy like my Aunt and Uncle Orange does. Ah know that it takes a mighty lotta work fer me to get it right. In fact let me practice fer a bit."

Applejack placed the quill next to an old book that seemingly held most of her inner-thoughts. She looked to the window that held a view of the farm, known as Sweet Apple Acres. Much of the farm glowed a brown and orange hue due to the greenery clashing against the contrast of red in the sky. The sun sank below the hills of apple trees and the mountains that stood in the far distance. She looked down below and found an exhausted and panting Granny Smith and a sweaty Big Macintosh walking inside of the house, finishing off their day in the fields. Applejack closed her eyes, taking a long breath of the mountain air. The smell of plants and light scent of apples paraded her nostrils and filled her mind with the images of her mother and father. She remembered how they'd often let their newly acquired accents slip as they spoke. It reminded her of Aunt and Uncle Orange when they were coming from Manehattan. She always perceived that accent as the 'sound of success'. Exhaling a long breath, she imitated what she often heard from her parents.

"He-Hello. Mah-no. My name, is Applejack. It... Issss... A pleasure... making yer-NO! Making... Your... Acquaintance." She spoke as she stressed every vowel and consonant in the words to make it sound crisp and clear to the normal ear. After what appears to be minutes, Applejack finally pieces together everything she's taught herself.

"Why hello. My name is Jacqueline Samantha Apple, but my family and friends call me Applejack. It is an honor and a pleasure making your acquaintance."

The room stayed silent as Applejack finished her pre-rehearsed statement.. Not too long after, she jumped up and down in glee as she cheered herself on her accomplishment. No longer would the others tease her for her tangy, southern accent. She proved to herself that she could speak normally and she would soon prove that to all of those who made fun of her. Smiling as she achieved her short-term goal, she galloped back to her desk and continued from where she left off.

"Ah can't believe it! I spoke like momma an' daddy used ta when they came over. Now I can work on moving to the big city like I said I would. Ah can't wait ta show those rotten bullies what fer. Ah know that they'll respect me then, and as soon as Ah come back from the city, with mah brand-new cutie mark, they'll learn to respect me fer who Ah am and my real value in the world. Ah'll show 'em, and Ah'll even show Her.

That consarnit filly thinks that she can jus' act like we're equals and that she can keep savin' me like she's some sort of super heroine. Well, she can only watch as Ah one day look down on her and tell her that Ah can take care of mah self. Maybe one of these days, Ah might even save her instead. Just ta return the favor. It's not like Ah want to see her again.

It's not like Ah want her to save me again. It's not like Ah want her to be around me at all. It's not like she's my hero or that Ah'm sum sort o' damsel in distress. Besides, the only thing Ah like about her is that her coat is so soft n' all. She's not anything Ah would like to be around. She jus' seems like she's uppity fer her own good. What was her name again? It escaped me. Somethin' about bein' rare. Rarita, no. Ratira, bleh. Raroodle, nah. Raritee, yeah that's what it was. Raritee. Anyways, Ah guess Granny Smith will be needin' sum help in the kitchen. That's all fer today. Yers, Applejack."

Applejack was about to close the journal that she wrote in until a thought came to her. She remembered that the bullies Surf and Turf called the white unicorn a name. It sounded like a really good insult to use against the bullies if they just so happened to make fun of her again. She pondered on what it was before jotting down one last statement in her journal.

"P.S.: Surf and Turf is a are bitches." Ω

Rarity hugged her mother closely as she told her mother what to write on the parchment in front of them. The two were eagerly excited in receiving Shining Armor's first letter. They even bought brand new quills and ink just for the occasion. Pearl smiled as she remembered the expression on her daughter's face in seeing that there was a letter addressed to her. The filly bounced from hilltop to hilltop as she saw the name on the return address. She was even more excited in seeing that she now had an address to send her letters to. Pearl opened the letter quickly and read it out loud to her daughter. Needless to say that the letter was rather blunt and formal. It even contained his student resumé and a copy of his high school transcript. Much of the letter was pertaining to the little (and basic) things about him and what he would do in his free time.

"Geez, is his mother watching what he writes down too?" Pearl whispered to herself as she looked at the format of the letter. She chuckled lightly, remembering what she and Shining talked about in her conversation with him back at the hotel on Sunday night. The energetic and moderately inebriated teen discussed a laundry list of things his mother forbade him from doing and what he couldn't say to mares his own age. He was often discouraged from dating and was told many times that mares were 'the devil'.It was so bad that his father would convince him that mares were not 'evil' and that it was merely the hormonal developments that drove mares crazy and made them seem as if they had interest in stallions only, attractive ones at that. And being that Shining was often talked about, despite his 'non-interest' in the opposite sex, he would have to take extra precaution in not developing a small herd-like following.

Pearl giggled to herself and looked at her daughter, telling herself that her daughter was something that those other mares weren't. She knew that her daughter would not develop a one-track mind and seek the pleasures of sex over a fulfilling relationship. And also, she showed little to no worry as her Rarity would not be experiencing the effects of estrus until one-to-two years from now. She knew that her daughter would not take no for an answer when it came to being rejected by the young teen, so that was an issue. Another issue that she would encounter is that she would one day have to explain to her daughter that she and he were not meant to be due to the significant age difference that occurred between them. She even thought on how her daughter would take that news and what she would do as a result. But she took a deep breath as she convinced herself that this issue would not come up until after another one-or-two years. Relaxing her mind, her thoughts went back to the quill in her magical grip and the parchment set in front of her.

"Mother, what should I tell him about myself? I don't think I have much to say." Rarity asked as she looked up to her mother.

Pearl merely smiled and hugged her daughter once again as she answers her once again. "My dear, you can tell him anything you want, just as long as it is age appropriate. Just remember that and I'm sure that you'll be just fine."

"Yeah, kiddo. There isn't much to worry about. Just let your mind run free." Magnus screams from another room, overhearing the current situation.

Rarity sits at the living room table with her mother as she contemplates on what subjects she can talk about. She scratches her head with a free hoof and looks into the air, trying to grab an answer from the top of her brain.

"Nothing comes to mind. I don't know what I want to say." A frustrated Rarity states as she taps her hoof against the side of her head as if she's trying to jolt the gears of her mind to function.

"Then, let's start off simple then. It doesn't have to be anything complex. It can be something as simple as 'how are you doing' or 'how was your day', maybe even a 'would you like to visit me here in Ponyville one day?' The possibilities are endless." Pearl says as she hugs her daughter and nuzzles her affectionately. Rarity, however, does not share her mother's optimism.

"That's the problem! There's so much to say but I don't know what to start off with."

"Dearie, you cannot overexert yourself when it comes to an informal greeting. And I'm pretty sure that he would agree."

Rarity looks at the quill in her mother's magical glow. She contemplates further on what she should write, how she should start, and what questions she wanted to ask him that she didn't get to ask when they were in Canterlot. Taking a quick glance at the parchment that sat on the table, she decided that it was best that she would make those decisions for herself instead of having her mother make those decisions for her.

"Mother, may I borrow that quill for a moment?"

"Are you sure, my dear?"

"Yes. It would be best that I learn how to talk to him for myself and not have somepony else do that for me." Pearl looked at her daughter with widened eyes before the young filly continued with her statement. "If I don't learn how to do for myself, then I would never be able to learn to move forward. So I'll write to him in my own words."

"Well if you say so sweetie. I'll let you write your letter, but please remember to keep it simple. Also, try not to delve into his family and personal matters. It would be quite rude."

"Yes ma'am."

Rarity telekinetically removed the quill from her mother's possession and into her own. Before long, the room was filled with the scratching sound of the quill scribbling words onto the off-white parchment. Rarity looked at the paper as the lines began to take up space and the words continued to flow from within her mind to the front page of her letter. Pearl removed herself from the young filly's side, acknowledging the fact that she was no longer needed. Stepping away, Pearl almost felt saddened, mainly because her daughter began to make decisions for herself and teaching herself to be self-sufficient. In a way she missed being able to look after her daughter, guiding her through various tasks and situations. She even missed the times when she used to comb and brush her daughter's mane into the curl she donned ever since she first styled it in.

Much of those times were gone and in it's place stood a filly that became self-aware of herself. Soon, it would be known that she could possibly develop a crush on this stallion. She would often speak highly of him and even look at him with a distant stare as if she would be looking into his very soul, trying to find where she could possibly snag him for her own. She knew that her daughter had an interest in him from the first time that they met. With most other stallions of that age, she would often write them off and dismiss them without as much as a simple glance. She hasn't even took notice to many of the other colts (or few there were in the entirety of Equestria due to birth ratios) in her class. She doesn't speak with very many of her classmates and she doesn't exactly take into consideration that the whole colt population within her age group are actually chasing after her.

But Pearl knew that one day, it would all resolve itself. She believed that as soon as she realized that Shining Armor isn't going to take notice of her unrequited affections, that she would cry for a short time, meet a new colt her age, fall in love, possibly get married and have kids of her own. She knew that Rarity was the type who would move on with her life and not dwell into the past for very long. After all, she was her own daughter and she knew that Rarity took much from her. Looking back at her daughter, who nearly filled half the page with words, she smiled and continued to walk to the other room, leaving her daughter to her letter.

As Pearl closed off the room that led to her busy little author, she walked into the kitchen and saw that her husband was washing up the dishes from dinner. Magnus glanced at his adoring wife and smiled as she scoffed at her.

"And what is that supposed to mean, hmm?" Pearl asked seemingly offended by his gesture.

Magnus giggled and pointed to the closed door with a soapy hoof and made his case. "It means that she acts just like you. She does take after her mother in her wanting to do things by herself."

"Not that it's a bad thing, you know."

"Yeah, but I just can't help but think that she might be in over her head on this one."

"And guess where she got THAT trait from."

"You?" Magnus whispered as he continued to wipe off the silverware in the sink. Pearl overheard his quip and tacked him from behind.

"Ooof! Hey, I thought I was the one who was supposed to be the mounter."

"Well, think of this as the dawn of a new age in whi-"

"WHATEVER! It would be a new age when I'd have to retire."

"But seriously dearie, we need to talk." Pearl said as her tone shifted from playful to completely serious.

"Uh-oh. Not the 'Move-to-Canterlot' thing again."

"Yes, again." Pearl pulls her husband away from the kitchen sink to the table in order to get his full attention. She magically pulls out a seat and places him in it. With her husband now seated, she proceeds to rub his shoulders and rubs deep into his shoulders, giving him a relaxing hoof massage before she began her argument. "This isn't just for me dearest, but this is also for our daughter."

"How many times have I already told you that I didn't want you and Rarity to move there?"

"One-hundred-n-twenty-seven."

"Right. So what makes you think that I might consider it the one-hundred-n-twenty-eighth time?"

"Because I do believe that Rarity would be a lot happier when she's there. Also keep in consideration how often you do get to come to Ponyville. Which is..." Pearl gestured to her husband to complete her statement, spinning one of her hooves in front of him.

"Not very often." Magnus mumbled as frustration kicks in.

"Right! So you must be so tired of not being able to see us as often as you'd like."

"But I kept you here so that the press doesn't dig too deep into our personal life."

"There's this little apartment in the downtown area that I've been looking into. It's a bit pricey, but the location makes up for it. The room is on the top floor, the view is splendid, it's located just outside of the palace gates. In that case there would be security there non-stop. Non-stop security equals no paparazzi, no paparazzi equals no social interference and no social interference equals more privacy."

"Pearl... just stop."

"And also we can enroll Rarity into all sorts of classes, classes that will challenge her and bring out the best results for our daughter."

"Pearl, stop it."

"The fashion industry is booming in Canterlot. I'd say, if we were to get our little gem in there at this early of an age, I do believe she could even gain as much attention as upcoming designer Hoity Toity. Why I bet that she can even get an internship!"

"PEARL, SHUT UP!" Magnus screamed, trying to gain the attention of his babbling wife. "All you're doing now is thinking about what YOU think is best for our daughter. She is not some marionette that you can just control on strings."

"But Magnus, it's obvious as to what she truly wants to do. Not only does she want to be with her father, but also to design clothes."

"My daughter is not designing clothes. Her true talent is something else aside from that, not sewing together two pieces of cloth."

Pearl became angry with her husband's statement and decided that it was best to let him have it. "Well maybe if you were home enough, you'd see that she works hard on her beautiful creations."

Magnus, who became offended, offered his own rebuttal. "Well, it's not my fault that my job has me running around all of Equestria and not anywhere here in Ponyville. I do what I can to make sure there is a roof over our heads and clothes on our backs. And in speaking of which, let's talk about all the fine food that we have on the table."

"We don't even need clothes! And yes Magnus, let's talk about how every night I sleep alone, how you originally promised us Sunday morning that we would spend family time together after the game. Let's talk about the fact that a teenage boy managed to satisfy me that very night you promised me that we would be together."

"So what? I gave him consent to do so because I knew you would act even worse than this. I knew that he was a sheltered momma's boy because his father filled me in. I thought it would be best to let him have some fun."

"So is that what I am to you, you selfish son of a bitch!? I'M JUST SOME PASS-AROUND, TWO BIT WHORE!?"

"No. That isn't what I said!"

"You might as well, Magnus!"

"I can't talk to you when you're like this."

"Oh, so it's over because you say it is? HUH!?"

"NO IT'S NOT OVER!"

"Then tell me what am I to you, you two-faced, manipulative, arrogant, self-entitled, self-centered, can't-get-it-up-when-my-wife-needs-it-most, inconsiderate, little-"

Magnus violenty pushes Pearl into the table, letting his anger take over any rational thought that he previously held. His wife lost her balance and fell to the ground as she looked at the stallion who accosted her. The sound of flatware and cutlery filled the house as everything happened in what seemed like a mere blink of an eye. She began to hyperventilate as she rapidly backed away before a jabbing pain caught her hoof. Pearl, who stood in fear and vexation, stood up slowly to asses the damage done. Pieces of broken glass littered the floor and silverware was scattered across the room. She brought up the hoof that pulsed in pain and she saw that a small piece of glass had cut into her. She then stared into the eyes of her assailant.

"You..." Venom seethed from her teeth as she walked slowly to Magnus. Her speed increased into that of a full gallop and her teeth gritted shut as she lifted a hoof into the air, striking her husband square in the jaw. Feeling the full impact of his wife's punch, Magnus' head pivoted backwards and forwards, only to welcome his unscathed cheek to his wife's other hoof. Clenching his jaw from the pain, Magnus raised his hooves to subdue his wife when suddenly the door opened, revealing a more-than-scared Rarity.

"Mother, father. What's going on? I'm scared!" Rartiy asked, pleading that they would stop their physical assault against one another. As Magnus was about to speak, Pearl spoke first.

"Rarity, go to that new bakery that just opened. There will be a lot of ice cream and cakes over there and plus your god-father Custard Cake should be there." She asks as she tries to get their daughter away from the heated altercation.

"No. I don't wanna go. I'm scared!"

"Do as your mother says, sweetheart. Your mother and I have some talking to do." Magnus orders sternly, his wife glaring into her husband with indignation.

"B-but."

"The money is under the doormat sweetie. Now go on! Scram!" Pearl screams as she gestures to her daughter to leave immediately.

Rarity complies with her parents orders, rushing to the doormat. She opens a secret compartment, holding a bag of bits that sat there in case an emergency were to occur. She grabbed the small bag, opened the door and slammed it shut as she ran for the brand new bakery. Tears fell from Rarity's eyes uncontrollably as she galloped to the confectionery. Meanwhile, Pearl and Magnus were locking horns with one another as they continued to land hits, screaming at each other.

"Why don't you prove that you're stallion enough to take me on you limp-dicked shithole!" Pearl screams as she drives a hoof into her husbands eye socket.

"Really like you have room to talk, corridor-pussy lips." He shouts at the top of his lungs, sending his wife into the ground as he body slammed her to the floor. Pearl looks up at her husband as they both stared angrily into each other. "You know what, you were right. You are some two-bit prostitute."

"I only wished that you died, you slimy, soft-served bitch!" Pearl screamed at her husband, returning to him the pain of his previous comment as they both breathed heavily.

Magnus drove his horn into her neck, slicing deep enough to draw blood but not deep enough to cause serious damage. "Oh, so you wanna kill me? Well bring it then cunt."

"Cup, fetch me a slice of my homemade double mocha layer cake and a tall glass of ice-cold milk, will ya?"

"Yes daddy!"

"And be sure to-"

"To serve with a smile, check!"

"Atta girl!"

An olive earth pony stallion with a silver mane and a cutie mark of a custard pie walked up to a sobbing filly that sat at the table on the far end of the bakery. He stroke her mane lightly and tenderly as he comforted her. He could only smile slightly, given the circumstances of her being at the newly opened Sugarcube Corner during the closing hour. The shop was empty and many of the tables had chairs placed atop of them. The floor shone with a brilliance of crystal-clear waters. The counters sparkled as an adolescent pony, appearing to be seventeen, walked into view. Cup Cake was a well-toned cyan-colored earth pony mare who donned a pink and fuchsia mane curled into a swirl. Her cutie mark resembled three cupcakes with white frosting and multicolored sprinkles on top. She walked to the table balancing a small trey on her back that held a large slice of cake. She placed the items on the table before talking to the downtrodden filly.

"Hey, they say that chocolate is the best medicine for sadness. Well this is THE best chocolate cake in all of the universe. Trust me when I say this will carry you through a lot of depressing moods." The adolescent teen mare quoted as she smiled and kissed the filly on her forehead. "Bon Appétit."

"Thanks sweetie, Now go on and-"

"Yeah, yeah I know. Start on my homework." Cup interrupts as she makes her way to the upstairs room.

"What a beautiful daughter you have become." He whispers. "It's a shame that your mother never got the chance to see how well you've grown." Sighing, he returns his attention to the filly who barely touches her slice of cake.

"..."

"Well come on now, that is some good cake. It would be a shame to let it go to waste."

Rarity whimpers as she looks down at the fork halfway embedded in the layers of the sweet-smelling chocolate. As much as she didn't want to admit to herself that it smelled delicious, she knew that she would cave to her curiosity eventually. She lit her horn and cast her spell upon the fork, lifting it from the cake. Upon the fork's edge lied a small corner of the fudge-riddled treat covered in the brown chocolaty frosting that oozed from atop the cake. A small string of chocolate bridged the distance between the slice of cake and the fork until she separated the spectacle, setting the morsel onto her tongue. She finally devoured the front end of the fork, letting it rest on top of her taste buds. She sat still at the table for what seemed like an eternity, not moving as much as an inch, not even making a sound. The bakery ran silent, the only sound that was ever produced was the low-pitched hum of the air conditioning system. It was as if the world stood still.

"OH MY CELESTIA! THAT WAS DELICIOUS!!!"

The filly's voice transformed from a sweet timber to that of a raging manticore. Not even a second after she finished her statement, her fork brutally assaulted the cake and the platter that sat below it. A loud clanking noise breached the air as if an anvil struck against hardened steel.

"Well, I'm glad you like it Rarity!"

"OM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOAM! Can't talk now, eating! AOM NOM NOM NOM NOM! *SLUURP*"

The engorging filly demolished the cake as if she had the hunger of a full-grown stallion. Soon her rampage would meet it's untimely end, as does the cake on the plate and the milk in her glass. Rarity breathed lightly as she felt a slight bit of pressure rising from the depths of her stomach. She held to herself, trying to suppress what was coming up her esophagus, that is until...

"Mmmm"*BLLEEEEEEAAAAAAC!*

Custard merely looked at the rapidly blushing filly that remained in her seat. He could only stifle his laugh as the pure white filly turned red from embarrassment. Eventually, he coughed himself back into his composure and straightened his facial features to make himself look as if he was taking things seriously. Rarity only looked at the stallion and gave him a shy expression before she straightened herself. After she regained her dignity, or what little she had at the moment, she spoke quickly, making her request known as clearly as possible.

"Ahem... We shall never speak of this again."

Custard nodded in agreement. A long silence ensued before he would break the ice.

"Sooooo... You feeling any better?

"...No."

"Your parents got into it, huh?"

"...Yes." Rarity squeaked out as the tears started to flow.

"Hey, look here. I know that you don't wanna see something like that again. So here's how I'm gonna do things. I'm gonna leave you here with Cup, I'm gonna go over there and check things out. And when the fires die down a bit, I'll let you know when it's safe. Now, I know that you're scared, but let me assure you this: in the end, it will all work out for the better. And if it doesn't get any better there, then I'll arrange for you to stay here. How does that sound?"

Rarity sniffles as she nods her head in agreement.

"And also, the rest of the cake is in the back. All that you have to do is tell Cup that you would like a slice and then she'll cut you one and bring you a tall glass of milk." Rarity nodded once again before she pulled up the bag full of bits to pay him. "What is that? Oh no. You're not paying me. You keep those for yourself. And besides, I could never take bits from such a cute little filly."

Rarity put the bag of bits in her saddlebags. Before she could say anything, Custard left the bakery without as much as a simple 'I'll see you later. Cup came down stair soon after.

"Hey cutie, come on upstairs. I don't like it when fillies are often sad and alone."

" *sniff* Okay."

Author's Note

Starting from here onward, be prepared to see journal entries. There will be chapters that will have entries in them. Also, in case you haven't noticed it by now, the color font indicates who's entry it is (who's speaking in the flashbacks and also who's mind the reader is going into). That for those [new readers] who may not know exactly why the text changes colors so often. So when you see that the colors changed don't be too intimidated by it.

Anyways, hope you enjoyed the chapter.

ACT 1: Break On 3

"Welcome to my humble abode; my bedroom. Make yourself at home."

Rarity walked into the room full of posters and plushies. The radio on the nightstand played it's music softly as the teen mare makes her way to the large bed in the center of the room. The room was adorned with white lace and pink accents. Her bed top was decorated with beige sheets and was littered with plushies of different sizes, colors and types. One plushie was a large red heart with lace trim with the words 'I love you' etched into the front. Large teddy bears were made into makeshift pillows as the smaller ones were positioned at the foot of her bed. The medium sized plushies were the ones that lined along the bedside.

Pictures and posters littered the walls, barely leaving an ounce of room for the colors of the walls to show. Many of the posters consisted of singers, artists, musicians, models, athletes and celebrities. Many of the pictures were decent in terms of being appropriate for young fillies. There were even some that were a little more risqué than the others as they showed many of the male figures dressed in tight shorts and in various poses. As Rarity approached the far end of the room where Cup's mirror was located, Cup turned the little filly's attention to the other posters that were on the wall. Her main reason was that she had a secret stash of posters that contained questionable imagery that showed many of the stallions 'love parts' in tight clothing and in even more lewd positions. Cup sighed as she managed to turn her attention away from the vanity mirror and the safe that was hidden within the wall behind it.

Shortly after she managed to get her young visitor settled, Cup decided that it would be best to get to know her god-sister a little better. During the many other times that they've met up, she would often look after her alongside her mom Red Velvet. Every now-and-then, Rarity was often sent to them whenever their parents had a vacation to go to, a date they wanted to go on, or most commonly, when the estrus season started up. During those seasons, her dad would often be vacationing to the South, leaving her and her mother behind to deal with the season. Luckily, her mother was well taken care of in the off season so the estrus season had little to no effect on her. However, Cup knew that she would not be as collected as her mother in the season. She even went so far as to locking her father in a closet and starving him until he would cave and give in to her demands. It was a stroke of fortune that this only lasted for half a day due to her mother coming home early from work. Since then, he would take a vacation every estrus season to prevent himself from being assaulted by his own daughter.

Her visits would often be brief and her time with the young filly would be rather short due to her busy school schedule. Cup was involved in her school in numerous ways. She was a dance girl for the marching band in the fall, a basketball player in the winter season, and a softball player in the spring. She would often take the time to keep herself busy during spring break, solely due to the fact that spring break was also known as the god-forsaken 'Week of the Alabaster River' (known for the trails of white that would stream down a mare's legs and often behind as they walked) or in common tongue, the estrus season. She would try to be involved in her god-sibling's life during those times, but she found that it was rather difficult to do when she would spend most of those days either baking or masturbating. But aside from that, she was too caught up with her school life for her to even say hello. That would change today.

"Sooooo... Your dad is a professional athlete, huh?" Cup began, not knowing where to start as she took her books and notes from the nightstand.

"...indeed." Rarity answered uncomfortably. Cup took a mental not as to not ask her about her father or her mother at this point. She would also give herself a mental facehoof for asking such a stupid question. Taking a deep breath, Cup Cake decided to try again.

"Well... You like this?" She asked holding up a magazine.

"...can we not... talk about my father right now?" The young filly asked pointing to the magazine cover. Pearl turned it around to find that it was this month's copy of Equestria Sports Weekly that also happened to have her dad on the front page. She blushed a little as she realized that her father had on a tuxedo top with spandex shorts. She took another mental note saying that she should save that magazine for visual purposes on a later date. She would also facehoof herself, not in her mind, but for real this time. Taking another shot, she thought that it was now or never.

"Sorry about that. But are you interested in anything like this instead?" She asked holding up another magazine, making sure that the cover wasn't anything parental or sports related.

"..! My word! This is the latest issue of Behind the Curtain, the premiere fashion magazine of all of Equestria!" Rarity shouted at the top of her lungs as she reached for the magazine in Cup's hoof. "How did you get this?"

"My father does a bit of catering for them and he managed to work out a deal so I could get these beauties every month on the month."

"But they said this issue was to be delayed for a full two weeks."

"Yup. But my dad caters for the company so he's pretty much bringing me these at little to no cost to him."

The small filly stared wide-eyed at the magazine as it seemingly glowed with a heavenly aura, accompanied by an angelic chorus that sang as it descended from the heavens above. Rarity's mind became centered upon one thing and one thing only; getting that magazine. It wouldn't take her long to ask about it, however. "May I... see it? Please?"

Rarity eyes became the size of dinner plates as she pleaded with her god-sister to surrender the magazine to her. She intensified her cute demeanor by puckering out her lips as she imitated the whimpering of a puppy dog. Cup looked on to the whimpering filly as she pleaded with longing eyes, unable to endure the blitz of cuteness any longer. She waved her hoof in an attempt to get her to stop the heart-attack inducing look. "Okay, okay. You can look at the magazine. Just please stop with the puppy-dog eyes. It's too much for me."

With a loud squee, Rarity ignited her horn and her magical glow engulfed the magazine as she settled it in front of her. She looked in awe at the individual on the front page. It was a grey, earth pony stallion with a silver and white mane and tail. He donned a cutie mark of a white-and-gold hoof fan. She looked at the dialog on the front page as it read:

"He's the pony that every pony should know. This young colt is a fashion savant, learning everything from chic-and-trendy to prêt-à-porter. His name; Hoity Toity.

"Wow! He must be so amazing to be so skilled in the expertise of fashion." Rarity announces as Cup Cake looks over her shoulder.

"So, you kinda have an interest in those kinds of things, huh?"

"Do I ever? Fashion is my one true dream!" Rarity exclaims before she corrects herself. "...well not my only true dream."

"Then if you don't mind me asking, what's the other one?"

"To one day, be swept off of my hooves as my prince carries me to his castle.

"Aww. That's so cute. So who's the lucky prince?"

"A lady does not kiss and tell."

Cup jumped away from the filly's shoulder in surprise as she tried to process the weight of the her words. "WHOA THERE!!! Y-you aren't implying that you've... you've... you know?"

Rarity looked at the startled mare as she tried to explain what she meant. "That I've what? It's something that my mother says every now and then to her friends. I just thought that it would be kinda fun to say."

"Oh thank goodness. You had me for a second." Cup added as she takes a deep breath while clinching her chest.

"Why do you say that?" Rarity asked, still looking at the mare whom she addressed.

"Well I just thought that you were implying that you've managed to cross the threshold into marehood a little too early." Cup Cake replied as she thought to herself. "And not to mention before I did. That would've been so embarrassing on my end."

"So, what about you? Do you have a dream?" Rarity asked, hoping to get some information out of her.

"Well... It involves this one stallion that I just can't stop bumping into." Cup Cake's eyes wandered to the large teddy bear at the head of her bed as she pictured his face upon it.

"...Go on."

"Well just between you and me, I think I might try to snag him for the you-know-what season."

"Um. If I may ask, how do you get the attention of a stallion?"

Cup Cake sighed before she gave her answer. "To be honest, at first I thought it was solely feminine wiles. I've managed to get that to a tee, but for some odd reason he hasn't noticed me yet. I wanna say that beauty is the key, but I'm not so certain about that anymore. So in truth, I just don't know what to tell you."

"Oh... Is he older than you?"

"Actually the opposite, he's about two years younger than me. His name is Carrot. Everyone calls him a wimp and a wuss, but there's just something that I see in him that's different from what the other jocks and 'cool guys' have to offer." She stated, rolling her eyes at the thought of a self-proclaimed cool guy trying to woo her into his corner.

"Oh. Okay."

"And your guy, is he older or younger? Same age?"

"Older than me. He's sixteen."

"WHAT!" Cup screamed as she jumped into the face of the young unicorn.

"And he sooooooooo dreamy."

Cup waved her hooves back and forth as she spoke. "Flag on the play. Illegal substitution on the offense. What are you thinking? Are you trying to get the poor guy in trouble?"

Rarity, who was a little scared, backed away slightly as she gave her answer. "No, but I would like to see him again. He's so nice, cute, caring, funny, and he's even the son of the Captain of the Guard."

"HE'S WHAT!?" Cup screamed as she heard the words that came from the filly's mouth.

"And his name is Shining Armor, might I add."

"That's the guy from Canterlot that every mare in the school has been yapping on about!" Cup exclaims as she remembers the name from many of her friends' conversations.

"They... talk about him." Rarity asked with great disdain, as if she was no longer in his spotlight.

"Yeah, A LOT! They say he's so smart AND that he has a perfectly, well toned flank. He's even an aspiring cadet who's gonna end up being a guard."

The anger began to well up inside of the young unicorn. Her hooves shook slightly as she thought of another mare being with him, taking away what she thought was rightfully hers; his time. "What else do they say?"

"They say that he's an avid magic user, a pretty good tactician, and he's does cross-country. Rumors have been floating around that he's been single all throughout high school. They say it's because he hasn't found what he's looking for."

"Oh... I see." Rarity mumbled as she found courage in her heart. She knew that she wanted him, but she had a lot of competition to take down. Finding her resolve, she spoke proudly. "But you can tell those other girls that they can go find themselves another stallion because I have already claimed him as my own!"

Cup Cake deadpanned at the filly's previous statement. "Getting a little ahead of yourself there, aren't ya shorty?"

"And that he is the escort for both my mother and I to the hoofball games." Rarity added, trying to emphasize her advantage over the other mares.

"Lucky draw. If I were you, I'd keep a lid on that bit of information."

"How come?"

Cup folded her forelegs together before she gave out her advice. "Mares don't like to play nice when it comes to nice things, especially when it comes to pre-celeb boys."

"Well in that case, I won't play nice either."

Cup found amusement in the filly's optimism. "Wow, you're pretty brave."

"I'll fight for him myself."

The adolescent mare continued to egg the young filly onward. "That's the spirit! Let them know who they're dealing with."

"Even if I have to jump on top of them like daddy did to mother."

"Yeah, just like whe-wait, what?" Her mind came to a screeching halt as she processed the words that came out from Rarity's mouth.

"Daddy jumped on top of mother last night and mother was screaming." The filly added in innocently.

The world around Cup was left in suspended animation as she uttered three words. "Oh... my... gosh."

"What?"

Cup Cake knew that she had to address this immediately. She knew that it was only a matter of time before she would get her answer. And her reasoning was simple; why not sooner than later? "Umm... Rarity, why don't you have a seat over there."

"For what?"

"Girl time." Cup pointed to an open spot on the bed top filled with plushies.

"What's wrong?" Rarity asked, with growing confusion wrought across her face.

"Nothing's wrong, I just thought that I'd tell you a little story."

"Okay. So what's the story."

Cup Cake took a deep breath as she looked into the young filly's eyes. "One day there was a pretty little bird and a busy little bee..."

Custard continued to gallop down the empty streets of Ponyville as he searched for Rarity's house. He knew that this would probably be something ugly when he got there. The entire time he ran, he tried to mentally prepare himself for the possibilities of seeing something that would sadden him greatly. He perpetually whispered to himself as he ran down the cobblestone roads of the old rural town, trying to comfort himself.

"Just keep running, Custard. Don't stop running."

Every few steps he took, he chanted those words to himself as he huffed and puffed. His chest burned with his increasing distance from the bakery. The houses and buildings that he ran passed appeared as if they were placed on a conveyor belt, rolling in and out of his peripheral view. He knew that the house was located somewhere close to the outside of town. But he also knew that if he didn't hurry up, that things would get worse than they already were.

In his mind, he visualized that Magnus was beating his wife with whatever was within his reach. Another thought came to him, this time in the form of Pearl actively grabbing sharp objects and throwing them at Magnus with the intention to maim and possibly kill. He even went as far as to visualizing the condition of the defeated party. His worst fear was that one of them was still alive in the house as the other was dead in a corner, or worse. Magnus being dismembered in the kitchen sink, Pearl's body as it laid still in a pool of her own blood, Magnus eyes shot open as he remained lifeless on the bedroom floor, Pearl floating in the bathtub without a pulse, these grim thoughts continued to fill Custard's head as he tried to stave off the macabre possibility that both of them have already died due to sustained injuries.

He didn't want Rarity to come home to that. If he had to, he would clean up the mess himself and let the authorities know that there was an altercation that led to the deaths of both the super athlete and the loving mother. He had already began to calculate the funds needed to take care of another filly in the household. Thoughts of Rarity crying every night to the fact that her parents would never hold her again haunted him. He knew that it was possible that he would have to increase his business output in order for him to be able to feed two mouths, and more importantly for his daughter to find a job of her own to help pay the bills, but he knew that he would be willing to face that task.

Rarity's house came into view as Custard continued his run. He didn't wan't to stop, especially now that he was within sight of the residence. But something inside of him cried out in rebellion, causing him to slow his pace. His hooves slowed as he finally managed to reach the handle of the front door. As he reached out for it, he froze solid. Inside of this house was a possibility of there being a dead body, maybe even two. He also knew that his approach couldn't be a loud one, he couldn't just simply bust down the door and rush in recklessly because doing so would result in a possibility of him being killed as well. He nodded his head, closed his eyes and proceeded to think decisively.

"If I rush in, I could get hurt or even killed. If I do as my instinct says and leave, then I'd never have the courage of saying anything to that little filly at my shop. If I don't make a decision soon, then that would leave even less time for me to be able to do anything at all. I gotta make a call here. Go in or don't?"

"Aaauuuugh!"

*CRASH*

A scream and the sound of broken glass invaded his ears. His eyes shot open upon hearing who the voice belonged to. He realized that it was Pearl who made that scream. He sighed, thinking that there was still time for him to intervene before things could get grim. Custard was about to briefly retreat to bust the door in when he realized that Rarity didn't have a house key, meaning that the door could have been unlocked the entire time. He took his forehoof and twisted the knob, allowing him access to the inside of the home. He rushed inside soon after.

Upon entering, he saw that the living room was still intact except for the small specks of blood that trailed from the kitchen. Seeing the trail of blood, he ran to the kitchen to find that it was a total mess. Broken glass and silverware littered the floor, spots of blood began to dry up into a caramel color amidst the white tile. The kitchen table was in shambles and there were wood and splinters everywhere. His heart sank realizing that this, though not as bad as he initially thought, was still a dangerous situation.

"Eeerrrgh"

*THUD*

The voice that sounded off was that of a male. Custard deduced that it was Magnus' voice and that they were both still in respectable health. He also deduced that the blood trail wasn't leading to the kitchen, but rather from it. He ran out of the war-torn kitchen and into the living room, following the trail of blood. In the corner of his eye, he saw a letter on the table. being that the letter had nothing to do with the blood trail being on the other side of the room, he ignored it and continued onward. He quietly walked up the stairs, the struggling grunts getting louder as he carried on. He reached the top of the stairs to find a door with a light escaping from underneath. He hurried along in order to stop the senseless violence once and for all.

"Guleuk Aukl Akaa"

He immediately recognized that sound as the sound of a mare being choked to death. He had to hurry. He quietly raced down the hallway and to the master bedroom door. He quickly brought himself to it and thought that he needed to do this quickly. Pearl was dying and he had no time to think about it. He would only act as he bravely pushed the door open and bring this madness to an end. The door swung wide and he entered.

"...And that's how foals are made."

Cup Cake closes an anatomy book titled The Biology Within. As the book closed, Rarity's mouth remained open. She is left in unbelief and more noticeably, shock. The things that were explained to her, in gruesome, realistic and horrifying detail sank into her young, once innocent mind. She then realized what her parents were really doing. The images that once intrigued her, had now haunted her thoughts and proceeded to run amok. Each individual thought of her parents hugging each other became an image of how she was conceived. Every loving embrace that her parents shared became a depraved, perverted vision of her mother moaning like a wild beast as her father continued to perform uncouthly acts of amoral lusts, grunting as he thrusted deeply into his prey. It soon occured to her that this was the society she was going to grow into. This was the world that she would one day learn to embrace as she would cross the threshold from filly to mare. Her pupils grew to the size of pushpins and her body continuously cringed. Locked into her position, she could not find the words to properly describe her thoughts. None except three came to her lips.

"...So long, foalhood."

"Alas, for we barely knew ye." Cup cosigned.

Rarity nostrils flared as she centered her anger on the one responsible. "This was all your fault!"

Cup, who was taken aback by the sudden accusation, looked blindly at the filly and asked. "What?"

"I didn't have to know of such aberrant habits, but now... OH CELESTIA, WHY!?" Rarity cursed the knowledge that now filled her brain as Cup Cake patted her on the head gently.

"Welcome to puberty, where even the most twisted thoughts begin to get you off." She tried to comfort the crying filly. But Rarity felt as if she should not have to be comforted by the one who would induce her to have nightmares.

"Shut up!"

"Don't say I didn't warn you." Cup said jokingly.

"You didn't warn me at all!"

Cup Cake, who was laughing as Rarity made her statement, realized that she actually had a valid point. "Wait, I didn't?"

"NO!" Rarity screamed at the cyan mare.

"Erm... Oopsie daisy?" Cup could only twiddle with her forehooves as she realized her mistake. Silence reigned supreme for a brief moment until Rarity erupted.

"... OOPSIE DAISY!? You destroy my innocence, causing me to envision my parents having sex all over the house, making me realize that's how I came into the world and all that you have to say for yourself is OOPSIE DAISY!?"

"...The Aristocrats?"

"........EEEEEEWWWHEHEHEWWWW!!!!" Rarity began to sob at the situation she managed to get herself into as Cup Cake only shook her head in disbelief of the reaction that she managed to get from the underage filly.

"Sorry Rarity, but you were going to find out about this one way or another."

Warning: This section contains Male/Male/Female sexual content. Those who do not like this kind of thing, please feel free to leave the chapter here. Otherwise, enjoy the show.

"WHAT THE HELL?"

A confused Custard looks at the two, blood tattered unicorns in the bedroom as Magnus laid atop his wife with his hooves pressed against her neck. It would be a convincing look of attempted murder if it wasn't for the fact that her hind legs were wrapped around his waist, locking him in place.

"Hey, close that door. You're letting all the stank out!" Magnus screams out as he continued where he left off before he was rudely interrupted.

"But... I... The blo- What the fuck is going on here?"

"Nngh. You said it. Fuck. That's what were do-Ohh-ing. Me and my husband love a little 'I-hate-you' sex-OHMY every now-and-then. Now are you gonna watch us or leave and close the door?" Pearl asked as she is rammed balls deep by her husband.

"I think I should just go." Custard replied as he turned around to make his exit. But before he could reach the doorway, a blue glow took a hold of the doorknob and shut the door close while simultaneously locking it. He stopped dead in his tracks as the event caught him off guard. His eyes trailed the blue glow and he turned around to see who was the one responsible. Meanwhile, Pearl looked coyly as she continued to force her husband to drive deeper into her.

"Wait a minute dear." She addressed to her husband as she motioned him to remove herself from his current position. Magnus, reading his wife's expressions, telekinetically moved a chair from the side of the room to the bedside next to his wife. Sitting up and placing a hoof in between her haunches, Pearl motioned for Custard to sit in the chair adjacent to the bed. Her hoof began to move itself up and down across her hardened mound as she patted the seat that Magnus placed next to her. "Why don't you take a seat. The view is much better from here."

Custard tried to turn away from the lewd display that she was giving, but found that his body had objections to his true intentions. As he felt himself revealing what hid in his sheath, he jumped at the first opportunity to hide his shame. His hind leg raised in an attempt to conceal what was making itself known, but he found that it was far too late as the lump of flesh dangled freely in between his legs. A green aura covered the shaft and head of his hardening stallionhood. Custard jolted his head to Magnus, who's horn was glowing.

"Oh c'mon. We would really appreciate the company."

"Y-yo... YOU'RE A STALLION! You're not supposed to be doing these things." Custard screams out to Magnus as he walked slowly to Custard, his own erection bouncing as he walked. He curved his way around him, flanking him from behind. His magic continued to massage the warm length of Custard's flesh as Magnus bit down and pulled on his ear.

"And? That didn't stop us from doing what we did when we were in high school, freshmeat year to be exact." Magnus whispered as his massage continued, only this time his hoof partook on the action.

"I-I was confused." Custard stutters as his mind reels back to when they were in middle school.

Magnus and Custard knew each other since they were fillies and they would grow up together, remaining inseparable until college. Magnus enrolled at Canterlot where Custard started his own business with his then on-again-off-again marefriend Red Velvet. But when they first started high school, they one day had a contest to decide who was 'the bigger stallion'. At the time, Custard won due to his premature development. But Magnus didn't take the defeat too well and challenged Custard to a wrestling match that got out of control. He ended up pinning Custard against the bed, as their hips were suspended in the air. Clasping down on his hooves, Magnus took control and verbally teased the defeated Custard before he accidentally prodded himself into his friend. Custard and Magnus looked at each other and Magnus smiled as he continued to sexually assault his captive friend until he pushed deep into his friend.

Custard screamed as Magnus continued to slowly drive himself deeper. It wasn't until Magnus rubbed his friend's erection when Custard gave him full consent to do as he pleased. The minutes passed by and Magnus was laid across the bed as Custard bounced rapidly on top of him, his erection slapping his abdomen as he rose and fell. He panted wildly as he tried endlessly to impale himself deeper on the throbbing form of his friend below. Soon, Custard managed to fall hard enough to hit a strange area, one that caused his mind to shut down as his hips slammed downward, pulverizing his friend until thick strands of hot semen erupted from the enthusiastic rider. He continued to drive himself on Magnus until he was milked dry. And as he came from his high, Magnus reached his, effectively ending his long suffering. His tip flared as he released his seed into Custard as he panted wildly, experiencing his first ever orgasm. Thought this was something that they shared, it was something that they often hid as they both agreed to never speak or mention it again. Never again until tonight.

"But your facial expressions said otherwise." Magnus teased as he continued to bite into his friend.

"I-I... I didn't know what I was getting myself into." Custard argued as he felt the pace of the hoof rubbing against his shaft increase in speed.

"And yet you told me not to stop." He whispered as he pinned his friend to the ground like he did many years ago.

"But I'm telling you to stop now." He argues, as he feels Magnus shifting his weight to mount him.

"Be honest, do you want me to stop? After all these years of wanting me inside of you, hitting all the spots that a mare couldn't? Even when your wife was pegging you to hell?" Magnus interrogated as he straddled into position. Pearl looked on with glee as she rubbed the aching mound between her haunches, panting softly as he forced her hips onto her hoof.

Custard nearly leaped out of his hide as he looked at the stallion who started to fondle his scrotum. "B- But... How did you find that out?"

"I always told your wife that a lady doesn't kiss and tell." Pearl moaned as she continued to pleasure herself at the erotic display that was taking place in front of her. Custard shot a look at her and then looked back in worry as he say that he would not be able to resist any longer.

"Magnus-"

"My wife wants a show." Magnus prods the entrance of his friend, causing him to gasp in surprise. "And when my wife wants a show..." He prods again as he pulls his meaty rod away from the puckered entrance. "...I give it to her. Because..." He speeds up the pace of his magic and his hoof that dug in between his testes, providing a tickling, but pleasurable sensation "...I love to spoil my wife." As he whispered those final words, he deactivated his magic and removed his hoof altogether, leaving an unsatisfied and frustrated Custard below him to his complaints.

"Why did you take your hoof away? I didn't want you to st- oh Celestia, I have succumbed to his will yet again." He admitted defeat. He knew that he couldn't last. It's been years since he's obtained pleasure of any sort that didn't involve him masturbating. He didn't care that it was a stallion who was about to fuck him, he just wanted to cum.

"Magnus dearie, please fuck him like you fuck me. Treat him like the mare he is inside." Pearl begged as her hoof intensified it's long voyage to sending her to an orgasm. She lights her horn, magically pulling at her teats as she hears the desperate cries of a stallion longing to be invaded.

"Ahhhhh *gasp* Take me Magnus. Now!" He screamed as if he became a mare in the spring looking for a release. If there was ever a stallion that felt as if he was in his own estrus, it was Custard. His enthusiasm preceded him as a thin, slimy line of precum dribbles from the tip of his flaring cock as he flexed himself to hit his stomach, trying to find some sort of way to send himself over the edge. Before long, he launched himself forward as he was unprepared for the entry that Magnus made.

"Begging like the bitch you've always been, eh?" He teased as he stayed stationary inside of his friend, who managed to make his opinion known.

"Nnngah. Less talk, more stroke please. Oh heavens bless me, I haven't felt this in ages."

Pearl, who was enjoying the show, squealed as she involuntarily twisted into awkward positions. She decided to egg herself onward from the testimony of the victim, who panted with flushed cheeks as he was thrusted forward. "What haven't you felt, dearie?"

Custard was barely able to speak as he huffed his answer. "It's... it's so embarrassing."

"Tell me." Pearl demanded.

"To be full like this. To feel something warm and throbbing inside of me. Not something lifeless like a toy, but something that pulsed as I- Oh Celestia, thank you!" The baritone of Custard's voice was now raised to that of a tenor as he squealed and grunts as the stallion behind him continues to bludgeon his sanity with nothing more than a large, pulsating staff made of flesh.

"He's so cute when he grovels, isn't he dearie?" Pearl asks as she takes notice that the make-shift mare has started to force himself backwards, trying to meet the base of the shaft that entered him repeatedly. Slamming his hips into his assaulter, he screams to the top of his lungs.

"FUCK ME HARDER! FUCK ME UNTIL I'M BLIND! I DON'T CARE, JUST GIVE IT TO ME HARDER DAMMIT!!!

Giggling at the emotional display that his friend below him is showing, he answers his wife with an idea. "Not as cute as you do when you squeak. Now I do believe he interrupted us and now he has to be punished, right?"

With a sinister smile, Pearl sits up from her bed as she activates her horn. "And I have just the thing."

Snapping out of his lustful daze, Custard looked up at his captor as he pleaded to know what they were going on about. "What thing do you have? Magnus-"

"There's no need in asking him dearie. He doesn't know for himself." She interrupted as she removed a white shoe box from underneath the bed. Custard could only look on as he was pounded into the carpet below. His muzzle dug into the ground as he was violently backing himself onto Magnus' hot, beating flesh. He shuddered as he saw a strap-on emerge from the white box. It seemed just as large as the stallion who was rutting him.

"You're going to put that, inside of me?" He asked with fear.

"Is your dick rock hard and slapping against your belly as you're getting it from my husband?" Asked Pearl with a sarcastic tone. Not too long after, Magnus gave a powerful thrust into Custard, causing him to scream in approval as he felt that familiar spark that he felt back in high school.

"Sweet Celestia, YES!" He cried out, unintentionally giving out his answer. Pearl only smiled as she affixed it to herself.

"Then there's your answer."

~To be continued~

Author's Note

Sorry. Apologize for the M/M/F scene. ~~No I'm not.~~ Going to watch porn now. Brb.

ACT 1: Fourth-Down Conversion

"Well, that was interesting."

Words Words Words Words Words Words Words Words Words Words Words"Indeed it was, dearie."

"Yeah. I'm gonna need for the both of you to
never say a word on what all as happened her in this room,
or else the press will be talking about throughout my career.
Agreed?"

"Agreed." If you read the last chapter then you know what's going on. Now onto the story "Agreed"

The three ponies laid in the comfort of the silk sheets of the large Celeste-sized bed. Custard laid to the left as he remained curled inside of the blanket, taking advantage of it's warmth. Pearl laid to the far right. Her hooves were wrapped around her husband as she breathed slowly, basking in the afterglow of the pleasurable marathon she endured as of late. Magnus laid in the center of the bed, with a small space between him and Custard. His eyes continued to stare at the sky, the sky past the ceiling that stretched above him. The lighting of the room was off balance due to the lamp that was located on the hardwood floor below. The shadows stretched eerily across the room as the beams were shut off from most of the room due to the obstruction of the nightstand for which it once stood. Awkward shapes and forms took to themselves against the ivory walls of the chaotic abode. In a way, it was fitting with the current mess that further accented the light disbursement.

Magnus was thinking about what all had happened that day and how he'd managed to get his best friend since middle school involved. In a way, he felt the guilt rack against him. He managed to show Custard a new word of pleasure, however, this pleasure was considered taboo among many of the other townsponies. The forbidden acts of lust and procreation reintroduced itself to his dear friend with the intensity of a category-five hurricane. It was too late now, for he would seek the same pleasure elsewhere somehow. But for some odd reason, the mere thought of him going after another stallion was eating away at him. He didn't want the others to judge him for his preferences, but at the same time he would not allow for his dear Custard to be ripped away from him. He knew that something about the unspoken moment that they shared in high school was wrong, but at the same time the taboo, the various types of embrace, it all felt so wrong that it, ironically, felt right.

But his career was what paid the groceries and the bills. He knew that the many mistakes that he committed could cost him that, not to mention his reputation. He would be harassed in a myriad of ways, including verbally. Not only that, but he also took to consideration that he had a daughter that was used to him and Pearl being her parental figures. They had already done some damage to her perception of their relationship. Not only did she see them fighting, but she saw the mess they created, the blood on their coats, the hate in their eyes. Magnus tried his best to come up with an explanation of their actions, no matter how absurd it would be.

"Dearie, how are we going to explain this to our dear Rarity?" Pearl asked with concern noticeable in her voice and speech pattern. He himself would not know. The weight of the bed below them shifted as Custard turns himself to face the bewildered couple. Taking a deep breath, he would make his suggestion.

"I think I may have a plan."

"Hey, look. I'm sorry about the 'birds, bees and sycamore trees' lecture, but that's in the past now. I understand that you'd probably want to beat my flank with a branch from one of those sycamore trees, but look at it this way; when you get older, you'll understand why the little nuances of appearance, social life, economic status, domestic ability and personal hygiene matter so much to the opposite sex."

"Let me guess, is it because the fact that every stallion and the occasional mare will come around flaunting their goods at me for the sake of me giving in to their sexual demands and/or kinks?" Rarity asked in a dead tone.

"Now you're getting it!" Cup cheered enthusiastically, proud of the fact that the young filly had taken in the knowledge that she has shared with her.

"Life is difficult." The young filly said with a saddened tone.

"Yeppers. But it's also worth living for... I think."

Rarity looked at Cup, wondering why she would say something like that. "Why would you say that?"

Cup merely looked away from the bright blue eyes that questioned her as if she didn't want to show something. "Because sometimes life can be unfair."

Rarity continued looking at her with confusion set in her expression. "I don't exactly follow."

"Yeah, I'd figure you'd say something like that." Cup said, still trying to look away.

Rarity didn't like that Cup Cake started to close herself off like that. She figured it was something that she said unwittingly. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to offend you."

"No. You didn't offend me, not in the least bit."

"Then why are you crying."

Tears fall from the cheeks of a somber Cup Cake as she looks out the window, trying not to think about the day where everything that could've possibly went wrong actually did go wrong. "Nothing, just thinking about Mom."

It was then that Rarity remembered what was her situation, and how long it's been since that day. Not too much of how long it's been, but more of how recent it was. "...I'm sorry."

Cup turns around wiping the tears off her face as she disapproved of the young filly's apology. None of it was her fault, so she didn't have to apologize her. Violently she shook her head as she yelled to Rarity. "STOP APOLOGIZING! It wasn't of your doing and neither does it have anything to do with you!"

Rarity knew it was still a touchy subject. If there was any indication from the bedroom decor, Cup was rather sensitive and was very much in pain. Most of these stuffed animals were a gift from either her mother or her father. So there was a lot to remind her of the pain of the loss she endured. Rarity knew that she couldn't say much now. "I'm...But I..." So she gave in. "Let's just change the subject."

"Cup gave a solemn nod before wiping her eyes with one of the teddy bear arms. She didn't want to think on it too much. Her father was already having a hard time with it. And she promised him that she would try to remain strong for him. For the longest time, she showed very little emotion about it to anyone with the exception of a rare occurrence. Even at the funeral, no tears fell from her eyes. Her father on the other hoof, was a sobbing mess. He hugged her tightly and never let go until it was time for the final viewing. Then he proceeded to cry on the casket that held her. Her mother, his wife, their beloved Red Velvet, was gone. She didn't want to focus on the details, because she knew that if she thought about it, she would imperially break down. So doing as she would normally do on any other occasion, she grabbed the nearest subject out of the air, drug it through her teeth and rolled with it. "...So... You like S.A., huh?"

Rarity raised an eyebrow as she tried to make sense on what she was relating to. "S-who?"

"You know, Shining Armor. The son of the Captain of the Guard." She informed, trying to get her back on track and away from the touchy subject of her mother. Rarity takes to much enthusiasm as she hears the name of her crush.

"Ah! Yes, he's very polite and chivalrous."

"Wow, didn't think fillies knew of words like those." Cup mumbled to herself, thinking that the young filly would not hear it.

"No, but my mothe- Umm... I-"

"It's okay. Go on ahead." She egged on, letting her slide by as she knew that it would draw the attention from her mother.

"My mother explained it to me when we were on the train ride back home from the big game this past weekend."

"Okay, details. What do you like about him."

"Well one night, he told me a bedtime story-"

"Aww, that's so sweet!" Cup Cake interrupted before getting a angry look from Rarity. "Uh nevermind. Continue."

"Anyways, he got finished and I went to sleep. But every time I close my eyes, the princess-eating dragon would come after me and the other ponies either ran away from me or wanted me to be eaten already so that they could live."

Cup was taken by surprise. She heard of foalhood nightmares but that was going into grimdark territory. "Well damn, that's dark."

Rarity nodded before she continued. "Each time the dragon was about to close it's snout with me inside of it, I'd wake up in a cold sweat. Eventually, I had gotten to the point where I couldn't sleep. I started crying and called for Shiny. And just as soon as I called his name, he was right there."

"And, AND?" She urged, wanting to know more details as she grew genuinely interested in the story.

"He looked and me and told me that he would always protect me."

"You made him promise that, didn't you?" Cup asked, knowing that he wouldn't say that by himself.

"Oh, absolutely! He gave me the nightmares, so I made him take responsibility."

Cup had a dirty joke running through her head as she thought about pregnancy and foals. After having unprotected sex, characters in a book would often talk about how the male should 'take responsibility' for the future child. "Heh heh. Responsibility. Go on."

"Anyways, he promised that he'd protect me in my dreams and told me that he'd stay by me until I went to sleep. Once again, I asked and he graciously accepted. But when I went to sleep the nightmare came up again, but this time, there was a literal knight in shining armor. He would fight bravely and oh so valiantly to protect my honor as well as my life. And in the end, the beast was slain and he revealed his face to me. When I saw that it was none other than Shiny in the suit of armor, my body grew three sizes. Our eyes would meet, but his would be slightly higher than mine. His hoof would trail through my mane as I whispered his name. I'd blush and turn my cheek away in embarrassment, but he'd catch me before I'd turn away completely. And just when my eyes would finally land on him, his muzzle came into contact with mine. I can still feel his lips on mine when I think about that dream. But even more so, I can still feel the softness of his mane against my lips as I kissed him on the forehead at the train station."

Cup froze as she heard the words coming straight from the pony's mouth. To think that a foal would have the best playing field in a teenager's game. She wanted to know if she was lying. "IN REAL LIFE!?!?"

"But of course. He kissed me in my dreams, so I'd thought I'd return the favor."

As Cup Cake concluded that her statement sounded as if it was of some merit, she continued with her opinion. "When I fall asleep, all I get is fantasy-lands, alternate realities, slasher chases, vertigo falls and wet dreams. But you, you actually met the guy AND spent the night with him AND kissed him. If you were my age, then every mare would be hunting you down."

"You think so?"

Cup chuckled as she wrapped a hoof around her before looking into her eyes with a straight face. "Babe, they'd leave you for dead."

Rarity ears merely folded at the thought of her being the victim of a nationwide mare-hunt. "Well that wouldn't be a very nice thing to do."

"Welcome to adolescence. Take a number and have a seat. Oh wait, you're not old enough and your number's already been called." She responded.

Rarity tried to make sense of that statement but couldn't do so. "So, one question."

"And what's that?" She asked nonchalantly.

"Do you think Shiny knows more on the 'secrets of life'? You know, from the boys' perspective?"

"Agaaayooowhaaaaa???" Cup didn't know how to process that question, being that it was from a filly of a much younger age.

"What, did I say something wrong?"

Now Cup was trying to think of a way of not sounding awkward in her response. "I-uh well..."

"Probably not the best thing to do, I suppose."

"Yes! Thank you for not making me answer that." She thought to herself as she laughed nervously. "Yeah, we'll go with that."

"Okay, well what should I do?"

Cup looked at the clock on the wall. And it was way past their respective bedtimes. The clock read 11:34 p.m. "First things first, it's really getting late and we both have school in the morning." type 1134 in a calculator and turn it upside down.
"Aww! But I need-"

"No buts. You'll be sleeping in the room down the hall. My dad is letting you have the bed and he'll be taking the floor downstairs."

Rarity shook her head in disbelief upon hearing where Cup's father would be resting. "But why in Celestia's mane-"

"Language, young filly."

"Oh, sorry. But why in the wide, wide world of Equestria is he taking the floor? Downstairs, no less."

"He's got a lot of work to do in the early morning hours. You know, baking, mixing, labeling, making sure that we can catch the early morning swarm. We've also got an early bird special going just to rid ourselves of a possibility of having to toss some of the baked goods by the end of the day."

"Well that just seems wasteful."

"Well yes and no. My father wants to make sure that all goods are freshly baked and without flaws of any sort. But the bad thing is that he can be a bit neurotic when it comes to the management. He once even tried to start an early morning and late evening delivery run to drop off all spares."

"How did that go?" Rarity asked.

"Miserably." Cup responded in a serious tone.

"Is that so?"

Once again, she looks out the window, but this time she looks at the stars above. "Yeah, I'm constantly caught up in school activities and I can barely help out around here as it is. He's running across town two times a day and trying to manage a bakery, all in a thirteen hour shift."

"That seems a bit harsh on his end, don't you think?"

"And the worst thing of it is that he won't let me quit any of my school activities just for me to help. Truth be told, he needs all the help he can get. He opens earlier than any other bakery, closes later than any other bakery, ships out as many orders as any other bakery, and he gets clientele that varies from birthday parties to corporal engagements."

"And I bet he doesn't spend much time with you either?"

"Not since mom died."

Rarity knew that this was still a touchy subject but she wanted to ease the tension somehow. "...My dad may be a similar case, but with you, you don't have anypony to talk to."

"I'm used to it now. My dad is a strong guy, although I'm worried that all this stress may end up being more of a loss rather than a profit."

"I suppose."

She knew that her father was working himself into an early grave, but she didn't want to speak about it with her. If there was one pony who needed to hear what she had to say, it would be him. But she yawned as she thought about it and remembered what time it was. With a deep sigh she changes her mood as she turns her attention to the accommodations that was set for the young overnight guest. "Well, I guess I should show you where the room is located. It also has a bathroom inside."

"Thank you for everything Ms. Cup." Rarity said with a gentle smile. Cup smiled back at Rarity, walked her outside of the room and into the hallway before she felt a need to get past the formalities.

"Oh no, dear. Call me Cup Cake."

The room that the young filly slept in remained dark. The shadows that crept past the window seal into the room seemed as if it was trying to grab a hold of the foot of the bed. Rarity laid awake, not because of the nightmare she had, but because of the hero that saved her in the end. It was the same knight in the shining armor and within it was the stallion bearing his namesake upon his body. The proud Shining Armor kissed her as usual as she embraced him with a clasping hoof that cup his chin to hers. But something else came with this dream. Something that didn't happened in the last dream.

He kissed her as usual, bringing himself to her lips. Her tears fell in a show of gratitude as she brought him closer. A mighty wind swept across the dreamscape as the curtain would fall on the tender finale. But this time the curtain did not fall. The wind merely blew, sweeping the manes of the two that held fast. The kiss broke and the two looked at each other. As they read the expressions of each others faces, they chucked at one another. Their laughter filled the fields they sat on as they gently shoved each other playfully. Eventually, they began to show a little more aggression; rolling in the fields of the dreamscape. The star-lit sky was as bright as the noon hour, the ground they moved on made ripples of luminous rainbows. It danced as if the lands was made of water, yet they were not wet. Not too long after the brief wrestling match, the strong knight showed dominance as he stood atop of the giggling princess. But their laughter stopped and their expressions became neutral. They only stared until the indigo-maned princess ferociously slung her hooves around the neck of the blue-maned knight.

Her muzzle dug greedily into his as his lips parted ways, surrendering everything to her. She twisted and pivoted in her confinement as the knight took his hooves around her. He removed the dress she wore with haste, not wanting to squander any time. She proceeded to return the favor by unlatching his chest plate. She also undone his grieves and his fauld to free him from the steel prison that provided his protection. He slung what little left of his armor that remained across the field. As he refocused his attention to the mare below him, he removed her fragile form from the ground, picking her up as she remained clasped in his hooves. Their lips remained intertwined throughout the whole ordeal. His hooves now supported the weight of the mare that he sought to make his. The princess broke the engagement as she ran a hoof down from his mane to the side of his face. A quiet yet audible sigh rushed past her tongue, trying to find a sense of what to say. But before she could find them, she gasps in surprise to see that the hooves of Shining Armor found themselves tightly wrapped underneath her flank as he continued to support her weight. He seemed to be looking below him in an attempt to monitor what was going on, or rather to guide himself. As she lifted a hoof to his shoulder, he took a foreleg around her waist. As she kissed him one last time, two words dared to escape from her lips.

"Take me."

The filly woke up in a cold sweat, unaware of what all was happening to her in the dream. She was left in a state of confusion as she tried to make sense on what the addition to her dream was. Deep in her mind, she knew it was only a dream. But she also knew that something like that had to mean something and that it wasn't something to be taken so lightly. Her breathing was rushed as she looked around the dark room to retain a sense of reality. However, something was off. She felt cold, but at the same time warm. She couldn't explain it because the conflicting sensations only made the situation even more confusing. She wanted to wrap herself in the blanket she laid under but she also wanted to get rid of it, seeking the outside air to cool her off. Rarity didn't know what to do, so she decided that it would be best to come up with the answer in the morning. But first, the after-effects of her unusual dream left her in a state of thirst.

The white filly quietly crept into the hallway. Her horn ignited much of her surroundings as she walked. As she walked, she notice that she would no longer have to use her horn, as there was a source of light coming from down the hall. There seemed to be a room whose lights remained on. She imagined that it was the bathroom, but soon found that the bathroom was further down the hall on the opposite side. Ultimately she concluded that it was none other than Cup Cake's room. Rarity continued onward to the stairs as she reignited her horn. She made her way downstairs, walked into the kitchen, grabbed a a small glass from the cupboard and quietly trotted back up the stairs. She once again unlit her horn as she crossed the doorway the sleeping Cup Cake.

*SQUEAK*

Rarity's eyes shot open as she stood in place. The creak of the hardwood floor below her weight caught her off guard as she walked by. But now she stood as still as the stone monument in town square. She didn't want to make any sudden movements as the vapor showed against the glass she held in her mouth. As the seconds went by, she tried to think of a way to escape. Her limbs, frozen stiff, began to ache and she was starting to develop cramps. Each second seemed like an hour as she remained in her petrified state until she assumed that it was safe to cross. Breathing a quiet sigh of relief, she proceeded to make her way down the hall.

"Carrot..."

Her ears did not deceive her. That was the voice of Cup Cake coming from the lit bedroom. Rarity did not dare to even move even further without appeasing her sense of curiosity and it was screaming out to her. She knew that this wasn't going to help her get to bed any time sooner, but it would be comical to see a pony talk in their sleep. Placing the glass on the nearest stand in the hallway, she slowly crept back to the bedroom door that was left ajar. She crested her head past the wood of the door and her eyes finally took in the sight of the room. The first thing that caught her eye was one of the stuffed toys that laid lifeless on the floor. The head was almost completely ripped off, or rather zipped off. There was even a deep hole in the cotton of the neck. Most likely used to store something. As her eyes traveled onward, she took notice of something that completely surprised her; Cup was wide awake.

Cup Cake sat up on her bed, her haunches meeting with the blanket. Suddenly she rose up slowly, giving Rarity the indication that she might have possibly been spotted. But instead she sank down to the bed once again. The young filly was even more confused now than she was waking up. Why would she be acting like this? What is she doing? Why is she crying out? At the last question, her mind froze in sudden realization on what was going on. Using the clues in front of her as well as the newly acquired information that she managed to obtain from the awkward conversation about the 'birds and bees' situation, she concluded that this was the act that she spoke of called 'masturbation'.

"Carrot. Fuck me, Please."

Rarity looked at the pleading Cup Cake with awe and interest, but also of another sense that she could not make out at that given moment. She knew that she shouldn't be looking and that it was rude to interrupt on somepony's private time, but she couldn't stop watching, or rather, wanted to know what she was feeling that made her act like this. The facial expressions as Cup ascended and descended her bed. She wanted to know what was the object in between her haunches. Why did her hips continue to rise and fall despite the fact that her faces indicated a mix of pleasure and pain? She soon found her answer in the shape of a phallic instrument that seemingly impaled into the nethers of the hyperventilating mare.

Cup was jolting out of control as a sloppy trail of cum and grool fell from between her quivering lips and winking bud. Rarity seemed captivated by the scenery that played out in front of her. And even in that moment, she felt the heat that plagued her once before as she awoke from her dream come back, though not as strong as before. Before long, she caught herself breathing heavily as the heat took over her body. She bit her hoof to stifle the quiet cries she produced. The heat grew worse and the young Rarity felt a slight stinging sensation inside of her, more specifically in her lower abdominal region. She knew that she had to make it stop and she had to do it quickly. Her horn lit brightly as grabbed the glass of the picture stand in the hallway and opted to gallop to the bedroom. But there was one problem; her horn now glowed uncontrollably bright. She tried to rub her horn to interrupt the spell, but instead it only magnified the heat she felt ten-fold. Instead, she kept rubbing it until her light flashed brightly across the hall, leaving no trace of her or the glass. Cup Cake, who only saw the flash, snapped her out of her post-orgasmic bliss. She ran to the doorway only to find nothing in the vicinity. She shrugged it off, thinking it was just her imagination.

The young filly reappeared in a blinding flash as the glass landed on the bed unscathed. She tried to figure out what happened, but soon found out that thinking was a little more difficult than it normally would be. So was breathing, standing, and keeping her eyes open. Whatever had happened, it took a toll on her magic as well as her mental capabilities. She was so tired that she could barely walk and her coordination wasn't exactly in tip-top shape. Instead of merely collapsing to the ground, she drugged her body to the bedside, carefully placing the glass on the nightstand next to her and shimmied herself underneath the covers. As her eyelids closed for the night, her final thought was the strange sensation of her haunches being unusually wet.

"Remember Shiny dear; NO MARES!!!"

Once again, Shining Armor would have to endure yet another one of his mother's lectures on why he should never seek a relationship in high school or the early parts of college. But this time he felt that the whole routine had gotten old. So he took the night to rehearse some witty comebacks just for the occasion. They may have not been witty to others or their sense of humor but to him they were hilarious. "Well what do you want me to do? Go after stallions?"

Velvet gasped sharply at the response of her son as he implied that she'd rather see him as a colt cuddler. Needless to say that she did not take to the humor too well. "CELESTIA'S REBUKE, NO!!! NO STALLIONS OR MARES IN ANY SEXUAL WAY OR FORM!!!"

"Got it. No fun allowed." He snarked as he ran down the street. His mother chased him a quarter's way down the block before stopping to yell at him.

"Now see here, young colt-"

"See you later!"

As he turned the corner, she performed a voice amplification spell that worked in similarity to what was called the 'Royal Canterlot Voice'. The only difference is that this was a spell all within itself where the infamously dubbed 'Royal Capslock' was the all natural capability of raising one's voice to decibels that would crush the hearing ability of many ponies if exposed to it for an extended amount of time. Taking a solid breath, Velvet yelled to the top of her lungs. "We WILL discuss this when you get home this evening!"

Shining shook his head in embarrassment as he took the shortcut to school once again. He wasn't running late, but he wanted to meet up with Azure and his other friends so that they could plot a sinister prank against the school that they were scheduled to have a hoofball game with this coming Friday. They were still drafting up ideas and were trying to come up with one, solid idea that was crazy enough to work.

As he ran to the main foyer, he continued to think about the prank that that he would concoct. One plan was stealing the mascot, but then there would be kidnapping charges involved as the mascot was a pony in costume. Another thing was to fill their train cart full of Swiss and mozzarella cheese, but where would they find the finances for all of that cheese. Azure was thinking about having a mass orgy with the opposing cheerleaders. "DENIED. Not gonna happen. Will never happen. No possibility of it happening. No funds to make it happen. Hell, I'd sooner run into a princess before that shit would even be spoken into existence." He thought to himself as he ran into his respective hall. Suddenly, a vision of white and pink blur came into focus as he ran face-first into another student. His books scattered from his saddlebags and littered the floor of the green hall. Shining knew that this was fully his fault and proceeded to apologize profusely.

"Sorrysorrysorrysorrysorry. I didn't mean to bump into yoahhahuuuu-"

"Oh no! It's okay, seriously." A pink mare spoke as she stood above the fallen cadet.

"Huuu. Abbuuu durr huurrrrdur." Shining was at a loss for words. He no longer knew how to speak Equish, or at least at that moment. As he stared at the benevolent mare that stood before him, she activated her telekinesis in order to start picking up the numerous papers that lied on the floor. As the blubbering colt continued his irregular speech patterns, she giggled at his antics as she helped him clean up.

"Aww. Boys are so cute when they are so smitten with beauty that they can no longer speak coherent phrases and sentences." She teased.

"Haaar. Hurr burr?"

"You're welcome, cutie."

Every hair on Shining's coat stood on end as he heard the one word that became the ice breaker in his failure of a social interaction with a mare his own age. "Cu-cu-cu- cute?"

"Yay! You spoke your first word! Would you like a cookie?" She teased again, clopping her hooves together in applause.

"Uhh sorry. I just never seen anypony like you around here." He admitted as he started to fire up his magic. He picked up the books that laid to the side of the beautiful pink mare. As he was cleaning up the mess, the pink mare merely looked at the mark that adorned his flank.

"Oh, well you shouldn't. I just transferred in, mister cadet."

"Bu-b... How did you know?" Shining asked as he backed away slightly, not knowing how she knew about his military status.

"Well, if I had a pink star on a shield for a cutie mark, then you'd assume that I was a cadet too." She mused as she continued to pick up around the teen stallion, circling his position.

"Uh..." Shining grew nervous. Mares were never really a strong subject in his case, thanks to his mother's influence as well as her numerous lectures.

"Sweetie, it's just a cutie mark. It's not like I'm checking you out." She lied. She was analyzing everything about him, and she didn't want to leave out any details. So far, she liked what she saw. There was much to this colt and there wasn't much wrong with him with the exception of his interaction with those of the opposite sex. She also made a note to ask him for his name.

"Well, I..."

"What's your name, cadet?"

"Shining, Shining Armor."

A sneaky smile crept to the pink mare's lips as she realized how popular he was among the many mares in Equestria. She heard only rumors, but so far many of those rumors have proven to be facts. "Ohhh! So you're that one colt that every mare in Canterlot wants to rut senselessly into a coma."

" *cough* Excuse me?" Shining stopped picking up the papers and books around him as he looked at the mare in disbelief. He didn't expect that particular statement to come from her. Cadence still circled the stallion, analyzing every inch of him. If he was as popular as the mares make him to be, then surely he'd-

"Nice treatment of coat, pure white is very rare, well maintained coiffure, lovely set of eyes, unshorn fetlocks, classy, good voice, not too masculine nor too feminine, well-kept tail and OH MY DEAR AUNT!" She swiped her magic across his tail, sharking him as he felt a cold draft in between his hind legs. He realized that his privacy was violated. She realized that she just hit the jackpot.

"Is there something I can help you with?" Shining asked in the form of a half-scream. The pink mare merely issued a statement that was in total contrast to her thoughts.

"Oh there's a lot you can help me with. Let's start in the locker room." "Ummmmm-no."

Shining shook his head in rapid succession in order to purge any thoughts of his minor exhibition before it became an even larger problem. "Then is there a possibility of me getting your name?"

"Oh, where are my manners? Sorry. But my name is Pri... Mi Amo- Cada- Aaaamoooraaaa, yeah that's it."

"Come again?"

"My name is Amora. I'm an exchange student from that private school from across town." She stated with a wide grin, as her eyes shifted from side to side.

"Oh, why come here, of all places?"

"Well there was talk of a stallion who was in need of romantic guidance and I'm here to be of assistance. In case you couldn't tell, my special talent is more in the arena of romance."

"Wow, that must be a pretty awesome talent."

"You'll find that out for yourself." Amora mumbled under her breath.

"You said what now?" Shining asked, completely oblivious to her snide remark.

"I said you'll see what I mean as you get to know me." She lied as she forked over the books she picked up.

"Awesome. Well I gotta run. Friends of mine are waiting on me. Gotta little project we're working on."

"Oh, okay." She said as she took one of his notebooks hostage. She pulls out a red quill as well as a small jar of ink out of seemingly nowhere. Shining was intrigued by the kidnapping of his personal belongings as Amora scribbled in the notebook.

"Uhh, what are you writing?"

"My locker number," She said with a smile. "...as well as measurements."

"SAY WHAAA?!?" Shining screamed, letting his jaw hit the floor.

"Kidding, just my locker number only." She said with a giggle. Shining was more or less tired of her constant teasing.

"Okay, that seemed a little more realistic."

"Yup. Well, I'll see you soon." She said softly as she trailed a hoof to his chest and up to his neck. Surrendering the notebook to it's rightful owner, she took off at a full gallop down the hall and into a classroom.

"Yeah." Shining was relieved that the Amora finally left him alone. He opened the notebook, expecting some note calling him a nerd or something. He flipped through the many empty pages as he tried to look for the mare's locker number. Finally, he came in contact with a page that had a paragraph written on it.

"Dear helpless patient,

My locker number is 2046. If you ever need to write a note or a letter to me, you can drop it off here and I will have your answer by the end of the following period. I am expecting you to come to me about any suggestions you may possibly have when it comes to the opposite sex. If the situation is so dire, then you could use me as practice. But truthfully, I've had my eye on you for a while now. Your father is Captain of the Guard and your mother is Head of Magical research. How I know this is because my status allows me to know. But what my status can't help me with is trying to get to know a little more about you (personally). I do want to get to know the real Shining Armor and not the ones I hear in the rumors. If you let me get to know you, then maybe I'll tell you all of my measurements.

With love,
Amora

P.S.:"

Shining's hooves quaked as he realized what this was. She didn't come to look for the patient, she came to speak with the patient. And the patient was him. His heart began to beat into his ears as he thought about his mom finding out about this, but he knew exactly how to hide this sort of thing from her. As he thought, a voice caught his attention.

"Oh, and Shining Armor!"

It was her again. " *gulp*...Yes?"

"Nice ass!"

Author's Note

Well this was an interesting chapter to write. Not so much of the plot (I've always had fun writing those) but of the circumstances that kept this from being released sometime last week.

Apparently (if you have Comcast [Cuntcast] internet), they decided that putting a data cap on your internet was convenient. I have family members who use Netflix a lot and I play alot of CoD. Now, initially, when we got the plan, there was no data cap and it's been like that for 3 years now. So when I see that they start off by cutting off my wifi, followed by causing my internet to run at a mere 3-MbPS, an annoying message that pops up on my screen to tell me that I'm 90% of my usage and it shut down all of my java scripts (so no saving for me) and the piece-de-resistance is that they bill you each time you go over despite my billing date not falling within the calender month when they reset (mine is mid-month), I get pissed off.

So yeah, interesting. But I managed to adblock that shit and keep it all moving across the board by installing an update to flash. So I'm good until further notice. Now, wasn't that an interesting season premiere?

P.S.: When I wrote out Cup Cake, I usually have this younger version of her in mind.

Happy Turduken Kaioken Day.

ACT 1: Blind-Sided

"No way in hell that's gonna work!"

"Come on. Just think about it. Multiple mares fighting to have a ride on your disco stick."

"Sorry, but that is calculated to be approximately 98.2 percent improbable."

Three stallions in the school uniform stood in a triangular formation, closing off any acknowledgement to the world around them. One of the stallions was Azure. The second one was an average looking pegasus stallion with a brown-and-white coat, a dirty-blonde mane-and-tail and he carried a cutie mark depicting a quiver of arrows crossed with a longbow. His name was Longshot. The final stallion was a creme colored pony with a slicked-back black mane with a cutie mark that depicted a rook from a game of chess. His name was Machiavellian Dexter Posthumous, but his friends called him Poindexter for short. As Poindexter and Longshot looked at each other, Azure continued to make his case. "The both of you are thinking way too small. You gotta remember that we still have an ace in the hole."

"And that being what, Azure?" Longshot asked.

"Duh, who's the one stud that every mare is chasing right now?" Azure rebutted.

"Oh, not this 'Shining Armor entourage' speech again." Poindexter said as he rolled his eyes at the thought of another one of these lectures coming up.

"Yes again, and do you know why? It's because it is shown among those of the upper-crusts that if you know somepony that's on pre-celeb or celebrity status, then mares can't refuse you." Azure argued once more.

"Look, that may have worked out for you last year when you 'attended' Canterlot Heights. But this year, all the mares in Equestria are going after every noble that's in the vicinity." Stated a frustrated Longshot.

"That's right. And guess who's the soon-to-be noble that every adolescent mare wants a piece of?" Azure asked as he points to Longshot

"Shining Armor?"

"Right! Now throw that into your calculator, Poindexter." Azure exclaimed as he pointed to Poindexter. Poindexter raised his calculator and began typing away as he mentally wrote out the equation.

"Okay. Blah blah blah, carry the 5, multiply by c, divide by 2a, aaaannd voila! Our chances increased by 25.8 percent. So our chances went from 1.8 to 27.6."

"That's still no good, dumbass." Longshot says, pointing back at Azure.

"Wrong, wrong, ALL WRONG! Did you not see the increase?" Azure retorts as he shoves the hoof pointed at him at the calculator Poindexter held.

"Yes, and I'm so certain that raising our chances a little over a full fourth would prove to be such a significant difference whenever it comes to real life. Wild-card chance is there would be a distinct possibility that the cheerleaders of Canterlot Heights would even pay any attention to us, but it still wouldn't mean we could get to make a run for first base." Poindexter states as Azure pulls a large phonograph out of his saddlebag.

Both Poindexter and Longshot looks at Azure with morbid confusion as they tried to identify where that object had come from, how it would fit into his saddlebags and how the two would not even notice the large bulge that it would create. Azure continued to set up the device and also pulled out a small rod as well as a military outfit complete with a hat, his cutie mark grafted at the center. With a single spin, Azure changed out of his school uniform and into the military ensemble. With a solid kick, the phonograph plays the record set under the needle.

"Boys, remember who you're talking to. I went to that school and fucked over so many noble steeds that the parents of the mares are contemplating the process of disownment. I've slid my slab of salami so deep, their moms felt orgasms when they hug their daughters. I've gotten caught power-plowing a mare in the middle of a gym class that I was not signed up for in a school I did not even go to. Am I wanted? For grand theft virginity. Am I guilty? Red shafted. Would I do it again? Yes, and this time I'd jackhammer the dean's daughter right in front of him, skull fuck her best friend, and take pictures to sell to all the needy middle school boys who hasn't had the opportunity seeing a mare vag once in their lives. Gentlemen, I say we stop playing it safe and start becoming legends. NOW WHO'S WITH ME!?"

"I'm in!" A random Shining Armor appears.

"Shining! I'd knew you'd come with it!"

"Of course. But just one question."

"And that would be, my fellow broski?"

"What did I agree to?"

The world around them continued to spin, but the two stallions remained suspended in their animations. Azure's face is a twisted mix between utter disbelief and livid confusion. Their movements remained locked in place until something within Azure snaps him back to reality. "... Are you shitting me?"

"No seriously, did you come up with a final resolution on what we're doing?" Shining asks with a smile on his face.

"I would say the plan of sleeping with all the cheerleaders would pretty much be the pinnacle of all pranks."

Shining's smile erased as his head flops towards the ground. "This again?"

"This again." Longshot reassures as he pats the grieving cadet on the back. As a few seconds pass, Shining regains his composure. He had a feeling that this was going to be a long day, considering what all had happened to him just earlier with personal-space invading, creepy stalker-type, yet beautiful Amora. But he also knew that he shouldn't let his day end like this. He came to the conclusion that he would pick himself up, dust himself off and try again.

"Azure, what would this prove?" Shining deadpanned.

"That all the mares that attend their school would show a betrayal of school spirit by sleeping with the enemy."

"Bad idea."

"Why?"

"Because the debate team already did it last year."

Azure's vision briefly turned black as he continued to wear a smile on his face. A non-existent blew across the hallway as his smile continued to persist in the gentle breeze, sweeping his mane as it crossed his path. Azure took one deep breath and his law-defying smile shattered as the world heard the next words that erupted from his lungs, shaking the very foundations of Canterlot itself. "HOW THE HELL DOES THAT HAPPEN!!!"

Longshot and Poindexter soaked in despair, realizing that they'd really would be the last ones to get laid in their class. Their despair came from the knowledge of the fact that the debate team had consisted entirely of geeks, but they knew how to talk their way into a mare's nethers. And many of the mares thought they were ranged from a low of average to a high of insanely cute. Poindexter spoke first. "I knew I should've signed up for the Debate Team rather than Math Club last year."

"Why do I feel as if every other stallion in this school is getting some except for me and Poindexter?" Longshot lamented.

"Why do you keep excluding me?" Shining asked, curious as to why his name wouldn't be in this conversation based on the fact that he has never been with a mare his own age.

"Because every mare wants your semen in their morning cup of coffee. And Azure is an auto-bid for every other mare who isn't anypony important." Longshot answers as Azure stares a multitude of projectiles into his friend.

"Case made. But still, that leaves us without a plan." Shining admits.

"There's gotta be something we can do that no other pony in school history has ever achieved." Adds Azure.

"Something that's bold." Longshot cosigned.

"Something that's insane." Azure stated as he slammed his hooves into each other.

"Something that's original." Poindexter recommended pointing to his head, implying that they should think about what they should plan out next.

"Something that's not illegal." Shining reminded the three as he didn't want to get into any trouble with the law.

"Hmm..." A collective of the four hummed in unison as they took on various thinking poses. Poindexter's mood suddenly changed when an idea began to formulate in his brain.

"Hey, I have an idea. How about we send the currently updated progress reports of all the hoofball players to the school district. Their ineligibility would no longer be overlooked because the district will force the school to pull the players who are failing any of their classes, and that should leave them with their second and third string players. Not only is it bold, insane and original, but it's also-"

"IIIIL-LEE-GAAAL! We don't have the access to the schools records, nor do we even go to that school." Shining interrupted, waiving his hooves as he indicated that the plan was completely improbable.

"No we don't, but your mom is head of Magic Research. And she's also one of the key members of the District Referral Committee. So that means that she has her hoof in the ass of the Superintendent." Longshot added to Poindexter's argument.

"True, but she'd never do anything that was in the realm of personal gain. So again, she'd never help us if the occasion wouldn't require an intervention of some sort." Shining stated as the four teens picked up their bags to head into the classroom just two doors away. The sound of hooves clopping against the marble floor and the miscellaneous voices in the background only added to their frustration as an infuriated Azure pounded his head, trying to jolt the gears in his head to start turning.

"Arrgh! Think, dammit! THINK!"

*BRRRIIIIIIIIINNNG*

"Well, there's the bell. Guess we should be heading off to first period." Longshot suggested as they inadvertently walked pass their first class.

Shining carried on the conversation as he magically tapped on the boys' shoulders, letting them know that their classroom was a row of lockers back. "Yeah, we don't wanna get into trouble with Mrs. Shrewd. She'd tan our hi-"

"Mail for Shining Armor!" A random voice calls out. A pegasus mare hands a letter to the teen stallion, who raised an eyebrow at the mare for her random appearance. The others also questioned her appearance as she gave the letter to it's recipient.

"Thanks." Says a grateful but yet cynical Shining Armor. He unseals the letter using his magic and proceeds to read the letter in silence. His friends gather around him as they try to get a look at the contents of the letter.

"So, who's it from?" Poindexter asks trying to get a good look at the signature.

"A filly whom I've pretty much become a surrogate older brother to." Shining answers before the three other start laughing as they push him into the classroom. As they enter, they continue to taunt the blushing cadet.

"Yesh. Taking 'em young, eh Shining?" Longshot teased as he playfully shoved Shining Armor.

"I didn't know that you had 'em trying to cuff ya for their firsties." Azure whispers as he stops a stumbling Shining from running him over, wrapping a hoof around the back of his neck.

"You really are a cradle-robber, aren't you?" Mocked Poindexter.

"NO! NONE OF THIS! She's just a filly in Ponyville that I'm set to look after every time she comes to town." Chided a reddened Shining Armor. The last thing he needed was to be accused of was to be intimately involved with a filly that was a full six years younger than him.

"So now you're into foalsitting?" Longshot asked, poking into the side of the still blushing cadet as Shining Armor tried to confirm his status.

"I am not a foalsi-"

"OH MY GOSH!!! YOU DO FOALSITTING TOO!? Wow, you really are a jack of all trades!"

A female voice calls out to him. Shining's senses shot into overdrive as he realized who's voice it was. "A-a AMORA!? You're in this class?"

"Yeah, cutie. And I hope that you took my offer into consideration."

A disgruntled Shining Armor scanned the room as he tried to identify which classroom he wandered into, unsatisfied by the sight of the violator of his personal space, as well as his personal belongings. "But you- I saw- You went into another classroom!"

"Yes, and they kindly informed me that this was the class that Mrs. Shrewd was instructing."

The teen stallion's face seemed to melt from anger to fear as he remembered that she knew everything about him and his family. If she knew of his family, then finding out about his class schedule was a cake-walk. "Did you change your schedule last minute or something?"

Amora wore a gentle smile upon her face as she tried to hide the fact that she was guilty of that very act. But at the same time she knew that he'd never have the connections to find out or even so much had the smarts to do so. Her exterior remained sweet and demure as her interior remained calculative, deceptive, obsessive as well as amorous. She wanted him. No mare could have him. And if he refused to submit, she'd put him in his place. It was just her nature. When she loved something, nothing could separate her from it.

"Maybe I did, but you'll never know." "Oh no. This is what my schedule said, I just so happen to be in a rush to meet new friends that I managed to run into the wrong classroom. Isn't that funny?" Amora answered while retaining her composure. Shining on the other hoof, lost his and started to think in contrast to the small note that she wrote to him earlier. He wanted to know who she was exactly, and what her goal for him truly was. What was she hiding behind that cute, little smile of hers? If anything was an indicator as to who she really was, her school schedule was not going to lie on her. That's when he hatched an idea on how he could find out more about this mare who approached him so strongly.

"Sure. Can I see that schedule?"

"Most certainly. Is there anything else that you want to see?" She asked as her tail flicked behind her, giving a small but subtle hint of what she wanted. Plain and simple, she was the type of mare that his mother warned him about. A mare who wanted to partake upon his stallionhood and provide him with foals far earlier than his anticipation. Unfortunately for her, he didn't quite catch on to female gestures too well and was oblivious to her unspoken request.

"No thanks." He answered as she magically surrendered her class schedule to him. As his eyes scanned the list, he noticed some classes that she took were either before the period that he took them or after the fact. The only classes that they shared was Equish (1st period) and Biology 2 (6th period). As much as he wanted to reveal the fact that she was stalking him, the schedule proved to be unsubstantial evidence. Even her name was as she spoke it. But he did notice something a little... off.

"Amora Fairweather, isn't that a pegasi name?" Shining asked out of curiosity.

"Well, yes and not really."

"Not really in the sense that you're a unicorn, or yes because your parents thought you would be a pegasus?"

"Both actually. I was born with a birth defect. So I guess that you can say I have a trait that makes me a little... special compared to most other mares."

Shining couldn't imagine the birth defect being a physical one. She looked entirely too healthy. So maybe it may have been a mental birth defect. He flips the sheet over and he took notice to the section that was normally reserved for pegasi. Oddly enough, there was a wing measurement. "Hmm... It says you have a wingspan of thirty hooves. That's kinda big. But isn't it strange on how I don't see a single feather around you?"

"Really? That must mean that my nightly hour of preening was rather effective."

"But... you don't... have wings."

"Is that your final answer?"

"Ye-y.. YES!" He cries out in frustration, upset that she's playing these little mind games with him. Amora in seeing that the stallion is obviously confused and bewildered, decides for the best to reinforce her argument. And she knew exactly how she would go about it. Yes, the games have truly started.

"Okay then. Come here and give me a hug, cutie. I like hugs."

Shining looks at the mare with outstretched hooves as he starts to think for a second. Suddenly, he remembers that his friends were nearby. Turning to them, he seeks advice on what he should do next. The group of boys just simply egg him on as Amora tackles him from behind. Shining Armor screams as he's caught with his guard down. Suddenly a large pair of wings surround him, impairing the vision of everything that surrounded the two within the feathery ball of pink that gradually faded to a lavender. Shining looses all control of his tongue."HOLY SHIT BASKETS!"

Amora smiles as she closes in on the stallion within her clutches. A chorus of oohs and aahs come from the exterior of the feathered limbs. She raises a hoof to his lips in order to silence any future words that could escape. She gains ground until she is an inch away from his snout. Shining begins to sweat as he sees the ferocious pink mare igniting her horn to bring him closer to her. He closes his eyes as he can only wait for her to violate his lips, when suddenly he feels something wet brush against his cheek. With his eyes shot open with astonishment, he realized that she only licked him on the cheek. Her muzzle closes in on his ears as she whispers seductively.

"Care to preen a mare in the near future?"

"Remember kids, have your assignments completed by tomorrow morning. Surf and Turf, into my classroom. You're still assigned detention."

"Aww!" Moaned Surf as she dropped the saddle bags on the floor as she tried to make an escape attempt.

"We were only going to see our friend in Canterlot." Argued Turf as she sat back down at her desk.

"You don't go for visits in the early hours of the morning, with the intent to skip my class! Sunset Shimmer is busy with her advanced studies. And she won't be able to take the time to speak with you as long as she is under Princess Celestia's instruction." Mrs. Warmheart chides. "She isn't within the mindset of being a little filly with the intentions of showing off anymore. She knows that there is much more to education than being the center of attention. That is why she left. She doesn't want to be confined to a town like Ponyville because we couldn't possibly hope to fulfill the ambitions that she had set out for herself."

"Your parental angst is showing." Turf mumbled under her breath, causing Surf to laugh in turn. However, it was visually obvious that those words had managed to reach the ears of the already infuriated Mrs. Warmheart. It was obvious that she was in pain after hearing those words. She failed to meet the expectations of her daughter. And in turn, her daughter sought instruction and guardianship from not her own mother, but from the princess herself. Retaining a calm tone in her voice, she continues her disciplinary lecture.

"That may be the case, but you two should look at her as an example and not as an escape. She chose to move on to bigger pastures rather than stay in this little ol' dirt-road town, just to play magician and become the third wheel in your little bullying tirade." As she tried to maintain her composure, something inside of her was welling up. Truthfully, this conversation was breaking her as time went on. "Now if you'd excuse me, I have to drop something off at the teachers lounge. Stay put."

Mrs. Warmheart trotted out of the classroom with great expedition. As the door closed behind her, there was a brief sound of silence. Suddenly, Surf and Turf ears turned to the direction of the doorway as they heard the sound of soft sniffles as well as brief intakes of air. Their teacher was crying.

"Well, I'd never think that she'd break down like that." Surf admitted as the sounds of the sniffling they heard appeared to move further down the hall.

"Gosh, me neither. So what was that little thing that happened with Rarishit and her mother this morning? Turf inquired, wanting to get some dirt on the filly that embarrassed the both of them yesterday on the playground in front of the entire student body.

"Well, it kinda went like this." Surf began to explain. "From what I heard her saying is that her mother and father had gotten into a pretty ugly fight. And now she thinks that her athlete daddy doesn't even love her anymore."

"Oooh, juicy!" Turf sang-sung as she rubbed her hooves together. Surf continued her explanation as she ushered the other filly to her.

"Now, additional rumors from the local high school states that she also has a foalhood crush on one of the most high-profile targets amongst teenage mares in all of the big E." (Equestria)

"Like, no way! Fancy Pants?"

"No."

"Hoity Toity?"

"Please. Everypony knows he's a colt chaser. Rumor has it that he prefers to catch rather than pitch. But guess again."

"Third time's a charm. Ummm... Blueblood?"

"No, but here's a hint. Knight in blank blank."

" *gasp* Shining Armor? THE Shining Armor?"

"Yeah, and everypony knows that he's being sought after by Princess Mi Amore Cadenza."

"Poor filly. Once she hears about the inevitable hookup, she'll be so heartbroken."

"Exactly!!! This is how we'll get our revenge! We can dig up anything about her parents and the foalhood crush that's pretty much a dream that will never come true." Surf exclaims as she clops her hooves together, grinding them maliciously.

Turf catches on to where Surf is going with the plan and begins to add on the details. "And we could rub in her face the 'fact' that her father may be seeing another mare in hopes of starting up a new family, a family in which her and her mother won't be apart of."

"And to top it all off, we can add in the fact that Shining Armor will never feel anything for her because of the fact that he's gonna be with a princess. But we can't disclose the name of the princess, otherwise she'll be trying to wreck the whole hook-up thing. And let's be honest, princesses don't like it when their romances fall short due to another mare's plans."

"And even if she does manage to wreck the hook up..." Turf pauses as she imagines the result of their plan.

"And even if her parents doesn't get a divorce, which would cause a tense home environment, leading up to more fights..." Surf takes the same pause before they both shout in unison.

"The world around her would finally crash into the ground, burning every trace of happiness that she once knew! She'll be an emotional wreck!!!"

"YOU TWO, SHUT IT!" A loud voice booms from the doorway. Unbeknownst to the two plotting preteen mares, their teacher managed to return from the teachers lounge with a small tub of ice cream and a red ink pen in her hooves. As she slowly makes her way to the front desk, she gives off a dark stare to the two girls in the chairs next to each other. "Surf, sit on the opposite side of the classroom. Turf, you do the same. No questions, just do it."

Surf and Turf do as they were instructed, providing no argument to their apparently peeved teacher. The sound of the chairs sliding across the floor sounded off briefly as the two schoolfillies took their new seats. Silence ensues.

...

...

...

The class room was completely silent with the exception of the lights that buzzed overhead. Aside from that, the silence itself produced a slight ringing noise that could only be achieved when there was no movement whatsoever. Soft noises, however, disrupts the silence as the teacher pulls out a plastic spoon from underneath her desk. A smiling Mrs. Warmheart pulls the lid off the miniature tub of ice cream, and digs into the surface with the plastic spoon. As she proceeds the shoveling process, she notices that the surface was resisting well against the plastic cutlery. The smile that she wore when she initially opened the small tub, had now turned into a frown as she struggled to dig her spoon into the ice cream. Letting her anger take over, she began to stab at the ice cream when suddenly-

*SNAP*

-the spoon broke.

"FUUUuuu-huuuuuudge."

The two preteens on the opposite sides of the classroom stared at the teacher in the front of the class.

"Fudge ice cream. You know... because the flavor... is... fudge."

The teacher tried all she could in terms of damage control, but in the end it only came out to make the situation even more awkward than it needed to be. She felt so embarrassed thanks to the two preteens in her classroom. The two pairs of eyes continue to seem as if they were staring into her soul. Mrs. Warmheart had conceded at that very instant, slamming the tub of frozen block fudge ice cream down on the table.

"... I knew I should've gotten a good dicking today." She whispered to herself.

"Rarity, look at me dearie."

A more-than-concerned Pearl is trying to gain the attention of her pouting daughter as the small white filly continues to twist her head away from her mother. Pearl wanted to explain herself and the things that all happened between her and her father. She didn't want the young Rarity to be exposed to that kind of sight. But at the same time, she didn't want her to be exposed to the aftermath either. No matter how passionate the make-up was, it was still no place for Rarity to know of the inner-workings of her and Magnus' relationship. She was much too young to know of the things that transpires between a mare and a stallion. Though truth be told, she would one day have to explain it to her.

"Rarity... please look at me. I know you're mad my dear, but please hear what I have to say."

Reluctantly, Rarity turns an ear to her mother's direction. She did not want to look at her mother, but she was willing to hear what her argument was. She allowed for her mother to state her defense as she kept her hooves folded. She nodded without as much as a single word, letting her mother know that she was ready to hear what she had to say in her defense.

"I know that you saw me and your father... in the middle of a heated argument." She began. "But if you will allow me to say... that we managed to make it work out in the end... then would that please you?"

Rarity tilts her ear away in disgust, not satisfied with the statement her mother gave to her. It seemed like she wanted to write it off as easily as a mistake on her homework assignments. She may have been a young filly, but she was much smarter than that. And it was borderline insulting, if it wasn't already fully off the fence, that her mother would speak down to her rather than speak to her. For that, she retreated her ear.

"No no no no, dearie. That's..." She didn't know how to explain it without going into detail, nor did she want to explain it in that manner... "I can only tell you some of the things that we've managed to hit on... But since you're growing up..." But she had no choice. "I suppose you would be able to handle it."

A shuffling sound filled the following silence. In an instant, Rarity performed an about-face, turning herself to her mother. Those final words that her mother spoke, were the words of a mother that confirmed her maturity. She didn't want the easy explanation, the white lies, the immediate gratification of 'everything is going to be just fine'. She didn't want her mother to tell her one thing and later on down the line for the statement to be derailed by something else. By then, it would be lie after lie in order to cover it up. It would never be the same lie, but twisted variations of the previous lies. And that was something that she would not partake in.

She wanted the same thing that her mother would expect from her; the truth. If she wasn't able to hear the truth then she knew that her mother could never be trusted. And not being able to trust her own mother was just as heartbreaking as losing her. She already decided that spending time with her father was no longer a viable option, so she would at the least make do with what she already had. But she would never be able to make the best if they couldn't tell each other the truth. And even if the truth was bitter, then she would come out of the situation knowing that she could trust her.

That was why the young filly turned around.

"Listen to me and listen to me good." Pearl demanded as she rushed to her daughter, placing her hooves on the young filly's shoulders. "Me and your father were arguing, and fighting. But it was something we always did. We never did see eye-to-eye on everything, but we did always manage to make up one way or another. Sometimes, we'd even get a little physical with each other. And usually in those cases, the make up would be... well, for lack of a better word, physical."

Rarity continued to sit in silence as her mother continued her explanation.

"Sometimes me and your father would exchange words, but at the end of those words were compliments and little I-love-you's. Sometimes we would even exchange blows, as you saw for yourself, but there was always a kiss that waited at the end of those blows. When me and your father go to war with each other, it doesn't mean that we hate each other, but it means that we can express how we truly feel. And it's so much better to be able to cry your tears, yell, scream, and throw things every now-and-then, than it would be to suffer in silence, never knowing what is wrong."

"...Love is difficult, isn't it?" Rarity finally breaks her silence. Her mother with a smile, glides her hoof down her daughter's face, wiping away the small tears that welled and fell down her cheeks.

"Love was never meant to be easy. But it was never meant to be impossible."

Pearl hugged her daughter tightly as if she wanted to squeeze all of their cares into the wind. She didn't want the embrace of her daughter to weaken over time with little lies. But there was still something that ate away at her, something that she didn't know how to explain.

"Mother, I have three questions for you. And I want you to tell me the truth on all of them."

Pearl grew a little nervous as she heard Rarity speak those words. Hesitantly, she agreed to answer any questions that she may had for her. "Ask away dearie."

"First question." Rarity began. "I remember the other colt that helped take care of me in Canterlot. He was really nice nad funny too. He even made me lunch in the hotel. Would he be helping us when we're in Canterlot as well?"

This question was a little odd to Pearl. It was unexpected and more irrelevant to the subject at hand. She thought it was a simple test question. But it provided an answer that she could easily provide. "Well, since he's so nice to you, then I guess we can send for him when Shining's around. After all, those two are a jewel together."

"They are quite funny together, I will admit. But onto the second question. Why doesn't father want us to be around him?"

A good question. It was one that Pearl knew the answer to but at the same time, she questioned herself on whether that was the only reason. Magnus already have reservations against them visiting some of the larger games of the season, but that was partially due to the paparazzi. So there had to be a motive on why he would stay busy. She would admit to herself that she was often critical on how busy his schedule truly was, considering that many other athletes spent more time with their families than he did. And to counter that argument she recognized that he was a superstar athlete, meaning that he would be booked for various things. Not to mention he was a suck-up for his agent. But the main reason he used was to keep the media out of his private life, which made plenty of sense.

"Well, he says that he's thinking about it. He may have his arguments against it and they may be sound arguments to boot, but I do believe that he's taking into consideration on whether or not he would set up a decent suite for us to stay in while we use this house as a retreat from the heavier traffic days. And he's well acquainted with the Captain of the Guard so that will mean that we could see more of Shining Armor as well."

Rarity smiled as she heard the news of soon-to-be frequent visits from the stallion she adored as she hugged her mother with glee. "Oh, I'm so excited to hear that bit of good news. I'll get to spend more time with my knight and you will get to spend more time with him as well. He could very well be our new big brother. But there is one more question." Rarity's smile faded as she reminded her mother of the final question she wanted to ask. Her mother nodded her head as she asked the final question.

"Did you do anything inappropriate with Shining Armor?"

Author's Note

With the seeds of doubt planted and the filly digging into the territories of an unspoken taboo, what is to become of her story?

With an obsessive and promiscuous mare who continues to hide her identity chasing after him, will the weeds of distrust begin to snuff out Shining Armor and taint his view of the world around him?

Will Surf and Turf ever get out of detention? Well of course, but what will they do when they get out?

The story's just getting started, so stay tuned.

ACT 1: On The Sidelines

"Did you do anything inappropriate with mister Shining?"

The weight of the filly's question shook the metaphorical foundations of Pearl's thought process. She was stunned at the initial asking of the question, though not as much as she was scared. Her own daughter asked her about her relations with Shining Armor. It was unexpected and also surreal. Pearl looked at the interrogative Rarity as the filly looked at her with a expressionless face. She was waiting for an answer, or rather a way to ask that question.

Rarity already knew that she was at odds with many other mares in Equestria, but she wanted to ensure that she would be the only mare he'd have. She was ambitious, and for that moment fearless. Nothing would stop her from making her dream come true. She would kiss him deeply, just as she saw it in her dreams. She would wrestle him in a show of her aggression. She would not have a second thought confronting mares about it either. As Celestia was her witness, she would never allow him to fall within the embrace of another mare. She would stand tall, just as she declared to Cup Cake the previous night, and knock over any mare that stood in her way. Even if it was her own mother that stood in the way of her playing out her dream.

Pearl's legs shook as she stood. Her heartbeat became so prominent that it became the sound of a war drum roaring on an empty plain. Her body grew cold as she looked into the eyes of her daughter. Words could not even form in her mind as the weight of her daughter's question crashed onto her body. She felt as if she wanted to faint. She wanted to find some way out of giving an answer to this question. If she would tell her no, then she would've told her a bold-faced lie and her daughter would never trust her. If she would tell her yes, then she would never be the same in her daughter's eyes. Even more so than losing the image that her daughter has grown accustomed to, she would still lose her trust due to the fact that she liked him.

Rarity, had her mother right where she wanted her. She knew that she couldn't lie or she'd risk the trust they had between each other. Her eyes continued to burrow deep into her mother's, not once blinking. She was looking forward to the truth since earlier this morning after she confronted her mother as they reunited at the school. Remembering what she learned last night, Rarity took into consideration at the the things she saw while they were in Canterlot.

"Rarity... dearie, wh-what makes you ask that kind of question?" Pearl stuttered, still in a state of disbelief.

"Well, it all started when mister Azure was going to make me lunch..." Rarity began as she walked closer to her mother. "He was making his way to the kitchen of the suite. I followed him down the hall and into the main room. As I followed him, I heard something that resembled the sound of a scream of surprise. I paused and looked around and looked at the back of the room to see that you and mister Shining were in the swimming pool. I thought that you two were playing in the pool when I saw that your facial expressions became greatly exaggerated. He was on top of you and he looked like he was struggling with something. Then you looked back at him and used one of your hooves to grab him by the neck."

Pearl was shocked to know that her daughter saw them having sex in the pool. Rarity continued her testimonial.

"Then he lunged forward, and that's when you opened your mouth. I couldn't hear what you were saying, but I knew you were speaking to him. That was when I heard mister Azure come from behind me. He quickly turned me around and told me 'These two are just playing a game. And to me, it looks like Shining's winning.' So he shoved me into the direction of the kitchen. I never did realize what that was all about... That is until today."

"..." Pearl was caught. She had no way out, and Rarity knew that.

"So, did you do anything inappropriate with him or not?" The young filly asked, demanding an answer.

Pearl was terrified at her daughter's unyielding composure as she demanded an answer. She finally found her ability to speak, but she didn't exactly know what words to say. Her mind ran into different directions, trying to calculate the best course of action. As a plan began to formulate in her mind, she remembered back to when she was in high school, where she showed that same resolve towards the other mares in her class.

She remembered the arguments that she had gotten into. She remembered the fights that she won, and also lost. She even remembers the pranks that she pulled off using her influence of being a cheerleader at the time. Those sessions under the bleachers weren't without her earning them. She had to metaphorically claw her way to his heart, and she ripped down anypony who stood in her way. That fiery passion of fighting for the stallion she desired, she remembered it all. And now that same inferno burned within her daughter. In a way, she was looking at herself when she was younger. The sole difference was that Rarity started this at a far earlier age than she did. She mentally chucked as she thought to herself. "Wow, these girls sure know how to grow up these days. Whatever happened to staying young?"

"Well..." Rarity's patience was wearing thin as she waited for the answer her mother would give her.

"...You see dear..." She spoke nervously. "Me and him were a little bored of just simply talking normal stuff. So we went on ahead to the pool to talk on more... mature subjects."

"Such as..." Rarity inquired, wanting her mother to complete her defense.

"Such as marefriends, relationships, romantic pursuits and even sex." Pearl was already neck deep, so she knew it would be pointless not to go all-in. "Now from the point you and Azure went into the room to play, I decided that it was best to figure out who exactly I was letting near my family. So I planned out a series of questions that required straight-forward answers, or a personality test if you will, to see if we could trust him."

"And those results..."

"He turned out to be a goody-four-hooves. But as time progressed, we went into matters of a more... intimate subject. He asked me what it would take to get a mare's attention and what he could do to keep her attention. I offered a lesson on what he could do and when. So we started play-flirting, just to simulate a real-time situation. After a while, he started ranting on about how his mother was restricting him from dating, how 'mares were up to no good', and what the consequences were if he were to get involved."

"So that's why he hasn't been seen with any other mares!" She thought to herself. "...Continue."

"And as the time went on, we carried on with our lessons. And admittedly, we gradually lost control over some aspects of the practice. We started dancing with each other, throwing innuendos all over the place and kept teasing at each other until we started wrestling a bit. Afterwards, he kinda pinned my hooves at the edge of the pool and he jumped on top of me."

"So did you or didn't you?" Rarity asked as her frustration of being taken in a circle became evident in her voice.

"We... almost did." She said as her heart sunk, knowing that she could never bring herself to tell her the truth. But since she was going to lose, she might as well play the hand she dealt for herself. "We didn't go all the way. We were merely rubbing against each other to the point where we started teasing each other in a different kind of way. We were close. He felt me and I felt him in return. We grew... too invested in our practice."

"Okay, so you didn't." Rarity said as she felt a tiny bit of optimism. But that optimism transformed into doubt and worry. "But did you want to?"

"...I did." She admitted. "Rarity dearie, I'm so sorry tha-"

"It's okay mother." Rarity interrupted, verbally forgiving her mother. However, she was crushed beyond comprehension at the fact that her own mother would desire the same stallion she longed to have for herself. Finally she came to say the words her mother dreaded to hear the most.

"Rarity, I-"

"I trust you mother. And I always will."

Pearl stood silent for a moment before lunging herself at her daughter, wrapping her hooves around her once more. The guilt crushed her and she knew that it would all come back to haunt her one day. Rarity in turn locked her hooves around her mother, but a similar type of guilt crushed her as well. It wasn't the fact that she stood against her mother, or forcing her to tell her the truth...

...but the fact that she lied to her as well; that she didn't trust her mother.

4 Months Later...

"Hey there sports fans. And welcome to the Quest Divisional Cup!"

"That's right Tom. And today there will be tens of thousands who will brave the cold to be in attendance, plus another eight hundred thousand listening in at home.

"And I can understand why John. It is freezing up here in the higher altitudes of Canterlot. The weather ponies are doing what they can to prevent any shifts in the weather that may affect today's playing conditions. We already have a good two inches of snow as well as an overcast of clouds today so it won't getting any warmer than it already is."

"And if I know one thing, it's that the Canterlot Chevaliers have been braving the cold all this season. And in speaking of their season, they are the only team in the Equestrian Hoofball League that's never lost a game after the All-Star Break. They're walking into this game with a 14-3 record, and they don't intend to give up an opportunity of a first ever three-peat."

"Funny you should say that because their opponents are the ones that they've lost to earlier this season. They will be facing off against a 12-4-1 Seaddle Seaponies team. They are going into this game with the intention of busting up that opportunity by taking the Quest Championship and moving on to the Prince Lambardi Championship to face off against this year's Journey League Champions; the Trample Bay Buccaneers."

"They'll be heading off to the championship if they can manage to beat, once again, this Chevaliers team, as well as bombastic Magnus Belle. He is the league's regular season MVP for the first time in his career, and all playoffs he has shown why he's earned it-"

*click*

Rarity cuts off the radio as she finishes brushing her mane. She looks into the mirror with a smile and winks at the reflection staring back at her. Giggling as she completes her look, the upbeat filly merrily trots off to a drawer to the far side of the bedroom next to her bed. She hums a simple tune while she opens the drawer, revealing a large compilation of every letter that was sent to her from Canterlot. She levitated the most recent one; the one she received just three days prior.

In the letter, Shining continued to disclose the antics that he and his friends managed to get themselves into since the last time she visited. He even spoke of a mare that seemingly annoyed him that went under the name of ~~Amora~~. There was a scratch through her name because the young filly couldn't stand the idea of her knight being frequented by another mare, who annoyed him no less. She'd read on about his home antics as well. How Twilight would often take the time to mock him, how his mother would constantly berate him on speaking with the mare that annoyed him so. How angry he was since she became the foalsitter of his younger sibling. He would go as far as to help her with her math throughout the week before the big test on Friday. Other than that, she loved every letter she's received.

On the days that she would arrive in Canterlot, she would hug the most recent letter and give it a kiss on where his name was signed. She would also write a letter before heading out. She even sealed it so Shining's eyes would be the first to see it. Although Shining was initially uncomfortable with the practice, he grew used to it and would even bring her one himself done in the same fashion. Those letters were special because they were letters that were to be read by no one else except them, or else bad luck would befall the reader as well as the recipient. Shining knew that there was no such thing as curses, but he didn't want to upset a filly who he managed to see as his adoptive little cousin. And Rarity thanked him for that.

"Aww. C'mon, let me and Twilight come with you."

"Please big brother? Pleeeeeeease?"

Elsewhere, an annoyed Shining Armor was being begged to death by his younger sister and her new foalsitter. Amora did everything she could to block his escape routes, and it had proven to be quite effective thanks to her magical abilities. With a simple flicker of her magic, she managed to close the doors, seal the windows, reinforce the ventilation system as well as tying him to a chair.

"I SAID NO! NOW LET ME OUTTA HERE!" Shining screamed as he tried to wiggle himself free.

"I said no. Now let us come to the game. We'll behave." Amora stated as she tightened the ropes around her captive cadet.

"Please. I have an escort mission to perform."

"And let you leave me and pool little Twi here with nothing to do? Fat chance."

Filly Twilight Sparkle looked at the two teens as they argued with each other, shifting her head to each pony as they spoke. At the moment her attention was placed on her brother.

"I have to do my job."

"I could easily have you removed from that post."

"I'm not doubting your connections, but my father is Captain of the Guard and I couldn't possibly be an embarrassment to his name by being tardy or absent from duty."

Amora closes the distance between herself and the stallion who she holds hostage, dragging a hoof up his abdomen. "I can get you excused from your duty."

Shining looks at his younger sister, who seems preoccupied with her Smarty Pants doll. In his mind, things couldn't get any more wrong than this. "No. You can get me punished. Now let me go!"

Amora kisses her teeth and gently shoves Shining as he's left restrained in the chair. Annoyed at his stubbornness, she thinks of a way to blackmail him. "Just face the facts Shining Armor, you can't do anything as long as you're tied up to a chair in your own bedroom. Now make the decision. You can either take us with you, or-"

Shining didn't like the pause she took, nor did he like the way she just cut her eyes at him. She was planning something sinister and he wanted to know what it was before he'd get involved. "...Or what?"

"Oooooor, you can stay here and play with us for tonight."

Shining's hooves flail in panic, or rather they would be if they didn't look like small stubs comfortably wrapped in a heavy rope blanket as he realizes that she had ulterior motives to him staying over. "Oh no-no-no-no-no-no. No way I'm being the dress-up doll again."

Twilight giggles as she finally speaks her mind in the matter, siding with her foalsitter. "No we're not doing dolls tonight. We were planning to play doctor, but since you'll be joining us then we can actually get away with playing house."

"Oooooh, good one. I'll be the daddy and Shining will be the mommy. How does that sound?"

"That sounds silly, and biologically impossible. Let's do it, for science!" The purple little filly screams out loud, letting the interest of mind become her war cry. Her older brother, on the other hoof, did not see enthusiasm to the idea. His eyes dart from left to right as he tries to think of a way out. If he could, maybe his magic was strong enough for him to find a way out. And that's when he visually thought of the place he really wanted to be. Anywhere but here. Downstairs was a good option, but the doors are locked and the windows are shut. Ventilation is too small for him and it's also sealed by Amora's magic. If he managed to shrink himself, then he'd be a literal doll for them to play with. If he tried to null-cast her spells, then he'd be too weak to do anything else. If he teleported-

And then it struck him like lighting to a griffon holding a golf club in the middle of a thunderstorm.

"Well, I would love to play with you ladies, but it would seem like my time is up here."

"Ha! Right, like you're gonna do something like vanish into thin thin air."

"Point to me, Amora. Screw this, I'm out!" As he said those final words, his horn flickered on and off as a soft, whirring hum filled the room. Amora was too busy thinking about the innuendos of the phrase 'screw this' as she imagined a sexy Shining Armor dressed in a French maid outfit. Complete with fishnet stockings and a dangling cock in between his legs as it oozed precum from the tip dripping slowly down to the floor. Amora drools at the thought of her boy-toy in the lewd attire.

"Well, the screwing would take place in between my hind le-wait what?"

The humming grew loud and in an instant, his horn flashed a bright light as he was engulfed by a magenta aura that suddenly burned white. The two girls were left in a blinding haze as all trace of his body seemingly dissipated out of existence. Amora blinked her eyes to refocus her vision and looked in the direction of the chair.

And then Shining Armor was gone.

"AAARRGH!!! I almost had him! Where did he go?" An angry Amora shouted as other expletives remained barricaded behind her her lips, not wanting the young filly to pick up any bad words. Twilight, however, was more interested in the spell her brother cast to make his escape.

"Wow! What kind of spell was that!? I wanna try!"

"FREE AT LAST! FREE AT LAST! THANK FAUST ALMIGHTY I'M FREE AT LAST!"

Shining was galloping harder than he had in his life, not because of the fact that he was avoiding being caught, but because of the fact that he managed to escape an otherwise inescapable situation. The wind blew past his mane as he ran past the town square, over Lilly Pad Overpass (which was only a small bridge over the narrowest point in Lilly Pond Lake) in the park and finally making his way into the entrance of the train station. As he rushed past the other mares and stallions making their way out, he bumped into a pony in an expensive looking suit.

"Hey asshole. Where'd ya think you was goin'?"

Shining initially ignores the rude remark as he belts out an apology. But that wasn't enough for the stallion in the expensive tuxedo. The Earth-yellow pegasus stallion flies over to the teen cadet, blocking his path. Shining stops dead in his tracks.

"I was talkin to you, little punk-ass bitch."

Shining backed away slowly, trying to avoid a confrontation that he didn't have the time to engage in. "I'm sorry sir. It won't happen again. I swea-"

"I didn't give you a right to interrupt me. I didn't tell you that you could bump into me either. AND YET YOU DID BOTH!"

The pegasus in the suit trotted slowly to Shining's direction as he wanted to show his dominance. Shining tried to think of some way to escape. "Look, I-I don't want trouble-"

"And you got some. What about it, my little pussy-ass bitch?"

"I didn't me-"

"AND YOU KEEP INTERRUPTING ME! You want to suck this dick, little pussy? HUH!?"

"N-no I-"

"Wrap those lips around it, pussy bitch."

Shining knew that it could only get worse from here as he continued to back away. "I-I-I-"

"Pussy lips! That's gonna be your name. Because mare pussy is the only thing that has lips that don't stop opening and closing. And from the looks of it, you must be in season cus' you look mighty thirsty."

Shining quickened his backtrotting until he felt the cold brick against his flanks. The stallion pushed him against the wall even further as he stood on his hind hooves and spread his wings to intimidate the young cadet even further. But suddenly the intimidating display ended as another stallion pulled on him from behind.

"Hey there, Southwind. Save it for the field. He's no athlete."

Southwind and the other stallion in a similar suit, walked away from the cowering teen. But before the two could disappear into the crowd, Southwind zipped himself back into Shining's face. "I gotta game to play, pussy lips. See to it that... I DON'T... see you again."

And just like that, he was gone. Shining world was distorted to a tunnel full of ambient sounds as he thought about how big the stallion was in comparison to him. His hooves were the size of his head. His chest was broad and chiseled in comparison to the young teen, whose body didn't fully develop as of yet. He looked like the type of stallion that could eat bricks and drink gravel. And he was an athlete to boot, which meant that he could easily crush him with brute strength alone.

*TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT*

Suddenly, Shining Armor snapped out of his trance as the train whistle sounded in the station.

"Oh shit! I'm so late!"

He looked around the station to find the platform that notated it's arrival from Ponyville. As he was about to make a full sprint for the station, a hoof tapped him on the shoulder.

"Well if you're going to be late, then you might as well bring some flowers."

Shining Armor turned around to see who it was that spoke to him. He looked directly behind him at eye-level, but found no one there. As he turned left and right to get a clue, a small hoof tapped him once more. Finally he looked down to see the white filly with an indigo mane that he's grown fond of.

"Sorry about that." He apologized. "I was held up by a plethora of circumstances.

"Hmm... I really like it when you use big words. It makes you seem so... refined." Rarity says with glee.

"Okay, I'll consider it." Shining said with a smile as he looked around for Pearl, who stood against a wall on the far end of the station.

Not too long after reaching the VIP gate of the stadium, Rarity ran to the security guard that stood by the locker room to meet her father. In Shining's eyes she seemed to be a little more enthusiastic about seeing him, but to Pearl's eyes she saw that the events that happened four months prior started to subside. She was once again the happy little mare she was raised up to be. Everything was back to normal, except for one thing that concerned Pearl the most.

"Shining dearie, can we go upstairs and talk?"

As soon as Pearl made the request, her protector of the evening heeded to her whim. Without as much as a second guess or even a sound of question breaching his lips, he guided her into the lavish elevator that led to their private press box suite. His heart beats faster and faster as he grows eager for his usual reward. And just as his heart display his eagerness, so does his body. As the doors close behind Pearl, Shining rushes behind his mistress.

"Mmmmm... Shining..."

He hears her soft whispers as his body crashes into hers. Nibbling her ear, he glides his hoof across her flank...

"Oh Shining please..."

A simple tug elicits a gasp from the panting mare. Her eyes close as she finds herself in bliss once again. She whispers her quiet no's as he releases her ear, going for her neck. Pearl is seemingly lost in the attention that her escort is giving her as he identifies where his hoof has guided to next. He then finds himself underneath her tail, pressing against the folds of her moistened marehood.

"SHINING ARMOR! STOP!"

Suddenly, he retreats. His hoof finds its way to the ground before him and he relocates his distance away from her as he realizes that he may have caused some sort of discomfort to her. "I'm so sorry. Did I come on to you too fast?"

"No! I just... Let's just play it safe for today. Okay dearie?" Pearl suggested as she tried to regain her composure.

As the doors opened to reveal a large room, Shining pulls Pearl inside as he presses the button to close the door. His eagerness became the driving point of his dragging of the mature mare. For many weeks, he has been subjugated to an immense amount of sexual tension caused by the appearance of that annoying foalsitter. For weeks on end he was teased to a point where if he met with Pearl once again, he would destroy her where she stood. And he actually encouraged the thought of her husband being in attendance as he looked to him with dominance locked in his eyes. He wanted to rut Pearl silly as Magnus watched as if Shining was gesturing out to him: this is how you please a mare, this is how you please this mare. It would go without showing also, with everything that's happened between them the past 4 months.

Every single game, their routine was simple. The first thing that they would do was exchange formalities and jokes. Second, they would tease each other until one or the other would drive their tongue down the other's throat. Third, Pearl would decide what would be the best way for her to get off for the evening, Shining would oblige and play whatever game they had in store. Fourth, they would either choose from one of three places; the bathroom, the couch, the concessions bar or even the window that showed the view to hundreds of thousands of ponies that watched the game. Finally, they'd pound into each other in whatever spot they chose. But lately things were different as time went along.

During the passage of the past four months, Shining noticed that Pearl gained a considerable amount of weight. And not just the stomach, her teats swollen to the size of grapefruits and started to become a little harder to hide with each passing month. Her cravings were a bit odd. And even the sex was five times as intense as their first encounter. But to Shining, it didn't matter. Even when she came to the games with her mood swings and rants on 'how Magnus won't even pay attention to me anymore', he still hugged her tightly and became her personal therapist, which then after turned into violently crazy sex that caused her to become so loud that the security was called in to investigate. In one of the sessions they had, Pearl and Shining dressed in full body latex, fucked each other into a stupor and even went as far as carrying on the deed in the reverse cowgirl position as the kiss cam focused on them. Of course the event made headlines, but the latex suits prevented the chances of a positive i.d. The event even transpired at halftime, where Magnus and Rarity were inside of the locker room at the time.

With each month that passed, Pearl got bigger and Shining got bolder. He even recommended that they'd go to the press conference and have her suck him off behind the panel as the reporters shouted and screamed at the head coach and the players. But tonight was entirely different. This time Pearl was going to say what she had in mind.

"Shining, I know we were causing quite the ruckus the past few months."

"Yeah, true."

"...but I do have something to ask of you."

Shining tilted his head slightly as he looked at Pearl with concern that she may be experiencing another one of her mood swings. "And what would that be, mistress?"

Pearl looked down at her hooves and then to him once more as he finally gained the courage to ask him outright. "Have you noticed anything... different... about me lately?"

Shining kept a poker face as he quickly assembled some words to get him by the 'am I fat' dilemma. "Nothing that isn't unhealthy, if that's what you're asking." He lied. "Besides, I'm happy with the way you are."

"That's not what I'm going for, dear." She stated as the words filled the air with an unusual weight. Not as if it was light and troublesome. But rather... heavy.

"Look, I know that Magnus isn't exactly looking at you in the best light. But I know that he will eventually come around." Shining wanted to say anything to get her out of this sour mood she's been falling into lately. But nothing could distract her from the apparent seriousness of the issue.

"Shining, can I trust you?" Pearl seems to look up to him at this point, besides the fact that they stand at eye level with each other. But she trots slowly as she digs her muzzle into his neck.

"Of course."

"Would you say... that you enjoy my company?"

"Well... yeah!"

"I mean this! No time for games!" Chided a worrisome Pearl.

Shining didn't know what was up with the random questions that she had assembled for him to answer tonight. But he would't let that stop him from being her nightly comfort. "I'm serious. No games."

"So..." Pearl wrapped one of her hooves around him. "...am I more than 'just the mare you play around with'?"

Shining is taken by surprise by the question. "Uh... Why do you wanna ask me tha-"

"Just answer me. Please. I need to know." Pearl remains buried in his neck as she slowly drops her head down to his shoulder.

"No. You're not my object of pleasure. You're not easy. You're not one to give herself away to be used by stallion after stallion. You're my friend and I am more than grateful." Shining admits as he returns her hoof to her. As he does so, he finds that not only her hoof replaces itself but that the other foreleg is wrapped around his body tightly.

"Would you... comfort me in my times of need?" She clenches her hooves as well as her eyes as she holds him close.

"I-"

"PLEASE COMFORT ME SHINING ARMOR! I need-" She is cut off by her uncontrolled urge to let herself go. She sobs loudly as she burrows herself against him. Shining's first response was to hold her tight and keep shushing her. Wiping away the blackish-purple trails off her face, he made sure that she was in presentable condition. As the minutes flew by, her tears subsided and Shining managed to ask the question that's been bugging him for the longest.

"Pearl, tell me. What's wrong?"

"I... I just... don't know what to do..."

A voice from outside sings the Equestrian national anthem as the players line up outside on the field. Shining found more words as he tried to identify the problem. "Pearl... what's wrong?"

"I'm... I'm... pregnant."

"Are you kidding me? THAT'S AWESOME!" Shining erupts in a series of cheers as Pearl tries to grasp his attention.

"Shiny listen to me-"

"If that's why you haven't been getting any attention from your husband, then I understand his concern."

The word 'husband' seemed to hurt Pearl the most in this situation. "Shining-"

"And just imagine. Rarity with a younger brother or sister-"

"SHINING ARMOR, IT'S YOURS!"

"Well of course it's mine. It's my hono-WOAH woah there. Pause. Time-out. Flag on the play. Run that by me one last time."

Pearl stood in front of him, kissed him softly on his lips and spoke it to him softly.

"Shining Armor, the foal I bear now is of your seed. I have not engaged in vaginal intercourse with any other stallion in the past four months... except you."

"So... I'm-"

"In the case of this three month old fetus I carry, Shining Armor, you are the father."

The singing outside finally came to it's momentous climax, and the crowd cheered the singer for hitting her high notes so gracefully. In the meantime, the teen colt and now unexpected father found his own note to hit.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-"

"-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!"

Magnus walks out to the center of the field as his daughter cheers him on from the Chevaliers sideline. Her cheering, as well as the cheering of another hundred thousand fans in the arena, is nothing more than music to his ears. His hoofsteps felt as light as a feather compared to those he would go against in tonight's match up. As he walked, he took notice of an opposing player on the defensive team that he recognized as one of his most hated rivals. And it was obvious that he didn't take Magnus' appearance too kindly. As the two squads from the opposing teams met center field, they eyed each other with the intention of somehow glaring each other into a coma.

"Well if it isn't Mag-suck-my-nuts."

"You know to this day, I still don't understand why they call you Southwind. But lately I've been getting a clue from the stench of your shit performance."

"Think you can blitz right past me, short-stock small-fry lookin' ass?"

"Think you can keep up, snail legs?"

"OHHH, Believe that those legs of yours... won't see another season after I'm through with 'chu tonight."

"Not before they'll run over you... and run themselves to a championship. So what now, snail legs? Gonna use those wings of yours to fly home to your momma's teats?"

"Oh, please. Why don't you use that stumpy-ass horn of yours to clean up yo' shitty excuse of a career, Mr. Janitor."

"I bet you can't wait to kiss my trophy."

"I bet ya can't wait to suck my dick. Just like Pussy Lips."

As the exchange of 'pleasantries' continue, the ref in charge of the officiating crew steps in between them, disrupting their conversation. It was a gray unicorn stallion with a silver mane and a cutie mark depicting a whistle on a string.

"Alright you two, save it for the plays down field. My name is Watchtower and I'll be in charge of officiating this game." He magically picks up a coin from his shirt pocket. "On this coin, there is a picture of the team's emblem on each side. Heads will represent the home team. Tails will represent the visiting team. Since you are the visiting team, you make the call."

"Tails." Southwind calls out as Magnus snickers to his teammates.

"Figures, shit-faced and been making shitty defensive plays all season." The teammates on the Chevaliers side giggled to themselves as the coin launches into the air. As the coin falls to the grass below them, they all gather around to see that the coin has landed and that the side was chosen.

"Tails, that means that you'll make the call."

"Mane, let them bitches get first." Southwind says while eyeing a glare to Magnus once again.

"Can't keep your eyes off of me can you?"

"And I DON'T intend to take the bitches off of ya! Watcha' ass."

"Watch my hooves first!"

As both of the parties leave the field for their respective sidelines, the crowd's cheers grow to deafening levels. Magnus and his fellow teammates look at the coach and informs him that they'll be the first on offense. The offensive starting line up forms around the coach, the coach discuss a few plays they should be able to run against the opposing defensive line. As they broke out of the huddle, the offensive line took to the field. Magnus looked to his daughter on the side line as she waved to him.

"Run left daddy! Oh yeah and dad..."

Magnus turned around to his daughter to give her his full attention. "Yeah what's up, munchkin?"

"...give them hell."

With a smirk on his lips, he nods to her and places the helmet on his head. Proudly marching down the field, he whispers to himself, commending his daughter for her inpirational, yet questionable, choice of words.

"Atta' girl!"

Author's Note

[plot intensifies]

ACT 1: Ejection

"Run left daddy! Oh yeah and dad..."

Magnus turned around to his daughter to give her his full attention. "Yeah what's up, munchkin?"

"...give them hell."

With a smirk on his lips, he nods to her and places the helmet on his head. Proudly marching down the field, he whispers to himself, commending his daughter for her inpirational, yet questionable, choice of words.

"Atta' girl!"

Magnus reaches the other players as they stared at the little filly on the sidelines, amazed and in shock at the advice she had given to her father.

"Dude, did your kid just tell you to quote-unquote, give them hell?"

"Why yes, yes she did." Magnus stated proudly as he peeked back over to the sidelines to get a glimpse of his daughter.

"Your daughter... Boy, whatever stallion get's her is going to have hell on this Earth. She a tough one!" Says Jetwing, who played wide receiver (WR).

"Shit, man. Gotta colt ova'ere mad as hell. I want one just like 'ah. Of course, grown up" Admitted Screenshot, who played the quarterback position (QB).

"Can't make 'em like me boys." Said Magnus as he got in position.

"Shid, can try tho.” Screenshot mumbled as he was about to call the play. Jet only shook his head before assuming his position as Screenshot carried out the play. "BLUE 58! BLUE 58! Set... HUT!"

The sound of bodies crashing against one another became the overture of the night as the offensive line (O-Line) tried to buy some time for the QB to make his decision. Screenshot looked to his right to see that Magnus was running to him to fake the hoofoff. As their paths cross, Magnus tucked the 'ball' into himself as he ran to the left side. There was little to no protection from penetration on that side and all the defensive effort went to the right. At that moment he realized something that amazed him; his daughter was right.

Screenshot was looking down field to see if there was somepony open, but failed to receive enough time to do so as a defensive lineman broke the o-line and made his way to the QB for a blitz. Screenshot realized that this was not a good idea at all so he decided to toss the ball away to prevent the loss of yards as he was wrapped up for the would-have-been sack.

As the ref blew his whistle, Magnus signaled to the QB to run the play again. Screenshot looked at his running back (RB) with a puzzled look on his face as Magnus closed the distance between them. Magnus made his case.

"Now I know this is gonna sound crazy as hell, but my daughter told me to run left. And as I ran left, I found that we were completely cleared for a mile in that outside zone."

"Bruh, these boys are on my ass. Are you sure this shit will work?"

"Give me the ball, and I will give you the first down."

"...Ten, no less mane."

"Gotcha."

Magnus ran to his position to the right side as the QB ran the same play, the center bowing down to spike the ball on command. Screenshot made his calls. "BLUE 58! BLUE 58! Set-HUT!"

The sounds of bodies once again filled their ears as the O-line kept pushing the defensive effort to a standstill. Running in from the far right side was none other than Southwind. Magnus came in behind Screenshot as the QB hoofed the ball over to his RB. Magnus took the ball into his possession as he took to the left side of the field. Bolting past an angry Southwind, he darts past the line of scrimmage and down the left sideline. As he bursts into a full gallop, he looks to his right to see that a line back (LB) was coming at him full-speed. As he crossed the spot where the chains marked the first down, he sprinted once more to give himself some more yards as the LB dove into him, catching only his hooves. Magnus tripped over the forelegs of the LB and fell to the ground while keeping the ball secure.

As the whistle blew once more, he looked at his current position as he tried to identify how many yards he gained. He noticed that he was about three yards out from where the first down marker was. So he estimated it was a gain of about thirteen yards. Soon after the chains were moved and the line of scrimmage was relocated to his down, his team rejoined him once again as they cheered him on for his gain. Receiving the occasional slap on the flank and helm-slap, he assumed his position once more as the defensive line rushed into position.

"GREEN 36! GREEN 36!" Set...HUT!

Soon after, the offensive line opened up a hole in the center of the formation to which they could run the ball. Magnus grabbed the ball and pushed it through the opening and past the line of scrimmage. Once again making a break for it, he juked two defenders as he spun out of a tackle that slowed him briefly as he resumed his usual running speed. And just like that, he was gone.

"The crowd cheered and screamed erratically as Magnus ran it all the way to the endzone for a sixty-five yard run. Trying to catch his breath, he spun the ball in the endzone and started beating on his chest, screaming to the heavens above. Much of his team felt his enthusiasm, as did the crowd. The scoreboard read 6-0 and the time remaining was 13:44 in the first quarter. They managed to complete a touchdown drive in a matter of one minute and sixteen seconds, the quickest drive they ever pulled off all season.

Rarity screamed and jumped with joy at the accomplishments of her father. She gestured him to come on over immediately so she could give him a big hug. As he crossed to the outside, his daughter leapt to him with open forelegs as she squeezed what little air he still had in his system out. His job done for the moment, he finally decided that it was time to fire up his usual sideline chat. Rarity levitated a small cup of water to him as he thanked her with his smiles. In times like these he would think to himself that this was his day job. This was his profession, and more importantly this was something that even his daughter invested her time with. This was his life, and he loved it.

And nothing could possibly take that away from him.

"Hey I have one question?"

Twilight Sparkle was playing house with her Smarty Pants doll as she looked to her foalsitter, who was listening to the radio broadcast of the game in progress. She may have not been a big sports fanatic, but she knew how to keep up with the game.

"And what's that, my dear?" She asked as she levitated a small cup of tea to her lips.

"Do you think Shining likes you?"

The alacorn foalsitter did not know that for certain, but she did know that she wanted him. And during the past four months of her teasing him and trying to get close to him, he did not make so much of a move on her. That concerned her because it meant that she had some sort of competition that he managed to hide very well. That didn't sit well with her.

"...well, I guess he does." She lied to herself, trying to convince herself that she couldn't lose.

"Another question."

"Shoot."

"Why haven't you told him your real name?" Twilight asked as she placed her doll on her back and trotted around the room.

"Well... It goes like this..." She started as she placed the tea on the table beside the chair. "If I told ponies my real name, then they would... treat me different."

"Really? Okay then, what's wrong with being a princess?"

The foalsitter looked at the fireplace that burned across the room as she remembered much of her youth. " *sigh* Everything..."

Twilight could hear the sadness in her voice and stopped trotting to give her foalsitter her full attention. "Why?"

"...Because... Ponies hold you on a pedestal for all to see. They worship you as if you were some sort of god and even to the point where they'd try to bring offerings and sacrifices."

"What kind of offerings and sacrifices?"

"Well... Offerings of being in love, wanting to spend the rest of their lives with you and trying to become your significant other, but in truth all they want to do is say that they've bedded a princess or the fact that they could maintain the title of prince as soon as they marry me. And sacrifices..."

The young filly awaited her foalsitter to continue her statement as she took a moment to reflect.

"...Sacrifices were made in order to see that I could be happy, so that I could be safe from all of those who would abuse their power if they were to get close to me."

"Really? That's so romantic." Twilight sang with glee in hearing that such acts of chivalry existed. But her foalsitter did not share the enthusiasm.

"It would've been, if it wasn't for the fact that the few guards that had gotten close to me..."

Twilight's smile disappeared as she heard the pause in her sentence. "I... so sorry."

" *sigh* 'It is my duty to protect the crown, and in your name shall I defend your honor'. Every last one of them said that. Every last one of them held true to that promise. And every last one of them died holding on to that promise. It's been four times since I've fallen in love to suddenly have that forcefully taken away from me. So I distanced myself from whatever guard that confessed their feelings to me."

"Do you ever regret doing that to them?" Twilight asks as she trots slowly to her foalsitter.

"I don't. Even though some of them were driven mad at the fact that they couldn't have my heart. And in the end, they ended up transforming from chivalrous to self-centered, selfish, rude, disrespectful and only wished to defame my name to increase their reputation."

"So what did you do next?"

"Nothing. I turned all of them down as the years went by. The love I saw in them was only for themselves. Ultimately, I decided that it was best for me to leave altogether, go into hiding and ultimately find my own happiness."

"And Princess Celestia allowed you to do it?"

"Well... Yeah surprisingly. She even filed all the paperwork to give me alternative names that I could use. So she created the name Amora Fairweather that I may use in my daily commute. But those who I thought I could trust would identify me as Cadance, upon my request of course."

"Because you knew that they wouldn't tell anypony about your existance. But that leaves only one question; why only me and my father?"

"Because your father is a very honest pony, and he does what he can to protect this country and more importanly, his family who lives within it. You... well you were just too cute for me to hide from."

"But what makes you think that I won't tell anypony?"

"Because then I'd have to stop baking you cookies."

Twilight stood still as if she were made of stone. If there was one thing that she didn't want to part ways with, it was Cadance's chocolate chip oatmeal cookies. "...Anything but the cookies."

Cadance laughed at the filly and nuzzled her gently as she reassured her that she would still bake the cookies for her, even if she was found out. Twilight cheered immediately afterwards, when the radio suddenly joined in on her cheering.

"And he's in! TOUCHDOWN CHEVALIERS! A thirty-six yard pass completed on the inside. The score is now thirteen-nothing.

Both of the girls jumped in place as they heard the news on the radio.

"Yay! We made another touchdown!"

"And that's it for the half folks! Your score going into halftime is fourteen-three Chevaliers. And we will have Mark and Mark for this evening's halftime report. I'm John Maredden, signing out until the start of the second half."

The press box was silent after those words fell through the airwaves. Shining sat in the seat with his hooves covering his head. The reality of the situation that he was in had finally settled in as his future seemingly crashed and burned right in front of his eyes. His eyes remained opened as he imagined the many lives that he managed to affect as well as the marriage that he managed to destroy.

Pearl sat on the chair next to him as she continued to cradle the unborn life that slept within her. She was in a mix of emotions, varying from happy and joyful to sad and worried. She was having a foal and it was by the stallion that she shared her lot with instead of it being with the very individual who she swore her life to. She betrayed the one whom she loved, but at the same time she was now carrying a son with the one that she had grown to make love to. She was in a crisis, she loved Shining Armor but was in love with the stallion she knew since high school. It tore her apart, but she knew that she had to give her love to someone and for them to willingly accept it.

She turned her head to the distraught teen stallion that sat next to her. He's been like that since the start of the game and he hasn't moved from that position since. In the past four months, she's been comforted by the stallion that made her feel more of a mare than the one she married. He made her feel special, so special that she extended her weekend stays a full day. Rarity liked it because it meant that she could get to spend time with him outside of writing letters, but she liked it even more because she wanted to share her feelings with him, although he never really got the hint. But the real reason their stays were extended was because she took the time to literally go on dates with Shining Armor. Which brought up another thing in her head.

Rarity liked Shining Armor and wanted him for herself. Now she couldn't have him no matter how hard she tried thanks to her mother. She would have a younger sibling that wouldn't even be conceived in the same matter as her. She was going to have a foal that would not only bring joy to Rarity's life but also sorrow because her knight would be courted to another mare, more specifically her mother. And Rarity would never trust her again. So many things that could've gone wrong actually went wrong and now they had to deal with play they made.

"..." Pearl wanted to say something to comfort him. But what could she say?

"..." He wanted to share his feelings on the matter, but words failed him once more.

"..." What could she say to him as his future would be taken away from him?

"..." What could he say to her as her marriage erupted in a sea of fires and ashes?

"..." How would she explain it to the one whom she betrayed.

"..." How would he tell the one who placed his trust in him.

"..."

How could either of them start this conversation.

".... Shining Armo-"

"I need some time alone..." He finally spoke as he finally found the strength to raise himself off of the sofa. Pearl reached out to him in hopes of keeping his company, but he continued to make his way to the elevator doors. Pearl removed herself from the sofa as well in an attempt to intercept the cadet, galloping in desperation as he raised his hoof to the button of the elevator. She succeeds in her mission as she shoves his hoof out of the way and wraps her forelegs around him once more as she looks into his eyes.

His eyes seemed as if they were distant, looking at an endless sea to which he was stranded upon. For a thousand yards, he stared into the watery wastelands as she tried to bring his attention to her once again. She took her hooves from around him to caress the features upon his face as he broke out of his stare, looking down to her. Trembling, inched her muzzle to his and sank her lips in his. The quivering flesh softly cushioned their impact against one another as she clenched her eyes closed, trying to put everything in to that one kiss.

Shining Armor had different plans however. He struggled as he tried to separate himself from the mother of his unborn foal, but she held herself against him with all of her strength. He then backed away, breaking off the kiss as she opened her eyes in shock of his absence. She aims to reconnect with him one last time but he refuses, shoving a hoof against her as she launched herself at him.

"Please." Pearl pleaded in a whisper as he shot his magic at the button and the door opened.

"Please dearest. I-I-" She stuttered as she tried to keep him from leaving, not wanting her last possible sanctuary of her affection to vanish without a trace.

"Let me go."

"No!"

"Please let me go-"

"NO PLEASE! DON'T LEAVE ME..."

Shining pushed all of his weight against her as she desperately tried to hold him out of the elevator. Finally having the aptitude to use his magic again, he telekinetically brushed aside Pearl, who in turn lock his hind legs in place with her magic. He uses all of his physical strength to pull away from the light blue auras that entrapped him. Pearl can feel that her magic was weakening considerably as he began to free himself from her grasp.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"

Pearl produced the most bloodcurdling scream that she could ever unleash as the teen cadet finally freed himself and launched himself into the elevator. Her screams of despair failed to reach him as he pushed her further into the press box and held the close button. His final view was that of a charging Pearl with tears of black streaming down her face. One final scream was heard before the doors sealed off a majority of it's volume. Pearl banged on the doors as Shining quickly hit the button that lead to the first floor. As he descended, he backed himself into the far corner of the elevator as he heard one final scream.

"SHINING ARMOOOOOOR!"

Meanwhile in the Seaponies locker room.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!"

"...Hoofball coa-"

"Try again! That wasn't anything near the Hoofball game that I taught you to play. That was a fucking bloodbath and your sorry asses are the water supply."

"Coach, just let me-"

"Southwind... If you don't have a miracle play dropping out of your ass like a case of the trots, THEN I DON'T WANNA HEAR SHIT FROM YOU!"

"Yes coach." Southwind answered begrudgingly.

"...I wanna win, but you fucking pansies don't wanna get your hooves dirty. You're too scared to make plays because you don't wanna chip a hoof. Oh my coat will get dirty or maybe I'm too much of a lady to get in the dirt. DID I RAISE A BUNCH OF HOUSEMARES OR DID I RAISE A CHAMPIONSHIP-CALIBER TEAM?"

"Uhh coach... wasn't that a bit... mysogynistic?"

"Not in my locker room, Hotseat. Now you stick to your fucking job and let me do mine, bench warmer."

"SIT YO POLITICALLY INCORRECT ASS DOWN! Coach is tryin' to preach."

The towel boy removes himself from the meeting as he walks out on the meeting. The coach continues his rant as he slams his hoof into the wall, causing a small shockwave that knocked down a few pictures that hung on the wall.

"Now, if you're done being sissies, I expect you to go out there and get me that Quest Trophy. Now what are you going to do, ladies?"

"...Play some hoofball." The collective lot sounded out in a dreary tone.

"That was weak. WHAT ARE Y'ALL HERE TO DO?"

"PLAY SOME HOOFBALL!"

"STILL WEAK! WHAT ARE Y'ALL HERE TO DO!?"

"PLAY SOME HOOFBALL!!!!"

"Damn straight! Now go out there and run them straight. INTO. THE GROUND!"

"YES COACH!!!" The entire team pack up and make their way outside for the game as they find the motivation to stay in the game. Southwind picks up his helmet and pads as the coach calls his name.

"Southwind! Front and center!"

Southwind complies, quickly running towards the coach as he carries his equipment. "Yeah coach?"

The coach closes in on the outside linebacker. His words become as sharp as the hardest steel. "That running back is the source of all their running game. He's finding routes that none of us are there to close up. Now what can you do to stop him?"

"Whatever it takes, coach." Southwind responds swiftly as the coach jabs a hoof into his chest.

"Good. I want you to stick a fork in that run game. I wanna see the home-team crowd cringe."

Southwind took pleasure in the orders that he received. With a sinister smile, he confirms his orders and walks away. As he puts on his pads and helmet, he whispers to himself.

"Whatever it takes, coach. Whatever it takes."

Meanwhile, in the Chevaliers locker room.

"Magnus, don't you ever pull no stupid plays like that ever again."

"Yes coach."

"Good. Gentlecolts, tonight is where we flex our muscles. Tonight is where we stretch our legs. This is our time to take this cup home with us. But that cup can't be ours until we go out there and play the full thirty... Oh wait, we have a new inspirational speaker among us."

Some of the players look around as they try to identify who it was that would be speaking. The other players already had a hint on who that was. But to the entire team's surprise their speaker for the half walked up in front of them. The speaker was small in stature and the icing on the cake was that the speaker was actually in the form of a filly. Clearing her throat, Rarity enunciated her speech.

"Gentlecolts, I come before you not as a filly or the daughter of a player among you. But rather that I come as a voice. I come in place of the thousands of fans screaming out loud their cheers and screams. I come on behalf of those who sit and listen in on the radio, because they couldn't be in attendance. Though they say that they've stopped us once before, doesn't mean that they can stop us again. When they say that they can run us into the ground, we should be able to say that we can drag them kicking and screaming to the endzone. Yes, you did wonderfully and that you've outmatched them in the first half. But now... the game truly begins. This is where we make our stand. We climbed this hill and took our crown. AND LIKE HELL THEY'LL GET IT OFF OF OUR HEADS WITHOUT A FIGHT!"

"Dayum, Filly got spunk!" Jetwings interjects as he feels a surge of energy fill his body.

"Shid' let's make 'em work!" Screenshot calls out to the other players.

"That's my daughter!!!" Magnus yells out to the other players, proud of her speech.

"I REALLY LIKE YELLING!!!" A random player screams out loud.

"NOW GO OUT THERE AND MAKE US PROUD CHEVALIERS!" Rarity screams to the top of her lungs.

As the excited throng of players pack up their equipment to head out to the field once more, a very proud Magnus scoops up his daughter and boops her on the nose as she giggles with exuberance. As they walk out the tunnel, Screenshot's voices penetrates the ears of all the Chevalier players.

"Y'all already kno' what it is! IT'S HOOFBALL BABY! LET'S MAKE A PLAY!!!"

Author's Note

Hoofoff or handoff? It's so conflicting on what to use. I wanna use handoff because it's what I'm used to (and sometimes the ponies say hands despite their lack of knowledge on the subject), but I realize that I really can't because this isn't an anthropomorphic setting. Ugh...

But please feel free to leave a comment below on your thoughts. Those would be kinda nice actually

ACT 1: Unsportsmanlike Conduct

"Y'all already kno' what it is! IT'S HOOFBALL BABY! LET'S MAKE A PLAY!!! Bring dat shit in! Chevs on three, ONE-TWO-THREE-"

"CHEVS!!!"

As the team broke out of the huddle, they ran for the field as Magnus carried his daughter high on his back.

"Hey Boom!" The coach calls out to the proud parent as he held a clipboard against his chest while gesturing to him to come on over.

"Yes, Coach Bridgewater?"

"How many defensive players will it take for you to stop running?"

"As many as it takes coach."

"Love your enthusiasm, but it only takes one."

Magnus nodded as he understood what the coach was trying to emphasize.

"Don't get caught out there. Remember, they wanna make a stop and they'll do anything to make that happen. If you let them stop you now, then I can't imagine us making runs in the fourth."

"Yes coach."

"Their defense is made for stopping plays in the downfield, which renders our passing game mostly shit. So we need those legs to get us into the endzone. Take it outside, burn them out. Take it up the middle and you'll-"

"That mistake from earlier in the season won't happen again coach." Magnus cuts in, knowing that he was referring to the fumble that cost them a scoring drive to get back in the game.

"Damn right it won't. I want you to grab that defense by the throat and choke-slam it out of bounds. Watch your right side, and when you think you're Scott free, burn that grass with everything you got. Do you understand me?"

"Yes coach."

"Don't let me down. And don't let that little rascal on your back down."

"Gotcha."

Magnus and the coach ended their conversation as he levitated the young filly down to the ground before he ran to the field for the second half stretching exercises. Rarity watched as her father galloped to the field and smiled, knowing that they would win this game. She drew in a sharp breath before she cheered her father on.

"Go get 'em daddy!"

"Shit it's cold."

"I-I-It's ab-b-b-bout t-t-twen-t-t-ty-n-nine d-d-de-degrees-s-s-s out h-here, mmm-minus wind ch-chill!"

"C-come to the game, you s-said. It'll b-be fun you s-said. It w-w-won't b-be that c-cold, you said."

"FUCK BOTH OF YOU! I said bring a scarf!"

Azure, Poindexter and Longshot sat in the stands as the others cheered on their home team. Two of the three were ill-prepared for the sudden drop that the increasing winds brought in. Azure shook his head as the Poindexter and Longshot chattered their teeth repetitiously. Truth of the matter was that they were told to bring a scarf and the two of them mere blew off his suggestion. Thanks to previous suggestions that came from Azure that ultimately ended in disaster, they thought that it would be best to play it 'safe' and ignore his warning.

This time, they were gravely mistaken.

"Why the hell did you ignore my warning anyways?" Azure angrily asked as he chastised his friends.

"We had a good reason." Longshot stated before Poindexter continued their argument.

"With every single idea that you come up with, we've managed to come up with the worst results. Not only that
but the two of us have been on the butt end of your antics. Meaning that while you got away with everything, we've been getting hounded on and punished like there was no tomorrow."

Longshot stepped forward to speak once more. "So the entire time you sat there walking off the newly-improvised parking-lot-of-a-plan that imploded on itself, we've been on clean up and damage control."

"So you two would use that as an excuse to ignore my advice on something so trivial as the weather?" Azure questioned.

"Uhhh... Yeah..." Longshot and Poindexter said in unison as they nodded in agreement.

"What am I going to do with the both of you... Okay, just you two lovers cuddle up for a second while I go get some hot chocolate." Stated Azure as he walked off. Poindexter and Longshot looked at each other awkwardly. (ctrl+click for desired effect)

Poindexter looked oddly at Longshot as they inched closer. They knew that the cold was something that they couldn't brave as individuals, so if the had to do it to live then there was no other choice. They slowly and hesitantly nodded in agreement once again as their bodies merely touched each other before they stopped dead in their tracks. As they started to receive strange looks from the other ponies in attendance, they begrudgingly allowed themselves to rest against each other as the two colts looked at each other for a brief moment before looking away. A powerful gust of wind blew past them, causing them to collide further into each other. Unwittingly, they clinched their eyes shut and wrapped each other in their hooves as they tried to comfort each other from the evil winds that blew. They slowly opened their eyes as they looked to what held their bodies closely against each other. Upon finding that it was their forelegs that clinched each other's bodies to one another, they closed their eyes in not wanting to see the bitter truth that was their embrace.

"Well scientifically speaking, this couldn't get any worse than it is now." Poindexter spoke to comfort Longshot.

"Yeah, at least this won't lead to an even more awkward situation that the whole stadium would be talking about." He added to the previous statement.

"Fillies and gentlecolts, it's that time again! Time for more gestures, proposals, rejections, heartbreaks and newly added kinks! IT'S TIME FOR KISS-CAM! Hey you two lovers in the area Z38-B113, we see you wrapped up in each other's hooves! It's time to kiss!"

Down on the field below, they looked at the screen. On the Seaponies side of the field, there was much laughter and jokes flying between them. Southwind looked up at the screen and screamed to the screen.

"Hahahaha FAGGOTS!"

On the Chevaliers side of the field there was an equal amount of laughter and jokes shared in between them. Magnus looked up at the screen and snickered to himself.

"Looks a lot like high school, eh?"

Much of the stadium cheered and jeered at the two teens in the camera. Longshot and Poindexter's eyes shot open to look at the display board and much to their dismay, it was them who was first on the large projection with pink hearts and white pegasi holding banners around them. They both screamed and cried in unison.

"Awwww.... Fuuuck off!!!"

As they fell victim to tempting fate, elsewhere Azure walked to the concessions stand and stood in a seemingly endless line as ponies in the front continued to complain at the disturbance in front of the counter. As he listened he heard a distinctive voice.

"Please sir, I'm begging you. Just one beer."

"No way kid. I'm trying to make an honest living here."

"Just one cup. I need this. Please."

"Hell no. Now get outta the line!"

Azure bolted to the front of the line to see what exactly was going on when he suddenly noticed the colt that held up the line was none other than his dear friend, Shining Armor.

"Just consider my offering, please. I'll do whatever I need to. Please sir, I-I'll suck yo-"

"Eeeeexcuse us sir, but me and my friend will be going along here." Azure interruped as he forcefully pushed the pleading Shining Armor out of the way. Much to his expectation, the entire line cheered him on as well as the attendant.

"Thanks kid. Fella was bustin' up me business. Now I can get flowing again. You just let me know what I can do for ya!"

"Four hot chocolates please. Delivered to section Z38-B113." Azure requested without a bit of hesitation.

"Four hot chocolates, on the house to a section Z38...uh-B113." The attendant called out to the savior of his evening business. Azure dragged Shining Armor through the tunnel of the stadium.

"Dude, what the hell are you doing?"

"I thought that adults usually use beer to drain away all their problems, so why couldn't I?"

Azure tried to calm himself down as he pushed the energy-devolved colt along the way. "Are you shitting me? What could be that bad?"

Shining took a deep breath as he attempted to recall the ordeal that he has gotten himself into.

"Well..."

"Come on, you can do it!"

"You are who you are boys, now embrace it!"

"I'll put in ten bits if you do it!"

A variety of cheers and bribes came from a small crowd that gathered around the two teens that quaked at the very thought of kissing each other on the lips. And the amount of bits that laid on the ground around them wasn't making things any easier.

"Embrace each other, feel each other's lips as you sing your praises of lust towards one another!"

"I'll throw in an additional fifty bits if you boys pull it off."

"I'll throw in another hundred for the both of you to go to second base!"

The stakes were raised and the two teens grew nervous. To the audience, this was something to rival the 'Pressed Glass' event that happened sometime early last month. To the boys, they just wanted to endure this treatment until the game started up again.

"If you two need some help getting there, then I could jump in real quick."

"Are you... gay???"

"You just wanna have some of this hot twink action for yourself, don't you?"

"Fuuuuuuuck no!"

The pressure was just too much for them to handle. Everywhere they looked it seemed as if there were ponies wanting to see them kiss just for the fun of it. And with somewhere close to three-hundred bits lying at their hooves, they had to make a decision quick.

"Hey, boys." A mare called out to them. They looked at the mare who called them out. "Don't think about any of that. Personally, I think it's pretty hot for you two to be in this kind of relationship. If you two were bisexual. I'd have a threesome with the both of you, without a doubt."

Poindexter was the first to speak. "Look, we aren't like that at all. We just-phmmmmn! (Hey)"

Longshot placed a hoof on the lips of his friend to silence him. "Hey.... let's do it."

"Mmmmmph??? (What)" Poindexter mumbled as he tried to argue. Longshot gets close as he provides his side of the argument.

"Let's just put it this way. If we can do this then not only will we get paid, we can get paid and laid all in the same night. Sure ponies will be talking about it for weeks but at least we won't have to face the embarrassment of being forever restrained to the pressure of being virgins for the rest of high school. That and the fact that we can have the money to do what we always wanted to do."

"Mnmm-ah. You mean the-"

"Yes... Let's do it, Poindexter. Let's go all in."

"Oh Longshot, I-"

WARNING: This section will contain graphic depictions of male/male shipping that will include the following:
-kissing
-tongue bathing
-hoofjobs
-fellatio
-rimming
-anal sex
-cumshot
-creampie
-snowballing
-public exposure

If these things do not turn you on or if they disgust you, then please feel free to skip this section. Please enjo- (mumbling) Really? (mumbling) They aren't doing any of that? (mumbling) Oh... Disregard this warning and enjoy this chapter.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!?"

The two colts looked up at the source of the screaming to find a displeased Azure and an even more shocked Shining Armor staring at them. The two tried to explain, with Longshot speaking first.

"Guys... I can explain. Though this is as bad as you think... and it is exactly what it looks like... this isn't what is."

Shining found his face in the company of his hoof as Azure looked at the money on the ground. Summarizing what the situation was, he stepped in to break up the miniature halftime show that they were providing.

"NOPE! EVERYPONY GET GONE! SHOW'S OVER! PACK IT UP! LIGHTS OUT! GOOOOO AWAAAY!"

Recollecting the bits that was thrown on the ground below them, the crowd mumbles as they make their way back to their seats. All of them with the exception of the large stallion on the higher seats above them as well as the well-accessorized stallion next to him.

"Aw c'mon! I wanted to see some hot teen stallions kissing and rubbing each other!" The larger stallion screamed before he realized that he said it out loud.

"Hmm. I guess you wouldn't mind settling that with me, do you?" The petite stallion noted to the larger body next to him.

"...Me. You. Bathroom. Five minutes."

"Ohhh-I'm so going to enjoy my ass being gaped by big, burly stallion meat. Can I suck you when you finish?"

As the two stallions walked away to relieve their stress, the group of the four teens gagged and suppressed any bodily fluids that may have involuntarily seeped into their mouths. As they recovered Azure turned back to Shining Armor. Without warning, he punches him in the face with a left hook to the jaw. The assaulted stallion falls back to the seat behind him. Longshot and Poindexter pulls on Azure to prevent him from landing anymore blows as he stares at the sagging stallion in front of him.

"Yo Azure, what the hell did you do that for?" Longshot grilled into Azure for hitting Shining. Azure immediately responded.

"Because he's fucking stupid!"

"And? That doesn't require you to hit the boy like that!" Poindexter exclaimed, still holding Azure back.

"I deserve it, guys... I screwed up big." Shining interrupts with a melancholy tone. The three stallions looked at the down-and-out disposition that he was bearing and felt that this was definitely something that shouldn't be ignored. Azure shook off the two colts that held him back as he refocused his attention to the stallion he just knocked some sense into.

"What? What's going on Shining? This isn't you." Poindexter asked.

"Yeah, tell them Shining Armor. And take it from the top. They deserve to know everything." Azure commented.

"But-"

"I can't tell it like you can, and I took a vow of silence on the matter, remember??? SO YOU TELL THEM OR I'LL POUND IT OUT OF YOU!" Shouted Azure, wanting Shining to stop running from his problem. He wanted to help him but he would rather die than to help somepony who won't help themselves. And Shining's original actions didn't help him improve his mood either. "We're waiting. And it's cold. We ain't got all night."

Shining sighed deeply as he started his story.

"It all started about four months ago; when I came to the game with my dad."

"Where did I go wrong?"

Pearl sat inside of the press box as she downed her third bottle of wine. The mascara on her cheeks now dried to her coat, causing black and dark purple lines to form on her face. Her mane was a disheveled mess as she held the bottle against her. She mourned the loss of her lover, the one who made her feel special when she was alone. She mourned the soon-to-be loss of her husband, that would end in one of the worst divorces in sports history. She mourned the loss of her daughter's trust, if there was any left. She only had one thing that she held close to her, and that was the one thing that she needed in this time of need.

The bottle she held was almost empty,

As she tanked herself into a stupor, she moaned out his name. Shining Armor, the father of their child, her last and final sanctuary of affection. But even now she had realized that she had lost him as soon as she uttered the words of her current position to him. She blamed herself for getting like this. Pearl knew that she shouldn't have pushed the teen into a situation that required him to take responsibility of their inevitable mistake.

Yet she pleaded with him. She begged him to stay on those lonely nights when her husband couldn't come home. She forced him to surrender to his primal desires as she coerced him into taking the role of stallionhood. She knew that her body would tell her yes and that her mind would run wild with the possibilities of the consequences. She wanted him to stop for so long, but she kept telling him to keep going.

For each time she thought 'leave me alone', she said in it's place 'take me, please'.

For every moment she thought 'stop this instant', she moaned to him 'deeper, harder, faster'.

With every breath she took in she wanted to run, but in the end it was the thrill of it all that drove her to force herself to stay put.

Each time she rejected the idea, she got wetter.

For each time she thought about him, she placed her hoof against her sopping lips.

Each time she wanted to tell him off, her hoof swirled in place.

With every step she took to him, she dripped anxiously.

When she wanted her husband, she ended up thinking about her young cadet instead.

Every time he entered inside of her, she whispered for him speak sweet little words into her ears.

As he bit into her flesh, she pulled him within her and refused to let go.

Everytime she felt him flare inside of her, her eyes rolled back as she forced him down on her lips.

Her tongue into his mouth.

Her saliva into his throat.

Her moans into his actions.

And when he finished, she allowed him to only inside.

When she was filled, he was always with her.

But now... She caused those very things to become her undoing. With her greed, she had manage to undo her marriage, her family, her home and more importantly the future of the teen that she lusted with. And as every last thing became undone before her eyes, she uncorked every bottle she could find. The more bottles she uncorked, the less she felt alone.

...and yet...

She still called for him, only this time he would not answer...

"DOWN! RED 43! RED 43! Set-HUT!"

There was now four minutes and thirty-six seconds left in the third quarter as the play started to take form. The Seaponies defense rushed in to take out their QB for the loss of yards as Magnus ran his respective faking route. There was something different in this quarter. It was as if they finally realized what they were playing for and not what they wanted to do in terms of building stats. The defense wanted to make some stops, and they wanted to do it however way they could. Their Seaddle offense managed to push into the endzone twice now, leading the game with a score of 17-14.

"TIMEOUT, REF! TIME OUT! "

The inattentive ref continues to look at the play on the field. The Chevaliers offense needed a quick breather and Coach Bridgewater identified that his team was beginning to look sluggish. He steps in-bounds while trying to grab the ref's attention when suddenly...

"Coach stepped in bounds. Fifteen yard penalty. Remains third down."

The stadium erupted into a sea of boos, insults and profane language as the coach finally gained the attention of the refs.

"Timeout, Chevaliers. This will be their first time out for the half."

The offensive players, already frustrated at the refs for not listening to their coach, trot to their sideline as Jetstream walked over to the referee that initially ignored the coach.

"Hey ref, my coach called timeout before he came out to the field."

"Really? I didn't hear him."

Jetstream looked at the ref with disbelief as he knew that was a blatant lie. "No way, he called you over to call a time-out. If I can hear that from center field, then you should've heard that when you were right in front of him!"

The referee walked slowly to the player that interrogated him and whispered to him. "Well, that's too bad."

The ref walks to the center of the field while an angry Jetstream storms off to his team. When he approaches the team, he immediately states what's on his mind.

"Mane coach, this shit is rigged."

"Tell me something I don't know. We're getting called for ghost fouls on defense and we're getting no calls on offense. This has been going on since the second half started. But that still doesn't mean that we can't make plays. They even threatened us with an 'illegal substitution' if I didn't get Rarity off our sideline."

Magnus didn't take that very well.

"Mag, you still pissed off from nine minutes ago?" Bridgewater inquired to his best runner.

"Absolutely livid."

"Good, because I gotta play that I want you to run. This is going to be a deceptive play and I'm gonna need some of you boys to give our QB some time to work with."

"We'll do our best, coach."

"Great, now here's what were going to do." Bridgewater takes out his clipboard and throws it on the ground. "Mag, remember how I told you not to run the ball through the center? Well now I'm asking you to do just that, only this time you'll be catching a slant pass on the inside as you rush past them with the fake. After the initial fake I want you to turn around and grab that ball. Now as soon as you get that ball, I want you to gun it. Don't stop over your grandmother's house for pie. I want you to make that miracle play you did for me that first game you played."

"You can count on me coach."

"Screenshot, remember to make that fake as convincing as you can get it. I wanna see that ball in Magnus hooves before it gets there. Code is Blue-42 Rarity-24."

"Yes coach."

"We're gonna burn these motherfucking assholes down this field, and the ref's little fixed income with it. Bring it in team!"

The entire offensive line tosses their hooves in the center as they feel rested enough to perform their next play. Screenshot breaks the huddle.

"Alright, Chevs on three. ONE-TWO-THREE-"

"CHEVS!"

On the other side of the field, the referee walks over to the coach letting them know that the time out is over, as well as some inside information.

"Their offense will be making an inside slant pass to their runner after the hoof-off fake. Sack the QB."

"Thanks for the *ahem* notification."

As Screenshot looks to the ref as he jokes with the Seaddle coach, he sees that something mysterious slips into his pocket. As figured, it was a payoff. But there was little he could do but run the play that the coach pulled out of his hat.

"Crooked ass ref need to get his teeth fixed. DOWN!"

The players get into position.

"BLUE 42, BLUE 42..."

The QB looks at the runner to his side before finalizing the play call.

"...RARITY-24-SET-HUT!"

The grunts and clashing of bodies seemed to slow into a stop as the runner makes his route and passes the inside. As the QB makes a left turn, he feels a shift in his momentum. Two defensive players come from the side and brings him down to the ground with a thud. The defensive players who made the tackle celebrate but soon realizes one mistake. The ref didn't blow the whistle.

Magnus held the ball as he side stepped an incoming defender. As he looked to his right, he saw that a defender was coming to intercept his position. As the defender made a dive for it, another defender grabbed the face-mask of the ball carrier. Dipping his head to free himself of the face-mask, his legs thrusted him down the field as he ran. The world seemed to be in slow motion around him as he ran for his desired destination. Not stopping for anything, he kept going until he felt a burning sensation hit his muscles. Magnus ignored the pain as he continued to run until he arrived at his destination.

The stadium volume shot to the sky as they celebrated the third-down conversion made into a touchdown. The two defenders that made the tackle on the QB looked at him dumbfounded at the fact that the entire time, the play they were expecting had turned out to be a fluke. Needless to say that the coach on the Seaddle sideline was furious over the faked play call. Magnus ran over to the Chevalier sideline to celebrate with his team.

"Boy, you kno' Southwind got dat facemask, right?" One of the other players called out to him.

"Didn't you say something about 'watch my hooves' at the coin toss?" Screenshot quipped to Magnus.

Magnus smiled at the reminder of his words and proceeded to laugh. "I had to run off all of that anger!"

"And you did a helluva job! Extra point is good and there's two minutes and fourty-nine seconds left in the quarter. This game is close, ladies. Let's avert that!"

The entire sideline cheered as their kicking team came from the field. The Chevalier defense came down the field and got into position. Magnus took a quick break before they found themselves with yet another possession off of an interception on second down and six yards to go. But much to his surprise, it seemed like his break may end up being an extended one as their strong safety (SS) came back with it and crossed the plane, adding another six points for their team.

And the paid ref was furious over the obscenely clean play.

Time passes as the coach runs the offensive plays once more as they drove into the fourth quarter with a comfortable lead. For the past three plays, it seemed as if karma had kicked in against the Seaddle team and their erroneous play calling. The ref couldn't even buy the kickoff return that turned into a fumble and was recovered by the receiving team once more to a touchdown. It seemed as if their luck had finally turned against them.

"Magnus, got enough rest?"

"Yeah coach."

"Good. Let's get on the field."

After a few miraculous plays, the Chevalier offense finally rushed back on the field for the first time in the fourth quarter. With eleven minutes and thirty two seconds left in the game and a comfortable lead of thirty-five to twenty, this game was easily decided. The offensive line could slow it's pace as it had gotten a hold of this game. All they needed to do was wind down the clock. With the Seaddle coach off his rocker, he drew up plans to try and cause turnovers. As they started the ensuing drive, Screenshot threw a incomplete pass on the first down. The second down was thrown to Jetstream as they gained eight yards, needing only two to continue the drive. Magnus rushed in for four yards to make it a first down.

It was then that the coach had enough.

"Timeout, Seaponies!"

As the defensive players left the field, they heard the sound a fan in the stand screaming out to them.

"Sho-sho-be-doo bitches!"

Southwind was about to charge the stands until his coach got his attention.

"Over here. Now, this is the plan. When Magnus gets the ball, I want you to dive in and take the ball from him. He can't keep it if it's punched out."

"Yes coach."

As he left the sideline to the field, Southwind had a different idea in mind. As he lined up, his eyes became fixated to the RB. He knew his task, and he knew exactly how he wanted to accomplish it. He remembered the taunting voice of Magnus and the words that he spoke to him as they met in the pregame.

"DOWN!"

And they sat in his head...

"SET-"

And he would take the one thing that he had away from him. At ALL costs.

"HUT!"

As the bodies crashed once more the RB took the shovel pass to the outside. Upon arriving at the first down marker, Southwind came in from below and tackled him.

The world seemed to freeze at that moment, where the sound of two twigs breaking could be heard on the sideline.

Author's Note

Well... That happened.

Sorry for putting up the false warning (kudos to those that actually ignored the long list of fetishes and continued reading). I wanted to sell that scene to try and convince you that there was clop incoming.:trollestia: Sadly though, there won't be any clop for a little while now that the story really got started. Hope you guys stick around for more.

P.S.: What Poindexter and Longshot really wanted that money for was to buy ice cream.

ACT 1: Flag on the Play

Every scream for their home team...

Every fan who saw it happened...

Every player on the field that was near the area...

Every ref that witnessed that moment...

Came to a outstanding silence.

The world seemed to freeze at that moment, where the sound of two twigs breaking could be heard on the sideline.

"And Magnus the boom has been stopped before the first down marker. Southwind makes the tackle for his team."

"Aww that's too bad." Cadance mumbles to herself as she stares to the the purple filly playing with her doll. Cadance was more than satisfied at the fact that her team is doing so well. On the other hoof, she was upset at the fact that Shining didn't even consider bringing both her and Twilight with him. But she learned to accept the things that happened earlier that evening.

Then something caught her attention.

"What's this? Magnus is holding one of his hind legs. Fillies and gentlecolts, I do believe he is injured. We're trying to get a good look at the damage and it se-eEEE OH SWEET CELESTIA!!! If you are listening to this broadcast and you have young foals in the room, please disconnect this broadcast. It looks co-" *click*

Cadance cut off the radio as she looked at the filly that sat next to her. She didn't want her to hear the continuation of that broadcast, but she wanted to know for herself what exactly was going on to have the reporter in an uproar like that. Without a moment's hesitation, she thought of the one way that this would work.

"Twilight... Let's go upstairs. I think it's time for bed."

"MAGNUS!!!"

Pearl once again found her voice, but for a reason that she had dreaded to live through during her entire marriage. As she banged on the glass windows the radio broadcast continued their coverage of the event.

"AAAAHAAAAAGH!!!"

Pearl instantly recognized the voice of the scream that pierced through the stadium. It was that of her own husband, who lied helplessly on the field. As his cries of pure anguish singed into the ears and heart of his wife, Pearl dropped to her knees as she looked at the area where her husband was located.

"The ref is coming out to address the play in question... He seems to be calling to the sound, let's see what he has to say."

Pearl remained speechless as she awaited the on-field verdict. Unfortunately, she didn't have to wait very long for the results.

" *ahem* Ruling on the field: There was no foul while the ball was in play."

The entire stadium seemed to shake with the piercing sounds of disapproval as the ref attempted his call.

"He was down on the sideline and tripped over his own hoof, causing his leg to bend in an unnatural manner. Upon resumption of the game, the ball will be marked on the spot of the Chevaliers' thirty-two yard line."

The stadium only got louder with the obviously bogus call. The fans in the stands started to chant so loudly that the refs on the field could not hear themselves as they argued on the ruling. Some fans had even threatened to throw objects onto the field as a sign of protest. As the chaos grew to a volatile state, guards stationed throughout the stadium started taking to the stands in an attempt to maintain order. Some guards had even opted to evacuate some of the higher paying attendees out of the stadium. Attendees, such as Pearl.

As the chants and insults continued to grow in volume and in number, the elevator opened behind Pearl, revealing two guards clad in armor and holding spears. The spear tips were covered in a protective cloth that ensured that any who dared to stand in their way would receive a proper 'warning'. Pearl turned around to address the stallions in uniform.

"Ma'am, I'm here as your escort. We will be assisting you as we take you to safety. Being that your husband is a player in this game, we will do everything we can to ensure your safety."

Pearl only turned around as she walked slowly to the window as one of the guards called out to her.

"Ma'am, we really need to leave."

She places a hoof against the glass over the spot where her husband lied. She hung her head as she closed her eyes shut. Her mind races with numerous thoughts, forming a large imaginary cloud above her head as the voices began to pour.

"Think Pearl. Think. What would you do in this situation. You must be strong. You must not show any fear. I'm so scared. My husband, is he going to be okay? Why is this happening? Magnus, get up. Rarity, please look away! Magnus baby, you're gonna be okay. How did it come to this? I'm so sorry. Rarity, mommy is going to have a foal. Shining Armor, you are the father. Please don't leave me! I can't be pregnant! Yes dearie, your father is going to be just fine. MAGNUS, IT WAS A MISTAKE!!! No matter what you do... No we didn't do anything inappropriate. Mr. Shining is coming to see us very soon. PLEASE SHINING ARMOR, TELL ME THAT YOU DON'T MIND ME BECOMING LIKE THIS! Don't do this, please! Rarity you have to trust me! I've been feeling sick lately. What's going on? Shining Armor, where are you? Sure, you can write to Mr. Shining, Rarity! Are you serious!? ...no matter what you say, or how you feel...YOU DID THIS TO ME!!! I'm going to ride you till you can't think straight. DON'T LEAVE SHINING ARMOR! Are you hitting on me? Oh Magnus, I promise to be there for you no matter what. ...under no circumstances... We will be together forever. Through sickness and in health, for rich or for poor, till death do us part."

"...dont cry."

As her last though fell from her cheek, so did the tears that followed. The vision of her betrayal to her husband had begun to manifest against the glass she leaned on. She saw the visions of her husband sulking in a corner as she approached him. Her very presence stirred him to anger as she reached out to him. Without warning, he turns around to shove her out of the way and storms off, in the similar fashion that Shining did earlier. As she called to her husband, chasing him along the way, his distance grew greater from her as she seemed to be running in place.

As her vision blurred from the flood of tears, she saw her daughter sitting at a sowing machine. She was a full-grown mare now and had grown to be even more beautiful than she could have ever hoped for. Pearl approached her daughter when suddenly she turned around to face her mother. When Rarity saw her mother opening her hooves to her, she didn't walked past her but rather through her. As the heartbroken mother turned around to see her daughter, she was gone.

As she took a sharp intake of air trying to retain her composure, Pearl saw a bitter Shining Armor that stood a few in front of her. A smile animated itself on her face as she placed a hoof on his shoulder. He did not respond. As she hugged him, she then realized that something was wrong. Something warm drenched her hooves as she hugged him. Pearl jerked back out of surprise as she saw what was covering her hooves. There was the distinctive murkiness of blood that dressed her hooves. Shining slowly turned around to look her in the eyes, mouthing to her a question? In his eyes lied the physical expression of his question; why? Looking down at her hooves once more, she saw the instrument of his demise. In the end, it was her that ended his life as he knew it.

Keeling over in despair, she screamed to the nothing that lied in front of her. She dared not to look at the glass to see the monster that she had become. She felt as if the world would soon turn against her, and it was of her own doing. Everything that she saw was nothing more than a reflection of what was to come. Her tears flowed freely as she screamed for the one who could make these visions go away.

The one who she ruined...

The one that she felt remorse for...

The one that she wanted to hold one last time...

"Ma'am, it's time for us to lea-"

"NO!" She screamed at the guard behind her.

"But milady, your safety is-"

"I... REFUSE TO LEAVE... NOT WITHOUT HIM!!!"

As the guard tried to approach the irrational mare, she ignited her horn as a means to inform the guard that she would not be leaving the room without the present company of her escort.

"I think tha-"

"I... SHALL... NOT... BE MOVED!!!" As Pearl's voice came to a climax, her magic fired off a stun bolt in the direction of the guard. She aimed well enough to graze the armored stallion's ear. As the bolt traveled it hit the wall behind the firm-standing guard, causing a black burn mark to appear. The enraged mare, drags her hoof against the ground in an offensive maneuver as she emphasizes her previous statement. "I MOVE FOR ONE STALLION! AND HIS NAME IS-"

"SHINING ARMOR, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?"

Longshot galloped after the teen, who jumped out of his seat upon hearing the botched call. Shining galloped down the stairs of the stadium at full speed, not stopping to heed the questions and pleas of his friends.

"THIS ISN'T RIGHT! DON'T DO THIS!"

Poindexter did the best he could to keep up with the apoplectic stallion, but the stairs proved too much of an obstacle for him to overcome. Shining made a break for the front barrier that separated the stands from the sideline.

"SHINING, YOU IDIOT! YOU'RE GONNA GET ARRESTED!!!"

Azure, who was usually on the receiving end of that statement, screamed out to his wrathful best friend. Shining, however, had already mounted the barrier. As his hooves landed, he could hear a familiar voice in the distance.

"Hey, Magnus! You need to watch those hooves! You could've killed somepony!"

Southwind was taking much pleasure of the fact that his rival laid on the ground helpless. He perpetually made jokes at the expense of the injured player.

"LET ME GO! SOUTHWIND YOU PIECE OF SHIT! YOU DID THAT ON PURPOSE! THAT SHIT WAS ILLEGAL AND YOU KNOW IT! FUCKING DAMMIT, LET ME GO!!!"

Jetstream screamed to his teammates to release him from their hold as he tried to give the offending player a piece of his mind. And it took much of Screenshot's strength to keep him from getting ejected from the game.

"I'm sowee. Mwaybwe da wittle stwallion's wegs are mwade of gwass." Insulted Southwind as he circled around the coaches and medics that surrounded the wounded players position.

"Mag, we're gonna take care of ya. Just... try not to look down, okay?" Coach Bridgewater tried to assure his injured player that everything was going to be alright, but the pain that Magnus felt was contrary to the statement that the coach was providing.

"This is serious coach." One of the medics began. "He's gonna be out for a long time. He has a compound small metatarsal fracture... and judging from the pain he's going through, he's got a comminuted fracture in his large metatarsal. We need to get him to a hospital, now."

"Wow! Hey medic, how many screws does it take to put broken glass back together? Besides it's just a cramp. Let him walk it off!" Southwind screams out to the medics, taunting the downed player some more. At that point, Bridgewater had enough of it.

"Hey, fuck off! I know you did this on purpose!"

"Hey, get fucked! You heard the ref, he tripped!"

As the exchange of words continue on the sideline where the injury had taken place, there was a dispute among the refs on the field. The other refs looked at the head ref with disgust as they witnessed the call being an intentional targeting foul. But their dispute was disrupted by the sudden cheering of the home crowd. The refs tried to identify the source of the crowd's cheering until they saw an unauthorized teen rush the field, making his way to their position.

And faster than any of them could react, the teen bulldozed the head ref in charge.

"Well what's this? It seems to be that a fan has rushed the field and... AND HE TACKLES THE HEAD REF! HE TACKLED THE HEAD REF!!! SUCH PANDEMONIUM! The crowd is on their hind legs at this point!"

"Yes! You teach that bastard what for!" An excited Cadance screams out loud before realizing that she had sent the foal she was watching over to bed not too long ago.

"Cadance, is something wrong?" A small voice calls out from upstairs.

"No Twilight. Now go back to bed."

"The guards are having a hard time dealing with this crowd now! After a terrible call, a fan has blitzed the head ref in charge. If I didn't know any better... No, that ref should've known better! This is the play of the game folks!!"

"That's my boy! You wreck his shit like you did mine!" Pearl screamed against the glass as she stands inside of a room full of unconscious guards.

"Muuuuuuh..." One of the guards stirred as he began to regain consciousness.

Pearl merely knock him upside the head with a nearby lamp, producing a loud ring from the impact of the lamp and the metallic helmet.

"Ouch...."

"Holy shit! He flat-lined the ref!" Poindexter screams out in excitement as the other fans around the three celebrated the occasion.

"You bastard! Don't stop hitting him!" Longshot shouted out to the field.

"You fucking idiot! Who told you to go out there!?" Azure projected to the area where Shining was located. As he looked to the crowd around him, he couldn't help but to sympathize with them as they all saw how corrupted the officiating was for the duration of the second half. "...Aw, fuck it. SHINING! WE'RE COMING DOWN BRO!"
*
As Azure claimed those words, Poindexter and Longshot ran beside him as they made a beeline for the ref's position. They were about to hurdle the barrier, but were suddenly stopped.

"STOP! I will preserve order!"

The three teens stopped dead in their tracks upon seeing who it was that stood in between them and assisting their best friend. It was none other than the Captain of the Guard himself; Orion Sparkle.

"What's that?"

As the young teenager was held in the custody of two Chevalier players, one of the other refs as well as a guard walked up to the small brown sack that lied a little way's away from the battered referee. As they approached the small sack, they saw that there was something that shone bright gold that spilled out of it. Upon investigating the contents, they concluded that it was indeed money. The refs that continued to withhold their integrity stared into the eyes of the head ref.

"So you were paid off?"

"I-I- It's- I've never seen that pouch before! Who does that belong to? Confess!" The ref tried to place his obvious guilt on another, but to much of his displeasure his efforts were in vain. Not too long after, one of the other refs stripped the audio device from him and spoke into the intercom system.

"The previous play is under further review."

"You can't do that. You're breaking the ru-"

"AND YOU'RE JUST AS GUILTY! Even more so accepting bribes." Bridgewater screamed at the dirty official. As the head ref was about to explain himself, the other officials made their announcement.

"The ruling on the field. Holding on the offense; number twenty-three. Illegal formation; defense number forty-seven. Those penalties offset. Unsportsmanlike conduct; defense number forty-seven. Targeting foul; defense number forty-seven. That is a fifteen yard penalty and an automatic first down. Number forty-seven on the defense is ejected from the game. Bribing the official; on the defensive team. The coach is also ejected from the game."

The stadium fills with cheers and praises for the remaining officials on the field. The guards continued to hold their positions around the stadium to prevent any more fans from running on the field. On the Seaddle sideline, the coach was too busy throwing his headphones and more of the team's equipment around the place, swearing and screaming as he did so.

"That's bullshit! My team deserves this more than you do! We deserve the championship! NOT YOU!!!"

Bridgewater shouts from mid-field to the tantrum-riddled coach. "You don't deserve shit! You bribe the official, you instruct your players to make bounty plays, and you sacrifice your integrity for the sake of a damn cup made of steel and tin that's been guilded in gold. You don't play for the game! You play for the fame, and you would even pay to make that happened instead of earning it like everypony else does!"

"YOU DON'T KNOW HOW IT FEELS TO NOT WIN IT ALL!"

"WELL I'M SORRY ABOUT YOUR TRAGIC PAST THAT YOU HAD TO ENDURE WITH MOMMY AND DADDY NOT GIVING YOU EVERYTHING YOU WANTED! NOW GET OFF MY FIELD!!!"

The Seaddle coach didn't say much afterwards, he just continued to throw the team's equipment into the stands. He even went as far as aiming at the fans that dared to mock him. This only lasted for about thirty seconds before one of the guards teleported directly in front of him.

Southwind wasn't angry at all. In fact he smiled despite the knowledge that he was ejected from the game. What remained in his mind was the fact that the player he vowed to take out of the game was out of contention for a full off-season and some of the next season. Finally taking his leave, he taunted the fans one last time as he bowed to them and spitting on their field one last time.

"Thank you for taking care of Twilight for me."

"Oh, no problem."

Velvet paid the foalsitter her fare and also for the time she spent in taking care of her beloved daughter. Cadance nodded in acceptance, before speaking further.

"Uhh... Also, if you don't mind me asking, what kept you so late? usually you would be home a lot earlier than this."

"Well, there was a case number that I was reviewing that pertained to magical surges. Ultimately, I managed to dig into something that seemed really interesting. But in the end... let's just say that I didn't like the results of what I saw. So upon review the case another four times, I finally took in the fact that this case was indeed problematic."

Amora sighs as she gives her employer sympathy. "I... wish there was something that I could say to make you feel better about your day."

"Oh, it's no big deal. I'm just wondering when my other young foal will be coming home. I pray that he's not doing what I told him not to do."

"Nah, he's usually a well mannered colt."

"Well, that's good news. Just remember that he's off limits until he graduates from the academy." Velvet jokes.

"Mrs. Sparkle, you've told me this about seventeen times now." Amora states while feigning a laugh.

"Well make it eighteen. But I'm more than grateful for seeing that you understand why."

"Well now that you brought that up..." Amora thinks to herself as she tries to emit an answer from the unusually protective mare. "Actually ma'am, you never really clarified on why he's not allowed to date."

"Oh, well let's just say that he has a few things to learn about mares in general, and I would rather him learn about it from my instruction before he goes on and get's a random mare pregnant."

Amora screams internally as she identified Velvet's implied intent."Did she just... Oh Celestia EWWWW!" But her composure on the outside remains the same as it always was. "Yeah, I suppose."

"That boy, I swear he's so naive. But hopefully that will all change this year."

"Yeah, and I'll be the one to make that change and not you." Amora thinks to herself as she plays off her true thought. "Yeah, let's hope for that."

"Well, I better get ready for bed. It's been a long day."

"Well, goodnight! Please get as much rest as you can."

"Oh and I hope you do the same."

As the conversation ends between them. Amora flies in the direction of the stadium. Despite feeling a bit disgusted at Shining's mother, she's even more excited to get a glimpse of the game's progress, or rather the drama within it.

"I can't wait to see what's going on to cause such an uproar in the stadium tonight. I wonder if there's a riot or something."

As she flies through the air, she closes in on the stadium's location. Even more excited, she thinks of a way to surprise the stallion she longs for.

"Shining Armor, despite your mother's unwillingness to allow us to date, I am going to take you out tonight. And you will thank me for it later."

Upon flying over the stadium, she makes a quick kick-dive into the stands and unknowingly in between three certain teenage colts. Upon her unexpected entry she takes a quick breath as she takes a seat. Suddenly, three voices scream out in shock.

"YOU!?"

As she opens her eyes, she finds that she sitting amidst three of the four colts that she shares a majority of her classes with.

"Poindexter? Longshot? Azure? What are all of you doing here!?"

"We paid to get in! What about you? It is rather unexpected of you to drop by without warning." Azure argues as Amora places a hoof on her chin.

"Well, I just heard of all the drama that just happened before I left a client of mine. I only know up to the point where the ref made the completely bogus call and got flattened by a fan. So what did I miss?"

"Oh nothing unusual." Poindexter states sarcastically. "The call's been reversed, the opposing coach got booted as well as one of his players, Shining tackling the head ref, the offi-"

"SHINING ARMOR TACKLED THE REF!? THAT WAS HIM!?" Amora interrupted as she looked to the field.

As her eyes scanned the area, she failed to see the colt she wanted to surprise. Seeing that he was not in the stands, she scanned the field below. Her eyes combed the field until she saw two familiar bodies on the field. The first she identified as Shining Armor, but the second she identified the other figure, her wings shot open out of the sudden realization of who Shining was being arrested by.

"But d-"

"We will speak on this later, cadet."

"Yes... sir."

As the saddened cadet was carried off to custody, Orion shook his head as he took in the knowledge that he had to arrest his own son. It wasn't the fact that he broke the law, but it was the fact that he would do it so openly and in a place such as this. He wouldn't hear the end of it as soon as this game ended but if there was one thing that he did take the pleasure of doing was that he held the official that was caught in wrongdoing on the field and that he managed to save a few of the fans from any physical harm.

He did his job, but he had to arrest his son in the process.

As Shining walked down the hall bound in chains, he heard a young voice calling out to him. As he continued his march with the guards that held him, the voice seemed to get louder. As soon as he recognized the voice, he told the guards that escorted him to speed up.

"A little anxious to get into the station, aren't we?" One of the guards mutters to the accused.

"Must be. You really wanna avoid your dad now that he put you in your place." The other guard managed to ask under his breath.

That wasn't it at all. He just didn't want to answer to the filly who's life he managed to ruin.

As the paramedics carted a bloodied Magnus off the field, the crowd cheered for him. They cheered that he would have a speedy recovery and for him to one day return to the field. It didn't take long for the cleanup of the area where the event occurred to take place. A small crew that specialized in the cleaning of a crime scene ran out to the field in order to clean blood off of the sideline. As they completed their task, the whistle was blown to resume the game.

Meanwhile in the tunnel...

"Daddy, are you gonna be okay?"

Rarity ran alongside her father as he was carted off, crying as she ran. Magnus extended a hoof out to her and spoke as calmly as he could.

"Sweetie... Daddy won't be home for a little while."

Rarity tried all that she could not to scream at the news of her father not coming home. But her tears continued to fall as she ran. "Promise me... that you'll be okay."

That all she wanted She didn't care about the fact that this could possibly end his career nor the fact that he was bleeding. The only thing she wanted was for him to come home safely.

"I'll be fine."

That was the last thing she heard as she finally conceded to fatigue and allowed the others to continue running. As she watched the medics run away with her father, the sobs she held for the sake of being strong for her father finally broke through as she slumped in the center of the empty hallway.

She wanted her knight to save her, now more than ever since she was alone.

"Son, you do realize that you are being charged with assault?"

"...Yes sir."

Three hours had passed since the games conclusion. Although the Chevaliers won the game, Shining's battle was now with the law itself. He dared not to look into his father's eyes as he questioned him.

"...I just can't believe you would do something like this."

"I'm sorry dad. I didn't want to but I just couldn't let him get away with that." Shining answered, defending his motive.

"So you would incite a field rush for the sake of causing the game to be ruled fairly?"

"But it was Magnus... He was hurt for nothing. He was assaulted and was given a serious injury and for what? DOING HIS JOB!?"

"My boys are assaulted and brought to serious injuries every single day. Some of them don't even make it home."

"But it's a job that doesn't call for that kind of injury-"

"And in that game, these injuries happen. Just like they do with every other job that requires manual labor and physical strength."

"But it isn't the same."

Orion didn't hesitate to pull his son across the table, staring him in the eyes as they were brought face to face.

"Listen to me, and look at me. You, a cadet, is more prone to these kinds of situations than anyone else you go to school with. So in that sense how dare you undermine what a pony's job entitles. Do you not realize that these jobs, despite the high amount of pay, requires us to push our bodies to the limit? Sure I get paid a six figure income, seven if you include the yearly bonus, but that requires me to place my life on the line. I have seen construction jobs that pay less than what I get that has the occurrence of a death every now and then. Pencil pushers that sit behind a desk would literally jump out of a fucking window, in order to get a snippet of the freedom that you have."

Shining felt uncomfortable with his father driving his face into close proximity as he did and proceeded to look away. That is, until his father shook him once more.

"If you look away from me one more time, so Faust the almighty help me and Celestia as my witness, I will hook my hoof to the side you look to just so you would see it coming."

Shining quickly shifted his eyes as his father stared into him.

"Our jobs requires us to do what is necessary in order to maintain order and more importantly to keep peace in the realm. And what do you do?"

Shining could already feel the shame and the disappointment that his father had for him at that moment. He winced as he awaited the inevitable choice of words that his father would soon reveal.

"You did a good job."

Shining blinked blindly at his father upon hearing those words.

"Not only did you take out one of the most controversial refs out of the system, you displayed to all of Equestria what kind of a crook that coach was."

Shining stared at his father for a few seconds before asking what all was going on. "...Come again?"

"That coach fixed so many games this season and the last season that he actually would've managed to win a championship, had it persisted. Now he's being investigated for a bounty charge. This opened up a case that we've been trying to have since April of last year."

Shining continued to look at his father with a dumbfounded expression. "...What did I miss?"

"I know we're not the police, but when you have something that ends up permeating to these other cases of assassinated officials and their abused families, it's hard not to get involved. Especially if it involves more than one victim and more than one occurrence."

"I'm lost. So what you're saying is-"

"This guy is a gangster, a timberwolf in a coach uniform. He's been threatening officials with these games.If they accepted, out of fear of course, then he'd pay them to keep quiet and paid them to fix the game. But if they'd refused, he'd have them eliminated in order to hide his tracks. This also applies to any close members of the family."

"So he's paying them to keep quiet, and killing them if they ever considered reporting him... Then that means that the ref I tackled-"

"Was a victim and not completely corrupt. Which adds to why he continued to feign his innocence on the pouch of money that we found on the field."

Shining looked down at the table upon having his previous statement proven right. "I... I deserve to-"

"We're gonna clear you out somehow. Your charges will be omitted and your case will be swept under the table."

"But how? Not even a pony with your authority could even hope to drop this, especially with so many witnesses."

Orion released his son and removed himself from the table. As he walked out the door he turned back to his son. "There's always a way."

The door closes behind him as he trots to the other room. Opening the door, he sees the other officers that witnessed their actions behind the glass. The officers remained silent. Orion, suspicious of the unusual silence, speaks first.

"Well gentlecolts, how do we do this?"

One of the officers turns around to point to the wall behind Orion. "Well sir, you should ask your visitor."

As the blue unicorn stallion turns around, he sees a pink figure hiding within the shadow. Taken aback, Orion jumps away from the figure and prepares himself for combat.

"Those actions won't be necessary, captain." A young female voice calls out to him.

Relieved to hear the familiar voice, he lets his guard down. "Oh, it's you... what are you doing here?"

As the figure approaches the light, much of her figure is to be revealed as a medium sized mare with a pink coat. She had a multicolored mane with a light blue ribbon tied in a bow. She had a cutie mark depicting a blue heart. She donned both a horn and a pair of wings. As she pulled out a paper out of her saddlebag, she placed it into the hooves of Orion. The document was a form of omission, a roll of parchment that stated that the accused of the crime could walk free from any charges that was brought against them. As Orion reviewed the document, it already had the royal seal placed upon it as well as a signature.

Princess Mi Amore Cadenza

"My reason is simple, captain... I'm getting my boyfriend out."

Author's Note

To prevent confusion in the later chapters, Cadance will be called Amora whenever she is around others. The only individuals that she will be recognized as her nickname will be to Twilight and her father.

Now there's a reason this case came up about the coach. What it is will be revealed later in the story. Though I may warn you that it may come to be a bit of a shocker to see what happens, if their paths should cross.

And let's face it, did you really think that Shining's life was going to be all sunshine and rainbows?

ACT 1: Playing Dirty

*Squuuuuueeeeak* *DOGOM*

Hoof steps sound quietly throughout the house as Shining Armor entered through the front door. As he entered the foyer, he tried to make his way up the stairs as discreetly as he possibly could. As he lit his horn, he made sure that the light wouldn't be too much of a disturbance to anyone who was asleep. He passed the trophy case and begun to make his way to the stairs. But something grabbed his attention as he passed the doorway going upstairs. There was a dim dot that stood out within the darkness of the kitchen. Shining dismissed it as he thought to himself that it was just merely one of the appliances in the kitchen. Once again he began to make his way upstairs.

"I know you saw me."

Shining stood mortified at the voice that spoke from within the darkness. His mind was already in a race from the events that happened earlier, but now even his body decided that it was time to panic.

"You better not run from me."

He remembered the lecture that his dad gave to him when he was at the detainment station downtown. He thought of the possibilities of his current situation.

"Okay Shining. Don't panic. This is what you trained for. Thought I haven't been training that long. You can do this. Going upstairs may possibly be a trap. TWILY!!! There's nothing to be afraid of. My sister. One of that coach's henchmares are sitting in your kitchen. This isn't good. My baby sister is... NO! Everypony could be still alive. No way there are the bodies of my. They lie in a restless state, looks of infinite horrors covers their faces as their blood puddles YOU MUST... This is what I need to do. If I can be ready to take them on. ...REMAIN CALM! MOM! They can still be saved. I'll rush inside and prepare myself. "NOW YOU MUST... I can't let my family down. For mom and Twilight, I will..."

"...DEFEND MYSELF!"

Shining didn't hesitate any longer as he jumped out to greet the intruder. As he leapt into a offensive position, he ignited his horn to it's maximum power as he tilted his head down to aim for the magical dot that dimly lit the kitchen. In response, the dot summoned a large magenta shield around the figure, illuminating much of the room as the figure that stood in the kitchen was revealed.

"Oh... It's you mom."

An ethereal hum sounded as both Shining and Velvet deactivated their spells and left their horns to produce the light that they needed to see each other.

"Mom. Don't ever scare me like that. I've could've hurt you."

"As if you had a chance, dear boy." Velvet answer smugly. "So how was your night?"

Shining quickly answered his mother. "It was fine. We won the game and everypony was out celebrating."

Velvet nodded softly. "Oh. Well I don't suppose you do realize that young colts such as yourself shouldn't be walking in the door at around one thirty-six in the morning."

Shining looked back at the clock on the kitchen wall and read the time. "Oh. Heh heh. I guess you do have a point."

"I do, don't I?" She answered as she walked slowly to her son's direction.

"...Well, it's already late and I do have school in the morning. So... goodnight." Shining said as he turned around to head upstairs once more.

"Ah ah ah!" Velvet called out to her son while magically holding his chin to turn him around. As he was forced to face his mother, the door way behind him was sealed off in a force field. "And where do you think you're going?"

"Um... To bed?" Shining answered with a nervous smile as his mother stopped dead in front of him.

"Your magic flow is unstable... You're undergoing a lot of stress." She states, looking at Shining's horn as it continued to give off it's glow. "You've been that way as soon as you walked through the door. That means two things. One; you're hiding something from me. And two; you did something that you shouldn't have."

"Well- I- OUCH!" Shining stuttered before his mother clocked him on his horn, deactivating his illumination spell.

"You are hiding something that you should be telling me, Aegnus." Velvet says sternly as she refers to his middle name.

"Gah, mom you know I don't like being called that above all the nicknames you give me." Shining argued, embarrassed to hear that name.

"Your name is Shining Armor Aegnus Sparkle. I birthed you with that name in mind, you've carried that name since foalhood, you bear that name now, you will hold on to it as you make your vows on your wedding day, you will hold that name as your foals grow up, and that name will go with you as you die."

"Yes, mother." Shining Armor agrees begrudgingly as his mother continued to pressure him.

"Now tell me... What has you so on edge?"

He thought about telling her, but he made a promise to his father that she wouldn't get involved. He knew that if she had found out, that she would be as equally involved in the matter as his father was. And he surely couldn't tell her about what he's been doing for the past four months. She would be beyond livid if she was to discover that she was about to be a grandmother, despite her best efforts to keep him chaste. Both things weighted heavily on his back as he decided not to tell her anything at all.

"I just heard a really creepy story from one of my friends. They really made it seem convincing."

"Oh that's nice... If it wasn't a crock of shit."

Shining really didn't like it when his mother cursed. Not only did she sound like she was about to geld him where he stood, she really hated the fact that she would even hear or bring up language like that in her home.

"Now... tell me what's really going on." Velved hissed to her son, seeming angry enough that she would burn the house with him inside of it.

Shining gulped as he stood by his lie. "...It's nothing mom. Like I said, Azure told all of us a slasher story about a murderer that killed mares everywhere he went and that he buried them underneath the cobblestones of Canterlot."

"Oh... that story." Velvet nodded in agreement. "I remember hearing that one when I was a teenager. Of course a few differences. The killer was actually a mare rather than a stallion. She didn't kill every mare she saw, so much as the mares she was in a herd with because she wanted to have the stallion for herself. And that it all actually happened when I was a freshmeat in college. And the cobblestone thing was true. She cut off the heads, skinned them, scrubbed the skulls and placed them in various locations in the city... Poor little Gemstone didn't even stand a chance."

If Shining hadn't had the urge to use the bathroom before, he surely felt it now.

"It's really a creepy story... if it's told right."

"Ummm..."

"Oh I know, you have school in the morning. Well start trotting on up those stairs, take a quick shower and head straight off to bed. Your breakfast will be waiting for you when you get up." Velvet commented as she undid her force field, giving her son access to the stairs once more. Shining shook as he slowly walked out of the kitchen and ignited his horn to maximum brightness. His mother calls him one last time. "Oh and Shining dear..."

Shining turns around to see a smile on his mother's face.

"Pleasant dreams."

Shining takes off at a mid-pace gallop as he left his mother in the kitchen. The smile she previously wore now became a frown as she dimmed her magic once more.

"My son, you really are a horrible liar."

One Month Later...

"This way, mistress."

Captain Orion, clad in his daily regalia, escorted an average-looking Cadance as she enters a brick door, cleverly hidden from the view of the many other ponies that walk by the palace on a daily basis. The entrance was disguised as a part of the wall to which a high-level sealing spell was needed in order to open the passage that lead to the Canterlot Maze Grounds. It was also known to the younger guards as the Maze of Seeking for the sole reason of it's difficulty of navigating the large, four-acres of endless green hedges. If you were unaware of the methods to enter the maze, then you'd never find a way out. Even those that could normally fly out would find themselves enchanted to having their wings locked against their backs as they walked within it. It was a perfect way to stop any and all intruders that would wander into it's boundaries.

As Cadance and Orion made their way to the entrance of the green maze, Orion stepped forward and chanted these words.

"I am the mare who arranges the blocks." bonus points for those who got that reference

As the secret phrase was spoken to the maze, the hedges rustled lightly as the two stood still. Soon the rustling stopped and there was a green arch that ascended from the ground before them. As the arch seemed that it would only show the green wall that it stood in front of, it was simply their way out. As the two walked through the arch, they saw that they had entered the gardens that was the front lawn of the castle.

As the time passed, they walked into the main hall of the palace. As they walked, a voice echoed in the halls.

"DO NOT LET HER ESCAPE!"

Orion shot to attention and looked either ways trying to identify the problem. As Cadance was looking in the direction from where she heard the stallion's voice come from, she felt something hit her from behind. Caught off guard, she turned around to find a filly with a creamy-orange coat and a dual-colored mane. She sported a fiery yellow-red combo in her mane and her cutie mark carried the same colors, depicting a sun. As the filly rubbed her head, Cadance approached her.

"Hey little one, are you okay?"

The filly looked up at the mare who stood over her. As she looked at her, she noticed something that she didn't like. She saw that the mare had a set of wings that seemed to indicate that she was a pegasus, but at the same time she took notice of the horn that protruded the mare's forehead. Suddenly the filly pulled a feather out of Cadence's wing as the pink alacorn winced in pain.

"...Why?"

Cadance looked confused as she answered the filly. "What's wrong, sweetie?"

"WHY DO YOU HAVE WHAT I DESERVE TO HAVE!"

Cadance was taken aback as Orion joins her side. "Princess is there something wrong?"

"AND YOU CARRY A TITLE!? THIS ISN'T FAIR!!!"

Orion slowly walks to the temperamental filly, asking her with concern. "What isn't fair?"

The filly looked at Cadance and stood up to her. "You! Tell me! What do I have to do in order to become as powerful as you are!?"

Cadance tilts her head in confusion. She wants to answer the filly out of the kindness in her heart, but her instinct tells her otherwise. "Well... You kinda have t-"

"NOT ANOTHER WORD, AMORA!!!"

A voice erupted from above, only this time it held more of an authoritative tone than the others. Cadance shook as she immediate knew who gave out that order. As the halls brightened up to that of the sun itself, the tall figure that held her wings outright stood before them. Orion bowed and Cadance gasped as they entered the company of none other than the sole ruler of Equestria herself.

Enter Princess Celestia.

"She doesn't need to know anything about that rite! She does not deserve it!"

"Lies! I am one of the strongest, if not the strongest, unicorns in all of Equestria! I deserve to ascend!"

"YOU DO NOT!" Celestia screams to the foal.

Cadance does not know entirely what all has transpired in her absence, but she does know one thing from seeing her aunt in such a state; her heart was breaking in two.

"I take you in, I feed you, I give you compassion, I teach you what I could for the time being, I even went as far as treating you as my own daughter... and this is how you show your thanks?"

Orion feels as if he stumbled into something that he shouldn't have.

"You didn't teach me anything worth learning. You fail as an instructor and you have failed me! I quit!"

"SUNSET, WAIT!"

As the filly and her former mentor run down the hall, Cadance and Orion look to each other, unsure of what they should do. But given the circumstances, they decided to give chase to the two argumentative parties.

As the chase ends in a small room, Celestia stood in the doorway as she tried her best to negotiate with the enraged filly, who stood by a large, mysterious mirror.

"I can only teach you what you would be most prepared for. I can't tell you everything, not yet!"

"You had a chance! Now I will learn at my own pace!"

"ORION, SEIZE HER!"

Orion didn't even bother to ask questions as he charged to the filly formerly known as Celestia's pupil. Upon the closing distance, she seemed to struggle with something. As the distance closed between them, the filly disappeared into nowhere. He looked to the sides and found her to his right. As the filly taunted the stallion, Celestia appeared, in the same manner from which she disappeared, behind her. The filly found herself surrounded. Cadance stood in the doorway in front of her, Orion stood to her right and Celestia stood to her left. She backed up until she found herself in front of the mirror, or more noticeably her tail going through it. The others gasped as they saw the unusual event transpire, but only Celestia knew what was truly happening.

"Sunset Shimmer, please. Don't do it." Called out Celestia, who seemed to hold her chest at the inevitable outcome.

"Sorry that it had to be this way... princess."

"NO!"

As Celestia ran to the filly, Sunset Shimmer jumped backwards into the mirror portal. Cadance stood in awe of the artifact as Orion volunteered himself to charge after her.

"Stop!"

Orion's hooves scraped the floor as he stopped himself short of entering the mirror. He looks to his ruler, or rather the mare that was his ruler.

"Not another... I won't lose another. Not a student, not a guard, not a-" Celestia stopped in the middle of her sentence as she realized what she was about to say. Trying to regain her regality, she commanded to Orion once more.

"...To your post captain."

And as quick as she gave the order, she teleported from the room. Cadance nodded to Orion as she looked at the mirror once more.

"You go on ahead. I'll take care of the princess."

Cadance walks into the grand hallway that retained the doors to the room of the princesses. Both of the door resembled that of a half of a semi-circle. One door was that of Princess Celestia's private chambers, a bright white door with her cutie mark engraved upon the mass of the door. The other door was a polar opposite, a mostly midnight-blue door that remained unfinished at some parts. The wood still showed it natural colors at one point and the incomplete paint job on the other. A crescent moon was engraved onto the door.

As Cadance approached the brighter door, she listened for her aunt to see if she was inside. The princess sobs could be heard from within as Cadance knocked on the door.

"Please... go."

Cadance knew what exactly to do when her aunt was like this. She opened the door and entered into the room.

"I SAID PLEASE GO AWAY!"

Cadance's heart ached as she approached the sobbing princess. Celestia ethereal mane laid dormant as her face wrapped her face from the view of her subjects. Cadance used her magic to close the door behind her as she stopped inches shy of the larger-framed alacorn. As the door clicked shut, Celestia finally opened up.

"I'm a complete failure. I can raise the sun, I can save the city from dangers seen and unseen, I can even move the moon and dress the night sky... But I can't even prove to be a mother-figure. Nor can I even become a teacher... Or a good sister."

"That's not true."

"It is Cadenza. I truly tried to have a pupil that I could teach while being motherly."

"That wasn't your fault. She only desired power."

Celestia continued to sob softly as she looked to Cadance for the first time in the conversation. "Where did I go wrong? Why did she leave me? Was my instruction insufficient?"

"No! You are a wonderful teacher. Just look at me." Cadance confirmed.

"And what about Blueblood? He's a mess."

Cadance acknowledged the fact that Blueblood wasn't the best representation of her success. "Yeah, that's Blue for you. But there is something that you have shown what no other pony with some sort of administrative capabilities have."

"Compassion? Tell that to my sister." Celestia stated with deadpan.

Cadance rolled her eyes and sighed. "This, again?"

"You don't understand. Ponies celebrate the one day that I dread the most."

"The Summer Sun Celebration?"

"That! All they can think of is an extra hour of sunlight. But all I can think of is the fact that I had to banish my own sister."

Cadance places her hooves on the princess' head, promoting her to keep her head held high. "Princess, you had no other alternatives. It couldn't be helped."

"And? I still had to fight her."

Cadance nodded. "I know."

"A thousand years of regret. A thousand years of not being able to say to my sister how sorry I am. And if I don't find another way, then it will be a thousand more before I can see my sister again."

Cadance has heard this speech for about a hundred times and it was always this time of year. She knew that Celestia was really trying to feel sorry for herself, but she wouldn't let her. "You're really letting this get to you, aren't you?"

"What can you say to a sibling that you banished for a millenium? 'Hello. I'm sorry about the argument that we got into and how I had to banish you to the surface of the moon for what has now been nine-hundred-ninety-one years, two-hundred-sixty-four days, seven hours and fifty-six minutes. But I hope you forgive me because I can't even hope to arrange the stars like you possibly could' Knowing her, she probably count the seconds too."

"You're being over dramatic. You didn't nearly cry this much when you notice that Blueblood was losing his way."

"But it's my sister!"

"Understood. Now tell me how many more years she has on the moon."

"Eight years, three months, one week, two days, seventeen hours and four minutes."

"Exactly! Look on the bright side. You lived through almost a thousand years to see your sister come out for her millennial parole. And not to mention you'll have the room next door done in enough time."

Celestia had finally stop sobbing as Cadance picked her up off of her bed, giving her a hug. "True... But that doesn't explain-"

"Power-hungry toddler!"

"But-"

"Ex boyfriend of yours that decided the ways of chaos were better than being chaste for his marefriend and ultimately opted to rut every mare he encountered. He was no good. He wanted you for-blah blah blah blah blah. END of discussion. Now if you're done, Blue should be here at any minute for the Harmony Meeting."

Celestia found happiness in her niece's optimism and her way of writing things off. "Why did I have you leave my side, Cadenza?"

"Because I had problems of my own. And unlike you, I don't have the authority to brush off a slew of suitors that come crawling like roaches to a midnight buffet."

"Right. Well let's get to this meeting. I'm sure Blueblood will be more than happy to see you."

"Yeah, right." Cadance deadpans as she thinks to herself about her cousin Blueblood. "[barfs internally]"

" *Ahem* Hear-ye, fear-ye. The almighty game-snatching, mare-stealing, dickhead-of-a-prince-"

"I HEARD THAT!"

"Prince, If you can call him that without losing your dignity and self-respect..."

"AHEM!!!"

"Right, Prince Blueblood has arrived."

"And the soiree won't dare start until I enter!"

Prince Blueblood walks into the Grand Room as he constantly tells the two mares that carries his royal cape that drags about twenty feet behind him. Cadance rolls her eyes at the grand entrance of her dear cousin.

"Dear cousin Blueblood. Still compensating for something I see."

"Dear cousin Cadance. Still without a dance partner for the evening I see."

"Really? The same old insult. You never change."

"You're one to talk. How long have you been in that adolescent form, ninety-four years?"

"Well, at least I'm not a misogynistic male succubus that feeds off the vitality of every mare he has sex with. How's that been for the past eighty-nine years?"

"Well, at least I can keep an open mind. It is you who can't seem to get past masturbation. Tell me Cadance, do you still suffer every estrus season violently humping your nightstand like you did when we were foals?"

"Maybe I am, but at least I didn't catch gonorrhea fourteen times already. Tell me Blueblood, do you still try to make up for the fact that you can't even seem to earn a simple pair of wings to go with your ascension?"

"Oh sod off you hot-nethered, bimbonic slut. I bet you can't wait to sink your teeth into some dick. OH WAIT!"

"That's enough you two." Celestia calls out from the back of the room. She approaches the hot-headed stallion.

"Ah, my dear aunt Celly. I do believe that you are looking quite ravishing as ever."

Celestia smiled as she laughed mockingly."Oh ho ho ho ho *gasp*" And then the sun came out. "Sit your ass down at the table before I consider making you a certifiable bitch."

"YesMa'am." Blueblood said quickly before rushing off in a blinding speed to his seat. Cadance took to her seat across from Blueblood as Princess Celestia sat at the head of the table.

"This meeting has been called to order. Blueblood, Cadance, state your case."

Cadance stood up to start with her case. "Your highness, it has come to my attention that there was a young stallion that managed to get into the case of the stallion named Crimson Reeds. He has been known to hire hitmares and assassins to carry out his dirty work. I wish to get him the best optimal protection for him and his family."

"And who would this stallion be, my dear cousin." Blueblood interrupted.

"...Shining Armor, milady." Cadance answered with a blush.

"Cadance..." Celestia addresses to the pink princess with a smile. "It seems to me that you may have found-"

"A suitor?" Blueblood interjects once more.

"Please don't refer him to that accursed terminology. I would rather think of him as a... well... romantic interest." Cadance admits as she fiddles with her hooves.

"Professionalism, dear Cadance." Blueblood mocked. "He's a commoner-"

"He's a cadet, Blueblood. And he is also the son of the current Captain of the Guard. His family is filled with nothing but magic and combat specialists, which already qualifies him to nobility due to his military lineage." Celestia corrected the arrogant prince. "But he is also already well protected. His father sees to that and he will continue to do so, Cadance. So there will be no need to increase any security for his sake."

Cadance stood in protest as she provided another point that she wished to bring up. "Then I recommend that there will be a security increase for those that are closest to him. His mother, his little sister, his friends. What about the foal he takes care of on the weekends? She's just as close as his little sister at this point."

"He's a cadet, Cadance. Let the boy do his job. Personally I rather see him in action. A spar with me should do."

"No Blueblood." Celestia intervenes. "Your skill and talents in magic are already second to mine. I will not have you engage in any exhibitions with stallions that are not thoroughly trained."

"I... Princess!"

"There is nothing else to say Cadance. He's already under the protection of the Captain of the Guard, his own father no less. Additional security will not be necessary. That decision is final."

Cadance tries to hold back her tears as she accepts defeat. "...Decision acknowledged."

As Cadance takes her seat in a somber manner, Blueblood raises himself with his concerns. "Your highness, I hereby motion that I take in your current student in for my own."

Cadance eyes dart over to the ivory princess at the far end of the table. Celestia continued to stare at the table in front of her vision with a look of pure dejection. "I... have no student to give."

"Preposterous! I saw her the last time I visited. She was a-"

"She is no longer the pupil of the princess, Blueblood. She denounced her teachings and ran away." Cadance intercedes on the behalf of her saddened aunt.

"Tragic... She was such a little cutie."

"Oh no. Not this again Blue. You are not deflowering yet another filly just so you can throw them out of your personal harem in the next five years! I refuse!" Cadance shouted across to her depraved cousin.

"Oh come now. If there was to be any instruction that would suffice her appetite for knowledge, then it would be mine. Not only would I teach her the ways of magic, I'd teach her the ways of the world! She would even receive a little hooves-on training." Blueblood suggested as he smirked to his aunt.

"That motion is denied, and will be denied for the next fifty years. Next motion!" Celestia declares sternly before putting her own motion out. "I motion that we need some way to find more bearers for the Elements of Harmony."

Blueblood groaned as he despised the idea of having another wild goose chase for a children's myth. "That's an old pony's tale. The elements died out upon the dawn of the first Summer Sun Celebration. The last pony known to wield them was a certain, cream colored mare that sits among us."

"Blueblood, I'm restraining all of my willpower to come down there and silence you myself." Celestia chided as Blueblood carried on his rant.

Blueblood ignores Celestia's warning and opts to entertain her argument. "Furthermore, I do believe with my magical knowledge, Cadance's... whatever she has to offer, and you Princess, we are current bearers of the Elements of Harmony. This is what it has come to and this is the only choice that we have."

Celestia sat up in her seat as she proceeded to correct Blueblood's theory. "My dear Blueblood, yet you test my patience I shall inform to you the reasons why that you are most unfit to become an element bearer."

"Okay, you may fire when ready."

"First off, you are the furthest from being an honest pony, thanks to your atrocious gambling habits."

"What? I always win though!"

"Second, you cast aside a mare who confessed their undying loyalty and love for you."

"That wrinkled old prune? I'll pass. I liked her when she was a school filly."

"Thus your lack of kindness is evident in that previous statement. Third, you give nothing to charity except the scraps off of your plate, which clearly defines your lack of generosity."

"That is generous. My harem mares would kill to have a taste of the remains that has been soiled by my mouth."

"Fourth, though you have yet to overthrow me, you tend to backbite most of those whom you deal with. Your loyalties are practically non-existent."

"And? It's a dog-eat-dog world out there."

"Fifth, when things don't go as planned for you, you tend to get on the first train smoking rather than seeing the optimism in the situation. You have a crude sense of humor."

"Hmmhmmhmmm... Dead foal jokes."

"And finally, you lack the ambition and drive that you once had in your mortal youth.The only reason that I keep you around is that you make for good balancing of the Equestrian budget. Though you managed to finished the job that many of my accountants had failed to do, you do not display any leadership role whatsoever. And you even went as far as to forget the very essence of what was the source of your magic. So the last element, that could have been a definite possibility, would deny you."

"But... my magic-"

"Thus disqualifying you from ALL SIX of the elements. You get nothing." Celestia finishes her argument against Blueblood.

"...Well I do get all the mares, as a consolation prize." Blueblood counter's her harsh cruel argument with an optimistic one of his own. "See, I can find the optimism in a dark situation.

"Blueblood, so help me, I'm going to make you scream an octave higher than you already speak, If you continue to speak for the remainder of this meeting. Motion passed. Majority rules." Celestia scorns as she loses what little patience that she had with the over-privileged stallion.

"But princess, my harem consists of eight mares, two stallions and three fillies. So that would make me the sounding majority." Blueblood calls back to the tested princess.

Celestia didn't even flinch as she teleported immediately out of her chair. As Blueblood looked around the room to find the location of the ivory princess, he hears a magical pop sounding off behind him. Before he could turn around, Celestia picked up a hoof, cocked it back, aimed for her target and fired one single blast into the crotch of Blueblood. His vision became something galactic as the many nebulas and star systems appeared in front of his very eyes. For an instant, he saw the beginning and the end of the universe, all for that journey to come to an end with a vocal scream. Cadence pulled out a series of tuning forks to catch his note.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"

"Wow Bluelood. G♭ (G-flat) in the fifth octave is the highest note you've ever hit. Have you considered opera?" Cadance joked as the pain-stricken unicorn lies in a state of rigamortis, clenching both his pride and joy.

Celestia stood over the silent stallion as she addressed to Cadance once more. "I guess that's something we can agree on."

Cadance nodded with optimism before she addressed to her dear aunt. "I'm so sorry about that."

"I'm so sorry that he turned out to be a complete jerk. But he is the only one that can literally keep our country afloat... That is until I can find a new student that would prove not only to be an element bearer, but one that knows how to be organized." Celestia looked to her with a smile, knowing that she shared some of her harsher moments of the past century with her.

Cadance immediately had an idea, one that involved a certain young filly. "...Actually, I might be able to find somepony like that for you."

"Oh you don't have to."

"But I insist. She's a really gifted and unique little unicorn that is very well-studied. She would do so much better than that pupil who decided to bail on you."

Celestia turned her head to the younger princess that stood beside her. "And what would be her name?"

"Twilight Sparkle, the daughter of the Head of the Department of Magical Research."

"Hmm... I'll consider it. But I want to see her for who she is and not hearing it out her the horses mouth." Celestia suggested.

"Understood." Cadance smiled in hearing the news that the foal she saw so much potential with may be her aunt's next student.

"Well, in that case... This meeting is adjourned. Now lets get out of here before Blueblood thinks of something and gets a rise out of it." Celestia states as she begins to make her way to the exit.

"Umm... Actually you may wanna rethink that." Cadance advises to her aunt as she looks to the stallion on the ground.

"Why do you say that, my dear?"

"Because rather then getting a rise out of your hoof, he managed to get off on you hoof."

Celestia looks to the stallion to see what she was talking about. It didn't take her long to realize what Cadance was referring to. On the ground lied a smiling Blueblood as he held himself in his hooves. He also held a rather large erection as well as a copious amount of semen that spilled all over the floor and causing Celestia to step in one of such puddles.

"...Blueblood..." Celestia levitated a chair that she would use as her form of administrative punishment. Blueblood continued to smile, knowing that he got himself off with the assistance of her hoof. He spoke his final words before the chair fell upon his pathetic form.

"I regret nothing."

In the darkest parts of the Canterlot underworld lied the most dangerous thieves, murderers, and crime bosses. Every stallion and their mother knew who was affiliated with what, and if somepony wasn't affiliated with anything, they were either dead or would end up dead by the end of the week. Many of these individuals were lackeys, errand boys pulled off of the streets that tried to make a dishonest living selling a variety of illegal goods on the night streets of Canterlot. But as the pyramid climbed to the top, there were those that had the political influence of a senator or noble. Some were even fully backed by the nobles themselves.

And then there were the dangerous ones. The colts and mares that knew their way around the place could even sneak into government sanctioned buildings and steal private information on whoever they wanted to snuff out. They could even make a short trip to the hospital one that would end up being an easy hit. And in this dark abyss rested a monster...

A monster that lost everything due to a teenage stallion busting the ref he hired.

"Hey boss, whatcha want me ta do with this?" A griffon walked in carrying a sack full of his bounty.

"Return to sender." The earth pony suggested as he pointed to a box in the corner.

Crimson Reeds, the former head coach of the Seaddle Seaponies football team, sat at the table inside of a bar that he secretly owned in the lower district of the city. When he was on the field at the time of his short yet profitable career, he would be at the mercy of the rules and sometimes the officials who enforced those rules. But off the field, he made the calls. The rules were his to bend and break. In fact, there was only one rule in his playbook; obey or die.

He downed the glass of the Applejack Daniels whiskey and quickly poured another glass to drown out any thoughts that brought him back to hear the news that the Canterlot Chevaliers not only won the Quest trophy, but also the trophy that he himself longed to hold; the Prince Lambardi Championship.

Each time he was reminded of the score that sealed the dynamic three-peat that they had without their star running back nearly made him sick to his stomach. And even as the post season came to it's end, he had to deal with the reporters that constantly waived his bounty charges against him. In the end, the league pink-slipped him without as much as a kiss goodbye. The only consolation prize that he had received was the fact that Southwind soon joined him after he was suspended without pay. And even then, Southwind wasn't safe from the committee, who banned him from ever playing another game in his lifetime.

"Hey boss! I got some useful info on a certain idiot who did us in." Southwind announced to Crimson as soon as he walked through the door.

"What did you find out?" Crimson Reeds asked as he knocked back another glass of the whiskey.

"Well, digging through his personal records, we managed to find some pretty useful shit. He goes to Canterlot's School for Gifted Unicorns. He lives here in the city with the upper-crusts. His full name is Shining Armor Aegnus Sparkle. His mother is Head of Magic Research. His dad is Captain of the Guard. Cute little sugar mamma he's got. Oh and get this; according to his medical and paternal records, he's having a foal at the expense of a certain hoofball player we used to know."

Crimson took a moment to put down the glass without pouring another drop in hearing the news. "A foal?"

"Yeah, the mother's name is a 'Pearl Belle' sir." Southwind advertised with a smirk.

"His wife!? This kid is a pro! I'd like 'em if he didn't fuck up the vibe we had goin' for the season. Hey, Guttree!" Crimson called out to the griffon in the back room.

"Yeah boss?"

"Detour that package, will ya?" Crimson ordered before pouring up another drink, this time to celebrate a plan in the making.

"Sure thing boss! Where to?"

"Not where... who." Crimson laughed to himself as his plan started to root inside of his head. Soon he would see the fruit of his labors soon enough.

"Kay boss. Who is the recipient of this lovely little package."

Crimson smiled as he stood up out of the chair to give the name out to his accomplice. Southwind already knew that he would soon be seeing a certain stallion he wanted to see for a long time.

"Address it to a uh... Shining Armor."

Author's Note

Shitty Headcanon Time
Princess Celeste Delanise Valkerie was her birth name and also the name she used to sign official documents.
To other things and her subjects alike, she was known as Princess Celestia.
Shitty Headcanon Time Over

Shit's going down now. Leave a comment below.

ACT 1: Loss of Yards (I)

NOTE: This chapter will be done in three parts due to perspective and plot. This chapter shall also focus mainly on the female perspective. Also contains some disturbing imagery. Some scenes may seem familiar in the first two chapters but that is only because that they are happening as the individuals from each group are intersecting their story lines. Upon it's ending, it will permanently fringe with the separate story line and conclude in it's final outcome.

Enjoy.

Sparkle Residence
Canterlot Inner-District
07:06 A.M.

A beautiful morning has begun. The birds in the trees that surrounded the Sparkle Residence sings their daily songs of good morning. Many mother birds fly into their nests as they provide their young with food for the morning. As they feed their own, one such mother begins to feed her young.

Velvet 'Twilight' Sparkle tends to her daily kitchen duties as she rinses off the plates before setting them on the table. With a flick of her horn, she levitates all the cutlery, napkins and dishes with ease as it all falls in place on the kitchen table. The sound of her humming could be heard throughout the bottom half of the house as the birds seemed to accompany her melodious tune. Her eyes fall upon the stove top as she gracefully dances to the stove with a smile on her face. Her sways accentuate the poise she carries as she ignites her horn once more with it's magenta glow.

Pots and skillets, along with a spatula, flies gently across the room to the table as she performs a pirouette in the center of the room. As the steaming food reaches it's destination, she removes the lid from the pot and skillet that hovered above the table. She separated the steamed haybrowns from the soy eggs and the buttermilk pancakes using the spatula, creating an evenly triangulation between each dish. As she finished her dance, she tipped her horn to the direction of the fridge. The door opened to reveal a small plate of parsley leaves and a glass bottle of milk. Lighting her horn, she summoned the items to the tableside. She removes four of the green leaves and delicately places them at the center of each dish. As she finished, she placed her hoof on her chin to think about what was missing. It didn't take her long to realize that the sole thing that was missing was the maple syrup that was stashed in the cabinet. Quickly nudging her head to the right, she instantly teleported the jar of syrup to the center of the table. Her smile lights up the room as she take pride in her morning task.

"Twilight Violet, Shining Armor, Orion, breakfast is ready!" She screams to the silence of the home.

"Coming!" Answered the filly Twilight.

"On my way!" Shining answers.

"Smells good, dearest!" Orion calls out.

One by one, each member of the family comes down in order of ascending height. Twilight 'Violet' Sparkle runs down the stairs, scampering with a large book in her mouth. She struggles as she tries to keep it in as it shifts her momentum with each turn she makes. Eventually, she makes it to the end of her journey as she is the first one to make it to the breakfast table.

Shining Armor Aegnus Sparkle had made his way down the stairs and was turning the corner to enter the kitchen. He slowed upon entering as he realized that Twilight beat him to the table. Admitting his defeat, he sat at the table across from his little sister. He congratulates her on a victory well won before levitating the jar of maple syrup above his pancakes.

Orion Dusk Sparkle gradually made his way down the stairs, feeling as if there was no real need to rush himself being that his shift wouldn't start for another two hours. As he entered the kitchen, he noticed that something was rather off. Dismissing it, he took to the table and levitated his fork to his plate. As he attempts to make his initial dive, he is suddenly stopped by a floating spatula. As he looked to the source of the magic, he finds that his wife was giving him a seductive smile.

Violet already had made up on what her second course of breakfast would be this morning. But she also had an idea forming in her head as to how she was going to have her husband sing for her. She thought of the many ways to send shivers down his spine. She imagined that she was laying her husband on the bed, just as their children left for school. A vision of her straddling his hips as she tried to bite into his neck flooded her mind. Lusts that have been long dormant awoke that morning as she clinched her haunches in towards each other.

"Don't go chasing after the rabbit now, Alice." Her husband quipped to her, snapping her out of her raunchy daydream.

"Maybe the rabbit should make himself scarce, that way I wouldn't have to chase anything." She snided as she sat across from her husband.

For many minutes, the sound of silverware clattering and clanging against the ceramics filled the quiet home as Shining and Twilight raced each other to see who would be the first to finish their plates. It was a morning rite of passage to the two as they would see who would retain the necessary bragging rights to the title of 'The Household Eater'. It was a tight race as Shining and Twilight stared each other down for the duration of the match.

Meanwhile, the other two combatants stared each other down for a totally different purpose. They stared into each other, keeping a poker face as they ate their food. The action above the table was fierce in it's own right, whereas the action below the table was completely different. Their hind legs poked and prodded into one another as they fought for dominance of who would keep their expressions silent as they teased each other.

Orion slid his leg against the side of Velvet's, touching her mere inches away from her three-starred cutie mark. Velvet did not want to show any sign of hesitation as she prodded her leg into the warmth of his inner thighs, almost reaching as high as where his twin-crescent-moon cutie mark would be located outside. Orion refused to lose to his wife as he slouched down slightly in his seat to reach in between her thighs and even touching the small, outstanding patch of fur that separated her teats from her southern lips.

"Ah!"

Violet knew that she had lost as soon as she hiccuped a quiet gasp of air. She looked to her husband who was smiling as he sipped a cup of coffee, hiding behind a newspaper.

*BANG*

"DONE!" Twilight and Shining yelled simultaneously, surprising both of the parents in attendance.

Velvet cleared her throat as she refereed the match. " *ahem* Well it would seem to be a tie this morning. That means the tiebreaker will be decided at dinner tonight."

"Yeah! That means that you'll have to wash the dishes this morning, mom!" Twilight cheered as neither her brother or her would be subjugated to helping their mother clear the table.

As soon as the two finished their match-up, they ran out the room as Orion and Velvet cleared the table. The blue stallion approached the table as he lit his horn to pick up the dirty dishes and silverware to be shifted to his wife's care. In a second's length, he already shipped the dishes onto the counter for Velvet to recognize. She smiled as she looked back to her husband.

"You know, this could get done a lot quicker if you were to assist me."

Orion playfully mounted his wife, holding her close to him as they swayed in the confinement of one another. Orion gives his wife a kiss on the cheek.

"That... would be a bad idea. And besides, weren't you the one who stated that 'the should make himself scarce' earlier?"

Velvet moans softly as she giggles in her husbands forelegs.

"I don't think I would want the rabbit to go into hiding right now. I want him to guide me to the finish line."

A rush of excitement fills Orion as he stands atop of his wife. He began to reveal himself as he humped into his wife's hindquarters, eliciting an even louder moan from her. Velvet's mouth was left ajar as she softly panted in anxiety of wanting her husband to fill her. It's been so long since she felt the surging rapture that her marriage has given to her.

"Well, if you want me to take you..." Orion speaks as his weight shifts on his wife. "...then you'll have to finish here."

"Put it in Orion. It's been eight months and I haven't diddled myself since then." Velvet pleads to her husband.

"Now now. That kind of behavior is what caused little Violet to show up in our lives." Orion teased as he dismounts his eager wife.

"No. She was created on the kitchen floor, remember? Shining was created when we were at Momma Silver's place." She corrects her husband while trying to keep him mounted.

"Your mom was asleep upstairs and we decided that the sofa was the best place to relieve our stress after that dreadful ordeal of a week." Orion joked as he thought back to the days of their youth, finally freeing himself from the needy clutches of his wife. "Premarital sex was the best."

"And I am to assume that I must have lost my craft over the years?" Velvet asks as she looks to her husband behind her, waving her plot in his face while trying to hide her marehood with her tail in an attempt to leave something to his imagination.

"I suppose you are a bit rusty. But after the kids leave... I'll have you polished like a new gem before the dragon's eye." Orion promises to his wife, feeling a bit teased and wanting to relieve himself at the moment.

"Although I'd personally prefer that you'd do that now, I see your point. I'll be waiting for you." She states impatiently as she turns around to salute her husband with her lips pressing against his. He pulls away as she glides back to him, not wanting her captain to leave her company.

As he walks out the room, she begins to rush her clean-up process in hopes that she would finish before the kids left. As a good fifteen minutes pass, she sits at the kitchen table wanting her husband to grace her with his presence, as well as his affection. She looks out to the window as she imagines the instant her husband mounted her just earlier. She could feel the pressing warmth of him against her as she finds her hooves slowly finding themselves to her belly. The dishes sparkled as they dried on the rack beside the window, as did her eye as soon as a shadow entered the doorway.

"Ori-"

"Hey mom, do you have something I can open this box with?"

Velvet's heart begins to beat even faster as she realized that her son, if he had arrived any later, would have caught her in an intimate moment. But what was even worse was the fact that he was a male, which in her current repressed state, would mean all the same come next month. If Shining was tensed up, she wouldn't refuse to be of assistance.

That's just how things were for her.

"Sure." She paused before she levitated a knife to her son. "When did you get that package?"

"Just earlier this morning. It was at our front door and it had my name on it. Wonder what it is..." Shining asked as he picked up the knife and started slicing away at the tape that sealed the contents shut. As a few seconds pass, he managed to unseal the box as Velvet took the knife to the counter it came from.

Then suddenly, Shining screamed.

"AHhhhhhh! Oh shit!"

Velvet lashed to her son upon hearing him swear in her presence. "SHINING ARMOR AEGNUS SPARKLE! How dare you swear in my presence." She walked over to the young teen who backed himself into a wall. "I know that I have raised you bet-ter..."

Her sentence stalls as she looks at what was contained in the box. She slowly walked up to the box, wondering what has her son so excited. She was that there was a plastic covering and a bit of hair. As she poked at the object, she finally identified what it was that scared her son.

It was a stallion's head. More notably was the fact that it was a unicorn with it's horn completely severed at the base.

"ORION!!!"

Velvet screamed to the top her lungs as she panted heavily at the horror that her son and she had to pay witness to. And mere seconds after, Orion came galloping down the stairs with young Twilight slowly trailing behind him. As the blue stallion walked into the doorway, he saw what exactly had put his family in a distressful state. And Twilight would not be too far behind.

"Mommy, daddy, what's everypony screaming for?"

Shining bolted to the young filly as he didn't have the time, nor the care to put on his school uniform and grabbing his bags.

"Twily, let's go!"

"But big brot-"

"NOW!" He shouted at his sister as he picked her up, tossed her on his back and galloped out the front door in an outstanding burst of speed.

Meanwhile, Orion shook with anger at the threat that was called against his family as his wife hurdled against him, sobbing as she remained terrified at the fact that this delivery would happen in front of her family.

Belle Residence
Ponyville Riverside Residential District
07:34 A.M.

"Rarity, you're going to be late if you don't hurry up!"

"Coming mother!"

Rarity comes trotting down the stairs to greet her mother as they prepare themselves to get ready for the day ahead. To Rarity, it was a matter of getting to school on time and playing with her friends.

To Pearl, it was another day that she had to bear the guilt of living her 'normal' life while trying to adjust the certain knowledge that her husband will soon file for divorce papers. She could already feel the sting of being a single parent, but only this time, she would actually be the one to bring the food to the table rather than her at-the-moment husband.

As the time marches onward, Pearl and Rarity begin to set out for the town. But as the two opened the door, they saw a letter taped under the knocker.

"A letter this early in the morning?" Pearl asked as she removed the letter from the door's surface.

"Maybe from the hospital, or even Mister Shining?"

Pearl could only hope that it was from Shining. He was the only one that she was willing to cross hellfire to hear a word from. Counting her luck, she tore open the letter to see who it was from and what it would say.

Dear Belle Residence
It has come to my attention that you are all in the midst of your trials and tribulations. However, I will be there soon to comfort you and your daughter in your time of need. I personally apologize about the fact that your husband left hind leg is broken.

I also apologize in advance of breaking his other hind leg. And his forelegs. And his back. Then finally his neck. But don't worry about not being able to see him again. I will personally ship the remains of his lifeless corpse to you and your daughter so that you may share with each other your tears and your mourning cries for him.

And once more, I shall be there to hold the both of you close to me. But I don't want to just hold you two close, I want to strap you down and make you watch as I tear into that filly's pussy like she was a grown mare begging for it. And then after I'm done with her, you're going to lick her and me clean.

I'm not good with times, so how does 8 a.m. sounds like? Pretty good? I thought so. Well, I will be seeing you two soon.

Soon-to-be-yours,
~Windy

P.S.: I guess that I can't really have my way with you until I get rid of that foal that's inside of your belly... and it's REAL father.

Clearly that was not who she had hoped for.

"Rarity, pack your things, very quickly, and met me here at the back door. Pack light and don't stop for anything, do you understand me?" Pearl speaks to her daughter while trying to remain calm herself.

"Okay mother." Rarity replies upon hearing the worry in her mother's tone, though unaware of why.

Rarity gallops upstairs as her mother follows immediately behind her. Pearl urges her daughter to hurry along as they continue to make their way upstairs. As soon as they reach the top, Pearl and Rarity goes their separate ways as they ran into their rooms. Pearl knocks over a myriad of things as she packs the bare necessities that she would need in order to maintain herself as well as being prepared for anything that could happen on the way there. She looks to the clock on her nightstand as it reads twelve minutes till.

Rarity is in her room, packing what ever she thought to be necessary to not only her hygiene but also her appearance. She even looks in the drawers to find one of her most recent letters to the stallion she wrote to in Canterlot. As she looks in the drawer, her mother comes storming down the hall.

"Rarity, come now dear! There's not a moment to lose!"

"Sorry mother, I was trying to find a letter that I got from-"

"THERE IS LITERALLY NO TIME FOR THAT RIGHT NOW!" Pearl screams in panic as she looks at her daughter's nightstand as the clock reads seven minutes till.

Rarity is shaken up at the sound of her mother screaming at her, causing the young filly to back herself into the wall. Pearl sees that her frantic approach is not helping them leave anytime soon. She picks up the bags her daughter packed as well as her own with her magic and nudged Rarity onto her back.

"Dearie, I love you, and that's why I can't leave you here. So hang on tight." Pearl suggest to her scared filly. They rush downstairs and make their way to the back of the house as they find the back door. Suddenly, they hear a sound coming from the front-end of the house.

*knock knock knock*

Pearl's ears shoot open as she looks at a clock nearby. It reads three minutes till eight. Without hesitation, she opens the back door and instructing Rarity to remain quiet as they ran outside. The knocking gets louder.

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

Pearl and Rarity reaches the outside patio as they close the door as silently as they can as the knocks get even louder.

*BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG*

As the banging continues to persist, Pearl and her daughter make a run for the train station downtown. They sneak out of their back yard as they run to the side of the house when they hear something that scares the two of them even more; the sound of their front door being violently kicked in. A wooden crackling sound pierces the morning air as the two remain hidden on the side of the house. Pearl pulls out a mirror to use as they try to see where the intruder was in comparison to the front of the house. As the mirror turned the corner, they could only see the tail of the invader. They did, however, managed to hear his voice.

"Helloooooo? Is anypony home? I'm here for the morning special!"

As soon as those words permeated the air, the mother and daughter took off from the side of the house and into the street in an attempt to flee their hunter. The streets of Ponyville were quite lively this morning, which provided great cover for the two to use. They ran past fruit stands, the bakery and the town square to get to their location; the train station. As they arrived, they found that the station was rather empty except one person at the window to give out the tickets.

"Two tickets to Canterlot, please. Mare and foal." Pearl asked the ticket booth attendant while trying to regain her breath. It didn't take long for the process to come to it's completion as Pearl and Rarity made a break for the train. When a figure dropped out of the sky to them. Neither of them recognized the well-built stallion, but he did managed to recognize them.

"Awww don't leave!" Southwind exclaimed as he trotted towards the two. "I just walked in and didn't see anypony, but I did manage to catch a glimpse of you two on the way out."

"WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM US!?" Pearl screamed as her magic charged into her horn, preparing her stun bolt spell if she ever needed to use it.

"Nothing that the two of you can't provide. All you have to do is participate." He stated with a sinister grin.

"ALL ABOARD FOR CANTERLOT CENTRAL STATION!" The conductor calls out.

Southwind became distracted as he looked to the direction of where the voice came from. Pearl took advantage of that instant and fired her spell onto the face of her assailant. Southwind screamed in pain as he was temporarily blinded by the initial effects of the spell. After the girls managed to board the train, they closed the doors behind them. As Southwind started to recover most of his senses, he then realized that the girls had already escaped. He couldn't catch up to a speeding train.

Meanwhile, the mother and her daughter was panting hard as they rested in the train. Pearl looked at her daughter and felt relieved in the fact that she didn't have to see her daughter suffer in front of her very eyes. As the two remained breathless, Rarity hugged her mother tightly, scared of what all was going on.

"Mother... where are we going?"

Pearl didn't hesitate in her answer. "We're going to Canterlot to see Mister Shiny. He's going to be taking care of you while we're there."

"Are we going to be okay?"

Pearl didn't know the answer to that question, so she remained optimistic for the sake of her daughter. "...I hope so."

Sparkle Residence
Canterlot Inner-District
08:16 A.M.

"How dare you leave me here like this!?"

Velvet screams and pounds away at her husband's chest as he recited that he would be leaving for work. Orion only stands there as he takes much of the abuse that his wife is giving him, but he understands why she is like this. She was horrified at what she experienced in the past hour. And it wasn't like it was a daily thing to have your son receive boxes of severed heads and appendages show up at your doorstep on a daily basis. To her, it was a breach of security.

"I have to get this to the Detainment Station and see who was the victim." He responds as he telekinetically held the re-sealed box. "I don't think it would be wise to leave it here."

"Although that is something that I can reason with, I refuse to see myself in this house alone. You are staying with me to-day!" Velvet argued, still clenching her husband.

"I'm sorry sweetie... but in this case, my duty supersedes your personal desires. Why? Because I don't need any more anonymous packages of disembodied body parts making their way to the front door!" Orion rebutted while waving the box in his magical grip slightly, much to the disgust of his wife.

"Do you love me enough, then... to take me with you?" Velvet asked to her husband, not wanting to leave the security that he had to offer.

"Babe, I can't take you with me. This will involve in a compromise of your safety."

"My safety's been compromised since that package came in."

"Yes... but to see... I'm not strong enough." Orion admits as he looks away from his wife.

"You're not strong enough to do what, Orion? You're Captain of the Guard!" Velvet interjects, not understanding what her husband is implying. It doesn't take him long to reveal what he means to say.

"I'm not strong enough to see you get hurt. Or to lose you. And that goes for anypony that is held to my heart. So please... stay. I'd rather myself to be subject to misery and strife than to see you or our children in danger."

Orion leaves the home with the package in tow. As he leaves, he faces his wife one last time.

"...That is where my true duties lie."

Velvet watches her husband leave her once more, causing a ping of sadness to hit her. It wasn't a usual feeling of 'I'll see you when you get home' but rather a 'if you don't come back home, then I will never be the same'. Finally accepting that her husband has gone forth to protect her, she enters the house. Before she closes the door, she whispers to the resounding silence of the street.

"Orion... It is I who protect you... like I always have."

Sparkle Residence
Canterlot Inner-District
01:37 P.M.

Velvet remains silent as she continues to scrub every nook and cranny of the house. She managed to hoof-polish every single door knob in the house. Every trophy shined with the brilliance of the very sun that Celestia controlled. Every surface reflected as if they were mirrors themselves. The floor shimmered with the radiance of a tranquil ocean. Even the carpet glowed like the midnight moon. It wasn't much that she could do since she was confined to the boarders of her own home. It was then that she realized what bugged her the most in this situation...

...It was too quiet.

Not a sound resonated in the home except the sound of her breathing. She realized that if anything else was to happen to her family, that this would be the home she would live in. This would be the prison that she would be confined to when she failed to protect her daughter, the one who smiled the brightest, her son, the one whom she treated with privilege and her husband, the one who protects her and the one she protects in turn.

It would be the perfect prison. Everyday she would be reminded of the ponies that she came into contact with. She would see the names on the trophies and be able to identify the faces of those names. In the staggering silence, she would hear the voices of the family she once had. It's enough to drive a pony mad, or even to their own grave.

*knock knock knock*

Velvet's ears tilt to the door as she jumps in response. The initial sound is what startled her, but what continued to send shivers down her spine was the fact that there were ponies out there who would try to inflict harm to her and her family. This wasn't her most secure moment either. As she approached the door, she hollered past the wood to try and identify who was to assault the peace of her home next.

"Who is it!?"

"Please ma'am. Is Shining Armor home?"

Velvet tilts her head in curiosity. Surely that wasn't the sound of a girl's voice.

"What is it? Who are you? What do you want?"

"Please ma'am, let us in! We're being pursued!" The voice was that of a grown mare.

"By who?" Velvet asked.

"We don't know! I am with child, please!"

Velvet opens the door as slowly as she can to identify who it was that knocked on her door with as little risk of being harmed. Upon opening up the door, she realizes that it was a pregnant mare and a younger filly.

"I don't normally take visitors." Velvet states sternly.

"Did they threaten you as well?"

Velvet eyes grew to the size of saucers as she realized that they were in a similar situation. But she didn't know that for certain. But due to the fact that she was already with foal and had a filly probably a year shy of her own daughter's age, she granted them entrance into her home. Looking behind the two visitors, she inspected the area and closed the door behind them.

"Who are you being pursued by?" Velvet asks.

"A large, built pegasus pony with a brown coat, a black mane and tail, his cutie mark is the top half of a hoofball player's padding and he is a very persistent fellow."

"Okay. Well Shining isn't here. He's... running some errands. I'll let him know that you stopped by. What are your names that way I can specify who exactly came over?" Velvet takes a pen and paper off of a nearby table to give to the mare in question.

"Oh, my name is Pearl. And this is my daughter, Rarity."

"Oh!" Velvet exclaims as she crouches down to meet the young filly at eye level. "So you're the little darling that my Shining speaks so highly of!"

"Why yes I am! And are you Sir Shining's mother?" Rarity asks the older mare.

"Such an articulate little filly you are. And yes, I am his mother. My name is Twilight Velvet Sparkle, but you can just call me Mrs. Velvet. It is a pleasure to meet you for the first time." Velvet smiled at the bright young foal.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, ma'am." The filly smiled back.

"Isn't she a dapper?" Pearl asks as she takes a seat on the sofa.

"Why yes she is. She really makes a good first impression." Velvet compliments.

"Oh yes. I try to teach her that one of the most important things to do is to always make a good first impression."

"But of course." Velvet cosigns on Pearl's previous statement. "Would you like something to eat, Miss Pearl?"

"Oh I don't think that's necessary-"

"Oh but I insist! Even your daughter must have something that she would like to eat." Velvet persisted.

"Well we did leave town without as much as a dollip of something to feast on-"

"WONDERFUL! And in that case... Pearl can we carry on our conversation to the kitchen? I don't want to end up making something that our fair young lady finds displeasing and/or is allergic to." Velvet asked with a bright smile.

"Why of course. Rarity, if you want to you can listen to the radio." Pearl recommends as Velvet nods in agreement.

Rarity agrees and she runs over to the radio on the far end of the room. Pearl and Velvet make their way into the kitchen. As they enter, Pearl commends Velvet on how clean the entire house seemed like.

"I guess this must be the life of a noble. Who's the maid?" Pearl jokingly jabs Velvet in the side as Velvet is taken aback by the question.

"Well if you must know, I actually am the maid of the house as well as the lady."

"Oh my goodness! You must really hound the others on their cleaning." Pearl states in amazement.

"Well... I do try to emphasize to both of my foals the importance of maintaining a clean living environment. Also since we're in here, can you open that fridge and fork over those carrots? I make a mean Cremé a la Carrót." Velvet asks as Pearl obliges to her request.

"Here you go dearie."

Velvet smiles as she telekinetically moves the carrots around the to the kitchen counter. She flicks her horn to open a floor cabinet that contained a cutting board and a small pot. She places the pot on the stove while simultaneously taking a knife out the cutlery drawer and placing the carrots on the cutting board on the counter. Pearl stands in amazement as Velvet seems to pull it all off without so much as a single show of mental strain.

"Hey Pearl, I hear that your daughter is trying to get into designing." Velvet asks as she starts to cut the carrots on the counter.

"Oh of course. She's very talented. She can make a lot of things out of a needle and thread." Pearl answers.

"Oh okay... So does she make pretty dresses?" Velvet asks as she continues to magically chop the carrots.

"Yes! She's a little boutique owner and she doesn't even know it yet."

"Okay... Then permit me to ask..." Velvet began. "Let's say that you created a dress. Not just any old dress but the one that you took months of planning and hard work to come into existence. Now this being your pride and joy, you tend to advertise it a little bit. Even staving off those who wished to bestow harm upon it."

*clack-clack-clack-clack*

Pearl notices that the rate of the carrots chopping start to increase. She gets a little nervous as Velvet continues.

"Now, enter the pony who wishes to rent that very same dress from you. And after about a night out on the town, the renter decides that she would really like to take that dress for an extended exhibition run... After some time passes, the dress is returned to you. But you find that there is a rip or a stain in that dress that took you a long time to make."

*CLACKLAKLAKLAKLAKLAKLAKLAK*

The chopping intensifies as Pearl shrinks into her seat, afraid of the mare who stood before her.

"Now after all of that, how would you feel to have that happen to you?"

*CLACK... ... ...*

Pearl remains silent as the rapid clacking of the knife hitting the counter comes to a halt. Finally finding her voice, she asks the rage-suppressing mare a question.

"Well, I would be quite angry. But why do you ask?"

"If you wish to know then there's no point in me dragging it along the dirt... Just allow me to ask, what would you be naming my grandchild?"

Pearl tried everything she could to swallow the organs that seemed to climb up her body and find themselves caught within her throat. She shook in complete shock and horror of the fact that this mare might know everything there is to know about her and Shining's affair. If there was anything she could say to make this all better, she would say it all now. But seeing that the damage has already been done, she decided that it was best to confess to her faults.

"How... much do you know... about-"

"I know that you carry his foal. Information is valuable, and in my case, easy to come by. Being that I'm the head of Magic Research, we do take into consideration of what unicorn mares are pregnant, their magic surges, decline in the CSI."

"CSI?" Pearl asked looking confused.

"Caster's Sphere of Influence. And though I'm angry at the fact that you had an affair with my son in the first place... doesn't mean that I can be mad about the foal that rests within you."

Pearl looks at Velvet with shock as she expected her to do something like cut the foal out of her. But much to her surprise, Velvet was actually smiling.

"I... am-"

"If you apologize, then that means that my grandchild will be perceived as a mistake. And that is something that I do not want to happen." Velvet states as she walks up to the pregnant mare that sat before her.

"I can't even begin to speak... You're... such a..." Pearl finds herself unable to finish her sentence without tearing up. In an immediate response, Velvet hugs Pearl tightly as she realizes that this was what she truly needed at this time. There was no time for hostilities. Only love.

"My dear... you are-"

"MOM! MRS. VELVET! THERE'S SOME GUY KNOCKING ON THE DOOR!"

Both of the mares jump at the news of having yet another visitor. Velvet gestures to Pearl to stay seated as she went forth to check on who was knocking on the front door. In a blinding flash, Velvet teleported from the kitchen to the foyer of the home. Wanting to play it safe, she cracks the door open with the chain still locked to it. Upon opening the door, she sees a griffon at the door holding a pamphlet in his claws.

"Hello, ma'am. I'm here to discuss a matter that will just take a short amount of your time-"

"NO! No more Celestia's Witnesses! I had this address placed on a black list." Velvet screams as she grows annoyed. She attempts to close the door, only to slam the door on a small book that the griffon held in his other claw.

"Ma'am... There is plenty of time. Perhaps you could let me come ins-"

"GET THE FUCK OUTTA MY HOUSE!!!" Velvet screamed as she charged a stun spell in her horn, releasing it in a concentrated beam into the throat of the griffon. As the griffon fell backwards, Velvet noticed something that was going on in the walkway of the home. They had received more visitors, and they didn't look like they came over for afternoon tea.

Velvet screamed into the house as she slammed the door shut, locking every lock she had installed. "Girls, we got company!"

Suddenly a series of noises came crashing into the kitchen as Pearl screamed in horror. But her screams were silenced with a sickening yelp. Velvet ran to the kitchen to find two more griffons and a unicorn stallion holding a pot with his magic. And on the floor was an unconscious Pearl, who now had a small gash in her head. As Velvet hear another scream coming from the front, she realized that the other half of the company was trying to break down the front door.

Velvet wasted no time in making a rational decision. The kitchen was overrun and there was too much to work around. There was a school filly in the front of the house that was about to be abducted along with her mother. So Velvet cast a temporary blinding spell before being able to grab the filly as she ran upstairs.

Rarity shakes as she's being carried in fear of seeing the stallion that chased them out of Ponyville show up in the home of her beloved knight and his mother. Velvet took the filly to Shining's room as she buried the filly into the closet of the young colts room. As she hid the young filly in a copious amount of her son's laundry, she whispered to her.

"Dear, I need you to be as quiet as you can be. Don't make a sound, no matter what. Do you understand me?"

Rarity nodded before she covered her head as well. With a final sigh and a kiss goodbye, Velvet ran into the hallway as she magically closed every door in the hall while locking them...

...all the doors except the room that she would combat them inside of.

As she sat on her bed, waiting for the other intruders to arrive, the front door is busted in and the other half of the boarding party manages to infiltrate the home. Violently, Velvet screams out to the intruders.

"I do believe that a lady is not to be held in waiting!"

The infiltrators walk up the stairs as they identified the source of the voice. As they stood down the hall, Velvet stood against the doorway as she gave an indication to the others that she was more than willing to take them all on. With laughter, they all charged at the one mare. But little did they know who they were going up against.

...nor were they aware of how quickly this would end.

"Obrigescunt (petrify)"

Velvet stood her ground as the other figures were held to where they stood. Velvet decided that this was best carried out as quickly as possible in order to make an escape with the filly in tow.

"Chorum umbrae (dance of shadow)"

Flames of purple and black began to leap from the floor below them, scorching every bit of their fur and feathers off of them. She released them from their petrification, only for them to dance in wailing agony as the flesh dropped from their bodies. Their hides charred black as many of the others froze in place as accepted and awaited their grizzly fates. But there was only one that remained screaming as the burning bits of his flesh fell to ashes before his very eyes. Velvet saw fit for him to be euthanized. With a deep breath she would cast her final spell against him.

"tacita confoderetur (Silent Impalement)"

As the unrecognizable figure ceased his screaming, being that the spell disabled him from doing so, he stood in a pile of his own ashes as a sizable hole appeared in his chest. The burning figure finally hung his head as he died. The remains of his body that remained unburned, were then cremated on spot as the spell's effects finally kicked in. Velvet took the opportunity to take a quick breather. As soon as she made her way to Shining's room, she cast a spell to send the ashes out of her home and to the winds of the world outside.

"alas benedictione est (wings of benediction)"

She breathed heavily as the spells she casted were incredibly difficult to pull off in the manner of their succession. But as she opted to open the door that held Rarity within, something caused her whole world to become tilted, and even black out for a few seconds.

"YOU FUCKING BITCH! YOU KILLED MY DAMN COMRADES!"

Velvet tried to focus her magic to her horn before she was struck again, but she found that her charge was disrupted mid-process as an angry pegasus continued to assault her. The livid pegasus threw her disoriented body against the wall of the hallway. As she tried to stand back up the pegasus charged once more at her, this time dipping his shoulders into her ribcage. Velvet's eyes shrank to pins as the pain surged through her body. The initial impact of the hit sent her flying down the hall and into wall of the stairwell. As Velvet tried to make an escape, the pegasus pushed her down the stairs without hesitation. Velvet tumbled down the stairs until she finally came to a halt, the side of her skull being the point of impact.

Velvet's world swirled as her vision blacked in an out. As her vision continued to black in and out, she saw the pegasus approaching her. Her vision blackened once again and regained sight. As her vision renewed itself, she saw a bit of red before her. As her consciousness faded out and in once more, she heard faint laughter. Her consciousness fades and refocuses once more before she sees a familiar face that called out to her.

"Mom? Wake up mom..."

Velvet recognized that voice despite the condition that she was in.

"Velvet! Hang in there sweetie..."

Finally... her world faded to the darkness.

Closet of Shining Armor
Sparkle's Residence
Canterlot Inner-District
05:09 P.M.

"My knight will come and save me."

The young filly whispered those words to herself with each passing breath that she took.

"My knight will come and save me."

The knight she longed to see was nowhere to be found.

"My knight will come and save me."

He promised that he would be there no matter what.

"My knight will come and save me."

So where was he when she needed him most?

"My knight will come and save me."

With every passing minute, she can hear the screams of ponies and griffons in the hallway.

"My knight will come and save me."

The screams scared her more than anything that she could ever dream of.

"My knight will come and save me."

The world that she once knew had become nothing more than a wasteland.

"My knight will come and save me."

Her father was hurt, a mean pony wanted to do more harm to him and wanted to hurt her mother.

"My knight... will come and save me."

"YOU FUCKING BITCH! YOU KILLED MY DAMN COMRADES!"

"My knight... He will come and save me."

The identifiable cries of pain come from the one mare who swore to protect her, no matter the cost.

"My knight..."

Her hero was nowhere to be found, nowhere to be seen.

"My knight... has failed me."

For a long time, she released the tears that she held in since end of all the screams. Everything seemed to be giving way to despair. Everything that she had hoped for had all but come true...

...all of her wishes except one.

A light appears as a figure stood above her hiding form. Her eyes welled up when she saw that the one thing that she prayed for the entire day would show up, has come to her. To save her from the dangers seen and unseen.

"My knight... He came and rescued me."

"Rarity???"

"SHINING ARMOOOOOR!"

The filly cried her tears as her knight held her in his hooves. Beyond shocked to see her in his closet, Shining asked the one question that's been on his mind.

"Rarity."

"Yeah, you were her knight. You were the very thing that she personified to be her saving grace. Why, because you did what no other could do for her."

"I... I..."

"One last time. This time, we're going back to the first day you two met."

"Promise me that you'll watch over me!"

"I promise. Now get some sleep."

"NOOOO!!!" Rarity screamed in protest.

"What's wrong?"

"If you leave me, then I'll be alone."

"I promise that the dragon won't come and eat you up, okay?"

"That's not what I meant!"

"Then what do you mean?"

Rarity trots to Shining Armor, embracing him in a tight hug. "Promise that you'll always watch over me."

Shining looks at Rarity in confusion. "Wait, what?"

"Daddy, whenever he's home, he would hug me... and hold me as I went to bed. He would tell me that he loves me... and that he would try to win the next game for me. I don't wanna be alone tonight." Tears begin to well in her eyes, breaching the floodgates unleashing a torrent of tears.

"But I can't be your-"

"I HATE BEING ALONE!" Rarity screams as she stomps her hoof to the carpet. She continues to sniffle and hiccup as the tears fall from her cheeks to the ground below. "My daddy barely has time for us. He tries, but those ruffians keep him away from us. All I ever wanted was to be with my dad. That's why I wanna stay here! So I can be home with him. But I can't.

"Rarity..." Shining knew first-hoof that a life in the limelight could result in time taken away from the family. He sometimes experiences it with his father being the decorated Captain of the Royal Guard. He was often deprived of any father-son time because of his duties, which is a reason why he chose to go to the academy. He wanted to be his own social class and not referred to as 'The Son of the Guard Captain'. He knew her pain, and he decided that it was for the best that he'd step up and be the role model she needed.

" *sniff* So... please..." Rarity tried to continue until Shining began to squeeze back. He held on to her tightly and whispered in her ear.

"I promise to look after you. You may not be my little sister, but you'll be a close second."

Rarity smiled at his words and was quickly led off to bed. Shining would also agree to stand guard next to her bed to keep the evil dragon away from her as she slept. Within a matter of minutes, the young filly was swept away to dreamland as her guardian continued to stand watch over her.

Author's Note

Velvet and Violet. Velvet and Violet. VELVET AND VIOLET. What the hell have I done to myself?

ACT 1: Loss of Yards (II)

NOTE: This chapter will be done in three parts due to perspective and plot. This chapter shall also focus mainly on the male perspective. Also contains some disturbing imagery. Some scenes may seem familiar in the first two chapters but that is only because that they are happening as the individuals from each group are intersecting their story lines. Upon it's ending, it will permanently fringe with the separate story line and conclude in it's final outcome.

Enjoy.

Sparkle Residence
Canterlot Inner-District
07:08 A.M.

"Twilight Violet, Shining Armor, Orion, breakfast is ready!" Twilight Velvet screams to the silence of the home.

"Coming!" Answered the filly Twilight.

"On my way!" Shining answers.

"Smells good, dearest!" Orion calls out.

One by one, each member of the family comes down in order of ascending height. Twilight 'Violet' Sparkle runs down the stairs, scampering with a large book in her mouth. She struggles as she tries to keep it in as it shifts her momentum with each turn she makes. Eventually, she makes it to the end of her journey as she is the first one to make it to the breakfast table.

Shining Armor Aegnus Sparkle had made his way down the stairs and was turning the corner to enter the kitchen. He slowed upon entering as he realized that Twilight beat him to the table. Admitting his defeat, he sat at the table across from his little sister. He congratulates her on a victory well won before levitating the jar of maple syrup above his pancakes.

Orion Dusk Sparkle gradually made his way down the stairs, feeling as if there was no real need to rush himself being that his shift wouldn't start for another two hours. As he entered the kitchen, he noticed that something was rather off. Dismissing it, he took to the table and levitated his fork to his plate. As he attempts to make his initial dive, he is suddenly stopped by a floating spatula. As he looked to the source of the magic, he finds that his wife was giving him a seductive smile.

Violet already had made up on what her second course of breakfast would be this morning. But she also had an idea forming in her head as to how she was going to have her husband sing for her. She thought of the many ways to send shivers down his spine. She imagined that she was laying her husband on the bed, just as their children left for school. A vision of her straddling his hips as she tried to bite into his neck flooded her mind. Lusts that have been long dormant awoke that morning as she clinched her haunches in towards each other.

"Don't go chasing after the rabbit now, Alice." Her husband quipped to her, snapping her out of her raunchy daydream.

"Maybe the rabbit should make himself scarce, that way I wouldn't have to chase anything." She snided as she sat across from her husband.

For many minutes, the sound of silverware clattering and clanging against the ceramics filled the quiet home as Shining and Twilight raced each other to see who would be the first to finish their plates. It was a morning rite of passage to the two as they would see who would retain the necessary bragging rights to the title of 'The Household Eater'. It was a tight race as Shining and Twilight stared each other down for the duration of the match.

Meanwhile, the other two combatants stared each other down for a totally different purpose. They stared into each other, keeping a poker face as they ate their food. The action above the table was fierce in it's own right, whereas the action below the table was completely different. Their hind legs poked and prodded into one another as they fought for dominance of who would keep their expressions silent as they teased each other.

Orion slid his leg against the side of Velvet's, touching her mere inches away from her three-starred cutie mark. Velvet did not want to show any sign of hesitation as she prodded her leg into the warmth of his inner thighs, almost reaching as high as where his twin-crescent-moon cutie mark would be located outside. Orion refused to lose to his wife as he slouched down slightly in his seat to reach in between her thighs and even touching the small, outstanding patch of fur that separated her teats from her southern lips.

"Ah!"

Violet knew that she had lost as soon as she hiccuped a quiet gasp of air. She looked to her husband who was smiling as he sipped a cup of coffee, hiding behind a newspaper.

*BANG*

"DONE!" Twilight and Shining yelled simultaneously, surprising both of the parents in attendance.

Velvet cleared her throat as she refereed the match. " *ahem* Well it would seem to be a tie this morning. That means the tiebreaker will be decided at dinner tonight."

"Yeah! That means that you'll have to wash the dishes this morning, mom!" Twilight cheered as neither her brother or her would be subjugated to helping their mother clear the table.

As soon as the two finished their match-up, they ran out the room as Orion and Velvet cleared the table. The blue stallion approached the table as he lit his horn to pick up the dirty dishes and silverware to be shifted to his wife's care. In a second's length, he already shipped the dishes onto the counter for Velvet to recognize. She smiled as she looked back to her husband.

"You know, this could get done a lot quicker if you were to assist me."

Orion playfully mounted his wife, holding her close to him as they swayed in the confinement of one another. Orion gives his wife a kiss on the cheek.

"That... would be a bad idea. And besides, weren't you the one who stated that 'the should make himself scarce' earlier?"

Velvet moans softly as she giggles in her husbands forelegs.

"I don't think I would want the rabbit to go into hiding right now. I want him to guide me to the finish line."

A rush of excitement fills Orion as he stands atop of his wife. He began to reveal himself as he humped into his wife's hindquarters, eliciting an even louder moan from her. Velvet's mouth was left ajar as she softly panted in anxiety of wanting her husband to fill her. It's been so long since she felt the surging rapture that her marriage has given to her.

"Well, if you want me to take you..." Orion speaks as his weight shifts on his wife. "...then you'll have to finish here."

"Put it in Orion. It's been eight months and I haven't diddled myself since then." Velvet pleads to her husband.

"Now now. That kind of behavior is what caused little Violet to show up in our lives." Orion teased as he dismounts his eager wife.

"No. She was created on the kitchen floor, remember? Shining was created when we were at Momma Silver's place." She corrects her husband while trying to keep him mounted.

"Your mom was asleep upstairs and we decided that the sofa was the best place to relieve our stress after that dreadful ordeal of a week." Orion joked as he thought back to the days of their youth, finally freeing himself from the needy clutches of his wife. "Premarital sex was the best."

"And I am to assume that I must have lost my craft over the years?" Velvet asks as she looks to her husband behind her, waving her plot in his face while trying to hide her marehood with her tail in an attempt to leave something to his imagination.

"I suppose you are a bit rusty. But after the kids leave... I'll have you polished like a new gem before the dragon's eye." Orion promises to his wife, feeling a bit teased and wanting to relieve himself at the moment.

"Although I'd personally prefer that you'd do that now, I see your point. I'll be waiting for you." She states impatiently as she turns around to salute her husband with her lips pressing against his. He pulls away as she glides back to him, not wanting her captain to leave her company.

As Orion walked out of the kitchen to make his way upstairs, Shining stood at the top of the stairs to make his way down to see whether or not he needed to carry a jacket with his uniform. Shining and Orion crossed each other as they shimmied past each other on the stairwell. Shining reaches the bottom and makes his way to the front door. He opens the door and finds that the weather is a bit nippy. It would be doable under the circumstances that he was taking a carriage ride to the school. But since his options were confined to a more pedestrian matter, he decided that it would be best to find a jacket to wear. But before he left, something caught his attention.

A moderate oblong box sat in the front of the doorway. It also seemed to be addressed to him. Without question, he brought the package into the home as he wanted to see what was inside. He noticed that there was no return address and deduced that it was one of his friends that dropped it off for him. Maybe it was a present for his birthday that passed just three weeks ago. Maybe it was a cool gift.

Maybe it was a head.

Shining made his way to the kitchen in an attempt to see what exactly was his gift. If there was one thing that Shining didn't pass up on was a free gift. Slowly, he approached the doorway to the kitchen.

"Ori-"

"Hey mom, do you have something I can open this box with?"

Velvet's heart begins to beat even faster as she realized that her son, if he had arrived any later, would have caught her in an intimate moment. But what was even worse was the fact that he was a male, which in her current repressed state, would mean all the same come next month. If Shining was tensed up, she wouldn't refuse to be of assistance.

That's just how things were for her.

"Sure." She paused before she levitated a knife to her son. "When did you get that package?"

"Just earlier this morning. It was at our front door and it had my name on it. Wonder what it is..." Shining asked as he picked up the knife and started slicing away at the tape that sealed the contents shut. As a few seconds pass, he managed to unseal the box as Velvet took the knife to the counter it came from.

Then suddenly, Shining screamed.

"AHhhhhhh! Oh shit!"

Velvet lashed to her son upon hearing him swear in her presence. "SHINING ARMOR AEGNUS SPARKLE! How dare you swear in my presence." She walked over to the young teen who backed himself into a wall. "I know that I have raised you bet-ter..."

Her sentence stalls as she looks at what was contained in the box. She slowly walked up to the box, wondering what has her son so excited. She was that there was a plastic covering and a bit of hair. As she poked at the object, she finally identified what it was that scared her son.

It was a stallion's head. More notably was the fact that it was a unicorn with it's horn completely severed at the base.

"ORION!!!"

Velvet screamed to the top her lungs as she panted heavily at the horror that her son and she had to pay witness to. And mere seconds after, Orion came galloping down the stairs with young Twilight slowly trailing behind him. As the blue stallion walked into the doorway, he saw what exactly had put his family in a distressful state. And Twilight would not be too far behind.

"Mommy, daddy, what's everypony screaming for?"

Shining bolted to the young filly as he didn't have the time, nor the care to put on his school uniform and grabbing his bags.

"Twily, let's go!"

"But big brot-"

"NOW!" He shouted at his sister as he picked her up, tossed her on his back and galloped out the front door in an outstanding burst of speed.

Meanwhile, Orion shook with anger at the threat that was called against his family as his wife hurdled against him, sobbing as she remained terrified at the fact that this delivery would happen in front of her family.

Verdant Praise Boulevard
Canterlot Inner-District
07:29 A.M.

A panicked Shining Armor ran the streets of Canterlot as he tried to find the quickest route possible that would lead to his little sister's school. As he ran, he looked behind him to check to see if they were being followed. As of the moment he didn't see anyone who would be chasing them down. But he didn't care. The only thing that was on his mind was the fact that he didn't want to see his sister get hurt, nor for her to be exposed to everything that happened this morning.

Although Shining was an adequate fighter, he didn't want any altercations at the time. His sister was with him and if something was to happen, then she would be in danger as well as him. Shining couldn't let that happen no matter the cost. He would get his sister to school before anything else. And being that she was much too young to properly defend herself, he had no other alternative than to place her in capable hooves.

As he ran down the cobblestone streets of the city, he huffed and puffed as he tried to keep a steady pace. If he were to slow down, then there was no telling on who or what was to befall them. He couldn't afford to stop now. His target objective was to get his sister to school. And the location of his objective was now a mere four blocks away.

Finally arriving at the entrance of the school, he placed his little sister down to the ground as she grabbed her book and her doll.

"Twily... I need you... to wait... for Amora... this afternoon... got it?" Shining panted as he tried to recollect whatever oxygen before he would run to his next destination.

"Okay. But what's wrong Shiny?" Twilight asked to her exhausted older brother as he turned away to make a break for his next destination.

"Huhh... nothing... for you to be... concerned about... Have a nice day... okay?" Shining tried to put on a smile for his little sister. She returned the gesture as she stated proudly.

"It'll be the best day ever!"

Shining nodded to his sister before finally galloping off into the distance. If only she knew that this was the furthest thing from the best day ever.

Today had become hell.

Sparkle Residence
Canterlot Inner-District
08:16 A.M.

"How dare you leave me here like this!?"

Velvet screams and pounds away at her husband's chest as he recited that he would be leaving for work. Orion only stands there as he takes much of the abuse that his wife is giving him, but he understands why she is like this. She was horrified at what she experienced in the past hour. And it wasn't like it was a daily thing to have your son receive boxes of severed heads and appendages show up at your doorstep on a daily basis. To her, it was a breach of security.

"I have to get this to the Detainment Station and see who was the victim." He responds as he telekinetically held the re-sealed box. "I don't think it would be wise to leave it here."

"Although that is something that I can reason with, I refuse to see myself in this house alone. You are staying with me to-day!" Velvet argued, still clenching her husband.

"I'm sorry sweetie... but in this case, my duty supersedes your personal desires. Why? Because I don't need any more anonymous packages of disembodied body parts making their way to the front door!" Orion rebutted while waving the box in his magical grip slightly, much to the disgust of his wife.

"Do you love me enough, then... to take me with you?" Velvet asked to her husband, not wanting to leave the security that he had to offer.

"Babe, I can't take you with me. This will involve in a compromise of your safety."

"My safety's been compromised since that package came in."

"Yes... but to see... I'm not strong enough." Orion admits as he looks away from his wife.

"You're not strong enough to do what, Orion? You're Captain of the Guard!" Velvet interjects, not understanding what her husband is implying. It doesn't take him long to reveal what he means to say.

"I'm not strong enough to see you get hurt. Or to lose you. And that goes for anypony that is held to my heart. So please... stay. I'd rather myself to be subject to misery and strife than to see you or our children in danger."

Orion leaves the home with the package in tow. As he leaves, he faces his wife one last time.

"...That is where my true duties lie."

Velvet watches her husband leave her once more, causing a ping of sadness to hit her. It wasn't a usual feeling of 'I'll see you when you get home' but rather a 'if you don't come back home, then I will never be the same'. Finally accepting that her husband has gone forth to protect her, she enters the house. Orion gallops to the station as he holds the box that contained the cruel gift in his magical grip. He mumbled to himself as he ran.

"I will protect you all... I have too much to lose if I fail."

Canterlot School for Gifted Unicorns
Canterlot Central District
08:49 A.M.

"...and most unicorns' ability to manipulate objects around the area that surrounds him or her is called... Yes, Amora."

"Caster's Sphere of Influence."

"Explain into detail the effects, Miss Fairweather."

"Depending on the caster's level of ability, which is determined by the caster's concentration and stability, it can either be a small globe that takes up the size of half a room or it can grow to the size of an entire city. These spheres will vary the users ability to corrupt or enchant items within it depending on the distance between the caster as well as the object being manipulated. At the center is where the magic is considered the strongest. As the distance increases, the weaker the ability of manipulation becomes."

Classes have already begun as the teacher chalks up his summary on the board. Mr. Grade continues to hold the book to his eyes as he jots down the entire statement of what Amora had just previously announced.

"Very good Amora. That is an additional ten points credited to your next quiz."

Most of the class groans out of misfortune that they managed to pass up an opportunity to raise their grades for their next quiz. Especially of the fact that those ten points were the equivalent of a full letter grade.

"The next time you all want extra credit, take into consideration..."

Amora looks around the classroom as she wonders what happened to Shining Armor, who was assigned directly in front of her. Dismissing the question for the today's lecture, she turned her attention to the paper... until something distracted her in the hallway. She started to grin as she finally saw the one that she's been scouting for since the first period began.

"If you want to get the extra credit necessary, then you must put forth the extra effort."

Amora raised her hoof as a means of asking her question.

"Mr. Grade sir, would it be okay if I used the restroom?"

"Why certainly, but hurry back." The teacher advised to his student.

Amora jumped out of her seat as she walked out of the classroom. As she closed the door, she tackle-hugged the stallion she's been wanting to see.

"Shining! Where we-"

"Shhh!" Shining commanded as he ushered the pink alacorn to another portion of the hallway so that he could say what he had to without anypony else noticing.

"Amora, I need you to take Twily home with you this afternoon. I'm afraid there's not gonna be anypony home." Shining asks.

"Sure... But why?" Amora asks with concern.

"It's nothing that you have to worry yourself wit-"

"How dare you!"

Shining is taken by surprise by the abrupt exclamation.

"You think that I shouldn't be worried? I am your friend, your ally. You don't ever show up to school late like this nor have you ever asked me to do something so suddenly. Now tell me what's going on."

"I can't explain it right now. I gotta go. See you lat-"

"Shining Armor, I don't wanna see you hurt. To see you hurt will hurt me more than you know."

"I don't have time for this. I'll see-"

"I won't let it happen again!" Amora screams, her voice echoing throughout the halls. Shining becomes confused as she begins to cry. "Not another one... not like the others... not to... somepony I love."

Shining stands dumbfounded as he hears the words coming from Amora's mouth. "What did you just say?"

Amora grabs the teen cadet and softly kisses him on the lips as he stands petrified at the sudden action. Releasing his lips from hers, she looks to him with tears in her eyes. "I... love you Shining Armor."

Shining doesn't know what to say, but at that moment he knew that there was much to be done after that. Trying to be gentle, he finally speaks for the first time since the clash of their lips occurred.

"Amora... Can you... tell me that after today?"

Her voice cracks as she finally breaks down in front of him. "And the next day, the day after, and even years from now. Just... don't leave."

Shining wipes away her tear with a hoof as he magically raises her chin to face him. "...We'll talk later."

Finally, he gallops down the hall as he runs for the exit. He knows where his next destination would be as the pink mare stares from the distance, wiping more of her tears off of her face. Amora finally speaks as she watched her beloved stallion ascend to the higher levels.

"You... selfish jerk."

Autopsy Department, 5th Floor
Canterlot Detainment Center
Canterlot Central District
10:13 A.M.

"Yup, this guy was dead before he even got like this."

The Station Chief Guiltless and the Orion stood in the room as the medical examiner, Doctor N. Shrine, described in detail what led him to his hypothesis.

"As you can tell, the head is severed. But what grabs my attention is the fact that there is a significant amount of blood that came from where the horn was severed instead."

"So what you're saying is that he bled to death?" Orion asks.

"Yeah, pretty much. And he was obviously alive at the time his horn was cut off. And of course, if there is a cutting of the horn, they lose all conductivity and the blood vessels that travel to their horn, to transmit the message of spell-casting to and from the brain, will continue to bleed out until the victim dies not too long after."

"And being that unicorn horns are a literal extension of their brain, they can be the cause of severe headaches, migraines and a myriad of other issues that has to do with the thought process." Guiltless states.

"Precisely. And being that he's in this state, means that he's been beaten and tortured. You can see the multiple bruises under his jaw, his cheeks, and even some around the eye sockets. But here's the interesting thing, the horn is how he died, but if you suppress the blood flow in the horn, then you can cause all sorts of magic bursts that will cause a mental strain on the victim. And judging from the scorch marks around his horn-"

"He's been tortured until he died of his wounds. And very few civilians know of the effects of a decapitated horn, even unicorns aren't that aware of the circumstances... Well none that hasn't been well practiced." Orion adds.

"This means that the ones who did this know what they're doing." Guiltless says as he looks at the disembodied stallion head before him. "Pretty fucked up, huh?"

"And they even decided to turn him into a special delivery. Add a bouquet of roses and this would've been a perfect Hearts and Hooves gift." Orion adds as he looked at the unsealed box on the other side of the room.

"Wanna know something that's really depraved? It seems like with the markings and indents in his skull, they might've played some hoofball with the guy." Shrine states.

"Well I think that's enough of the morgue for one day. What should we tell his wife and kid?" Orion asks.

"We'll inform them of the circumstances as soon as we can find the body. The last thing a wife needs to see is her husbands head on a table, with the rest of him missing no less." Guiltless advises.

"Okay! Well I hope you two learned a little something, because I sure did." Shrine replied sarcastically.

"Sometimes, I begin to think that you're learning a little too much." Guiltless fires back at the doctor.

"Yeah. Comes with the job. I'll let you two know if I find anything else." Shrine informs the two other stallions as they make their exit.

"Sure." Orion responds as he clears the room.

Orion and Guiltless exits the room as they begin to make their way to the elevators. Orion can't help but to think about the fact that the victim was tortured, and probably for a long time, before he died. But considering the fact that the cases similar to this were more straight forward executions and assassinations, there had to be more to it than a simply disobeying a confidentiality agreement. But what was it that made his punishment so severe?

As the two walk out of the elevator, they see a familiar face in the lobby. Or rather two familiar faces.

"HOW DARE YOU DO THIS TO ME! I'VE BEEN GOOD TO YOU AND YOUR IMMEDIATE SHOW OF GRATITUDE IS TO IMPREGNATE MY WIFE!?"

"Sir, it was an honest mista-"

"Honest is the last word to describe it. You broke the golden rule; NO AFFAIRS! And now you have to deal with the fact that the foal that rests within my wife's womb is-"

Orion and Guiltless steps in to find a bloodied teenage colt and an angry stallion in a wheelchair arguing with each other. As they saw who was arguing, Orion ran in between the two in order to disrupt the fight.

"ENOUGH! Magnus what has gotten into you?" Orion asks, demanding a reason why he was hitting his son.

"Okay, if you wanna find out..." The injured stallion pointed to the battered teen before him. "...then you ask him."

Orion looked at his son with concern for his safety, but with even more curiosity on what caused the man to assault his son in such a manner. "Shining... tell me. What has been going on between you two."

The teen holds his tongue, not wanting to admit his shame to his father.

"A asked you a question, son." Orion asked gently as he wanted to see if his son would be adult enough to confess his wrong doing.

Shining remains silent throughout.

"I believe I asked you a question, cadet."

Shining didn't like it when his father would put stress on the word 'cadet'. It made him seem like he was back to basic training. But more importantly it meant that he did something to disappoint his father. Taking a deep breath he explained what was going on.

"Dad..." He began as the entire department grew silent. "...I... I-ve... had an affair... W-with Magnus' wife... And now she's pre-"

*DOCK*

Shining saw his world turn upside down as he felt the searing pain of his father's hoof cut across his cheek, even to cause him to lose his balance. He knew that this was a long time coming now. He was only glad that the physically painful portion had finally come to an end. As he fell to the ground with a hard thud, he saw his father stand above him, glaring down at him as if he had become disowned.

...Thought that could be an option at this point.

"I'm sorry... I could've sworn you were about to say-"

"My wife is pregnant by your son, Orion." Magnus hissed as he looked at the teen who laid on the ground before him.

Orion grew his hooves in the air with disgust and frustration. "Great! Just more news that I desperately needed to hear. My son gets into an illegal affair, then he gets her pregnant, and now we get decapitated heads sent to our doorstep in his name!"

"Wait... What did I miss!?" Magnus asks as he performs a double take between the enraged father and his battered son.

"Nothing much, just that an anonymous party, whose not so anonymous in our books, had managed to send the head of the very same referee he tackled in the big game about a month ago." Guiltless informed freely.

"Wait... Are you serious!? So I'm not the only one who feels a little angry at the kid?" Magnus asked as pointed to the bloodied cadet.

"Wait, that was... the ref!?" Shining shot at attention as he heard who the victim was.

"Yeah... and it seems like that little fiasco that gotten the coach fired as well as a few of his players was all because of the ref's testimony." Guiltless added.

Shining stood motionless as he looked to the stallions who surrounded him. His mind circled around the lives he managed to have a negative effect on. At first, he managed to betray the stallion who sat in the wheelchair and ruin his marriage. Second, he managed to ruin a sadistic coach's dream of a championship. Third, he managed to somehow get the ref that he tackled killed. And fourth, he single hoofedly endangered the lives of those who were closest to him. As everything mixed together to create a rancid mess, his body saw it as an ingested threat that needed to be expelled in the quickest way possible. And there was only one way to do so...

"Bleugh-*SPLAT* "

Shining Armor heaved the contents of his stomach as the putrid thoughts of his actions and their results came flowing into his brain. His abdominal muscles convulsed as he continue to expel his breakfast upon remembering, more specifically, the referee he tackled and also what effects that it would have on his family life. It was all to much for him to come to terms with. He continued his evacuations until he was left gripping his stomach and pushing against the ground below him. Finally, he suffered the final moments of his indignity as he painfully dry-heaved the nothingness that remained.

As the others looked on, they could only sympathize with the young teen. At this point in his age, he shouldn't have to deal with these circumstances so quickly and also in rapid succession as it came to be. Even Magnus, the one who was left with more pain than he needed, began to pity him. It's not everyday that you experience the weight of a murder of a life weighing on your back. And he had a kid on the way to begin with. Orion looked at his son with a mix of shame and sympathy. He knew that his son was not used to this kind of pressure, but he also knew that most of this was of his doing with the exception of the murder. Guiltless just simply stared that the mess he made.

" *cough* I- *cough* I'm so *cough* "

Shining couldn't finish his statement as he combated a mix of the coughing that was caused by the post and sobbing. He knew he messed up and he didn't know what to do or where to begin to say how sorry he was. But his father had other plans.

"Feel free to worship at the porcelain alter on a later date. But as for now, your apology can wait..." Chided Orion before he found himself giggling at his own statement. "Hey, that actually rhymed a bit."

"Your meter was off, and so was the flow. You can learn a lot from your son here. He looks like he's got the flow coming from within." Guiltless states as he chuckles to himself as well. Magnus, however, do not find the comedy so appeasing.

"GUYS! I'm here on a serious note! I'm not here to make with the dark humor or the vomit jokes!"

The other two stallions cleared their throats and took deep breaths as they regained their composure.

"The reason I'm here is not to chastise your son, though I'm sorry for doing that for you Orion."

"Be sure that it never happens again. That's my job." Orion responds in a serious tone.

"But I'm here to make a report. As you already know, Southwind, my new off-season rival has decided to pay me a visit. And though how I got here is because I managed to become cleared for a leave earlier today. But what the nurses didn't know about my visitor is that he had a habit of punching things that are broken."

"Ouch." Guiltless mumbles as Shining stopped his coughing and crying long enough to understand what was going on.

"Yeah. Still smarts a bit. But that aside before he left, he managed to tell me what he was going to do to me on a later date."

"So he threatened you." Orion adds.

"Yes, but here's the boot to the horn here. He had the audacity to write out his little threat letter and read it out loud to me."

"And what did it say exactly?" Guiltless asks as he summons a notepad and pencil out of thin air.

"It said that it would break my other limbs as well as my neck. Cut me up to pieces and send it to my family. And also that he would be paying a visit to them at eight this morning-"

"WHAT!" Shining erupted as he tried to run for the door, his father holding him down as he tried to gallop away.

"Yeah, so you're not the only one he threatened, Shining. He threatened to make sweet sweet love to my wife and that he would guide my daughter to an early marehood. All this after he managed to play kick the unborn baby. Which he then told me that I didn't have to worry too much about due to the fact that it was not mine and that it was actually yours. Thus my knowledge on the true father of the foal who rests within my wife's womb."

Shining looked all over the room in distress as the new information began to eat at him. Guiltless looks at the stallion with a bit of concern as he asks Magnus about his story.

"Okay, so he told you what he had planned for you and your family, despite the known fact that you were going to be checking out sometime soon."

"Actually, he didn't know. Which is why I played off my role of the helpless father, despite the fact that I'm not able to do much. But I was able to come to you guys and ask for help." Magnus responds.

"And that's all you need to do for now. You're in no condition to get into any confrontation so it will be just me and the chief who will take care of this." Orion states as he puts a hoof on Magnus' shoulder.

"Dad..." Orion and Guiltless turns around to see that the messy teen had something to say. "I... I'm coming too."

"No, you're no-"

"I AM! IT IS MY DUTY!" Shining screamed at his father. Orion began to felt rage as he started to receive a lecture from his own son. "This all wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for me. This is all my fault. And being that it is my fault, then I should be the one that should take responsibility for the events that occurred today... It is my right and my privilege to protect the citizens of Equestria, and as a cadet it is my sworn duty."

"Shining-"

"You said it yourself! That a knight or a guard's job is to do whatever was necessary to protect the ponies that lived within these boarders, even if it was to protect them from an internal threat. And now, our very family and those who we perceive to be our friends are now in danger. So now... I ask- no, I demand it... That I take on the task of this mission!"

Orion found himself staring at the blood and bile covered stallion who stood before him. "You do realize that this is a mission that could cost you your life."

Shining returned his father's stare as he looked to the one that he called not only his father, but his superior officer. "Sir... yes sir."

"And that you would accept the consequences of all failure that were to occur if you fail to achieve your objective."

"Sir, yes sir."

"You will also put your honor on the line as well as the honor of the Equestrian Royal Guard, the organization that you now represent."

"Sir, yes sir."

"Do you understand that you now are accountable for your actions from this day forward?"

"Sir, yes sir."

"Do you pledge to relinquish your spear if you were to commit and/or accused of any wrongdoing and submit to the authorities who will apprehend you?"

"Sir, yes sir."

"Do you stake you life before that of Princess Celestia herself?"

"Sir, no sir."

"Do you vow to maintain order and peace in the realm of Equestria, this realm you call home."

"I vow to maintain order. Peace shall be kept even in tumultuous times. And I shall not brand myself to become that of a traitor."

"...Kneel, Son of Equestria."

Shining blinks in surprise of the sudden command. As he kneels, his father summons a spear. It was nothing ceremonial but rather something that a normal guard would use on a daily basis. Orion walks closer to his son as he rests the blade of the spear upon his horn.

"Those who bear the mark of duty, shall be held to it. Those who are innocent shall be protected. Those who are guilty shall fall before you. These words you uphold?"

"Sir, I shall place it upon my life that the laws of the land shall prevail."

Orion taps the blade against his son's horn, being careful not to injure him. As he retreats the blade, he resheaths the bladed end and levitates the spear to his son. Shining Armor remains bowed.

"Rise, Guardian of the Crown, Champion of the Citizens, Son of Equestria. Take your weapon and march onward."

Shining did as he was told. As he took his new spear and stood up to his father once more, he felt a slap come across his face.

"Ow!" Shining exclaimed as he rubbed his cheek with his hoof.

"Lecture me again, and it won't be just a slap, soldier." Orion muttered to his son as he walked away.

Shining nodded and began to follow the other two stallions that walked out the door. As they walked, a voice calls from behind them.

"Hey Shining..."

Shining turned around to see that Magnus had called him once more. "Yes, sir?"

"You do your job and protect my family and yours. Or I might have to do more than pound you into a red carpet."

Shining agreed as he, Chief Guiltless and Orion set out to the town. With his new weapon in his possession, he trotted with a sense of duty. There was no time for pride.

Verdant Praise Boulevard
Canterlot Inner-District
05:01 P.M.

Shining Armor and Orion make their way home. As the day progressed, they found little to nothing of value when it came to the knowledge of Southwind's whereabouts or where any of his associates could be located. After many hours of searching with very little results and no conclusive evidence that could lead them to the source of their problems, Chief Guiltless and Orion agreed that the results would come sooner if they had managed to be near a steady source of intelligence. Guiltless then made his way to the station.

As of the moment, the two stallions took their time after a long and exhausting day of searching across the city. Their journey consisted of a tour of the Canterlot Keep; the ponies that lived in the posh lifestyle of the upper-crust, the Lower-District; where the workers and those who aspire to make it to the top reside, the Canterlot Slums, where they were vastly out numbered by crooked thieves and finally the Inner-District, where they resided. Needless to say that there was much to be asked and even more to be found. But as for now, there was little that they could do in their energy-deprived state.

As the two walked, Orion looked at the sunset in the distance. Shining only marched ahead as Orion began to slow his pace. Shining's father had decided that now was the time to talk about the secret that his son had been hiding.

"Shining... Why did you hide it?"

Shining stayed facing forward as he walked. His father was not pleased at the response.

"Shining Armor..."

Shining stopped walking. The both of them remained still on the twilight-covered streets of Canterlot.

"...It was a mistake." Shining stated, hoping that it was an answer suitable enough for his father to understand.

"But even then... You could've told me this sooner."

"Dad I was scared, okay?" Shining said as he turned to his father for the first time in the conversation. "I- I'm... not sure if I'm ready to be a father. I can't even provide for myself without you and mom. Not only that, but I found out the night that you took me to the station."

"And... You still had an entire month to bring it up." Orion argued, still not seeing why his son would hide something like that from him.

"But I-"

"And how exactly would you keep this kind of a thing a secret? HUH!? This isn't some sort of game Shining! This is life. And for you to try and hide something like this... How exactly were you going to provide for the mouth that you're going to have to feed?"

"I... would... I don't know-"

"And what about a place to stay, because your mother and I would not be responsible for that."

"I'd-"

"And how about schooling? Clothing when it get's cold? Money for the doctor visits? Utilities? Toys? Appliances?"

"I DON'T KNOW!" Shining felt himself explode in the line of questions that his father interrogated him with. He breathed heavily as he finally came to terms with what his father was trying to say.

"Then tell me this... Now that you have the ability to do so, to provide for your family... will you take responsibility?" Orion asked his son as he placed a hoof on in his son's mane.

"...I don't have a choice. But how am I going to-"

"You are a member of the Equestrian Royal Guard. You can provide everything you wish to provide for your family, but only if you work hard enough. Sure you'll finish your schooling, but your schedule will prohibit much of the freedoms you once enjoyed. And you'll be worked like a dog. But just imagine the look on your foal's face when she or he comes screaming to you, cheering that you made it home... Just like you did with me all these years."

Shining felt a different kind of pain grow from within him. At that moment, he remembered all the times that he cheered for his father when he came back from a weekend of duty or a long deployment. And to this day, he still smiles when his father comes home to greet his little sister in the same manner. Eventually he envisions himself in his father's place as he opens his forelegs to his foal, hugging them and kissing them on the cheek as their warm embrace reminds him of why each and every time he heads out the next day is even more important than quitting for the sake of his own enjoyment.

The sun hangs in the sky as the world remains silent around the father and his son. Tears fall silently from Shining's cheeks as he stares into the sky, dreaming of his own family. This aspect that he was so scared of having so early in life had begun to grow into his heart. Shining looked up to his father as he smiled.

"Yeah... I can do that."

"That's my boy."

The two stallions shared a loving embrace as they further strengthened their bonds to one another, as father and son. They each smiled as their eyes remained clenched, trying to hold back any tears.

"YOU FUCKING BITCH! YOU KILLED MY DAMN COMRADES!"

Both of the stallions opened their eyes as they heard the words that resonated throughout the neighborhood. They both released each other as they headed in the direction of where the words came from. As they came up to the source, they looked in complete shock as what they saw.

The front door to their home was busted wide open and a griffon lied unconscious in the bush beside it. As they ran up to their once-sacred abode, they found that there was a stallion in the home. More specifically, a well-built pegasus stallion with an Earth-yellow coat with a dark brown mane stood over a seemingly lifeless body. As Shining approached closer, he saw the stallion and instantly remembered who stood before him and the body of his mother.

Flashback

"I didn't me-"

"AND YOU KEEP INTERRUPTING ME! You want to suck this dick, little pussy? HUH!?"

"N-no I-"

"Wrap those lips around it, pussy bitch."

Shining knew that it could only get worse from here as he continued to back away. "I-I-I-"

"Pussy lips! That's gonna be your name. Because mare pussy is the only thing that has lips that don't stop opening and closing. And from the looks of it, you must be in season cus' you look mighty thirsty."

Shining quickened his backtrotting until he felt the cold brick against his flanks. The stallion pushed him against the wall even further as he stood on his hind hooves and spread his wings to intimidate the young cadet even further. But suddenly the intimidating display ended as another stallion pulled on him from behind.

"Hey there, Southwind. Save it for the field. He's no athlete."

Southwind and the other stallion in a similar suit, walked away from the cowering teen. But before the two could disappear into the crowd, Southwind zipped himself back into Shining's face. "I gotta game to play, pussy lips. See to it that... I DON'T... see you again."

Flashback Ends

Shining wasted no time as he unsheathed the spear he carried. There was no time to think. There was no time to plan a method of approach. His mother was being attacked by the one who verbally assaulted him, the one that injured Magnus and the one who threatened the lives of Rarity, Pearl, his unborn foal and now his own mother. There was no time to act.

"SHINING-"

*SLECK* *SLECK* *SLECK* *SLECK* *SLECK*

The slicing sound of a blade piercing flesh echoed throughout the house as two stallions stood over a bloodied and bruised mare that was on the verge of losing consciousness. The pegasus stallion involuntarily stared down at the blade that sunk into him, into his heart. He then looked up and was surprised at who he saw.

"Pussy... Lips?"

Southwind stared at the stallion who pierced into him, and began to laugh at the fact that he saw the one pony who he least expected to see. Although he didn't know what his name was, he remembered his face. And that was all he needed.

"heh heh... heh heh heh... gheh heheheheh-*cough*-heh"

The laughing stallion continued to laugh as he grabbed the spear that was covered in his blood and shoved himself further up it, just so he could get a good look at the stallion who attacked him... All while he continued to laugh.

" Gheeheheheh *SHLINK* Guh huhuhuh huh huh... huh huh..."

His laughter slowed at last as his pupils dilated before Shining's eyes. Blood poured from his mouth as he gritted his teeth in pain. But he tried his hardest to smile at the one who did him in.

"...damn..."

He spoke for the final time as he finally hung his head. Blood continued to flow out of his mouth and land to the abused mare that lied below him. His breathing ended with a soft but quick sigh as his eyes remained open, facing the mare he assaulted.

Shining grunted as he shoved the lifeless body of Southwind out of the way as he dropped to the mare that continued to fade in and out of consciousness. Shining shook with worry as he recognized that his mom was in need of medical assistance.

"Mom? Mom wake up! You gotta hold on, okay."

Orion rushed in behind him as he crouched over his wife's beaten body.

"Velvet... Oh Faust, I shouldn't have left you alone."

As he cleared some of her blood-stained mane out of the way to see her face, she softly lifted a hoof. As it shook, indicating that she had little of her strength remaining, her hoof pointed to the stairs. As Shining and Orion both looked in the direction she pointed to, her hoof dropped to the floor below her. Orion shook as he held on to his wife.

"Shining, go upstairs and see what she's talking about. Maybe there's something that we should see." Orion spoke softly as he continued to encourage his wife to stay alive. "Velvet! Hang in there sweetie, help is on the way."

Shining rushed up the stairs as he tried to identify what was his mother referring to. As he reached the top of the stairs, he ran straight to the master bedroom, as it's door was still open. As he ran, something caught his attention.

*sniff*

He listened closely at what it was. As he walked down the hall, he identified that it was the sound of a crying foal. He was even certain that it came from Twilight's room. As he tried to open the door, it denied him his access as it was locked. This gave him the second option of where the sound was coming from; his room. As Shining turned the knob on his door, he saw that the room was still unlocked. He rushed in and saw that his closet was left ajar. As he slowly approached the door, he opened it to see a pile of his dirty laundry. Shining finally removed, one of the dirty uniforms to reveal an unusual guest.

"Rarity???"

"SHINING ARMOOOOOR!"

The filly cried her tears as her knight held her in his hooves. Beyond shocked to see her in his closet, Shining asked the one question that's been on his mind.

"Rarity I'm so glad you're safe. Where is your mom?"

Rarity tried to be strong as she told him the one truth that remained to her.

"Mother... I- I don't know."

Author's Note

Well this was a rather lengthy portion. To be concluded.

~~I'm gonna hate myself for the next one~~

ACT 1: Loss of Yards (III)

NOTE: This chapter will be done in three parts due to perspective and plot. First part was of a female perspective and the second part was of a male perspective. This part is the FINAL of the the arc, therefore if you have skipped previous chapters then you will be lost as to everything that has previously transpired. If you missed anything then please feel free to revisit the earlier parts of the arc. Also contains some disturbing imagery. Fringed story shall now conclude with it's final outcome.

Enjoy.

Sparkle's Residence
Canterlot Inner-District
05:12 P.M.

"Rarity???"

"SHINING ARMOOOOOR!"

The filly cried her tears as her knight held her in his hooves. Beyond shocked to see her in his closet, Shining asked the one question that's been on his mind.

"Rarity I'm so glad you're safe. Where is your mom?"

Rarity tried to be strong as she told him the one truth that remained to her.

"Mother... I- I don't know."

Shining stood speechless as Rarity confirmed his worst fear; Pearl had been abducted and his future foal with her. His mind became a typhoon of worry as he thought about the fact that his unborn child was in danger. And the fact that his mother was downstairs unconscious was not making things any better. But Shining knew that there were a lot more things to do then to worry about the circumstances. He knew that there had to be action and that sitting around, blaming himself wasn't going to solve anything.

But at least for the moment, we would console the crying filly that he held in his hooves. Because she was just as important as the others. Rarity continued to cry as she clutched onto her knight, pleading for him to save her mother. And as she pleaded, he made a promise to her that he would do everything in his power to bring her back.

After he took the time to comfort the weeping Rarity, Shining made his way back downstairs as his father managed to summon a few neighbors to see if they could get his wife to the hospital. Many of them were doing what they could as Orion continued to give them instruction. As the time went by, a medical unit was dispatched to the home and they retrieved Violet's unconscious body and placed it inside of the medical carriage that awaited on the side of the street.

They also received the the injured griffon outside in the bushes and took the lifeless body that was formerly known as Southwind. The ambulance brought a body bag and covered the smiling corpse that laid bloodied on the floor in front of the stairs. The medics asked if there were any others, to which Orion and Shining testified that there were none.

As the medical team and the group of neighbors left the scene, only Shining, Orion and a tear-stricken Rarity remained in the once-again silent home.

Fairweather Residence
Keeping District
05:54 P.M.

"Shining's what?"

Azure jaw dropped to the ground as Amora told the three stallions outside of her home the news. Poindexter was left trotting left and right, trying to remain calm. Longshot was sitting in a far off area as he held a hoof to his forehead, trying to process what Shining had gotten himself into.

"Shining's in big trouble. He's been marked for a hit, and so has the rest of his family. He hasn't come to school today because of it. Or rather that he came to the school but haven't been to any of his classes." Amora stated.

"You gotta be joking... Please let this be a joke." Poindexter mumbled as he paced back and forth.

"I wish it was Poindexter... but sadly it isn't. From what information I've gathered, Twilight said that there was something inside of a box that had her parents and Shining in an uproar. And judging from the fact that Shining immediately grabbed her before she could confirm what it was, meant that it wasn't anything remotely close to good."

"And where's little Twi now?" Longshot asked as he brought his attention to the mare that continued to give out information.

"She's taking a nap, I cast a short term sleeping spell on her so that I could speak with all of you." Amora answered as she looked back inside of her home.

"So... judging from Shining's initial reaction, we can safely say that it was something of a grim and dismembered nature that was inside of that box. I can't believe that they would do something like this." Azure said as he began to get angry with the fact that his best friend was being threatened.

"...A little inside information." Amora started as the other crowded around her. "This is something that I had to fork a lot of money for, but from what I heard is that what the sent over there was the head of the referee that Shining tackled in the big game over a month ago."

Well that's gotta be one hell of a morning cup of coffee." Longshot stated.

"Also, there seems to be somepony on the inside giving out this information to the criminals responsible. Goes without saying that they probably know a little something of Shining's more personal life, like his schedule, the errands he would normally run on certain days and everything in between. But the problems is that there seems to be unrestricted access to the information. I can't manage to find the leaks nor can I find out who's giving this information. Whoever it is, cleans up after themselves pretty well."

"So there's a pony doing the inside job. What would be his motive?" Azure asked.

"I don't know. That's the thing... All I know is that they're doing more than what is necessary." Amora answers as she finds herself in doubt.

"...Then let's do what we can to help." Poindexter stated in hopes of pushing everyone out of their disposition of being helpless.

"How? They got the connections." Longshot argues.

"And Amora does too." Azure claims as he points to the downtrodden pink alacorn mare. "If if wasn't for her, we would still be in the dark on what we now know. She provided information that the precinct downtown can only provide. She's got the bits to get us on the right trail. And she has the guts to go where we wouldn't dare leave to. She's a goldmine of intel and we're a well trained group of cadets. Like for example; Poindexter, what is it that you can provide if we manage to find the hideout of these guys?"

"Well if I can get the blueprints of the building, I can find a variety of breaching points, exits, places to set up traps."

"Right, and Longshot, what can you do whenever there's a patrol in the distance?" Azure asks as he points to the colt he's questioning.

"I can pick em off. I can even provide some covering fire if there's enough arrows."

"Right. And being that my specialty is close-quarter combat, we pretty much have our bases loaded. All we need to have is the right information and we can make the scoring run..." Azure, Poindexter, and Longshot look to each other as Amora sighs at the three colts.

"You boys really take after Shining's example."

"Oh please, that guy is really the back seat driver in every operation. But he's a voice that we can relate to... and one we'd rather have than live without. He's always hounding on us to stay out of trouble, now he's in it neck-deep. But since he's always been there to bail us out, we should be able to do the same. Right guys?"

"Man I can't wait to give him one of his own famous 'stay out of trouble' sermons that he's always preaching." Poindexter responds with an optimistic tone.

"Don't forget the slap on the back of the head that he's usually dishing out every time we do." Longshot reminds the others as he shakes his hoof.

Amora smiles once again as she looks at the three teens that stand before her. "...Your hearts are full of pure admiration and care for Shining... And being that he'll be my boyfriend soon enough, I can't let him down."

"So does this mean...?" Azure asked as Amora stepped in to place her hoof into the circle of the three other colts. With a smile of optimism and a spirit of determination, she places her confidence with the cadets that stand on her front porch.

"I'm in."

Location Withheld
Canterlot Slums
07:07 P.M.

"AAAAAAHHHHH!!! OH GOD!!! FAUST ALMIGHTY!!! HEEELP MEEEE!!!!"

The screams of a male griffon pierces the ears of the ponies that stood around him. They ignore his cries as they continue to provide a wide variety of methods to induce pain in order to get him to come clean. After about fifteen minutes of this, they continue to drive stakes into the wings of the griffon in questioning.

"Geez, we haven't even asked any real questions yet. You're the one that's making it hard." Guiltless stated as he took in the cigarrete in his mouth and drew in a long breath.

"ALRIGHT! I'LL TELL YOU! JUST PLEASE MAKE IT STOP!"

"Okay." Guiltless motions to the other two stallions a cease in their activity as they removed the pressure that they applied to the stakes inside of his wings. Guiltless blows the smoke out of his system as he walks to the table that the griffon was restrained to. Finally standing at his side, Guiltless asks his question. "What is your name?"

"GUSTAV! GUSTAV LA GRANDE!" The griffon yells out loud, still feeling the after-sting of the spikes being driven into his wings.

"Wait... La Grande... You're Benedito's boy! How's he's been?" Guiltless asks as he retains most of his excitement.

"He's in prison, remember? You put him in there!" Gustav answers, his voice toning down after the viscous affair of having his wings stabbed into.

"Oh right..." Guiltless said taking another hit of the cigarette in his mouth. "You know he did some pretty illegal shit. Not to mention he actually tried to hijack a carriage with Princess Celestia on board, just so he could ask her for a date. Little did he know that he managed to kidnap some other Princess instead. Killed her guard, and still went for the goods... that is until the boys and I showed up. He got locked away for a loooooong time."

"And my family suffered because of it! My mom is poor and I'm the only thing she has now. I tried to open a shop, but after your so-called taxes bled me dry... I lost my store and the ability to take care of my mom." Gustav griped at the detective, to which he responded with a sarcastic laugh.

"And the world-smallest violin played me a song." He inhaled the tobacco-strummed instrument and blew onto the face of the griffon. Gustav coughed as he smelled the obnoxious fumes of the carbon-monoxide. Guiltless continued onward with his statement. "So you got in this business for what? Revenge? Power? The money? C'mon, I'm tryin' to have a casual conversation over here."

"...I suppose you can say all of the above. The power to take care of my mom. The money to reopen my store. Revenge for the years you put my family through would've been a nice bonus." Gustav replied.

"Well isn't that cute... daddy's little boy wants to show his balls." Guiltless snided.

"I'M NOTHING LIKE MY FATHER!" Gustav yelled in response of his interrogator's sly remark. "I'm not going to leave my family for some sleaze of a mare!"

Many of the other stallions in the room took offense to the statement that Gustav made. Some of the even charging to him before Guiltless signaled to them to hold off for the moment. Done with his cigarette, he spits the bud to the ground before taking out another out of his uniform pocket. The clicks of the lighter resonate in the empty room as he lights another. He inhales a fresh breath of nicotine as he soothes his nerves once more.

"Y'know..." He exhales as the smoke leaves his mouth like a billowing cloud. "You're playing on the wrong side of the field. You've even managed to nearly get yourself killed too... That scar on your neck, Orion's wife did that to you, didn't she?"

Gustav took a moment to think about it before answering. "...Yes."

Guiltless smirked, confirming that he was there at the scene of the invasion. "So what were the two of you, you and Southwind doing there at the time?"

"Two?" Gustav asked before silencing himself.

"...Oh, so there was more than two? Might as well fess up, unless you want one of these stallions to pin your wings to the wall." Guiltless advised as he gestured one of the guys to step forward.

Before the stallion could get any closer, Gustav confessed what all he had remembered. "WAIT! No there were more than two... It was a total of ten of us. Five to the front door and five to the back. It was a simple breach-n-haul job. That's all we were told. Southwind was one of the ones in the front, but he waited outside before flying in later."

"I thought you were unconscious." Guiltless admitted.

"Actually, I wasn't." Gustav admitted to the smoking stallion in front of him. "That mare hit me in the neck with a very powerful stun spell. I was conscious... but couldn't move. But after I got hit, the boys in the back came through the front and confirmed with Southwind that they were going to take the mare that they had in their custody back to the main hideout. But after the four that took the mare with her, I heard some screaming from inside... It sounded horrific."

"You must've been so happy that you were stunned." Guiltless joked.

"Actually, I was." Gustav confessed. "It meant that I didn't have to chase after Southwind when he ran into the house. Shortly after he ran inside, a mysterious wind blew out of the house. A few seconds later, I heard Southwind screaming about the four guys we lost inside of there. About a full two minutes later, two other stallions showed up. The rest you should know up to there."

"See... I like you. You know when to participate. Now don't you see how easy it is when everyone does their fair share?" Guiltless asked with sarcasm. "Now, onto the real questions... Where's the hideout?"

"I-"

"Now before you say 'I don't know', think about your mother. Think about how lonely it would be to see her husband and her son behind bars." Guiltless added as a means to guilt-trip the griffon on the table.

Gustav took his time before he answered. He wanted to get all the details right before he would try to give them the location. "I don't know where it is exactly... But I do remember certain landmarks."

Guiltless took a quick hit from the cigarette before he asked again.

"Okay. Shoot."

Canterlot Detainment Center
Canterlot Central District
08:37 P.M.

"Okay boys, here what we got..."

Guiltless announces as the others in the office, including Magnus, Orion, Shrine and Shining, circle around a black board located in an office inside of the building.

"Based on new developments, It would seem that they are hiding out somewhere in the metro area. For the most part, it would be simple to narrow down our choices if we elected to break down every door and see what each individual residence was hiding. But due to the fact that we would need warrants to do so, it would take us more than a month to do so. Not to mention we have a possible hostage situation developing."

Magnus takes a moment to cut his eyes at the young stallion that sat below his father, feeling that he was somewhat responsible. Guiltless continues his lecture.

"And by the time we would even receive the paperwork necessary in order to file and process these warrants, they would've easily killed their captive and made a clean getaway. This known fact is why this operation will now be a joint operation between the Equestrian Royal Guard and the Canterlot Bureau of Investigation. This will help bypass most of the laws of these searches if we claim the city under a lock-down."

Guiltless draws a diagram of the city on the blackboard. As he finished the illustration, the city was separated into six portions. Three were marked with an x, meaning that their search would exclude the Slums, the Keep and finally the Palace grounds. There were also three areas that were marked with a circle, meaning that their search would include the key areas of suspicious activity. The three areas that they would place under lock-down were the Inner, the Lower and the metro area that was called the Central.

"We will lock down every gate and checkpoint so that they cannot esca-"

"SIR, WE HAVE A NEW DEVELOPMENT!"

All the stallions in the room look to the back of the room. Orion recognizes that the voice was one of his own and pays close attention as the armor-clad stallion entered the briefing room.

"Private First Class Willheim, speak." Orion commands to the younger guard.

"We've confirmed that their current location is inside of the Chevalier Coliseum. Even more so... I think you should see this."

Willheim passes a folded letter to the captain. As Orion opens the letter, the first thing he sees is a picture of Pearl bound and gagged on what appears to be the fifty-yard line. She also seemed injured as she had a small gash in her head, causing some blood to paint her violet mane crimson. As Orion angrily sat the picture behind the unfolded parchment, he proceeded to read the letter.

Dear Shining Armor

If you so wish to see this mare unharmed, then it would be best to arrive at the Chevalier Coliseum at 2100 hours. Come alone. We know that you are speaking with the authorities and that you want to plan a rescue attempt. That would be ill-advised as we do not wish to waste our time cleaning up after the mess that she would make on the field.

Be there or she dies.

P.S.: Doesn't she look lovely? I think the red of her blood accents her baby-blue eyes.

Orion crumbles the letter as grumbles to himself about how cruel the abductors could be. As he attempts to throw away the letter, Guiltless intercepts and reopens the letter to read it for himself. Taking a moment to compose himself, he finally gives out his first order.

"Shining, you have seventeen minutes to get to the stadium. Get your plot moving."

"But dad... why just me?" Shining asked, seeming like his father threw him under the carriage.

"Because they ask for only you. We won't leave you alone. As you enter, we'll be surrounding the area. That way we can storm the arena, seize any who try to make an escape and apprehend the kidnapper at large. Now go. We're losing time." Guiltless stated as he continued to strategize their mode of approach.

Shining nodded his head in approval as he looked to the clock on the wall. He now had fifteen minutes.

"Get going son... We're counting on you." Orion states as he watches his son take off in front of him. "That foal is too."

Trinity Square
One block from Chevalier Coliseum
Canterlot Central District
08:48 P.M.

Three colts stand in a dark alleyway as they look to the stadium in the far distance. As they stare off into the distance, another colt in a uniform with the initials C.S., shortened for custodial staff, engraved onto the front approaches them. Azure, Poindexter and Longshot prepares themselves as they direct their attention to the figure approaching.

"Any news?" Azure asked to the figure.

"There are three patrols located at the front entrance. Same for the rear. The sides have two or less, but the eastern staff entrance is your best option, being that their patrol would make their usual fifteen minute call-in by the time we get there."

"Great... I bet you must really love that transformation spell." Poindexter states.

"It gets me by the guards whenever I need to look into something a bit more confidential. But I'm horrible when it comes to impersonations, so infiltration is not one of my fortes." The figure states before a light-blue flame engulfed the figure to reveal a pink alacorn. "So what's the plan?"

"Well... You're staying here, for safety purposes. And not only that, you can also let us know what's going on from outside of the stadium." Longshot answers to Amora as she pouts a little on not being able to join the guys.

"Also, we don't know whether or not your combat skills is up to snuff. So our best option of seeing that you remain unscathed is to see that you stay as far away from the action." Azure also states, trying to justify their argument.

Amora reluctantly agrees. "Sure. Fine. Whatever. Just make sure that Shining is gonna be okay."

"These walkie-talkies are specifically made to vibrate rather than beep when we make transmissions. Whenever you see something go down, let the others know as quietly as you can." Poindexter says as he distributes the devices to the two other colts standing before him, as well as to the mare that stood beside him.

"Where did you get these?" Azure asks as he analyses the small black box.

"The custodial staff have these on hoof whenever there's a big concert or a game going on. I nabbed these out of the main office on my way out. These guys should have their own, so be extra careful to not get the channels crossed or else it's gonna be a long night." Amora added as she clicked the device on.

"I further modified them so that they would vibrate instead of beep and that the transmissions wouldn't be subject to interception as often." Poindexter claims as Longshot looks at the device in his hooves.

"As often?" Longshot questions with concern, to which Azure interjects his order.

"No time to worry about that. Now ready up... For Shining."

Chevalier Coliseum
Trinity Square
Canterlot Central District
08:59 P.M.

Shining Armor walks up to the main entrance of the stadium. To him it feels so surreal, thanks to the silence that continued to haunt the arena, the lack of ponies that commute in and out of the area as well as the resounding fact that he's not here to watch a hoofball game.

As he made his way inside, he looked at the clock that stood outright in the cobblestone plaza. The time read eight fifty-nine as three figures approached from the shadows of the coliseum. The one to the right was a unicorn stallion, the one to his left was a donkey and the one that took center was a griffon that bore a scar across his left eye. As Shining heard the three approach him from behind, he leapt forward and twisted himself around to face the three on patrol.

"State your business!" The griffon shouted as he brandished his talons for the young colt to see.

"I am Shining Armor..." He answered as he felt a chilling shudder creep over his body, knowing that something wasn't right. As feelings of discomfort continued to eat away at him, he asked the three on patrol. "Now where's Pearl?"

"Yous must be the one that the boss is lookin' for." The donkey confirmed as he walked to the entrance tunnel. As he walked, he turned around and gestured to the other two to guide him inside. The griffon and the unicorn stood on each side of the white stallion. As they got into position, they turned their attention to the donkey that lead them.

"This way." The unicorn spoke as he pushed Shining in the direction that they desired him to go.

As they walked the tunnel, Shining couldn't help but to feel uncomfortable. This was his first time entering the stadium without seeing any other fans around. There was no cheering in the distance to let him know that he was in a hoofball game. There was no music blasting in the P.A. systems. There were no concession stands that had the large lines in front of them. There was not even the occasional drunk pony that would harass some of the fans for some more gambling money. The lights were out for much of the stadium. The banners that hung on the ceilings and walls lied carelessly on the ground. The atmosphere that Shining had come to know of for the past five months has grown to literally nothing. Just a few ambient chuckles in the distance as well as the clopping of his own hooves against the concrete floor.

As they finally exited the tunnel, the hoofball field where the games took place was only lit in one portion. The scenery seemed to darken from end-zone to end-zone. But as his eyes traveled to the center of the field, the lights got brighter, providing a gradient effect. The stands that surrounded the field were nothing like they used to be. The entire place seemed abandoned. More banners hung lazily on a few threads, the stands were all but immaculate, there was the occasional plastic cup and stain on the sideline. Even the field looked empty as the numbers faded from age. But there was still one thing that remained alive in that stadium, and it was Pearl who lied bound and gagged on center field.

As Shining approached the field, a bright light came on to blind him and a booming voice spoke directly to him.

"Whoa there, Casanova! You might wanna slow your approach just a bit."

The lights of the stadium remained off, but the lights for the field suddenly became fully lit as it revealed a pony wearing a familiar shirt to the opposite side of the field. As Shining squinted to the other side of the field, he realized that it was the coach's uniform for the Seaddle Seaponies hoofball team. As he continued to squint, he saw the stallion across the field approach the the field as well, holding up a microphone to his mouth.

"Now... This is my first time meeting you, son. And I already knew that I didn't like you since you made the headlines for tackling my ref. But now I find out that you killed my favorite player, just because he wanted to have a little fun with a mare he just so happened to tenderize a bit... Why don't you take a seat?"

Before Shining could respond, he felt a powerful surge press throughout his body as one of the escorts chops him in the back of the neck. He falls to the ground a little disoriented as the world in his eyes seemed to sparkle along the edge of his vision. A slight ringing tone reverberated through his ears as he felt a strong tug on one of his forelegs. As he started to regain his senses, he realized that he was being pulled to the center of the field by the unicorn that stood beside him earlier. As he drew closer, Pearl finally raised her head as she saw the young colt being dragged in the grass.

"PHMMMNMMMF PFMMPFMMN (Shining Armor)!" Pearl screamed out to the colt as the gag muffled her speech.

"Oh... So you have a little something to say... Gents, remove her gag please."

After throwing Shining Armor before the frantically moaning mare before, the unicorn removed the ball-gag from the mares mouth as she gasped in relief. Pearl continued to scream.

"SHINING ARMOR! RUN!"

Shining only stared at her as the coach approached them both from the sideline. He continued to speak into the microphone. "Well, we can't have that now... Poor Shining here will miss out on the fun... Unless you would rather take his place, miss lady."

"Shining Armor, get out of here. I can take care of myself. Just go!" Pearl tried to persuade him to leave.

Shining did not move.

"Shining... Please leave this place. You have so much to live for."

Shining only looked up to Pearl and smiled.

"Please, I'm begging you... I command you to leave this instant..."

He still smiled, even as the coach walked up to him, driving a hoof to his face. As the former coach, Crimson Reeds, placed blow after blow against Shining's face, he only smiled in taking the abuse.

"...please..."

Crimson joined both of his hooves together and swung into Shining's jaw, causing him to jerk back and fall flat against the grass.

"...just go..."

With a grunt, Crimson stood on his hindlegs and kicked the downed stallion on the side of the head, his body jerked in response.

"...this isn't fair..."

With another kick, Crimson aimed for his face. His blow landed on the muzzle of the teenage stallion. Blood began to pour from his closed wounds that Magnus gave to him earlier, as well as brand new ones that the former coach managed to give him.

"...YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO PROTECT ME, NOT DIE FOR ME!"

Crimson landed on his forelegs as he turned around to reel his hind legs in. He released them into the ribs of Shining Armor. A sickening crack sounded along with a painful grunt emitted from the young teen. His eyes shot open as his pupils shrank to the size of periods upon receiving the blow. Blood shot from his mouth onto the uniform that Crimson wore, some of it landing on his coat and his face. In seconds Shining flew from the center of the field to the sideline. He tumbled like a inanimate rag doll before he came to a screeching halt.

"...please... get up."

Crimson heard the final words of Pearl as he grinned. He agreed with her statement, but not it's meaning.

"Yeah, you heard her... Get up... Stand up and be a stallion... Stand up so I can stomp you back down like the weeds on this field!"

Shining's vision blurred as he tried to tell his body to stand up. As he struggled to stand up on his own hooves, the unicorn that dragged him to the center of the field picked him up with his magic and flung him before Crimson's hooves. There, Shining remained, coughing up blood and holding his chest as the cracked ribs took a painful toll on his ability to breathe. Crimson was not at all pleased as he slapped him with the microphone, breaking it instantly.

"Fine... I'll make you get up. I'll make you beg. I'll make you regret that you stayed down." He took long breaths when he spoke, trying to regain lost oxygen.

As he spat on the defeated unicorn below him, he pulled out a long blade and started walking slowly. Only this time, his target was not the stallion whom he swore to make him beg, but rather the mare that would cause him to beg.

"...please..." Shining whispered as the pain he felt all over his body became too much to bear.

Crimson ignored his plea as he slowly made his way to Pearl. "No... I gave you a chance to die protecting her... And you gave that up. So now..."

"Please..." Pearl begged as she squirmed as Crimson climbed on top of her, her chest exposed to him.

"NO!" Shining screamed as he ignored the immense amount of pain in his chest. He stood up with the last remnants of his strength and dragged himself to the stallion who sought to endanger Pearl.

"...SHE DIES!" Crimson raises the long blade up in the air and brings it down in a single motion.

Everyone who watched could hear the heartbeat of the teenage colt stop cold as the blade ran red. Crimson remained in suspended animation as Shining could feel the world that surrounded him drift away. His face ran cold, as much of his body did in seeing the blade embedded in the body of Pearl. His breathing shook in tremolo. His jaw quaked as he reached out for her. His hoof shook as the the vision in front of him blurred once more. Tears streamed down his cheeks as his mind failed to rationalize the loss that happened before him. The pain in his body remained, as a new pain came to greet him.

Failure.

Loss.

Pearl lied stiff on the grass before him. Her blood now coated the green of the field.

"NOOOOOOOO!!!"

Shining fell to the grass below him. It was just too much to see. Pearl lying there before him as he was unable to protect her, like he promised he would. He failed to protect the wife of Magnus, who vowed to share the rest of his life with her. He failed to protect Rarity's mother, who will never see her daughter grow before her eyes. He even failed the mother of his own foal... who shall soon join her. His vision of raising a family blew into the winds of the world like the loosened sand, fleeting to an abyss of lost hopes, broken dreams and down the river of his tears.

He failed.

Pearl was dead...

...though not really.
But that dramatic page break though.
"Gluhurk"

Shining looks up long enough to see something that became of a surprise to him. Crimson, who stood over the inanimate body of Pearl, held his own throat. Crimson choked and gagged as he started to stumble away from Pearl. And as he turned, it was revealed to Shining that there was a crossbow bolt embedded into his trachea and his esophagus. As he took another step to the defeated teen, he jolted once more. He reached out to say something to his subordinates but found that everything in his body went black...

...or rather his brain shut down.

A bolt cleared across the stadium and sniped him directly in the back of the head, causing Crimson to finally fall to the ground in silence. His eyes remained open out of confusion as to what hit him. As he laid there, he did not breathe nor did he blink.

Crimson Reeds, the former coach of the Seaddle Seaponies and a prominent figure in the crime circuit, was now dead.

"Tango-Alpha is down."

"Good, now do what you can to protect Shining! I'll alert the authorities outside! *click* "

"Solid copy Chess-Piece."

"Guess they don't call you Cross-hair for no reason... I'm goin' in. Cover me while I get to Shining. Over and out. *click* "

"Be careful down there, Box-Cutter. Providing covering fire."

Longshot, code name Cross-hair, hid in the nosebleeds of the stadium as he continued to provide a cover-fire of crossbow bolts into the bodies of the patrol units down on the field below. As he loaded each one he looked around him to see if he needed to move or if his position had been compromised. Confirming that he was still in the clear, he remounted his weapon and aimed for the field below.

Azure, code name Box-Cutter, ran from one of the tunnels below as he brandished a broadsword. As he ran, three other ponies ran to attack him. As one approached, he ducked below and magically swung his sword at the neck of the earth pony. As he pulled his blade away, blood spewed from the jugular of the earth pony that dared to get close. A pegasus flew into the air and dived in with a crude spear, but was quickly dispatched as Azure stepped left and drove his sword into the pegasus pony's face. Pulling out the blade from the felled assailant, he ran over to Shining's position. But before he could close in, a unicorn holding a crossbow aimed for Azure. As soon as he was ready to fire, Azure sliced into the foreleg of the unicorn, severing it completely. As the pony lost his balance, he misfired the crossbow into the chest of one of his own. As the unicorn fell to the ground, holding his hoof with his magic, Azure slashed into the neck of the pony, not exactly decapitating him but rather enough for his neck to become a second mouth. Flicking his blade to remove some of the blood, he galloped to his downed friend.

Poindexter, code name Chess-Piece, ran out of the stadium and into the horde of ponies that awaited for any confirmation before they would invade. As he approached the joined forces of the Equestria National Guard and the Canterlot Bureau of Investigation, he signaled to them that they could make their way inside to storm the arena.

Orion, clad in his royal armor, stepped forward to give his orders. "One of our own is in there even as we speak. He lies wounded before their hooves and at the mercy of their will. Do NOT let him fall. SPEARS SHARP! LET'S MOVE!"

The entire line of guards charge into the coliseum as they make their cries known to those that hold possession over it. Meanwhile inside, Azure reaches his injured comrade.

"Dumbass, I thought you said to stay out of trouble!"

"Azure??? What are you- Aaagh!" Shining asks before keeling over in pain of the broken ribs in his chest. Azure takes notice and makes the call into his communications device.

"We have obtained precious cargo. Repeat, we have confirmation Jackpot. In need of medical assistance."

"Copy that." Poindexter confirms. "Boarding party is now in effec-"

"AZURE, YOUR SIX!!!" Shining yells out to his friend.

As Azure turns around, he sees a griffon with a scar on his left eye approaching him with a morning star. Raising his sword to defend himself, he prepares for a blow. The griffon drives his morning star into the broadsword, knocking it out of the way for a clean hit. Azure thinks fast and uses the spear of the pegasus he felled earlier and magically launches it into the wing of the griffon. As the griffon screams out in pain, he turns his attention to Azure once more. Shining defends his friend while ignoring his physical condition with a stun bolt aimed directly to the griffon's chest. As the griffon bends over in pain, Shining drops to the ground, exhausted from the simple spell.

As the griffon regains his strength, he makes a second run for the two teenage colts. But before he does, the resounding cry of guards fill the stadium. Many of the other patrol members who stood inside of the stadium, have already surrendered. A few still kept their weapons as they charged into the guards. As one pony foolishly charges at a guard, the guard swings his spear at the pony's legs as a means of immobilizing the attacker. The donkey that once escorted Shining to the field, met a terrible end as he charged into three guards, only to be impaled by all of them. As he tried to drive himself forward, two more guards ran from behind and ran their spears through the donkey's body as he violently shook. Finally accepting his fate, he went limp and died as the five guards simultaneously withdrew their weapons.

The griffon saw that there was nowhere left to run and took to the sky, hoping to see another day of freedom. As he flew, his wing bled out and Longshot took the advantage to aim a well placed bolt into the neck of the griffon, hitting him in his spinal cord. The griffon fell with a mighty thump as the guards surrounded the field. As some of the guards walk onto the field, Orion gallops out of the tunnel to join his son. As he reunites with Shining Armor, he tries to hug him, much to his son's discomfort.

"RIIIBS!"

"Sorry... Guess I got a little carried away." Orion states as he removes his helmet to see his son.

"Not... your fault... Broken ribs." Shining struggles as he clences his father's hoof. "But..."

"HEY CAPTAIN! WE GOT A LIVE ONE OVER HERE! BUT SHE BLEEDING OUT PRETTY BAD!"

Something within Shining lights up as he hears those words coming from the guard in the distance. Orion gives a sigh at knowing that Pearl was still alive. Another sentiment that both the father and his son shared.

"Airlift her to the hospital, be very careful!" Orion orders as four pegasi guards salute and prepare the arrangements.

Shining Armor remembers the faces of his friends and family. He thinks about everything that has happened tonight and was more than relieved that all of it was finally over. Shining sighed as he collapsed to the grass on the field. To him the blades of grass felt heavenly as he finally would receive his fair share of rest. As he looked to the black sky, he could see himself living his life without fear. After all, he really needed to rest. His eyelids began to get heavy as his breathing calmed. The calls of his name seemed to fade into a alternate dimension as their ambiance became his lullaby. Finally shutting his eyes, he let the darkness take him.

Shining Armor Aegnus Sparkle
???
???
???

"Where am I..."

"hello..."

"What's... going on?"

"is this thing on? dumb stallion"

"And who's voice is this?"

"HELOOOOOOOO???"

"GAAH!!! Who are... no. What are you?"

I looked into a seemingly white and endless void. And my company... was a green sprite. Where the hell am I exactly? Doesn't look like anywhere that I'm familiar with. And this sprite... what was it exactly? Guess it didn't hear me. Maybe I should scream at it.

"HELLLOOOOO!!!! ME!!! SHINING ARMOR!!!! WHO!!! YOU!!!?"

"I can hear just fine! And I can tell that you've suffered a lot of brain damage too."

"Oh... My bad.

"And to answer your question, I'm a spiritual manifestation. To be more specific, I am a spirit of a being that hasn't been born yet."

Okay. So she's not yet living... Wait a second... Oh no... No no no no no... NO WAY! I can't be... But if I'm here talking to an unborn spirit, then that could only mean...

"Am I... dead?"

"Nope... just having a dream."

And now I'm self-aware of my dreamscape. Pretty.... boring. Time to go.

"How exactly do I get out of here?"

"Don't go just yet! I haven't even gotten to tell you anything."

Okay... So now the floating gelatinous cream puff is telling me that there is something that it wants to tell me? Okay, if this is a dream, then I don't wanna know what death looks like.

"Okay. So ummm... What was your name aga-"

"Ooh, O-o-o-oh! Can my name be Sweetie Belle?"

So these things can name themselves... Let's roll with that.

"Uhhh sure. Okay. So Sweetie Belle, what do you have to tell me exactly?"

"Um... I forgot."

...Really now? You bring me here... to tell me that you forgot... I wonder if I can scream myself awake. *Ahem*

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"

"What! What's wrong!?"

"Nothing... Just try to remember what you know."

"Hmm... I remember that we were supposed to look down or something."

Oh like that's gonna help. But let's go on ahead and entertain the floati-OH MY FAUST! IT'S MY BODY!!!

"Uhh why am I down there?"

"Oh now I remember. Something about losing something. But oh well."

Did she just dismiss a prophetic message that she was supposed to deliver to me? Oh of all the-

"Okay... So if you're an unborn spirit, then do you know exactly when you'll be born."

"Well, it's been four-hundred eighty-five years since Momma Faust created me. So I guess in my sense of time it would be pretty soon. I can't wait! It's gonna be so exciting!

That is a long time to be a floating ball of cream cheese. And to imagine that I may have endured such an existence. Welp, there's a trip to the psychologist saved. More bits for me.

"Well I guess it's time for me to go. Momma Faust is calling me home."

"Hey wait... what about-"

"Mom's going to be just fine."

Wait a sec. THAT PROVES IT! SHE'S ACTUALLY MY-

Canterlot Royal Hospital
Canterlot Keeping District
04:00 A.M.

Shining Armor opens his eyes to see that he is inside of a hospital room. The sounds he hears is that of a soft humming noise of the lights above him, the beeping of the heart monitor to his left and the unknown sounds of a group outside the door. The unknown sounds seems to be that of a collective group. Either they are laughing or expressing grief. Perhaps even excitement.

"It is a very good thing that you have awoken, my dear guard."

Shining mind was caught off guard at the voice he heard within his room. It sounded different from all the voices that he's come to know of. Far too different. As he surveys the room around him, the voice speaks again.

"Please, I need you to remain calm. Please listen to me, my dear."

As Shining turns his head to the source of the voice, he is in total disbelief of who he's seeing at his bedside.

"P-P-P-P... Princess... Celestia?"

"Yes. And I am more than relieved that you have finally come to terms. I do believe that the dream you had has already prepared you."

"Prepare me... for what exactly ma-"

Shining Armor is brought to silence as he sees the Princess approach him, gently wrapping her hooves around him. Her touch was warm and endearing, like a light to a foal who was in fear of the dark. It was also very calming, like a mother holding it's foal for the first time. But at the same time, warm little droplets fell to his chest. Her mane smelled of the spring breeze and lavender. Beautiful scents adorned his nose as he lied in the bed, still full of surprise that Princess Celestia dared to hug a subject so lowly as he was.

"My dear... I cannot bear this in my heart. No matter how many times I may hear of it."

Shining Armor tried to ask her what she was referring to, but then something finally hit him. It was the sounds that awaited outside. They weren't of laughter nor were they of excitement. They were of mourning. Shining heartbeat increased as he questioned the princess.

"My mom-"

"She is fine." The princess answered the teen colt as she brought herself to eye level.

"No... Pearl-"

"She is also fine..." She grabs the hooves of the teenage guard and rubs them comfortingly as she urges onward, with tears building in her eyes. "...but the foal... I am... so sorry."

"...What?" Shining asked, his voice breaking as he tried to dismiss the reality of the situation. Something that the princess could not allow.

"Shining Armor, my youngest guardspony. It is with terrible regret... that I inform to you that... your unborn foal has passed away."

Author's Note

FEELS! WHY!?

~~I am so sorry for writing this.~~

ACT 1: Two-Minute Warning

Everything seemed like a distant dream.

A dream that I almost couldn't wake up from.

There was so much happening at once...

...so much that there was no processing it.

All I could do is stare as the world around me turned itself inside out.

Everything that I so desired...

...everything that I risked life and limb for...

...wasted away.

And so I thought to myself...

"What if this was a dream?"

"What if I could just scream and I'd suddenly woke up?"

I wanted to escape this nightmare.

I filled my lungs, full of the stagnant air.

I allowed myself to drown in the deadly miasma.

My body initially rejected it, causing me to choke on the putrid alternate reality that my subconsciousness managed to create.

As I tried to gain more air, the more the world ate into my very being.

But I did not give up.

Finally letting my lungs fill to it's maximum capacity, I pulled the trigger on the weapon that I would use to conquer this world.

My weapon fires it's rounds as it echoes into the scenery around me.

The resounding wailing became my beacon of defiance.

My scream emptied my lungs of the stale air and returned it to the existence that I denied.

I watched as the world collapse into millions of fragments.

I watched as the world continued to break into what I wanted it to be.

The air even became sweet and crisp.

The fresh air graced my lungs once more.

And then I was finally happy...

...until I saw the broken pieces of glass realign with their misshaped counterparts.

My eyes darted to each direction as the world I sought to destroy recreated itself in front of me.

I resisted some more as the air proceeded to change back into the rancid mess that it once was.

I did everything that I could to prevent this unholy resurrection from taking place.

I held down the broken pieces of glass...

...only for them to sweep from under my hooves.

Some of the fragments even retaliated, as they tore into my flesh.

As each severed edge cut into me, I somehow wished that they would prove to be merciful.

I wanted them to take me away, or rather my life.

But no matter how deep they dug into my flesh...

...no matter how much I bled...

I was still alive to see the world around me return to it's apocalyptic state.

I held in my tears, and in their place came more screams.

Each scream sounded off into the void...

...and the void continued to resist.

Lost in despair, I drove my hooves into the ground below me.

I smashed and smashed, pounded and pounded...

...and yet nothing happened.

It was at that moment that I realized something.

The existence that I long wanted to deny...

...was never a dream to begin with.

~Shining Armor Aegnus Sparkle

Two weeks later...

The alarm would not go off this morning. Not because Shining forgot to set it, but rather he woke up several minutes before it went off. For his daily routine, that was rather unusual. He would never usually get up any earlier than he had to. But for the past two weeks, something like this has become a common occurrence. The birds reminded him that he still yet lived.

A bittersweet reality over what he had lost two weeks earlier.

"Shining. Are you up?" A familiar voice called to him.

He rose up out of the bed and stretched himself as he responded. "Nnnnngyah... Yeah, mom."

"Well that's good... Shining sweetie... Can you come outside? Breakfast is ready."

Shining Armor looked at the clock to check on the time as he left the comfort of his bed. Rising up, his mind recalls everything that happened on that fateful day two weeks ago. It still ate away at his mind as he still found himself stepping out of the hospital room each morning, just to expect the tearing faces of those that he knew.

FLASHBACK

Shining Armor continued to cry into the pillow he held close to his heart. Celestia looked on as she felt sorry for the young father, who would never get to see or touch his own foal. As he screamed into the pillow, he cursed the dream that gave him so much hope for his future. He cursed the stallion who took the honor of being a father away from him, his visions of seeing the little foal running up to him as he returned from a long day of work. He cursed the princess that stood by him as she watched the tears cascade from his reddened eyes. He cursed himself for not being strong enough to stand up to Crimson as he drove the blade into Pearl's abdomen, hitting the still developing fetus as it's blood spilled to the grass below.

Shining couldn't take it. He never felt so vulnerable in his live as he plead to Faust that this could possibly be reversed. He begged that a miracle would take place, but sadly that miracle was nowhere to be found. His grunts of pain pushed into the softness of the pillow that he imagined was the foal that he created, kissing it lightly as he broke into weeping. But no matter what he tried to imagine, it wouldn't change the fact that once was his was no longer.

Suddenly, he rose from his bed. His mind signaled to him that the comfort of the pillow was not enough. The pillow would accept his embrace, but it could not return it. It reminded him of the very thing that caused his despair. Wheezing as the pain in his chest longed for a return of affection, he jumped out of the bed. But his wounds from his previous affair rendered him too weak to walk under his own ability. He fell to the floor with a loud thud as the wires attached to his body disconnected and flung to the wayside.

Celestia rushed to his side as she assisted the young guard as he huffed and puffed unto the tile floor. Celestia raised his head as he tried to crawl forward. She nuzzles him softly as she offers her assistance.

"Please, you must rest... You can visit the others later."

"NOOO!!!" He screamed as he resisted being placed upon the bed. "NO!! NOO!! PLEASE!!! I HAVE TO SEE!!! I... I need to see..."

His sentences remained broken as he wormed to the door. Celestia held fast, trying not to place too much pressure on his ribs. As she pulled, he squirmed in pain as he made his drive to the door.

"Please you must stay in bed."

"NOOO!!! LET ME GO!!! I NEED TO BE THERE!!!! I... LET ME GO!!!

Celestia gave up as the teen resisted. Though he would be subject to her, his heart was what he served first. And she knew that there was nothing to avert that. His mind had been made up, and he wanted to see his family. As she held him, she tried her best to hold more of her tears back.

No matter how many guards she saw lose something of sentimental value, she still felt the pain of loss. She felt it for a thousand years.

"...If you wish to see them... then they await you outside of the door."

Celestia cradled him in her wing as she guided him to door. As Shining lit his horn, she scorned him for using his magic. As she did so, she also lit her horn and opened the door for him.

"Although you've experienced a grave loss, to these ponies that wait for you outside, this night could have been consistent of more than a single life lost. You, Pearl and Velvet were close to meeting your fates. But for now...

As they stepped through the doorway, a group of ponies awaited their final companion as they stood in the hallway, tears falling on their faces. Magnus stood in a corner in the distance as he hid his face from the young teen's view. Orion stood with his helmet in held close to his heart. Azure, Longshot and Poindexter sat on the wall to the opposite side of the doorway. Amora cried softly in a corner down the hall. Velvet stood by the door that her son as she continued praying for her son's health, wrapped in bandages from her wounds.

"...I believe that your company wishes to see you."

Upon Celestia finishing her sentence, Shining suddenly felt a pair of hooves wrapping around him very tightly. He looked to his side to see that his mother held him in her hooves as she cried.

"Shining..." Velvet could only call out his first name before she dug into her son, nuzzling him hard as he returned the gesture. Velvet and Shining held each other for many minutes, not saying a word. Azure clenched his eyes as he saw the pain that his best friend endured that night. The others remained as they were.

"Shining... I'm so sorry. It was because I didn't defend Pearl. And now-"

"No mom... It was mine. I should've been stronger. After he attacked me, he wasn't satisfied with just the thought of me being unable to stand. So he... It should've been me. I should be the one that got stabbed. I should be the one that should be dying on the grass rather than... I should've been the one who-"

"You stop right there!" Velvet screamed at her son, not wanting to hear those words come out of his mouth. "Don't you dare say something like that to me, NOT EVER! I've... I've lost a grandchild tonight... And I shall be eternally damned if I should have to bury my own son as well. So don't you dare! DON'T YOU DARE DENY YOUR EXISTENCE TO ME! I BIRTHED YOU AND RAISED YOU FOR FAR TOO LONG TO SEE YOU LEAVE BEFORE ME!"

Velvet stood in place as she pounded away at her son, not wanting to face the bitter reality of seeing her son join the company of his dearly departed foal.

"You idiot."

Magnus ran over to the teen sobbing harshly as he offered his condolences to the young parent. Magnus clasped his hooves around him as he tried to apologize for everything that he had to go through that day. Shining brought his hooves around the stallion as well as his mother as he finally fell to his knees and screamed himself into despair.

His life would never be the same.

FLASHBACK ENDS

As Shining trotted out of his room, he finds his mother awaiting him just across the hall. She walks up to her son and hugs him, giving him her tender love and deepest admiration. Not wanting to seem rude, he gave her a warm hug in return.

"Is my guardspony ready for his breakfast?"

Shining moans at the fact that his mother addressed him as if he was a foal still. "Ugh... Yes mom."

"Well that's good. Come on downstairs before your food gets cold."

Velvet kisses her son on the cheek before she walks down the hall to the stairs. Shining walked back into his room to check if all of his school supplies were packed. He opened his saddlebags and took a mental note on what he would be needing come the end of the week. As he went along, he also checked his calender for any specific dates that would be a conflict to his free time. He opened his closet to reveal a set of his school uniforms pressed and ready for school. He laid one of them out across his bed as his mother called for him once more.

"Shining, hurry down! Your food's getting cold!"

"Coming!"

"You know I don't like serving cold meals! Come down here this instant!"

Shining looked at the uniform on his bed one last time before trotting out of the room. "On my way!"

As he walked down the stairs and into the kitchen, he noticed there was something missing. Of course there was his father. Orion was on patrol at the palace for the week and he would not be home until his shift was completed. As for the reason we was on duty for so long, Shining never knew why. But that wasn't Shining's concern as much as it was that his sister was missing from the table.

"Hey mom, where's Twily?"

Velvet placed a steaming plate of soy eggs, hay bacon strips, and toast in front of him as well as a hot bowl of buttered grits before him. She shook her head as she answered her son.

"She's feeling a little under the weather this morning. So I gave her breakfast in bed just before I came to check up on you."

"Oh..." Shining responded with a worried tone. "Maybe I should go visit her before I leave."

"Oh no! I'm not taking care of two sick foals. You keep yourself away from her, for your own safety." Velvet argued as she levitated her own plate to sit at the table with her own son.

"Oh... Okay." Shining sounded off dejectedly.

As he started to dig into his bowl of grits, Velvet stared at the stallion before her. She knows that everything from two weeks prior really took a toll on him. It was so bad that he would wake up screaming in the middle of the night, crying out for Faust to forgive him. And just as often she would find herself crying along side him. But lately, things have improved as he only wakes up as early as four in the morning. And even though that was better than having him scream about the non-existent blood on his hooves, she often scorned him for waking up so early and instructed him to sleep in a little longer.

But if that wasn't anything, he's been taking better care of his little sister, Twilight Violet. He spent much of the free time that he would normally use for his friends specifically to cater to her. He even took his entire Saturday of last week to fully devote himself to being there for his little sister. They flew kites, had a picnic in the park, reading to her some of her favorite stories, he even started to teach her a little about magic. But Velvet just couldn't shake the feeling that he was compensating for the loss that he endured. As of now, it was the reason why he seemed so shot down when Velvet told him that he couldn't see her.

His little sister became his coping mechanism and he didn't even notice it.

"Aww, why so despondent? It's a beautiful day." Velvet asked, trying to invoke some joy into her son's demeanor.

Shining only picked at the empty plate before him. As soon as he gave the indication that he was going to leave, she intervened.

"Um. Dear, lets talk for a bit."

"But mom, I gotta get ready for scho-"

"Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah. You stay right there as I go get your seconds... A growing stallion needs his food after all."

Shining eased back into the chair as he watched his mother take his plate to the stove and refill his plate with more of the eggs and hay bacon strips.

"You know, for the life of me I just don't know why I made this much. I guess it's because I've gotten so used to it after so long."

"Probably because of dad?"

"Hmm... Maybe. But since he won't be here this morning, I'll suppose you'll be the honorary colt of the house." Velvet stated as she placed the second helping of his breakfast before him.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because, there's nopony here to assume that role except for you. But in the mean time, just think about it. You'll be in charge, you'll still have me and little Twilight to keep you busy, and as soon as you come home from school, we'll be waiting just for you."

That echoed in his mind as she said it. He would be the sole head of the household as long as his father was out. But then, some uncertainty came behind that idea.

"But mom... Am I good enough to assume that role?"

"Can you protect your little sister from all harm?"

"Well... yeah."

"Then there's your answer. You don't need to constantly be in a rut. Even though what has happened two weeks past has placed you in a trench, doesn't mean that you should always be so gloomy. It never hurts to smile and take appreciation for what you still have."

"Mom." Shining looked at his mother as she sat before him, reaching out to him. He stopped eating to hear what she has to say.

"Take it from me. When life has thrown some nasty bolts at you, all you can do in the face of doubt is smile. Because when an enemy sees the smile of the one he's sworn to kill, it invokes fear. When things get you down, never look like what you're going through. Sometimes it's okay to wear the mask in certain situations, but only because it teaches the others around you that you are strong, even at your weakest moments."

"You think so?"

"I know so. You don't have to hide every time something or someone comes by offering you a shot at happiness. It's sometimes best to take the risk and go for it. And in this case... you still have a lot to wager."

"And what's that?"

"I'm somewhat offended that you should ask that." Velvet got up from the chair adjacent to her son as she walked behind him and snuggled him. "Me, your sister, your father, your friends... We're all the chips you need to make it big. It's up to you on whether or not to take that risk and bet on us."

Shining took a second to think that over. And it only took a second to find that smile that he hid for fourteen days. "...Okay."

"...My little Shining Armor."

Shining stood up to make his way upstairs as Velvet called him once more. "Wait a moment, dear. Don't you want to help me with the dishes?"

"Sorry mom. I gotta go, or I'm gonna be late."

"Oh don't be silly. You have all day to help me out around the house."

Shining scoffed at his mother's sarcasm. "But mom, it's a weekday. That means that I have to go to school."

"Take a day off! You don't need to go today. Hell, you don't have to go for the rest of the week if you wish." Velvet insisted.

"Mom, enough of the jokes. I gotta get ready." Shining protested as his mother continued to rebut.

"Shining, all I'm saying is that I would personally advise you not to go to school today. Stay home with me. You need to rest."

"Mom. I can handle it... I'll be okay." Shining said as he took a moment to put his hoof down on the matter.

Velvet and Shining stood and stared at each other as the birds continued to sing outside. Velvet then backed off of her argument and conceded the debate to her son. "Okay... I trust you."

As she said those words, her son evaded her presence and made for his room. Velvet started doing the dishes, seeming upset at the fact that her son opted to go to school than to spend some quality time with her. As she finished the dishes, her son came down the stairs fully dressed in his school uniform.

"Are you sure about this, sweetie?"

Shining nodded as he answered his mother. "Yeah. I'm okay... See you when I get home. Say hello to Twily for me."

And just like that, he was gone. Velvet took a glass from the cabinet as well as a bottle of rosé. She summoned a corkscrew as she sat the glass firmly on the table.

"You better come home."

"Hey Shining! Earlier than usual, eh?"

"I guess."

Azure greeted Shining in the courtyard of the school that morning. He didn't want to see Shining all by himself because if he was by himself, then he would normally start moping about the past events. Azure knew that in order to keep his friend off of what bothered him the most, he as well as Poindexter and Longshot would try to keep things as normal as they possibly could. And even when they would find that Shining's mind wandered, they would find something to take his mind off of it. And thankfully, his number one assistant trailed him.

"Morning, Shiny!" Amora spoke with much more enthusiasm than usual. As she galloped to snuggle the stallion whom she addressed, she also planted a kiss on his cheek. "What's new?"

"Um... nothing that I know of." He answered nervously as he still found himself uncomfortable around the advances of the pink alacorn mare.

"Well that's no good. You can't live your life so... vanilla-like."

Shining cocked his head as he questioned her analogy. "Vanilla-like?"

"Yeah. Plain, dull, boring. You've managed to work your day like an old stallion in the retirement complex just four blocks from here. And that's not a very good way to live your life. Especially when you're a sophomore in high school."

"Well... maybe I just wanna feel old for a second." Shining quipped.

"Nope. I won't allow it. And since we're talking, I was wondering..." Amora paused for a moment to think on how she wanted to ask without things being taken out of context.

"...You were wondering???" Azure asked before Shining would get a chance.

"...If you were able to come over and help me on my homework assignment."

Azure and Shining exchanged looks as they questioned why in Equestria would she ask him over for homework. Shining questioned her motives. "Okay, what's really going on?"

"No joke! I have an anatomy project that I need to have turned in by the end of the week or else my grades are going to take a nasty tumble. And sadly, I don't associate with anything less than an A minus. A B-plus if I'm really in a careless mood."

"Wow, look at the big risk taker." Azure mocked as Amora gave him a mean look.

"Anyways, unlike some ponies that only seek to boost their reputation rather than their GPA, I am merely asking your presence in the name of science."

"And what would this project be, exactly?" Shining Armor asked as he walked past Amora, who hid her saddlebags from view.

"It's a surprise." Amora smiled. "You'll find out later."

" *cough* THIRSTY *cough* " Azure barked as he hid his mouth behind his hoof. Amora shot an evil glance in his direction.

"What's the catch?" Shining began to interrogate the mare that stood before him.

"No catch."

"Then why is it just me and me alone?"

"Because you're the only pony I feel as if I can talk to on a daily basis about mostly anything."

"But I thought we were studying."

"Yeah, but I also wanted to really talk to you without the vices of school getting in the way."

"And that just made no sense due to the fact that the sole reason of me coming over was because of said vice."

Amora started to get annoyed. "Okay. But I still need a partner for this project."

"Tell me what the project is and then I'll come over."

"Fine... I needed to analyze the output of three unicorns and find out the special attributes that make up their magical signature."

"Then why not ask me and Fleur then?" Azure interrupted. Amora, now impatient, cast a spell on Azure to keep his vocal chords from vibrating. As soon as she finished, Azure tried to speak. But he found that his voice had been taken from him. As he held his throat in panic, Amora answered the previous question.

"Because I already have two and I would rather prefer Shining personally."

"Suddenly, this doesn't seem like a good idea."

"YOU ARE COMING OVER TO HELP ME DAMMIT!!!" The birds from the surrounding areas took to the sky as Amora's voice echoed throughout the campus. As she realized how vocal she became, she tried to correct herself. " *ahem* I meant to say... If you were free this afternoon, then I would really like you to come on over and help me with this."

Shining pondered the thought as he brought a hoof to his chin.

"I'll think about it."

"Please?"

"I said I'll thi-"

"I rubbed your belly last week."

Shining blushed as he brought his voice to a whisper. "And you said you would never bring that up."

Amora matched his tone as she placed her bargaining chip on the table. "And now I'll tell the entire school if you don't help me. I'll even tell them the main reason why your mom won't let you date."

"You wouldn't dare..." Shining mumbled as he stared nervously at Amora.

Amora smirked as she played up to her bluff. After about a few seconds of staring each other into a crater, Shining forfeited as he submitted to her will.

"You win... I come over."

Shining felt the familiar sensation of an overly excited mare crushing his ribs as Amora squeezed him, nearly causing his ribs to cave into his chest. "Yay! Oh thank you so much Shining Armor! You don't know how much this means to me."

"Oh sure it means a lot if you have to blackmail somepony into submission." Shining thought to himself as he scratched the back of his head, laughing nervously.

"You won't regret it! I promise to make it up to you! I'll do whatever you ask!" Amora launched herself at her boyfriend and clasped him in a deadly hug as he tried to emphasize that she was cutting off his air supply.

"Choking, not breathing."

Amora backed off as she pranced happily down the courtyard and into the school's entrance. "Thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou! Thanks so much boyfriend!"

Shining blushed as she said out loud that she was his girlfriend of a week now. But before she managed to leave, he shouted out to her as he pointed to the direction of his speechless friend. "AMORA! I THINK YOU FORGOT SOMETHING!"

"IT'LL WEAR OFF TWO MINUTES FROM NOW!" Amora answered from the entrance, leaving a moderately confused Shining Armor and a panicking Azure on the front lawn.

As Amora ran down the halls and galloped for the nearest bathroom, she tried to hide her enthusiasm from the other students in the hallways. By the time she entered the restroom, her happiness could no longer contained. And finally for the first time in many years, she finally announced that she had finally found the one that she was waiting for. Jumping and prancing with irrational exuberance, she cheered to herself.

"mmmmmMMMMMEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! ♫I'm gonna lose my virginity!♪ ♫I'm gonna lose my virginity!♪ And to whom will be receiving the goods? SHIHIIIIIING ARMOOOOOOOOR! My first time! I'm so excited, I could cum on myself thinking about it! Wait... *sigh* Be reasonable Mi Amore Cadenza. He's just a stallion. It's not like you've suffered for a grand total of ninety-eight estrus seasons including the extended ninety-four that includes your age suppressions. It can't be that bad anyways... Oh whatever. My pussy's been hurting for this! I'm riding that dick until it breaks! Sorry mahogany... but I've sworn myself to the vices of my boyfriend."

Her external demeanor was more physical rather than verbal, though she did say a few words.

"My... first... estrus with a colt! *squee* "

"Come on guys. We gotta go see what's up with Azure." Shining stated as he magically pulled his saddle bags to his back.

"Oh come on. He's doing just fine." Longshot assured as he opened the door to the class room.

"Yeah, but you guys already know what this is. It's the estrus season." Poindexter said nervously, not wanting to be in a position of being sadistically humped by an unknown mare that hid inside of a closet somewhere.

As they all stepped outside of the room, their teacher, Mr. Grade, spoke to all of them. "Be careful you three. If you can find Azure, be sure to get him out of here and as far away from here as possible. You all know that he tends to bite off way more than he can chew when it comes to mares."

"Yes sir." The three sounded off in unison before closing the door to the hallway.

The bell rings in the halls of Canterlot School For Gifted Unicorns. As the day ends Shining Armor, Poindexter and Longshot walks into the hallway. But there is a major difference in the enrollment that day. Less than half of the student population has gone missing. And seventy-eight percent of those missing were colts.

"Remember, we have to be as quiet as possible." Shining warned.

"Ain't gotta tell me twice." Poindexter mumbled softly as he tried to avoid any unwanted attention.

"Wasn't this shit scheduled for sometime next week? I swear it was." Longshot whispered to the others.

"Yes, it was placed on the calendar that Spring Break was scheduled to next week, to observe the estrus season. But for some odd reason it seems that everypony's hormones kicked in a week early. Though it's not unprecedented, it's not all too common either." Poindexter affirmed as he looked to his left and right to see if there were any mares in hiding.

"And that means that we don't have a hope for getting laid on our own terms. Mane that sucks." Longshot grumbled

"I don't think that our current situation requires for us to worry about getting laid on our own terms." Shining quipped

"Au contraire, my dear Shines. It has everything to do with having sex on our own terms. You see, every stallion can say they can get some in the estrus season. It just so happens that in me and Poindexter's case, we haven't gotten any even under those circumstances. But it was because we chose not to. We want to earn our firsts rather than have it given to us in-season."

"Okay, that's a pretty sound argument. But right now, we need to find Azure." Shining stated.

"Agreed. But the first question is this; If we were Azure Sword, where would we be?"

Silence ensues... But before they found an answer, they heard the screams of a stallion screaming out in pain.

"AARGHH!"

"Hey guys, that sounded..." Poindexter said as Longshot and Shining finished up the statement in rapid succession.

"A lot like..."

"Azure!"

As they traced down the source of the screams, they soon found themselves inside of the mare's restroom. They were left in silence as they watched the two mares kissed each other lustfully as a helpless Azure was buried in between the hind legs of the mare with a cutie mark depicting a paint brush. His cries for freedom silenced by the soft, wet embrace of the mare that pressed herself against his face. The more he cried, the more vibrations were sent to the blushing mare's gushing lips below. Letting out a unearthly growl, she tightened her grip on him as her legs held his head like a vice grip. His hooves struggled to free themselves of the leather belt that bound them together.

Another mare with a cutie mark of a bass clef restlessly dropped her hips onto Azure's pelvis. She continued to slam herself, with the intensity of a printing press against his now-soaked member. The sound of wet flesh clapping reverberated throughout the room as she raked the opposing mare's head to hers and embraced her in a shameless kiss. Their tongues warred against each other outside of the confines of their owner's mouths. Their drool fell to the chest of the their living fuck toy down below as he felt the warm droplets tease him further.

The moment that the artistic mare broke her kiss, she took both of her hooves and pulled against the chest of Azure to bring himself closer to her. Finally, her climax hit her like a freight train as she started to not only suffocate the stallion below her, but drown him in her juices as she gushed on his face. Panting hard, she rested herself as her hooves remained anchored into his chest.

The musical mare continued to flop herself against the stallionhood of the unfortunate stallion below her. Her pants gave way to demonic grunts as she raised her head to the air in response to the orgasm she was experiencing. Her tongue flopped outside of her mouth as her eyes rolled to the back of her head, her back arched into a perfect semicircle as she rose even higher off of the stallion below. As the tip of his grool-covered mass started to exit from within her creaming marehood, she dropped herself as hard as she could. Her full body weight fell atop of Azure as he cringed in agony.

*clop clop clop clop clop clop*

"Cum harder. Cum harder. Cum harder." She chanted as she impaled herself, trying to scratch the internal itch she suffered from. "Harder. Harder. Harder. Harder. HarderHarderHARDERHARDER"

His dick started to pulse lightly as the mare that rode him continued her orgasm as it soon ascended into yet another, colliding with the previous orgasm she already experienced. She stopped herself on the hilt of his throbbing meat and ground herself against him and circled her hoof around her clit until she bent backwards in bliss. With a tug of her hoof against her sopping mound, she pulled herself free as she finally released the geyser that she managed to suppress up until that moment. The powerful streams of vaginal fluid splashed all over the mare that rested above his face and the chest of the stallion she rode on.

"He's so close... I can feel... him wanting to let go."

"Haaaaah... Symphony, please. Let him cum inside of me, please. You've been riding him the entire time." The artistic mare pleaded as she adjusted herself to release her captive from her erotic leg lock.

"Fat chance, Palette. I worked for this nut, and now I'm gonna get it!" Symphony rebutted as she started to rise and fall from the stallion down below. Palette didn't find her accomplice's statement fair as she pounced on the mare in front of her.

"It's my turn!"

"Fuck off bitch!"

The two mares suddenly launched at each other in a display of dominance, a stark contrast to the scene that unfolded not even two minutes prior. As Palette shoved Symphony off of the quivering stallion cock, she grasped the lengthy shaft and shifted it into her eager depths before taking a brief plunge. As Azure's face twisted in a mix of pain and pleasure, his cock jolted back and forth as he felt his climax approach.

"GET OFF!" Symphony screamed as she punched the opposing mare in the face, knocking her off of him completely.

As Palette pulled off of him, the clenching tightness of her retreat was too much for Azure as his gyrating spire unleashed an initial stream of semen that rode down the side of his cock. His proceeding streams were much more fierce as his stallionhood bobbed back and forth, milking out every last ounce of his cock milk. Trying to fulfill his orgasm, he thrusted himself into the air, causing more of his creamy white nectar to ascend from it's spout into the air and onto the floor below.

The other stallions saw this as an opportunity to rescue their friend before anything else was to befall the bound stallion. Shining lit his horn to remove the belt that wrapped the forelegs of Azure, setting him free. He even released a trinket set upon his horn, previously unseen due to the mare that sat on his upper-extremities. But as soon as Azure stood up, the other two mares took notice of their escaping prisoner...

...as well as three others.

"I think I just came a little." Palette whispered as her haunches started at the sight of three other stallions with eager erections growing from underneath.

"So... much... cock..." Symphony drooled in newly revived anticipation as her itch reemerged within the depths of her nethers.

As Azure slowly turned to the others while keeping an eye on the mares in front of them, he whispered to them.

"...Run."

All four broke into a gallop as they ran out of the bathroom and into the hallways. One by one, they drifted the corner and bolted down the hallway. But they soon found themselves being pursued by the two pitiless, hormonally-imbalanced mares.

"Come back!"

"Stop those steeds!"

As the four galloped in the hallway they saw that their school had become a cesspool of filthy, lewd exhibit of mare behavior. As they passed one hallway, Poindexter saw a mare backing herself into the corner of an open locker door. Her fluids trailed down the door and onto the floor, creating a puddle of indecent liquids. She moaned quietly as she grounded her moistened lips against the door.

In another hall they passed, Longshot saw another mare as she drove a hoof in between her legs without a care of who was to see her. Her hoof yanked up and down in desperation of relieving the burning sensation that plagued her. Her hind legs splayed open as she held the fur of her chest. She moaned loudly in hopes of having a stallion coming to see her in her deranged state.

As the four ascended the stairs and climbed to the main hallway, they felt what appeared to be a leak. But what they felt was the raining fluids of two pegasi mares brutally grinding against each other in mid air. Their marehoods pressed against each other as they grabbed each other's hind legs. One mare licked the hoof of the other. The other receiving said treatment was kissing the leg she held against her chest. They had lost all hope of being fulfilled, therefore they took to the comforts of each other. Little did they know, that four fleeting stallions were making their escape below.

As the four stallions ran out of the building and across the courtyard, they looked all over to see random mares scattered across the campus, all of them performing a variety of explicit acts to themselves, others or the stallions that were unfortunate enough to get themselves caught.

"It looks like a zombie apocalypse around here!" Poindexter panted.

"I think you've been reading too many comic books!" Longshot wheezed.

"I think that all of you need to pay the fuck attention to what's ahead! We've got company!" Azure huffed.

"What kind?" Shining gasped.

"I'll give you a hint: It's of a magically-winged variety!" Azure answered back.

"...Fuck me." Shining mumbles to himself as he and the other members of his party come to a complete stop at the front gate.

A pink alacorn mare awaited them at the entrance of the school. She just stood there silently as she waited for the stallion that she's been wanting to see. From a distance she seemed perfectly normal. But as they got up close, they saw that she was really in bad shape. Her mane was disheveled as the separate colors spiked, curled, knotted and frizzled out from one another. Her eyes seemed distant, the luminescent glow that once filled them had become a shine as dull as rust. She constantly poked and prodded her hooves into the cobblestones below her. And as she saw Shining, she slowly trotted to him, rather than sprint for him.

"Shining... I've waited all day. Where have you been?"

"Heyyyy Amora," Shining said nervously as he back away slowly. "How's it been?"

"Oh you know. The usual. But I assure you, nothing that involves mahogany furniture."

Shining jumped at the outlandish statement. "Wait what?"

"What now?"

"Uhhh... Are you... oka-"

"GREAT! Never better!" Amora stated as her right eye twitched.

"I think something is wrong. Maybe you should head home and rest."

Amora giggled as she heard his recommendation. "Oh please. You know that I can't go home without you. I mean, we still have that project to do with the stuff, anatomy, horns, magic, ball-gags-"

"What I'm saying..." Shining interrupted. "...is that I should be going home too."

Amora is left in shambles as the words crashes into her ears like a runaway carriage. "...no. I'm leaving here. And you will come with me. You have no other options available to you."

Shining was offended by her words as he stepped towards the estranged mare. "My options are what I want them to be, Amora! And if I want to go home to avoid all of this, then I will do so without as much as a second thought. I make my own decisions and I will adhere to my own decisions."

"You are not leaving without me."

Shining paused as he looked at the insistent mare. "...I'll see you later Amora."

As he teleported away in a single flash, Amora stomped on the ground in protest to his sudden departure. "SHINING ARMOR, YOU INSENSITIVE JERK!" The other three stallions looked at the crazed mare with fear as they slowly backed away. Amora turned back to the three teens. "My interest is not in you three... but I do believe that the others behind you have taken more than enough interest in you to last all week."

The three stallions turn around to find that a group of estrus-ridden mares have turned a pack of giggling predators. Before they could say anything else, Amora spreads her wings and takes to the air, leaving the others to find Shining Armor.

"So this is how it ends?" Poindexter asks himself before closing his eyes to accept his fate.

Longshot screams to the sky, begging for Amora to get them out of this mess. "Amora, please! You've got to do somethi-"

"Too late. Poindexter's got the right idea... Longshot, let's give 'em what they want. It'll be easier that way." Azure calmly explained.

"I think that one mare crushed your brain back in the bathroom. ARE YOU NUTS!?" Longshot screamed not wanting to accept that they're completely surrounded.

"Yeah I got 'em, but we're the ones surrounded by a pack of horny, sex-enslaved fillies who's only sole desire is to get off. So in this case... PRESENT ARMS!"

Azure and Longshot sits on the ground below as they finally surrender. As he sits down, Azure begins to fondle himself with his hoof, slowly stroking his sheath to stimulate himself. Longshot starts to do the same but finds that the occasion is a little awkward.

"Can I look the other way? Seeing another dude hoofing his junk is kinda creepy."

"Yeah, do that."

Longshot turns himself to where he's facing back to back from Azure. The promiscuous mares around them pant and moan in excitement in seeing the three stallions teasing themselves in the open air for all to see. They slowly approach their willing prey with elation as their nethers burn for a hard cock to plunge deep into their throats, penetrating their moistened folds and their puckered asses. Longshot mumbles to his friends before the ensuing schoolyard orgy begins to take place.

"I hate it that the estrus season causes mares to act so out of character. But I guess they are still saying that they do consent to the act. And since that's the case... My body was born ready."

Author's Note

Explanation: As to why Cadance would leave the others in the courtyard is because she knew that they would be looking out for Shining Armor in this type of situation. So she leaves them preoccupied with the other mares so that she can pursue Shining without an interruption. And also that she won't have to find herself in a bait-n-switch situation.

Stay tuned.

ACT 1: Interception

*KA-DOM!*

Shining took a moment to catch his breath as he shut the door behind him. His chest rose and fell in rapid succession as his eyes darted to the door. His lungs seemed like they were on the verge of exploding as he paced his breaths in order to properly collect oxygen. His mind ran back to the streets of Canterlot as he avoided multiple mares chasing him down. And if it wasn't for his newly mastered teleportation spell, he would be cornered with very little hope of escaping. But his mind soon darted back to the voice that called out to him.

"Shining? Is that you?"

He drew in a breath and sighed in relief as the sound of his mother's voice soothed him. "Yeah... Glad to be home."

Velvet appears from the kitchen doorway as he continued panting against the door. "Glad to have you around. How was your day?"

"Oh, nothing of interest."

"I see... Then is there any reason why you're sitting against the door as if you're hiding something?"

Shining looks back at the door he held shut and back to his mother as he scratched his head. "Uh... well."

"Or maybe you're trying to keep something out, like a crazed mare." Velvet deadpanned.

"Heh, I guess that's about it." Shining answered bashfully.

Velvet magically locked the numerous locks on the door as she chuckled at her son's shy antics. "Well, we don't want to have anymore unexpected surprises. We've had more than our share. So are you ready for dinner?"

Shining looked at his mother in surprise. "You finished dinner already?"

Velvet guided her son to the kitchen after she kissed her son on the cheek. "I've been cooking for a long time now. Dinner's been on the stove since around four thirty."

"If it's been that long, then what time is it now?"

Velvet looked at the grandfather clock in the den. "About five fifty-seven."

"Oh... Guess I've been out for a while." Shining thought out loud, forgetting that his mother was standing beside him.

"Yes you've been out far longer than I hoped you to be. But what matters is that you made it home without so much as a scratch."

"Yeah, that sounds nice when you think about it." Shining admitted as he thought back to the incidents of what all happened throughout the day. But something bothered him since he returned home. "Hey mom, how's Twily?"

"She's got a nasty fever. Headaches that causes some magical surges, dehydration, poor dear's been shivering like she was in the north. She's been really weak too." Velvet stated as she fixed her son's plate.

"Oh no... Is she going to be okay?" Shining asked as he took a seat at the table.

"Oh it's nothing to be worried about. Her fever is rather low, so all she needs to do is sweat it out."

"Well that's nice to know. I just wish there was something I could do to make her feel better." Shining said sadly. His demeanor changed quickly as his mother sat a platter of food before him, giving him a hug.

"Dear baby, if there was something that you could do to make your sister feel better, then I would see to it that it would be done. But for now, do me a favor and enjoy your dinner. You do have seconds available."

"...Thanks a million."

"No problem. Now eat up. All of it has to go, tonight."

"Then why did you make so much."

Velvet sighed as she thought about how much her son had grown and everything that occurred in the past two weeks. "Because you're my son. And I may not have you for myself for very much longer. As you know there are mares everywhere and they would do most anything to have you. And I can't protect you forever. So I'm making the best of it and living every single day like you were to leave me tomorrow."

"Mom. I'll always be here for you. Even when I move out, I'll come by and visit." Shining responded as he kissed his mother on her cheek. "And I'll still loves the little wrinkles you try to hide."

"Watch it, mister! I'm not too old to put you over my knee."

The house is quiet. The sounds that once filled the home on a daily basis were no longer there. The radio that Orion would come home and listen to did not make as much as a single sound. The sound of the pots and pans clinging in the kitchen had long since ended their musical numbers. The sound of a filly running around the halls of the home had been stifled by disease as her new place of dwelling became her bedroom. The house was silent...

...but not completely silent. The faint sound of water rushing could be heard in the silent abode. The overture of a shower running played as the halls and rooms of the home remained all but abandoned. The doors to the bedrooms are all closed, all except that of the bedroom of Shining Armor. His door was open, yet he was not to be found there. Instead, his presence was found at the source of the ambient orchestra. The light of the bathroom lit every crack and crevice of the closed door that held the stallion within.

Shining stands in the shower as the water beads off of his pure-white coat. The steam rises past the curtains as he bears a flushed look on his face. Small gasps escapes his lips.

"Nnngah..."

His hips rock back and forth as he stands tall on his muscular hind legs. His left hoof keeps him balanced against the shower as his right hoof cradles his stiffened erection.

"Ah... ahhhha."

His mane drapes over much of his face as the water weighs his dual-toned blue hair down. The water streams from the shower head, cascading down to the blushing stallion below as he felt the warm stream of water continuously tickles the tip of his flare.

"Ooohh..."

His mind wandered back to the school bathroom. He closed his eyes as he imagined himself in place of his friend Azure. The thought of him being dominated by the two mares sent goosebumps of pleasure all over his body. Shining thrusted his hips at an imaginary mare, feeling himself enter her moist folds and into her velvety depths.

"Soo... warm..."

His eyes clinched as he tried to hurry himself to his climax, driving his hips back and forth as his cock twitched in his hoof. Shining ran his hoof up and down the thick vein-laced shaft as he simulated the feel of the mare that desired to ride his friend after burying her in between her haunches. And the smell...

...the scent of a lady's primal urge overriding her rational thoughts and replacing them with the reoccurring desire of being filled to the brim with thick, slimy stallion spunk. The knowledge that she was at her house, probably doing the same thing that he was doing at that very moment. It drove him to even more perverse thoughts as he envisioned her on top of his bed, rocking her hips to the rhythm of her hoof buried deep into her marehood. He bit his lower lip to silence his moans as he imagined her instructions. She whispered to him as she bated herself on his bedspreads.

"If you cum before me, then I'll see to it that you'll never cum again."

Accepting the imaginary mare's challenge, he suppressed his approaching climax. His pace slowed, not wanting to suffer the cruel punishment of suffering the night being teased until he couldn't stand on the foundations of rational thought. He wanted to cum, but he didn't want to. Not yet.

"Hold it in... Suppress..."

His edge came before him as he grunted and retreated his hips. He almost looses his hoofing as he finds himself lost in world of carnal depravity.

"Yes... That's it..."

His tongue presses against his gritted teeth as nears himself to his inevitable release. His back hoof regains it's founding ground as it falls to the tub floor with a loud clop that echoed throughout the bathroom. He envisioned the mare on his bed once more as she suspends her pelvis into the air, her head and neck supporting it's weight. She screams for the stallion that she's ready to let go of everything that she built within herself. Her high-pitched squeaks and airy moans soothes his ears as it's erotic serenade sends him over.

"Shining!"

"I'm almost there!" He speeds up his hoof as he presses himself further against the wall, letting it become his vice to his satisfaction. His stallion hood thrusted against the wall as he stroke his hoof as the muscles in his pelvic region tensioned, signaling that his release had begun to take place.

"Shining Armor!"

"I'm cumming!" He screamed out loud as he thrusted his hips one final time to cross the threshold. He stoke himself one last time as he released.

"SHINING ARMOR AEGNUS SPARKLE, WHAT IS TAKING YOU SO LONG!?"

Shining once again lost his hoofing as he heard that the voice that he imagined at that moment was none other than the mare that he didn't want to think about at the time.

"MOM!?" He exclaimed as he felt his loins twitch one last time. His entire body seized up as he expelled his seed onto the walls of the shower. Thick strands of copious white fluid ejected from within him and now met with the adjacent wall. He jolted and jerked as the powerful orgasm he experienced was ruined by the presence of his mother's voice.

"You've been in there for thirty-five minutes! Now get out of there, this instant. You'll run the water cold."

He immediately felt shame as he processed the thought that he practically, though unintentionally got off to the sound of his beloved mother's voice. The knowledge of it started to etch into the constructs of his mind as he hung his head in contrition. With a sigh, he said the most unsuitable words, in his opinion, to his mother.

"Coming, mom."

His mind became a distorted mess that saw the world around him as a warped disfigurement of reality. But there was no time to shed tears on the matter. He had a large trail of his seed on the bathroom wall and he needed to get it off before anypony could come inside and notice. His eyes shifted to the bar of soap and the washcloth that he used to clean himself with. Standing on all fours, he lit his horn and removed the rag from the wall he hung it on and wiped the wet bar of soap against it. As soon as he found the towel to be lathered with suds, he frantically scrubbed the wall as he tried to eliminate any evidence of his wrongdoing. He also took the time to mentally scrub the though of his mother's voice becoming a masturbatory aid. But as the semen on the wall proved easy to get rid of, the awkward thought of his mother's voice inducing him to orgasm proved far too difficult to erase.

Cutting off the water, he stepped out of the shower, dried himself off and headed to the door. As he exited, his mother was standing next to him.

"Having a bit of fun, are we?"

Shining blushed until his face turned a rosy pink as he denied his mother's theory. "No mom. I was using the bathroom."

"Sure. Now tell me that a daily bodily function doesn't take more than five minutes to perform and to take maintenance." She deadpanned, knowing full well that exorcising bodily wastes didn't take that long.

"Well it was. Can I go to my room now?" Shining retorted.

Velvet giggled lightly as she levitated a towel next to her. "Why most certainly. Unless you care to stay and scrub my back."

"NOPE!" Shining ejected as he made a dash for his own room, leaving a blurred trail of white and blue as well as a giggling Velvet behind him. She rolled her eyes as she entered the bathroom.

"Of all the things to do in the bathroom..." She muttered to herself as she magically turned on the bath. "...he would choose to please himself. Guess the mares really are starting to get to his head."

Velvet steps into the bathtub and grabs the bar of soap. She starts to grab her towel before she finds herself fixated to the washcloth on the shower bar. "...I wonder if he..."

Her curiosity piqued as she levitated the small cloth and brought it next to her. "It smells like..."

She took a gamble and brought the small cloth to her muzzle, taking a light sniff of the towel. Her eyes shoot open as she finds an array of scents. The smell of her son caught her attention as she grasped the towel and shoved it against her nostrils. This time she took a strong whiff of the scented cloth as it revealed a variety of smells never before revealed to her. The smell of the lathery soap graced her senses as well as the strong musk that mixed within it. She closed her eyes as she inhaled one more time, savoring the smell of the stallion she raised. Her thoughts went into a frenzy of perverted thoughts that dared to cross the line of taboo. Racing visions of her son standing in the shower scrubbing himself as her magic soon found it's focus turned to the sweltering regions beneath her tail. A magenta glow hid itself behind the curtain of her tail, sliding up and down the length of her swollen lips. She licked the still warm towel at a distinctively wet spot, inspecting the flavor of the musky liquid. Her arcane ministrations continued to bless her as she confirmed that the odd-smelling liquid was indeed the very essence of her son.

"O mideum... Shining, my stallion." She moaned deeply into the washcloth as her lust-filled mind entertained her deepest and darkest desires. She acknowledges that the magical aura that continued to push softly against her nethers was not enough and decided that her hoof was a better instrument to use in such a dire situation. But then her thoughts went even deeper as she brought the cum-stained cloth to her hoof, which in turn found itself in between her hind legs.

"I know exactly what towel to use tonight." She mumbled to herself before finding a new level of pleasure. As the rag brushed against her winking mound, she waved her flank and pushed herself back onto the semen-coated towelette. A soft moan escapes her lips when the towel starts to rub into her in an circular motion. Her breathing grows erratic as pleasures uncharted filled her body, causing her to shiver in anticipation.

"Cleanse me, Shining. Sanitize me and heal me from this accursed disease."

Of all the things that I have to endure...

...with everything that happened in the past two weeks...

...everything with mother and father...

...their abundant arguments...

...mother's non-stop crying...

...father's newly acquired drinking habits...

...and this reoccurring itch that I can't seem to scratch...

...my coiffure in a state of disarray...

...everything...

I hate it.

I hate it all.

My mother's been crying since she was in the hospital and hasn't stopped since she got out.

The little sibling that my mother and father promised me is no more.

My father has practically lost all hope with his leg being hurt and all.

He doesn't want to talk about it.

Every time somepony from the team comes by and asks, he avoids the subject.

My father hasn't been himself.

It itches.

But then again, nothing has been the same in the past couple of months.

My mother has been really different since she was pregnant with her and father's foal.

And worst of all...

...Shining.

I cried so much when I saw him, Lady Velvet and mother being checked into the hospital.

I think if I had cried any harder, then I would've cried myself blind...

...that's what father would say to me whenever I was younger and I got hurt.

"If you cry like that, then you would lose your sight and then not be able to see anything anymore." is what he said.

But in a brighter sense of things,

Surf and Turf have not been themselves the past month or so.

It itches...

They've been really quiet since they heard news that Sunset Shimmer ran away, never to be seen again.

But that seemed to be a breaking point with Mrs. Warmheart, Sunset's mom.

She's been really sad since her daughter's disappearance.

She was so sad, that she even quit teaching.

I guess I could see why, being that her daughter was once in our class.

Nopony hasn't heard much of her since she left.

Applejack and I became friends.

It itches...

Though we have our differences, we can agree that Ponyville is a boring town.

She want's to go to Manehattan to join her Aunt and Uncle Orange so that she could live the sophisticated life.

I can understand her wanting to do so, especially with the fact that she lives on that tiny little old apple orchard.

And of course I plan to pursue my own path to the luxurious life of a fashion designer.

I can't wait to start my own business over there in-"

IT ITCHES!

AAAARRGH!

Why in Celestia's mane can I not get my mind off of this incessant itching...

All I can do is pull the pillow over my head as I lay in my bed...

...cursing that the itch will stop.

I don't know what to do.

My knight, Sir Shining Armor...

...please help me.

IT ITCHES!!!

YES I KNOW IT ITCHES DAMMIT!

*sigh*

...

...

...But why does it start to hurt when I think about him?

It burns.

I can't seem to stop thinking about my dear knight...

...nor can I stop myself from soaking these sheets.

I've already changed them three times today...

...and that's when I came home from school.

It burns...

Wait!

What would Cup do in this situation?

If I remember correctly she had the teddy bear in between...

...I can't.

It's too weird.

It burns...

Okay, I give up.

Now let me put my pillow here...

...fold it up in half like this...

...sit on top of it like so-OOOOHHH!

IT BURNS!

What was that!?

I haven't felt that before...

Maybe I should try moving...

...Celestia, what is this I'm feeling?

Maybe I should keep moving myself back and forth like this...

...oh Faust yes.

IT BURNS!!!

OH SHUT UP! I'M MOVING AS FAST AS I CAN!

*gasp*

How did I miss out on this?

It feels... amazing.

I can't believe that something this weird can actually feel so good.

I have to tell Shining-

Harder...

Shining...

...where are you?

You were always there to save me...

...so why aren't you here now when I want you here the most?

Harder...

I want you here.

I want you so bad.

I can't do this without you.

I want you to watch over me as you did in Canterlot...

...or rather I want you to join me.

Please, Shining...

It's too painful for me to go through this all by myself.

Harder...

I want you to kiss me like you do in my dreams.

I want your lips to touch mine.

I have to have you.

Here and now.

I want you to wrestle with me.

I want to lay me in my bed, like you do in my dreams.

HARDER!

I may not know where these thoughts are coming from but they're helping me move along.

I want you to stroke my mane.

I want you to whisper into my ear.

I want you to tell me in detail all the ways I'm special to you.

I want to swear my undying loyalty to you.

I... I...

HARDER!!!

I LOVE YOU SHINING ARMOR!

I WANT YOU TO LAY ME ON MY BED.

I WANT YOU TO PUSH YOURSELF AGAINST ME.

I WANT YOU TO KISS ME ON MY NECK.

NO...

PLEASE...

NOT YET...

...BUT AS LONG AS IT'S YOU...

...I FEEL LIKE I CAN TRUST YOU.

I CAN LET YOU IN.

THIS IS MY GIFT TO YOU.

NOPONY ELSE CAN HAVE IT.

I'M YOURS SHINING ARMOR!

PLEASE...

TAKE ME!!!

TAKE ME AND MAKE ME A MARE!!!

MY KNIGHT, MY HERO, MY LOVE...

...my first.

The calm has come...

...

...oh my word.

What have I done?

Am I this weird?

Am I normal?

...Or maybe I'm in love.

Yes...

...that's it.

Shining Armor...

I want only you to be with me.

You are my one and only.

Fill me with your affection as I lay dormant in your hooves.

Shining Armor...

...my one true love.

~Rarity Andalusia Belle

...

...

...

It itches.

"Big brother..."

Shining lies in the comfort of his bed as his sister calls for him from across the wall. It's not quite time for bed but he chose to lie down and think of all the things that occurred that day. From the start of the school day to when he entered his room after his mother jokingly asked him to scrub her back not fifteen minutes ago. But if there was anything that resonated in his mind was the thought of his little sister calling his name.

"Big... Big brother..."

Shining knew that if there was one thing that he couldn't refuse, it was the call of his little sister. He started to feel guilty as time progressed, hearing his sister calling for him across the wall. It trampled it's way into his conscience as he held his ears shut, knowing that she was with a fever. His mother strictly instructed him to stay away for his own health, but he didn't care about that. He just wanted to comfort his little sister.

"Shining..."

He rose from the comfort of his bed and made his way to his sister's room, but not before seeing whether his mother had came out of the bathroom or not. He still heard the hums of his mother coming from within the bathroom. He assumed that she was having one of her long-night baths. So he quietly crept into the room of his little sister.

"Twily," He whispered. "You called?"

From the opposite side of the room, the covers of the bed that his sister laid on shifted and moved as her head poked out from underneath.

"Big brother... I'm so... cold."

Shining walked inside and cracked the door behind him. As he walked to his little sister's side, he placed a hoof on her forehead.

"I don't see how you're so cold. You're really burning up here." He said as his sister took her hooves from underneath the covers and wrapped them over the foreleg of her big brother.

"I'm s-sso c-c-co-old." She spoke shaking as the air of the room hit her body like a blizzard. "St-tt-ay with m-mmmee... please?"

Once again, his conscience hit him. He didn't have the heart to tell her no when she was so cold. And he really loved his little sister as if there was no tomorrow. His eyes leveled to the shivering filly below as he sighed. With a smile he accepted her offer, knowing that he would get sick as well. He lied in the bed as his sister curled her hooves around him, taking in his body heat as he settled the covers to the top of the bed they now shared. Twilight nuzzled herself deeper into her brothers body as the warmth of his body radiated to hers. He faced her with a giggle as the current situation brought back fond memories of when they were younger.

"Hey Twily," He began. "Do you remember when we were younger? You had nightmares."

"Mmmhmm." Twilight asked as she rose into her brother some more.

"You came running into my room, begging me to sleep with you so that the nightmares wouldn't come back to haunt you." He stated as he gently stoke his hoof against her mane.

"Shining..." She mumbled as she rose from the fur of his chest.

"What's up lil sis?" He questioned, paying full attention to her.

Twilight removed her hooves from around her waist and slowly wrapped them around his neck. She smiled faintly as she looked at her big brother.

"What's up?" He questioned concerned of the fact that his little sister was not responding to him. But Twilight kept silent as she inched closer to him, still feeling his heat flowing freely into her body. She raised her head so that it was leveled with her older brother's. One of her hind legs crosses to his side.

"Twily, what are you doing?" He asks with worry filling his voice.

Twilight smiles as she looks into her brother's eyes, completely scaling her hind leg around his. Suddenly, her facial expression changed. She no longer wore the smile that she lured him in with, but rather a look of desperate hunger. Her eyes instinctively trailed up and down his form as she inched herself further into him. She pulls on his neck as she drags herself to his lips. This was not the Twilight that he was accustomed to, the little sister that he used to know. There was something else that caused her to act this irrational. And with the growing scent of musk filling his nostrils, he knew exactly what it was; estrus.

"TWILY, NO!"

Shining jumps out of the bed as he back away from his little sister, who tried to sexually assault him. His heart beats into his throat as he maintains a reasonable distance away from her.

"Please big brother. Help me." She pleads, letting her hooves land on the carpet floor below.

"Twily, I can't do that. Not to you?"

"But... You said that you would be my big brother best friend forever." She moan with tears filling up her eyes. "Was that all a lie?"

"Twilight, I can't do that as your big brother. Even if I wasn't, then I still-"

"AEGNUS! OUT!"

Both the teen and his younger sister looked to the door as it was wide open, displaying a rather angry Velvet. Her mane was half-done, having only the curl at the bottom while her bangs were frazzled across her face.

"Mom, I-" Shining tried to make his case, but he was silenced by the force of his mother flinging him from inside of the room to the hallway.

"Mommy, it isn't fair! I wanna see Shining!" Twilight argued as she stomped her hooves to the ground.

"BED! NOW!" She ordered sternly. As soon as Twilight dipped her head in defeat, Velvet shuts the door and turned her attention to her disobedient son. "And I distinctively told you that you were not to see your younger sister."

Shining backed away to his room, only to find that his mother teleported behind him to cut off his escape. She continued to trail him down with each step. "And here you are, disobeying me once again."

"Mom, I didn't know that she was-"

"So you must think that you are so bold, don't you?" She asks as Shining backs himself down the hallway and into the stairwell.

"I'm sorr-"

"You must think that you're such a bad boy! Such an adult." Velvet trails him down the stairs as he does all he can to avoid her. As he reaches the end of the stairs, he finds himself backed into a corner. "Grown stallions don't live inside of their parents' house! They live on their own. And since you feel like being a grown stallion who can't abide by his mother's instructions, I ought to leave you outside for the vultures to pick on!"

"Mom, please-"

Velvet brings a hoof to her son's lips as she twitched in anger. "DON'T. YOU. SPEAK."

She removes her hoof as she continues her statement. "You want to be a bad boy so bad? So much so that all the mares will swoon to your hooves? Well maybe I should make an example of you!"

Shining lunged for freedom as he tried to escape from his angry mother, but finds himself caught in his mother's magic. Before he could think of what to do next, his body was ruthlessly slammed into the wall that he came from with a loud thud. And without warning...

...his mother forced her tongue down his throat.

Author's Note

Note: The next chapter (as obvious as it was in this chapter) will have gratuitous clop. It will be a clop filler but it will also be a plot point involved. So please read if you like. Now if you don't like clop, ~~then why are you reading a mature-rated story~~ then just skip to the final section which will be more of a TL;DR.

Personal note: If you haven't stood in the shower with a hard-on and have the warm water hit against the head of your dick as you masturbate, then you're missing out on life.

Did you know: That the Sparkle's Residence is a two-story apartment, three bedrooms, one and a half baths, a kitchen/dining area, a foyer/den and a fireplace? Me neither. :derpytongue2:

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

2014 up in dis bitch!

ACT 1: For The Winning Score [CLOP FILLER]

Shining lunged for freedom as he tried to escape from his angry mother, but finds himself caught in his mother's magic. Before he could think of what to do next, his body was ruthlessly slammed into the wall that he came from with a loud thud. And without warning...

...his mother forced her tongue down his throat.

Her tongue slithered it's way into his mouth as she pressed her body against him lost in a daze of sexual tension. Shining denies what he is seeing, his own mother longing after him. His mother lusted for him. It was the ultimate taboo to him, but to her it was the taboo that was worth breaking after seventeen years of his life. His mind blacked out every other thought except the one that stood prominent above all others.

"MMMPH!!! (Stop)" He screamed as his mother shoved her body against his, holding his head against her with a combination of her magic as well as her own physical strength. She heard the cries of her son and acknowledged his desire to stop, but she brushed them aside for her own self-gratification.

It's been far too long for her. Each and every day that he experienced his stallionhood growing on it's own, she harbored illicit thoughts as remembered everything about him. She remembered the day where he woke up one morning scared of what was happening to him. She remembered the fear that shone brightly in his eyes as his young form carried an unusual weight below. Velvet saw the swinging weight that rocked from side to side as he walked to her that morning. Initially, these thoughts scared her as the constant image of her son's shame being violated by her own desire. But as the years passed and as she watched him grow into the colt that stood well over her height, the very thoughts that she loathed became the pinnacle of her sexual fantasy.

She wanted to teach him the ways of love-making and being able to thoroughly pleasing a full-grown mare. She wanted him to deny everything that he was taught about family relationships and embrace her as what she was. She still saw Shining Armor as her son, but more prominently she saw him as an object of her darkest fantasy. She loved her husband Orion, but there was a morbid curiosity that came with the fantasizing of her son.

It was not normal. It was dangerous and even more so looked down upon. No one could understand what she felt for him. Not even a mare that would grow the closest to him would understand the depths of her deviant mind. To her, it was the sole unequivocal fact that this was wrong throughout all ranks of society. But that's what made it so special. It was a risk, not just that but a full-on, and to put it bluntly, 'fuck you' to the entire world. It was a statement that spoke out 'I am a mare and I will do what I damn well please.'

"Mmmn! (Mom)" Shining emphasized as he tried to free himself from the clutches of his licentious mother as she suppressed his protests with her own tongue, invading his mouth. He tries to avoid her contact but his efforts proved to be more of a hindrance as his tongue wrestled against his mothers. Shining still used his hooves to pry his impassioned mother off of him, but her strength, combined with her magic, grew too much for him to be able to seek refuge from. His eyes trail upward to avoid seeing his mother locking her lips and engorging upon him. He tried everything he could to avoid thinking about his mother at the moment, but he was suddenly slapped in the face as she separated herself from him.

"Don't you dare look away from me." She hissed as she dove into his lips once more.

Shining felt the burning that filled his cheek as he paid attention to his mother. Velvet deepened her kiss as she starts to go into soft whispers and moans. Shining on the opposite end, took the time to notice that her horn was active and deduced that if he would hit it, it would render her magic useless for a few seconds while he could push her off and make his escape. But he had to wait until the time was right before he would find an opening when she brought her guard down. And the only way to cause her to drop her guard was to entertain her lustful desires.

Shining loosened himself as he allowed his mother unrestricted access to the moist passage of his mouth. He closed his eyes to envision another mare, to make the ordeal slightly easier. He slid his tongue into Velvet's cavern as she moaned into his, causing the vibrations of her voice to filter into his. His response was a retreat and a breaking of the lip-lock his mother placed on him. With a giggle and half-lidded stare, she hungrily reconnected her lips as Shining welcomed her halfway. His jaw fell, inviting her inside as she gasped in surprise of her son's forwardness. Her answer to his invitation was an opened mouth and a lolling tongue as her moist vapor filled the empty void that sat between them. Her eyes, still half-lidded, locked onto Shining's horn.

Intrigue filled her mind as she remembered a few of her research projects that dealt with the horn's response to an external stimulant, as well as the reactions that ensue after the aforementioned stimulation took place. She gawked in awe as she visually traced the spiral ridges of his horn, imagining herself being pleased with the cylindrical spire that stood atop of his head. Visions and ideas flooded her estrus-flooded mind as she closed in on the protruding object.

Shining found it difficult to think about another mare when his mother was steady at work. Her tongue slid down the length of her son's horn. Her trail of saliva coated his horn and dripped off of it onto his forehead as she sloppily arced her tongue across the length of his arcane staff. Removing her tongue, she took the time to bless her son with soft kisses upon every spiral. Her lips sank into the bony material as she took a hoof to fondle his magic into self-casting. His magenta aura glowed faintly as her kisses brought a fire to his loins.

Shining didn't want this. This wasn't part of his plan. He wanted to trick his mother into letting him go, not to be suddenly bewitched by her erotic ministrations. He gasped as he felt something from below escape it's hiding place. This was not what he wanted. He didn't want to be turned on by this. This wasn't his idea of sexy.

And yet it was. Every little thing that his mother did to him was beyond his expectations. He felt a cold rush fill his body as soon as her lips withdrew from his horn, leaving him utterly defenseless from the cold air. He braced his hooves into the ground as he whispered out by accident.

"Mom."

Velvet smiled, realizing that her plan to cause her son to succumbent to her wish and his own sexual desires worked in full form. Grabbing his horn once more, she roughly glided her tongue from the base of his horn to the tip of it's filed form.

"Mom, it's too much."

"Velvet..." She moaned into his horn, her breath gently blanketing his forehead with it's warmth. "This night, you shall call me by that name and no other."

Shining lost the battle for his escape. This was a different feeling he experienced from when he and Pearl were exploring each other. His situation had grown from an escapable one to one where withdrawal was impossible. His mother pleased him in ways that he couldn't possibly fathom within his lifetime. His initial plan was a failure, and now there was only his desire to be satisfied.

"Say my name, Shining Armor."

"Ahhh *gasp* Velvet."

Velvet positioned her mouth over her son's horn as he blushed profusely, thinking about the pleasurable torture that she is providing. With a grin on her face, she commends her son on following her instruction. "Good boy. Now here's your reward"

Shining moaned loudly as his mother's lips encircled the tip of his horn as he felt the clandestine itch to mount Velvet at a moment's notice. His stallionhood below him filled with the rushing blood of his body, enlarging his mass with each moment she dipped her head onto his horn. As she settled down, she swirled her tongue around the inner crevices of the spiral canyons that surrounded his horn. His magical glow began to fill her mouth with an otherworldly heat as he bucked down.

"Yes... Velvet please... harder." He whispered as he felt his stallionhood twitch below him, his pent-up frustration getting the better of him.

Velvet saw the state in which her son was reduced to and she couldn't possibly hope to leave him so helpless. But at the same time, her being selfless was taking a devastating toll on her as her marehood ached mercilessly. The burning was too much for it to go unchecked. Shining saw that his mother was suffering even worse than he was at the moment and started to push himself forward, but Velvet didn't allow him. She didn't want him to mount her...

...not yet.

*BANG*

A loud battering noise crashed against the door, shocking both Shining and Velvet out of their sex-crazed state. Both jumped to the foyer floor and waited with their horns at the ready.

*BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG*

A series of bangs later and the door grows silent. Shining and Velvet still have their horns aimed at the door as they tried to be cautious in not letting their guard down. Minutes have gone by and after no answer, they relax and take a deep breath as they both comment on what happened.

"What the hell was that all about?" Shining asked as he rolled his eyes.

"Like I know and like I care." Velvet answered as she turned her attention to the stallion next to her. "Now where were we?

*CRASH*

The locks on the door falter after the large arcane blast, swinging the front door wide open as small traces of wood fly across the room. Some of them hitting the well-timed magenta bubble shield that Shining had cast upon hearing the sound of blast. As the door swings wide open, the figure of the intruder is revealed.

"SHINING ARMOR!!!!"
"SHINING ARMOR!!!!"
"SHINING ARMOR!!!!"

An extremely loud voice that resembled that of a royal presence filled the halls of the home, rattling most of the pictures off of the walls and the furniture clanked and clattered as the home shook with the demonic, tri-toned voice. As the small quake comes to an end, the only thing that stood out was the pink figure that stood in the doorway. As the figure walked in the home slowly, it's wings unfurled and spread across the room as the figure revealed itself. It was a mare with a large pair of wings, a horn atop of her head, a pink coat of fur, a cutie mark of a crystallized heart, her mane was a disheveled mess of blonde, pink and violet wrapped loosely in a light blue ribbon. Amora had entered the home, and she was far from the cheerful state that she was normally in.

"Shining Armor, come to me now!"

"Step off, slut! He's my ticket for the season." Velvet exclaimed, stepping in front of a confused, and still slightly aroused, Shining Armor.

"You can't have him! He is forbidden to you!" Amora screamed loudly.

"I gave birth to him. I fed him. I raised him. I own him. He's mine. He was born mine and now he will stay mine!" Velvet crossed in between her son and the irrational alacorn mare.

As the verbal assault took place in front of him, Shining couldn't help but to notice the strong and ever present musk that filled the air. It twisted his mind as it filled his nostrils with the scent of arousal. His hormones raged on as he stood behind his mother, panting like a pony in an endless desert. He felt thirsty as he stared into the flank of his mother, watching her tail sway from side to side as she argued.

"I can't allow this to happen! Shining, come with me! You're staying with me tonight!" Amora instructed.

"And just who the hell are you, walking into a pony's home and demanding instruction from their children!?" Velvet interjected.

As Shining stared at the base of his mother's tail, she dripped onto the floor below. Shining's eyes locked onto the developing puddle of liquid as he felt his stallionhood fill once more. His pants increased in pace as he remained fixated on the puddle of the estrus juice that emitted the musky odor. He felt himself as he twitched in longing of filling a mare full of his seed. And at the moment, there was only one mare that presented herself, albeit not intentionally, to him. His lips quivered as his throat ran dry, his eyes lost all sense of their original gleam and turned cold as he inched his muzzle to the puddle that sat between his mother's hind legs. As he takes a sharp inhale of the scent that continued to plague him, his mind fluttered to an abyss unknown. Without hesitation, he lunged his tongue for the source of the well that would quench his thirst.

Amora and Velvet stopped their arguing long enough to realize what Shining had done. Amora could feel the warmth of her body run cold as she watched the stallion she long adored feast upon the nethers of his own mother.

"Shining... why?" Amora asked, pain seeping into her voice.

"AAH! Aegnus!" Velvet screamed as her son invaded her with his tongue, licking her clean of the creamy fluids that leaked from within her.

"Shining. Please. Stop. You don't-"

"It's not a matter of choosing my dear, it's a matter of what's easier to access. Though I do pity you." Velvet whinnied as she felt her son fill her with his tongue, pressing against her inner-walls. Her face flushed red as her son continued to bathe her with his pink sponge.

Amora could only stare at what was going on in front of her. In one realm of her mind, she was completely devastated. But in the other realm of her mind, the realm that had sway at this time, saw it for what it was. It was unbridled, pure unadulterated lust taking place between a stallion and a mare, regardless of relation. And it was turning her on. But what Velvet did next didn't make things any easier for the third wheel.

Amora watched as Velvet magically pulled against the mane of her son and drag him to her lips as they exchanged their fluids. Velvet was experiencing, for the first time, the taste of her son's saliva as well as a mix of her secretions. A deadly mixture of her essence and his own lubricant drove her into madness as she licked Shining's lip, causing him to fell his jaw and crush her lips into his. Their muzzles continued to open and close, hiding and revealing the oral exchange that took place. As Velvet and Shining separated themselves from one another, their lips were bridged by a tiny strand of spittle. Velvet moaned softly as she stared at her son.

"Shining... please... what you did with her... please... do it to me." Amora begged as she felt the burning sensation inside of her own passage.

Velvet smiled as she walked up to the begging mare and grabbed her head. "Do you wish to know what he tastes like?"

Amora nodded her head as she lunged to him, only to be pulled back by Velvet. Velvet gave her an evil smile as she held the helpless mare in her hooves. Amora huffed in frustration as she was held back from the object of her desire. But what happened next surprised her the most.

Velvet inched her lips into the lips of the anxious pink mare, causing Amora's eyes to launch open as she tastes the wild assortment of flavors on the mature mare's tongue. The taste of her beloved Shining stuck to her taste buds as well as an unfamiliar element. The mixture of Velvet's love juice sloshed around as she continued to attack Amora's tongue with hers. The pink alacorn mare closed her eyes and returned the kiss, deepening herself into Velvet's maw as she reached back with her own hoof and caressed her sore mound. Shining, who watched the two mares as they assaulted each other, couldn't help but to reach down and stroke himself, wanting to find an immediate release. As he started stroking, Velvet removed her lips from play as she turned to her horny stallion.

"Oh you poor thing. Do you want some help with that?" Velvet chuckled at her son's feeble attempt to please himself. She ignited her horn and cast a magenta ring around the bouncing stallionhood of Shining Armor while he motioned his hoof up and down. Amora ran over to him and kneeled as she cast her own magic. A soft blue aura engulfed the hoof that Shining used to please himself with and also the hoof that he would use in alternative. As he stood there helpless, Amora laughed at his struggle.

"You didn't think that you were going to get off without our permission, did you?" Amora whispered to him as he strained to get free of the magical clasps that Amora placed him in. Velvet walked around the two as she approached Shining Armor from behind. Leaping on top of him, Velvet teased his horn once more as Shining moaned his mothers name.

"Ahhh Velvet! Deeper!"

Amora looked at the stallion and his mother, puzzled at the erotic display that they produced. Tilting her head, she asked Velvet what was going. "Hey, how do you make Shiny act like that?"

Velvet removed her tongue from the base of his horn and rubbed her hoof across it as she gave her answer. "Well haven't you heard of the newest sensation sweeping the nation? Hornjobs are all the rage in the unicorn community, just like preening is to a pegasus."

Amora still looked on bewildered as to what she was talking about. "...say-unicorn-wha?"

"Haaa..." Shining opened his mouth in response to Amora's offbeat question.

"Oh my, you're being really forward today." Velvet says as she continues to jerk his horn with her hoof. "Shining dear, why don't you show our guest here what you've learned tonight."

Without word or reservation, he jumped to the mare that held him down, licking the tip of her horn.

"AAH!!!" Amora squeaks in shock as he unwittingly disabled her spell.

"I know, amazing isn't it?" Velvet cosigns as she starts to suckle on the phallic obstacle.

Shining imitates the moments that his mother performed on him as he begins to fellate the horn of the alacorn mare. Shining jerks his hips as Velvet releases his horn from her lips in an audible pop.

"If you can't bring her to ruin, then I'll suppose that you'll be just fine the way you are." Velvet scorned her son, wanting him to give her the same treatment that he's receiving. His eyes dart back up to his mother as she looks below to him. "Whatever you do to her, I do to you. Fair?"

Shining took her deal in stride as he rapidly licked the ridges of Amora's horn, sending miniature earthquakes into the pink mare's system. Her eyes roll to the back of her head as she gasps in admiration of the stallion's effort. He removes his tongue from the side of her horn and adjusts himself to the end of the horn, flicking his tongue at the tip before kissing it softly.

"No fair! AAAAAHHHH!!!" Amora screams as her horn lights up brightly and dispels a magical surge that rose into the air before it solidified into a blue gummy substance, landing in his hair and hers. She pants hard as the initial impact of her premature orgasm crushes her under it's weight. Her voice is temporarily brought to a tremolo before she descends back into the room that contained the three ponies.

"You didn't last very long now did you?" Velvet chuckled.

"Shut up. I haven't came all day. And it was my first time receiving that kind of treatment." Amora gritted through her teeth as she recovered from her first-ever horgasm.

As Amora recovered, she saw the bobbing log of Shining's thick stallionhood swing in front of her face. Shining still received service from Velvet as she took in as much of his horn as she could. As each time she drew back from the spire, his cock twitched to the point where he started to hit his own stomach. Amora grew mesmerized by the length and girth of her boyfriend as she watched him beat into his stomach once more. Unable to hold her hormones in check, she reached a hoof for his eager stallionhood and took as much as she could in her mouth.

Shining gasped as he received pleasure from both his horn as well as his throbbing cock. Throaty grunts left his lips as he clenched onto the mare that pleasured him below as his mind started to go white. In an instant he thought of the powerful horgasm that Amora had undergone and wondered how did it feel? Little did he know that he would soon find out as his head arched back, slinging his mother off of him as he started to ruthlessly drive his cock deeper into Amora's hungry throat.

Amora, though not experienced with the act of intercourse, was very skilled in the art of fellatio. She knew how to take a large slab of meat and take it as far as it could possibly go without choking. She also had a few other guards that she felt attached to in previous generations, but she could never bring herself to let go of the one thing that she kept to the stallion that she would choose to marry. And over the past ninety-four years, she had realized that the one stallion that she would end up falling in love with would be the one that she would share herself with. Though there have been many suitors that called her name, she has answered none.

But that didn't stop them from taking advantage of her kindhearted nature. Often at times, she would find herself in the hooves of a noble that sought a simple pleasure from her, a pleasure that she could not provide so easily. So in it's place, they violated her in many ways. Some resorted to hoofjobs, as others were more physical with their advances, going as far as forcing her to take their lengths (no matter how ungenerous they proved themselves to be) down her throat. And throughout those times, she had learned how to take it all in without restraint.

This was why she left the 'safety' of the palace grounds. She chose not to victimize herself by living in the same quarters as the pompous, bourgeoisie stallions that sought to fill her with their foals and become nothing more than their first ex-wife. And as long as Blueblood held sway in the courts of the rich and privileged, there would be no peace for her. Thus after many years of hiding her presence from the suitors, who did nothing but violate her for their personal enjoyment, she often found her seasons in the company of her mahogany bed post. Penetration was reserved for her first...

...though tonight, she chose who that stallion would be.

And for the first time in many, many years, she surrendered the wet corridors of her mouth to the stallionhood of another. This time, it was of her own consent, her own choosing. And to her, it felt good to be able to take the massive length of Shining Armor without repercussions. As Shining held her down against the base of his still-throbbing erection, Amora closed her eyes as she proudly took him on, caressing his shaft with her tongue as he became his personal sex toy.

Meanwhile up above, Velvet circled his brightly-glowing horn with her own magic. Her aura formed a O-shaped ring that expanded and compressed itself as it traversed up and down the length of Shining's horn. Velvet continued to ravage his senses with her magic as she sat on her hoof, grinding her drooling clit among it. It was far too long since she was last attended to, and she wanted to be pleased. Shining was experiencing an orgasm of his own and Amora already endured a climax, though short in span.

"VELVET! AMORA! HERE I COME!!!"

Shining screamed as he experienced his first ever horngasm. His mind was filled with white, ethereal visions of the stars above as he transcended into another experience. Shining's stallionhood flared immensely in the throat of Amora as she braced for the inevitable outcome. But for the first time of her life, she did what she thought to be unthinkable as his pulsing girth proved too much for her to take without respiratory problems. She withdrew herself from the beating stallion cock as ounces of snow-white streams of semen jettisoned from his vulnerable form. Though failing to take his entire length as well as his load simultaneously, she opted her face as tribute to him. Stream after stream of his thick hot load spurted onto her face as she smiled in awe of the amazingly fertile stallion.

"He is his father's son." Velvet muttered to herself as she sped up her grinding process. And as she continued to grind her hoof against her wet pussy, Amora walked over to her as smiled.

"Would you like to know how your son tastes like?"

Velvet instantly teleported to the pink mare, meeting her halfway as she licked off every ounce of her son's seed off of her face. Amora blushed at the mare's gluttonous indulgence. Velvet took all of her son's spunk off of the face of Amora and into her mouth, swishing it around as she savored the tangy taste of his loins.

"Does it tastes good?" Amora asks as she watches the light-grey mare enjoy herself.

Velvet crushed Amora's lips into hers as she exchanged the mixture of her own saliva and her son's cum into Amora's mouth. The two sloppily traded their fluids, causing some of the mixture to leak onto the floor below. As they carried on with their shared kiss, Shining walks up behind his mother and greedily looks at the plot that dared to tease him with it's musk. Without warning, Shining leapt to his hind legs and onto his mother's back, mounting her as his cock grew back into it's optimal size.

"Shining. what are yo- AHHH! ♥~"

There was no wait as he passionately thrusted his hips into his mother, impaling her drenched lips with his quivering spear. Her eyes shot open and her mouth hung wide as the sudden penetration swept her senses off into a far-away land. With each thrust, she cried out in agonizing silence as she felt the invading length of her son fill her. For the first time in months, she experienced intercourse, and this time her darkest fantasy was beyond the point of realization.

"Harder, Shining Armor! Harder!" Amora urged on as she tried to match his pace with her hoof against the mound. Velvet eyes rolled back as she pounded herself into the stallion behind her. Each time he drew back, she fell forward to get the most out of his pulls. As he exited, she felt every ridge and vein slide across her inner-walls as she dreaded his farewell. She hugged his every inch as his cock left from within her. It didn't take long for her body to realize that with every farewell, the greeting became even better than the last. As he entered into her, she pushed her hips into him, getting the most from her son. His length rudely invaded her passage as she pushed against him. She shifted herself forward as she urged Amora to come closer to her.

Amora accepts her invitation as she quickly trots over to the lust-drowned mare in front of her. As she settled down, Amora laid on her back, opened her hind legs and pressed her hoof against herself as she moaned loudly. Velvet, seeing that it was unfair to leave the mare out of the fun, opted to bend herself down to feast upon the pink swollen lips of the alacorn mare. Shining, in seeing that his mother started to treat herself to the loudly moaning Amora, forced himself to grinding his meat against the inside-walls of his mother's slopping pussy. He sped up his thrusts as Velvet did all she could in order to concentrate on the marehood of the teenage mare before her.

"Ohhh myyy... Mrs. Velvet! ♥~"

Velvet's tongue worked against the winking set of lips that oozed out creamy marecum. Amora cringed and contorted her body as she ushered the grey mare to go deeper. Velvet agreed and spread apart her winking lips as her tongue dug into the teen's untainted pussy. Her pink interior shone brightly in comparison to the flesh that covered it as Velvet sank her muzzle into the open pair of lips, prodding her gently. As she pulled out from the sweltering passageway, her lips and snout was covered in the musky liquid of her female companion. Amora continued to work her hoof against her clit, even faster now that she saw that Velvet would soon approach her long-awaited orgasm.

"Aegnus! I'm cum-OOOOOHH!!! ♥~"

Velvet collapsed under her own weight as the orgasm proved too powerful for her to withstand. Her juices coated her son's cream-covered battering ram. Velvet held her pussy as she squirted more of her fluids onto the floor and against the hooves of her son. It also didn't help her that her previous orgasms were staved off due to various circumstances. Shining trotted over the body of his fully-satisfied mother and to the helpless, masturbating teenage mare. Straddling her vulnerable form, he settled himself down onto her. His cream and cum coated cock stabbed into her enclosed cavern.

"Shining..." Amora pleaded as she looked up to the stallion that she would surrender herself to. Various visions of her prior affairs filled her mind as he adjusted himself against her entrance. She saw the numerous faces of all of the stallions that assaulted her and anxiously shook as he was mere inches from taking what she held dear to her, to what she wanted to surrender to him. But she would not want him to rid her of her maidenhead until she had faced the inner demons that haunted her memory. She just wanted to feel like she was special and not some doll. She wanted to be loved.

"Are you ready Amora?"

"NO! Wait..."

Shining paused as he watched the mare below him shed tears. He scolded himself for being so abrupt with his advances that he made her feel uncomfortable. He addressed her on the issue.

"Did I do something wrong?"

Amora did what she could to hold back the rest of her tears as she looked deeply into the stallion's eyes. "...No. But please... when we do this... just know that I do this only for the stallion that I love."

"I understand." Shining began. "And you've been there when I was at my best and when I went through my worst. Throughout everything, you stood there supporting me. And even though you got on my nerves at first, I didn't really get to see the true you. Or maybe I was just to blind to see the real you."

Amora smiled. "But you see me as who I am, right?"

Shining shook his head as he took the hooves of the pink mare. "No. I don't just see you for who you are, but I also accept it. No matter the circumstances."

"...Cadance."

"What?" Shining asked as he looked at her confused.

"Call me Cadance. I don't want to be known as Amora with you. I know I can trust you. I can depend on you. And now that you're a guard, I know that we can be there for each other." She slid one of her hooves from his grasp and placed it against his face. "So take me, Cadance, as I am."

"I swear." He whispered to her as she caressed the features of his face. To her, he looked even more handsome than the day they first met. And she finally placed everything about him in standing of the times that she was abused and taken advantage of, the times she was wrongfully violated. They all resembled his good deeds, the times they shared together. It became her light in the life that she dreaded to live, and now it was hers to claim.

"Make the first stroke brief, and work slow. Please do be gentle." She instructed as she whispered, the weight of her words barely escaping her throat. She was more than scared, she was utterly terrified at the intimidating figure that hovered above her body, that was about to enter into her. But it was okay, because he was a gentle and kindhearted as she was. She was more than happy to know that she would experience her first with a stallion who loved her as who she was and not for her title.

He was pure of heart.

"Owie♥~"

"I'm sorry, did I hurt you?" Shining stopped himself as he looked at the wincing mare. She gritted her teeth as she looked into his eyes. Her breathing had grown to a laboring pace. He instantly pulled away to see what damaged he had caused, and to his surprise...

"Blood? Am-"

"Cadance. And yes. You are the first and only stallion to receive this from me." She spoke as the sting of his initial entry ate away at her pleasure.

"Then I guess I should take it slow." Shining returned as he lightly guided his hips into hers.

"Yes. I would like that. ♥~"

His motions were slow, yet subtle. He eased his way inside as he strained at the tightness of her walls closing in around him. Her silent cries were stifled with her hoof embedded between her teeth. His gasps whispers throughout the home. His stallionhood, half-way filling her, slowly withdrew from inside of her. His cock exited her desperate embrace as she locked her hindlegs around him, preventing his full retreat.

"Ahhh... Tight.♥~" Shining grunts.

"Mnnn-yeah. ♥~" Cadance moans, taking pleasure in knowing that she is to his liking.

He speeds up his pace slightly to get her accustomed to the feel of her walls stretching around his length. Shining, kisses her softly on her neck as she squirms in response to his sensual touch. Her world, once clouded with uncertainty, had cleared into the focus of the stallion who claimed her maidenhead. Wrapping her hooves around his neck, she kisses him on the lips with a light peck before issuing her next order.

"Deeper. ♥~"

He fulfills her request as he slides his hips into hers, not stopping until their regions finally kiss for the first time. He pushes deeply into her, hitting against her womb. This gains a response from the teen mare.

"Ahh! Yes! ♥~"

His hips rock back and forth in a slow-to-moderate pace as he finds a suitable rhythm that they both could enjoy. A rhythm that wasn't too fast in which she wasn't prepared for, causing her discomfort. Nor would it be too slow, that he would lose interest in, causing him to go flaccid. As her moist walls clamped around him, he panted softly as he stared into the mare's eyes. She stared back at him, not wanting the moment to end.

"Mmmmn. Cadance. ♥~"

Hearing him call her name the way he did, the way he falsettoed to the high end of his tessitura, it brought joy to her, though not as much as it brought a tingling down her spine.

"Say my name again. ♥~" Cadance crooned, wishing to hear her name depart from his lips again.

"Cadance! ♥~" Shining answered.

"Faster! ♥~" She urged him, pressing her hind legs against his plot to encourage him to go faster.

"Cadance! ♥~" He speeds up his tempo yet again as she squeaks in approval. Her lips part as her soft pants grow into loud ones.

"Louder!!! ♥~" She yells into his ears as he sinks his body against hers, passionately driving his length into her. Her forelegs and her wings extend outward and around Shining's torso.

"Cadance!!! ♥~" He speeds up his strokes again, this time to a fevered pace. Her gasps and grunts synthesizes with hers, creating a two-part harmony.

The two teens carelessly crash into each other, their session of love-making now turned into something primitive. Her cries gain in volume as she shoves himself forcefully into her. His cock begins to twitch once again as he pulls and pushes himself inside of her, this time as he grinds into her in a circular motion. His tongue falls from within his mouth and follows the object of his desire. His eyes fall to the bouncing horn that bobbled in front of him.

His tongue presses against the spiral ridges of her horn, cleaning every valley that it rode across. Her mind wanders to a dreamscape of where she is surrounded by a mixture of celestial objects. Her pussy drenches the floor beneath them as she starts to feel an oncoming orgasm. But this one was far different from the ones that she experienced throughout all of her years.

This was the first orgasm she shared with a stallion. This was the pinnacle of her desire. She searched high mountains and low valleys in order to experience this one moment. Now it was finally coming true.

"Shining..."

"I can't hold back anymore! I have to cum!" He states as he frantically drives himself into his climax.

"Do it! Let it all go! Suffer with me!" She commands as her grip on him gets tighter. Her wings start to close in on the two as he looks at her, ready to burst.

"Cadance!" He calls out as his tip flares inside of her.

"Fill me Shining Armor! Please!" As she feels the energy surging throughout her body, shutting down most of her thoughts. The only thought remaining was that of him.

"CADANCE! ♥~" His entire body pulses as he tenses up all over.

"SHINING! ♥~" Her grip grows tighter as her body stiffens around him.

"HERE!!! ♥~" His release is imminent, there is no turning back.

"NOW!!! ♥~" Her climax has surfaced, the line has been crossed.

"~♥♥♥ AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!! ♥♥♥~"

Their worlds fade into white.

The three bodies of Shining Armor, Cadance and Velvet lies dormant on the floor as the three ponies finish their erotic ordeal. Shining remained on top of Cadance, who still had her wings wrapped around the young guard who took her virginity. Velvet lied directly in front of the passed out couple as she too remained unconscious. The soft sounds of snoring filled the home as the three rested from their sex-craved, lust-induced three-way. The door, not completely open, remained cracked throughout the entire act. Which left the neighbors around the area to hear of everything that transpired.

Upstairs
Twilight lied in her bed, her eyes wide open as she heard everything that happened. There were only two words that filled the blank void of her mind.

Ho-

Across The Street
A local mare still masturbating on the kitchen table found herself staring at the emptiness of her home as she heard the screams of two lucky mares and a stallion getting their rocks off.

-lee-

A Block from the House
A personal envoy of the Crown Prince, Blueblood, stops dead in his tracks as he recognizes the voice of the fair Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. Furthermore, he remembered that she was remain a virgin under Blueblood's orders. And that scream just signaled that his mission had come up to be nothing more than a failure.

-shit! Well I'm fucked in the arse.

Author's Note

When I meant a TL;DR, I meant it.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter.

ACT 1: Hail Mary

79 years ago...
Canterlot Castle
Guest Dining Hall

"And if you ever need anything, Sir Prince, please do feel free to notify me."

"Why thank you Sir Stinking Rich. But I do believe that you have proved yourself more than useful already. Please feel free to indulge in the pleasantries that my servant have to offer. Waitress!"

And with the sound of two clops coming from Blueblood's hooves, he summoned a grey mare, sporting a bob in her black mane, that held a large steaming platter of sauteed dandelions, hay steak, carrot-cream soup and steamed broccoli. The mare wore a black outfit that consisted of long-stockings, black top with white accents, a small white apron and a black skirt that barely covered her haunches. She shook in fear as she slowly placed the platter before the peach-colored stallion with a blonde mane. Rich looked at the platter with keenness as his mouth watered at the sight of the food placed before him.

"This smell's wondrous! My compliments to the chef." Rich proclaimed as he reached for his apron.

"Wait a moment. You intend to place that upon yourself using your own hooves? Waitress, dress him!" Blueblood commanded as the nervous mare flapped the apron open and tied it upon the neck of the indulging stallion.

"Will that be all, my liege?" She asks as she starts to back away slowly, fearing what he would say next.

"No." The prince retorted bluntly. "I believe that I am quite weary, as our guest would be at the moment. Enthrall us, if you would."

"Sir prince, what would you have me do to captivate the fancies of you and your guest?"

"...Provide us with a show."

The mare gasped as she realized what he requested her to do before him and the visitor. "But-"

"A show, you harlot! Do not flout my orders!" Blueblood scolds the brooding mare.

"...As you wish, your excellency."

"Do you have anything else to say?" The prince berated the mare as tears started to form in the corners of her eyes.

"...Thank you... for allowing my... useless body to be of service to you."

"Yes, now get on with it. We haven't all night for your hesitance." Blueblood waved her off with his hoof.

As the guest dined on the food that sat in front of him, Blueblood enjoyed his visual feast as the maid bent away from him. She kneeled to the floor laying prostrate before the well-placed picture of her prince upon the wall. Her tail shifted to the side, revealing everything that she had to the two stallions.

"Your highness, I offer to you my lips. Command them to do as you please." She says as she tries to hide her tears from her master. Her plot raised high into the air, giving him a better look at the exposed marehood.

"Part them." Blueblood requests coldly. The mare obeys her master and places both of her front hooves on each side of her sacred gates, pulling them apart to reveal the sharply contrasting pink walls that hid within. Rich as he finishes his food, stares at the mare in awe as she holds herself open.

"Great Scotch, I've never seen something like this before. So lewd, so indecent." He gawks at the presented marehood before him.

"Yes and she has quite a pungent odor as well. Filthy animal." Blueblood snickers as he rises from his seat and walked over to the maid. "She acts like a dog in heat. Do you care to ask, servant?"

The mare closed her eyes as she tried to get it over with as quickly as she could. "Would... you care to... have desert?"

Rich enthusiastically left his seat and ran over to her side, his stallionhood poking itself out from the comfort of it's sheath. He licked his lips as the mare stifled her sobs as best as she could. Her eyes remained shut as she braced herself for what was to come. The unfair prince took in much jubilation in her despair as he held the stallion back from mounting her.

"Now now, I have something far better than this whorse-of-a-mare, specifically just for your liking." He smirked.

Impatient, Rich asked his prince on the matter of what would he like better than to thrust himself inside of the obedient mare. "But sire, what would suffice other than the gift of me plundering this mare bowing before us?"

"I always want the best for my dear subjects. And now that my aunt is out of town on some Faust-forsaken peace talks with the Griffon Kingdom, I can see no other opportunity to give this to you." Blueblood states as he pounces on the mare, filling her with his well-endowed length, causing the other stallion to bite his lip in jealousy.

"And that would be?"

"...I will arrange for you to become a suitor to none other than my dear cousin, Mi Amore Cadenza."

"I beg your pardon, sire?" Rich questions as he bears a look of astonishment, not sure if he had hear the words that left the prince's mouth correctly.

"Yes. And you will have the free reign to do as you please to her, but there is one condition..."

"It being?" Rich inquired as he watched his prince thrust his hips into the mare that started to sob lightly, trying to cover her face.

"You would have no access to her maidenhead. That will be reserved especially for me and me only. If it is any other, then she would prove difficult to deal with." He stated as he grunted into the mane of the helpless mare below him.

"So... you want me to-"

"Abuse her, take advantage of her, defile her, break her will so that I may stand above her defaced form victorious. She's a thorn in my side and she must be punished." The princes speed increases with his growing rage.

"May I ask, sire?"

"Every time I seek to take an orphanage for my, excuse me, personal instruction, she objects to my every motion on the matter and my aunt sustains her objections. I cannot let her continue to get away with this. I've already rid myself of the four stallions that proved to be too close to her, and one of them was a commoner. But as far as keeping her in her crushed state, it's rather difficult to do alone."

"So you want to crush her will by sending in as many suitors as you can and ultimately destroying what little spirits that she has left?" Rich questioned as the sound of the two ponies hips clopping against each other filled the large room.

"Precisely." Blueblood spoke before his hips thrusted into the mare one final time, filling her with his seed. He looks down to her weeping form and wears a grin. He bowed down to her ear as she cried onto the floor and whispered to her and making sure that Rich could hear him. "Just like this one."

He pulled out of the mare and his semen spilled across the marble floor as he withdrew. He straightens out his mane and gestures to the maid on the floor. "Now clean that up. Your tongue is as good as any mop."

She obeys as she openly weeped. Her tongue pressed against the cold marble floor as she did her best to collect the puddles of the white ooze. Her body shook as she found herself humiliated even more so. Her tears became the soap that she used in order to clean her master's floor. Blueblood stood over her and watched as she cleaned up the mess. "Be grateful. It is not everyday that you experience the tastes of royalty."

Knowing the protocol that her disrespectful master established, she thanked him as she groveled at his hooves. "Thank you, thank you for showing me the ways of the crown. Thank you for your blessings as they now fill me with your promise."

"Hmph, you're barely even worthy of my royal scepter. Consider this meal as a token for your service."

Conceal. Suppress. Don't let them see you lose control.

I was so happy before my ascension.

My life was simple.

I lived in a small village of earth ponies.

They took care of me and made me smile.

They made me laugh and they loved me as who I was.

Everything was just fine...

...until she came.

Prisma was only the opening act to my future despair.

She stole the love of everypony she came in contact with.

And when I stopped her and forced her to change her ways, her magic encircled me and sent me to an unknown plane.

All saw was the astral plane...

...or what some would call the Plains of Judgement...

...where a pony's soul would go as they ascended into the heavens above or descended to the flames below.

But my reason for being there was completely different as I saw the one being that I didn't expect to see.

Princess Celestia stood directly in front of me.

Her wings were so pretty, her mane flowed despite the lack of a breeze, and her smile was as beautiful as I imagined it to be.

"Congratulations, Cadance Fairweather. You've have stood up to the face of adversity and proved that love would triumph over all."

Those were the words I heard before the world around me started to turn white.

"And now, you have been chosen to become the guardian of the sole element you embody within your heart."

When I woke up, I had both a crown and a horn on my head.

Suddenly, everypony is calling me princess.

Stress became a big part of my seemingly unending adolescent life.

But Celestia came to me and told me that everything was going to be okay.

Since then she took me in as her niece, and treated me as if I was her only daughter.

A little less than a decade passes and now there was a unicorn that she proclaimed as her nephew.

Sure he seemed nice enough, but there was something that didn't sit well with me.

His exterior was warm and friendly, fond of being a student to my aunt Celestia...

...but his heart was completely dark, devoid of compassion and love.

There was no love inside of him.

A year passes by and now I have this one guard I have a crush on.

He's really nice, and sweet...

...and he actually sees me for who I am, and not for the title I wear.

He and I shared our first kiss together.

I was so excited when he suddenly pressed his lips against mine and told me that he would protect me.

But sadly it was before he went off to the west to stave off the griffon invasion.

He wrote letters to me with every chance he got.

Then suddenly the letters stopped coming.

And months later, I had learned that he had died not to long ago.

Conceal. Suppress. Don't let them see you lose control.

Three years after his death, I fell in love once again.

This time, it was with the stallion who was proclaimed as the champion of Equestria.

His skill with a blade had gone unmatched throughout the land.

He was also a strong flyer.

And despite the legends of his brutality on the field, he proved himself to be a generous, warmhearted and kind individual...

...he was my friend.

And for the longest time, he protected me no matter the cost.

One day I offered to confess my love to him.

It was all set up.

I summoned him to the palace and hoped that he would show.

The meal was prepared me, and I was so nervous because it was my first time cooking without the aid of my servants.

He never came.

And then the next morning, they found his body bloodily crucified in the town square.

Conceal. Suppress. Don't let them see you lose control.

Thee more years later, I found another that stole my heart.

Apparently I haven't learned to stay away from guards.

But this time, he was a new recruit.

He was an aspiring soldier that sought to defend his country.

He was young, he was handsome, and he was very honest.

He also stayed true to what was in his heart.

And his heart led him to me.

The nights we would spend under the stars were some of the best nights of my life.

He held me in his hooves as he told me some of the most romantic things.

And the best thing about it was that he meant every word of it.

We kissed every time we met and we nuzzled each other for every moment we were separated.

But as time progressed, Blueblood grew jealous of his advances.

So he sent him to the front lines of the next battle.

They found him on the field severely wounded.

I flew to the place that they held him for his care and stood by his side.

He finally confessed his love for me...

...or he could have as he took one breath and left me in pieces by his bedside.

Conceal. Suppress. Don't let them see you lose control.

I've practically sworn off of guards at this point.

All they do is go out, fight, come back hurt, say they love me and mean it, go out, fight, and die.

My heart has hardened so much over the past nine years I've been courting.

I don't think I'll ever open myself to another...

...or so I thought.

One night I found a young colt, around my enduring age of sixteen, raiding my jewelry stand for objects to sell.

As a first resort, I hit him in the head with a large chest that sat on the other side of my bedroom.

As I stood over him, I saw the fear in his eyes.

I tried to ask him for his name, but he kept motioning his hooves instead of speaking.

It had hit me that he was actually deaf.

So I spared him and gave him something that would fetch a fairly decent price at the market.

A week later, I found him outside of my window.

I wrote on a parchment why would he come back.

He just simply pointed to me and smiled.

Reluctantly, I let him inside of my room.

Time passes and I still don't know how he manages to find himself at my window.

But he shows up every night now.

He hasn't stopped seeing me, nor does he want to.

And to be honest, I didn't want him to stop either.

I wanted him to stay with me, because he made me feel comfortable.

He made me feel secure, as he held me in his hooves on my bed.

He touched me like no other that night.

I felt so different from the other times that I was in a relationship.

And where the others kissed me, he dared to go even further.

He pleased me in more ways than one, his touch was sensual, erotic, but also endearing and romantic.

He gave me intimacy, and I loved him strongly for it.

We even slept in the bed together...

...which turned out to be my biggest mistake.

The guards arrested him on the account of trespassing on palace grounds.

I argued to my aunt that he was not a threat...

...but somehow Blueblood convinced her, as well as the other guards in charge, that he was a major breach in the palace security.

My argument fell like a tree would to the blade of an axe.

And the blade of an axe was the last thing he saw.

Conceal... Suppress... Don't let them see you cry...

I was given a suitor.

At first he seemed nice and everything...

...but he really wanted to take advantage of me.

Not long after I met him, as my aunt was out of the city, he forced himself upon me.

He violated me, he assaulted me.

He even tried to rape me.

And every suitor since him has done nothing but the same...

...then some of the nobles took the opportunity to blackmail me for services.

That's when I learned that I could never give my heart to nopony...

...but ninety-eight years after my ascension.

I finally found the one who rescued me from my lofty prison.

Shining Armor...

...And did I mention that I had a thing for guards?

~Mi Amore Cadenza (Cadance)

Present Day...
Canterlot Castle
Royal Signing Room of H.R.M. Prince Blueblood

"Your excellency... erm... maybe later"

Guardspony Sergeant Phalanx pulls the door closed on a busy Prince Blueblood. As he pulls the door closed, a golden magical aura surround the door, granting him passage.

"Well I'm already disturbed, so you might as well continue with your report." Blueblood spoke as he held a pink pegasus mare with a red mane in his lap. She eagerly rises and falls onto him, flapping her wings wildly. Her lustful moans sound throughout the small office as she pleads him to go faster.

"Faster, my prince! I long for your thick hot creamy load to fill my hungry little pussy!"

"And there's an example of the many improvement in today's society; more open-minded mares who know how to take a cock and talk dirty." Blueblood comments as the mare bounces up and down on his rock-hard erection. Phalanx, who can't but to watch, starts to feel himself grow as the mare's ass jiggles each time she lands.

"Please... Both of you take me! Please!" She screams as she feels another orgasm approaching.

Phalanx shakes his head in disbelief. "So this is what a mare's state of mind is reduced to when she undergoes estrus?"

"Don't complain about it. Just take it as it is. And from what I'm seeing, you don't find anything wrong with this illicit display." Blueblood states as he takes notice of the growing erection of the guard that stood in front of his desk.

Phalanx blushes as he trails the focus of his prince's eyes and begins to cover himself with his hind leg. "It is nothing more than an involuntary response, sir."

"Oh don't be ludicrous. I see the lust in your eyes. You're fixated on the mare's ass. It's perfectly fine to want to join in. And since she's feeling adventurous, I say that we should accommodate her." Blueblood argued as he removed the mare that sat in his lap.

"Your highness is far too gracious. Please let me suck your thick cock, so you can stay hard for my aching pussy."

"Atta girl! Daddy wants Becky!" Blueblood commemorates her for her enthusiasm of wanting to please and be pleased. She drops to the cunny-juice covered cock swaying from side to side and locks her lips on him, tasting herself as she engulfs most of his stallionhood. As she continues to suckle on him, trying to milk him for his spunk, she seductively waves her plot in the air at the direction of Phalanx. As her plot moves from side to side she flicks her tail under his nose, teasing him with the residue of her juices. His eyes roll to the back of his head as he relish in the musk that she emitted from her swollen marehood.

"Sir. I'm sorry to suddenly jump in like this, but I want to pound her hips into dust."

"Permission granted."

Phalanx wasted no time as he forced his own throbbing form into the quivering lips of the mare's moistened slit. Feeling the stallion behind her thrust into her so suddenly caused her to nearly lose her balance as she squirts her juices all over his girth, even getting some all over his swinging sack. Now she pivoted her neck as she took the prince head on, causing him to buck his hips into her muzzle.

"Oh this mare is amazing. I may even release myself here and now. Maids nowadays certainly know how to provide quality service." Blueblood admitted as he forced as much of his twitching cock into her throat.

"Her tightness is something of legend! She must be so repressed during her daily assignments." Phalanx states as he jackhammers his hips into her, grunting as the friction of her walls against his stallionhood builds into his climax.

The mare, knowing that her performance is enough to please the two stallions, mentally smiled as the prince tensed up as he sped up his thrusts. The guard behind her also felt his climax approach him. Her inner-depths begin to catch fire as she starts to loose her sanity. The only thing she wants is to be filled with cum. She longs to have the copious amounts of liquid fill her insides as she's reduced to nothing more than the royal cum rag. Her front hooves forces the prince further into her throat. Her wings shoot out as she feels the flare of Phalanx expands within her, sending her over the edge one again.

The two stallions grunt harshly as they both spurt their seed into the mare below as she greedily accepts the gifts of the two. She falls to the floor with a thud as her hooves give out. The amount of Phalanx's seed filling the womb of the mare sent her into shock, causing her entire body to go numb. Blueblood ejected himself from the mares mouth as she falls lifelessly to the floor of the office, wearing a smile on her face and a distant stare in her eyes. Her tongue stretched from the inside of her mouth to the carpet she lied on. Phalanx panted deeply as he tried to recover from the sweaty affair of mounting the mare.

"Another day, another mare cleansed of her accursed disease." Phalanx huffed, looking at the twitching body of the relieved mare below.

"Yes. Now I do believe you had something to say to me on your way in?" The prince asked as he resumed to his desk, leaving the mare on the floor as she relished in the mind-blowing orgasm.

"Ermm... well... It's about Princess Mi Amore Cadenza..." He stumbled as he inched towards the door.

"What of her? You aren't implying that she might have found a partner to clear her of her virginity." Blueblood asks as he sits at the desk, folding his hooves across his mouth.

"Well..."

"Because that's absolutely a riot! To hear that joke coming from you every year. Not to mention you make up a name on spot. We even go on this big manehunt just to find the supposed claimer of the fortune." Blueblood exclaims as he erupted into laughter.

"Uhh... sir-"

"And you try to make it seem as convincing as last time! Come on. Who's the poor sap we're going to be hunting for? Just for a laugh."

"Um... The address that I found her in was that of the Sparkle's residence. And if I'm not mistaken, checking into our files and matching the cutie mark descriptions, I have concluded that the name of the stallion in question is indeed... Sir Shining Armor Aegnus Sparkle of the Canterlot Royal Guard."

"..." Blueblood stops laughing as he gestures to the stallion to come closer to him. Phalanx obeys, stepping forward only once. Blueblood, not satisfied with the distance, waves his hoof for the guard to come closer. Phalanx reluctantly walks to the desk as he tries to distance himself away from the prince. Blueblood suddenly grabs the guard by the fur of his neck and pulls him across the table as he stares angrily into the eyes of the trembling guard.

"N-n-now... run... that name... by me... one last time." The furious prince demands as he keeps his voice low.

"Sh-sh-Shining Armo-DOWCH!" The guard answers before getting a hoof to the back of the head, shoving his face into the wooden desk.

"THAT INSIGNIFICANT... POMPOUS, PU...BESCENT, LITTLE... SON-OF-A-BITCH!!! SHE ACTUALLY SLEPT WITH HIM!?"

"To be more specific, she slept on him. Sir." Phalanx added as he rubbed the large red bruise on his forehead.

"And to think I already put this guy down. Apparently Crimson Reeds didn't do his fucking job! I hire him to perform one specific job; kill the bastard and work his way up to Orion. But NOOOOOO. He fucking dies on the job and his minions get caught in the act."

"Actually, to be fair sir, Crimson did effectively end a life; the life of his unborn foal. So not everything was a total loss. But if I remember the medical records saying anything, he was placed in the care of the Canterlot Royal Hospital."

"And just under my goddamn nose. Great. In speaking of which, how in the ever-lasting, blue-snow hell does he manage to check out so early?"

"Well, with Princess Celestia being involved with his healing process-"

"Of fucking course! My dear auntie just so happens to drop in and heal him within a day's time frame, right?"

"I'll go and retrieve the scotch for you, sir." Phalanx walks to the bookshelf on the far left of the room, pulling a green book-lever revealing a secret compartment that held a large bottle of the alcoholic drink, complete with a set of glasses. Pouring the liquid, he listens as the prince continues his rant.

"Do so. Because now... I'm going to have to fucking end him myself. Tell me about the Spring fling next week at Cadenza's high school..." Phalanx gives the prince his much-needed drink. "Thank you." The prince takes his first sip of the evening.

"Well I do know that he will, most assuredly, be her date. And as we currently know, he is unaware of her actual social status."

"Wait..." Blueblood pauses as an idea came to his head. "Cadance requested to leave the palace, right?"

"Yes. Under the pretense that she would find her own source of happiness." Phalanx quoted.

"And if she failed to do so, or managed to find love and have her relationship abruptly ended..." The prince recalled.

"She would agree to return to the palace grounds to stay, reclaiming her title. But that would require her to announce her title in front of many witnesses outside of palace grounds." The guard finished.

"And what is the perfect time and place to do so, Phalanx?"

The guard put a hoof to his chin as the ideas started to weave together into a well-founded plan. The pretense of Cadence's departure and her resurgence to power was all based on forcing her to reclaim her title in the public eye. The guard smiled at the prince's ingenuity. "...Sir, you're a genius."

"I know. Now send in five more maids. My frustration grows with every waking moment of this unwanted revelation." Blueblood commands, taking another sip of his drink.

Phalanx did a double-take at the number. Surely he couldn't appease the appetite of five mare simultaneously. "Um... Sir?"

"You can have the seconds. Besides, it's not likely that they'll argue anyways." Blueblood stated as he waived him off.

"You generosity knows no bounds." Phalanx deadpanned as he made his way out of the office, leaving behind the unconscious mare and the mumbling prince.

"Hmph! And to think that auntie says that I'm incapable of wielding that element. Score one for me."

Shining Armor stared at the letter that laid across his bed. He was unsure when this had occurred for him, but as he knew so far this was a bad thing. The letter that sat atop of his bed was none other than a confession. His heart paced at a moderate to high speed as he tried to think of the words to say in response. He didn't want to be so blunt that it would hurt her feelings but he didn't want to lure her into false pretenses.

His mind ran so many ideas on how he could say what he had to say. Some of them were rather harsh or rude. Others were misleading and confusing. A few were straight to the point bit proved to be entirely too brutal. And then there were some that weren't assertive enough. But there was only one thing that stood out in his mind, and that was the truth.

On the bed, the letter reads:

Dear Shining Armor,

I know that you have grown to become a thorn in my side. But for some odd reason, I don't see myself wanting to part ways from you. My whole entire life has gone into an endless spiral of uncertainty, but in that spiral remained one solid constant; you.

You are the very thing that I dream of every night. When I dream of you, I can see that you slayed the vicious dragon as you did the first time. But with each dream, the details grew. I don't know what to do but to keep writing you these silly letters. But if I may ask you a question, I pray that you would answer it being honest.

What do you think of me?

I know that seems like a dumb question, but I want to know this so that I can finally put this to rest. But even then, it wouldn't be fair if I asked you and not told you how I think of you.

You are amazing. I can't even begin to form the words on this parchment that could describe how incredible you really are. I can say a few of them, but they would fail to do any sort of justice. I already said amazing, but you're also kind, sweet, generous, loving, caring, strong, brave, outgoing though shy at times, tough, interesting. See? It would take me forever to accurately describe what kind of pony you really are to me.

And that's why I love you.

I love the way you smile, the way you hug me every time we meet, I love the softness of your fur, you give the best nuzzles, you're very handsome.

I just wanted you to know that. If you don't have a special somepony, then I wouldn't mind being yours. I want to be your special somepony, and I want to stay with you forever.

Please let me know if you received this message. I really want to hear your answer.

With love, XOXOXOXOXOXO

~Rarity Andalusia Belle

Shining Armor sat on the bed as he thought about the right words to say to her. He didn't want to be rude and not respond. But he also knew that this was something that couldn't become real. This was all a figment of her imagination. He knew that she had liked him but not to the degree that she would actually pursue him after all this time.

"...*sigh* I can't believe this is happening. I like her, I really do. And if she was a lot older, then I would actually have some second thoughts. But she's a filly, and I'm a full-grown stallion. I've done nothing for her that she could benefit from, and she deserves the best for herself. I'm not for her... I'm so sorry... but I can't Rarity."

With a final deep breath, he picked up his quill and his paper, placed it on the table and started writing.

Dear Rarity,

Author's Note

Note: If you look back to the chapter 'Playing Dirty' where Blueblood insults Cadance, you will now realize how low of a blow it actually was and why Celestia was so livid with his choice of words to his cousin. You will never unsee the fact that Blueblood poked fun at her misfortune.

But yeah, he's a bit of a dick in case you haven't noticed.

Word of the Day
Becky: Some of that good head.

ACT 1: Final Score

Dear Rarity,

I just don't know what to say. I mean, what can I say to you? I always had a feeling that you may have developed a crush on me but not to this extent. My words fail to describe how I fell about this. But before I go into all of that, it would only be fair that I answer your question first.

What I think of you... You're cute, endearing, very smart for a pony your age, witty, you have a good sense of direction. You know what you want in life and you would do anything to make that happen. Your confession touched my heart as I read the words that you bravely placed on the letter. You have a very good heart and you are more than good for a stallion. You're, to steal a word that you used to describe me, amazing. You deserve the best of what life has to offer...

...But I cannot give that to you.

It's isn't that I don't like you, but rather it's that I'm not the one that you should be looking to. You and I walk different paths in life and mine takes me to a world of danger. And with everything that happened previously, I can't bring myself to have you come anywhere close to that lifestyle.

Your mom was hurt real bad because of me. You lost your sibling because of me. And you were placed in danger because you were in the very place that I resided. And more importantly, you would've been killed if I hadn't come any sooner. So being that I will be in places that you can't follow, I cannot let you pursue me in that manner.

Another thing. I am entirely too old for you. You're what, ten going on to eleven? I couldn't even think about entering into a relationship with somepony six years younger than me. And also, I would be punished if I told you that I would say yes. If you were older, then I would consider it.

And that brings up my final point. If you were around my age, I still wouldn't be able to get into a relationship with you. The reason being that I have managed to enter into a relationship with another mare. I have a marefriend who makes me happy already, and it wouldn't be fair if I started dating the both of you at the same time.

There are not enough ways I can say I'm sorry to you. But I do hope that you would one day understand. It's not you at all. You deserve somepony better than me. And the best place I can tell you to look is who's the closest around you. So let's just stay friends. I would really like that instead.

Sincerely,

~Shining Armor

The next day...

My dear Shining Armor,

It hurts me that you would turn me down. At this very moment the tears I cry stain this letter as I write it.

You mean absolutely everything to me. You say that I can't live the life you do. If that's the case, then I will work hard and train myself so that I can take on any foe. I want to be by your side. I want to fight by your side. And I want to be there to pick you up when you fall down.

My mother was not hurt because of you. My mother was hurt because of a stallion who wanted to do evil things to my family. And if you didn't show up when you did, I would've lost all hope and faith in you. But you came anyways, and more importantly, you saved my life. My sibling was a terrible loss, but either way it would be even more devastating if we had lost anypony else that night. So don't act like your life doesn't have value. You matter to me.

True, I would turn eleven sometime in July. But that is no excuse on why you cannot love me. I am more mature than most other fillies my age (as my mother would say). So please take that into account. Age is only a measurement of time, a number if you will. Our age difference is large, yes, but I am more than willing to get in trouble with you than to live without you.

And your marefriend, is she cute? Well of course she wouldn't be as cute as I am. But if she makes you happy, then I guess that's fine. But please keep in mind that she won't be around for far too long. Most other mares, from what I was told, would only go out with you for attention. But I wouldn't dare do something like that to you.

You are my one and only knight that can come rescue me whenever I am in need. Please take the time to reconsider.

With all of my love,

~Rarity Andalusia Belle

Three days later...

My dear prince,

It has been ages since I last heard from you. Please write back.

My mailbox is always open to you.

The next day...

My true love,

I grow worried that you haven't responded to my letter in almost a week's time. Usually you would send something within three days. But now I'm not even getting a drop of ink from you.

Please write back. I love you.

The next day...

Shining please...

Are you alright? You haven't said anything to me. I really am scared. You don't take this long to answer me. Are you hurt? Are you safe? Where are you now? Answer me. I love you so much.

The next day...

Shining...

I haven't stopped crying. You haven't said a word. I fear the worst has happened. If you are still among us, please...
...just talk to me. A word. A letter. I don't care if you come to my doorstep and surprise me, just tell me that you love me.

Please...

One Week Later...

A week has passed since Shining Armor last wrote to Rarity. Her letters now littered his garbage can as he opens yet another. It would seem that the letter was one written out of desperation. He knows that she is still concerned for his safety concerning the events of three weeks past, but the situation had started to get out of hoof. Not only did she practically ignore his rejection, but she also argued his points with her own ill-funded personal opinions. He tried being as nice as he could with the matter but as it turned out it would seem that nothing seemed to work.

He actively read her letters as they came in, but he chose not to give a response. He wanted to see if she would gather an idea of what his stance on the issue was. It was obvious that he wasn't going to change his stance, especially with his marefriend on his mind. So he discarded the letters as they piled into his trashcan over the past week. He hoped that if he didn't say anything, she would catch the hint of him not changing his stance, but as of the moment it would seem as if she was more worried that he had died. And that left him to a stalemate.

If he didn't answer her tear-stained letter asking him to speak to her and tell her that he loves her, then she would do something reckless like saving up her bits and taking a train to Canterlot in an attempt to meet with him. It had grown to that stage at this point. But if he would answer her letter, then he would have to break her heart. And nothing made him feel any worse than to see that of a young filly's heart breaking in two or more pieces.

He paced back and forth as he looked at the letter on his desk. With each pass, an idea came to his head, followed by the reasons it would work, the reason that it would not work, the costs in order to carry out that plan and the repercussions. With each turn he imagined the tear-battered face of the filly that he already hurt. He did more damage to her than he already performed with the signing of his rejection letter. He had an affair with her mother, got into an altercation with her father, gotten her mom pregnant, failed to protect her during her short pregnancy which caused her to miscarry the foal and practically damaged her parents marriage if he hadn't destroyed it already.

Coming to a stop and staring at the quill in the ink well on his desk, he gained an idea on how he would write his letter. It was going to be blunt and harsh, but his prior warning and her persistence required him to stand firm on his decision. He didn't like it, he didn't have to like it, but he had little alternatives in his arsenal. And with a flick of his horn he opened the drawer that held the rolls of parchment, pulled out the paper, laid it across the desktop, dipped his quill into the ink and started reciting what he would write in the letter to the young filly.

Dear Rarity Andalusia Belle,

It has come to my attention that you have actively ignored my previous letter, asking for your friendship. And instead of taking my suggestion, you inserted your own and decided that it would be best to ignore the laws of the land and insist upon making this non-existent relationship possible. I understand you are a beautiful little filly and you have a wonderful character, but allow me to give you my rebuttal.

NO.

I will not engage in a relationship with you and neither will I seek to change my relationship status with my current marefriend. How dare you tell me that our relationship will not last for very long. You are a child and you have no exclusive right to say that my relationship won't stand with you, demanding that I seek one with you over her. If you don't like the fact that I'm with another mare, then that's fine. But you are under no circumstances to tell me that I should give up all hope of my relationship taking flight. I am very happy with her and she is very pleased with me. We harbor no secrets from each other. We hug each other. we kiss each other, and we tell each other that we love one another

I understand that we shared a few moments together but I had no intentions to brush up. That means that I don't have an interest in you. I haven't in the past and chances are that I may not in the future. So wave this little crush you have on me goodbye because it can never happen between us.

I'm so sorry to make you cry. But if being your friend means that I have to love on you tough, then that's what's going to happen. You are like a little sister to me, and I don't want to ruin that. Just know that I'll always be waiting for your next letter. Now let's just start over, okay?

Your dear friend,

~Shining Armor Aegnus Sparkle

Shining finished the letter, folded it up into a rectangular shape and sealed it with hot wax. As he replaced the quill next to the well of ink, his attention turned to the blue and white military uniform on his bed. The uniform was a formality for anything that involved celebrations, coronations, weddings and gala's. It even bore his rank and his cutie mark engraved on the front. If there was anything that made him more proud was the fact that his mother allowed him to take Cadance to the dance.

For the past week, he had been trying to get used to the name Cadance rather than calling her the name he knew her as over the past six months. His relationship with her thrived as soon as his mother, with a bit of convincing over the course of the spring break activities that the three engaged in, approved of her being with him. Though to Twilight's surprise, she just found out that the two were dating just earlier that day. And of course, she gave him some advice.

"If you hurt Cadance big brother, then I'm gonna have to hurt you!"

Shining snickered at how protective his little sister became over her foalsitter. Her antics never ceased to bring a smile to his face. Well, most of her antics. Last week was a different story. She had plans and traps laid all over the house made to ensnare him as he continued his daily pattern. And being that last week was the estrus season, it proved without saying what she made those traps for. And if there was one thing she could do while she struggled to get her magic to work, was to set up a trap.

Either way, his mind was focused on the big event that was planned for tomorrow evening, thanks largely to the spring break hitting school a week early. Tomorrow was the night of the Spring Fling. And during the day, he would finally be able to see his friends for the first time since they tried to make their escape from the rampaging stampede of sex-driven high school mares. His mind filled with exuberance as he thought about the day ahead.

"Tomorrow is gonna be awesome. I can't wait to see what Cadance will be dressed in. She's such a tease."

Morning has broken over the city of Canterlot. The birds cheer gleefully as they fly across the cloudless sky. The sun shone brightly across the land as the guards assume their daily tasks.

"Sir?"

"Mnnnhmmmm..."

"Sir?"

"MMMmmm..."

" *sigh*... Princess Celestia says you're being replaced."

"mmmMMMMWHAT!?"

"Good morning sir." Phalanx spoke to the disoriented prince as he rose from his bed, fearing that Celestia had actually found a pony to replace his position as the Prince of Magic.

"Like hell I-you said that to wake me up didn't you?" Blueblood asked to his guard.

"Your morning services are ready sir... as well as your hygienic accommodations." Phalanx says as he opens the door to reveal a maid, a cyan unicorn mare with a white mane.

"Send her in." The mare obeys the prince's orders as Blueblood continues his statement. "Also, are the plans ready for tonight?"

"Your chariot is set for departure at eight thirty this evening, your highness. Your dinner shall be served at your leisure and your schedule has been cleared to accommodate for the plans you have for tonight. Your selected elite shall accompany you to the soiree." The mare speaks as she walks over to the prince.

"And the royal red carpet?" He asks as he sits up in his bed.

"Lied beneath you as you arrive, as well as the rose petals that shall accent your arrival. The horns will be at the ready to signal the royal crier to announce your presence." She states as she turns around to raise her tail at Blueblood.

"Cadenza's status?" He asks as he places a hoof on the mare's firm cheeks of her plot.

"She will be arriving with Private Sparkle at approximately six fifty-nine. Oooh... Forgive me for interrupting sir, but shouldn't I be servicing you? ♥~" She questions as she feels the tongue of her prince circle around the puckered ring of her rear entrance.

"Mmmmm *smack* I feel rather merciful today. You will be receiving a mighty gift for your obedience." Blueblood teased as the only thing that held the link between the mares pristine plothole and his lips was the small bridge of his oral lubricant. "I feel just about ready to take the day, Phalanx... Just allow me to finish up here and I shall continue with my morning ritual."

"As you wish, sir prince." Phalanx saluted as he performed an about face and left the room. Blueblood watched his departure as he looked at the swinging plot of the stallion that served him.

"So sad to see him go, but I love to watch him leave. Now I do believe you are ready to take on today's challange?" He asked the mare he would soon mount as she back herself into him.

"I will take care of it, your highness."

The school bells chimed loudly across the campus as the students took to their lockers, gathering their books for their first class. As the other students passed by them, the three stallions who were unfortunate to spend their week trapped on the campus of the school, looked down the hall to see their missing party member galloping down the hall. They all wore a smile as the distance between them grew closer.

"Well, if it isn't Mr. Luck." Azure shouted out across the halls to a rapidly approaching Shining Armor.

"Hey boys, how was your week?" Shining joked at the three stallions expense.

"You knew that it was gonna be hell. But aside from the constant blood sacrifices, the hourly Marazonian death matches, the tribal bonfire set in the school cafeteria, being chained crucifix style to a wall and having your millions of kids sucked out of your urethra before having your pelvis crushed into a creamy-white paste by mares covered in tribunal face paint made from a combination of dirt, mascara, spit and semen... It was pretty damn awesome." Longshot said in a single breath.

"Not sure if best week in life, or worst week in life." Poindexter droned as he looked to his brain to find an answer.

"What they said. That's pretty much what happened in a nutshell." Azure admitted as he stretched his hoof around his neck, still trying to pop his joint into place.

"Ouch. Well try avoiding your own mother and baby sister." Shining stated, causing the other three to gasp in horror.

"You mean... that little Twi-"

"Set traps all over the house, just so she can lock me in her room. I got lucky on the first day; mom came and saved my ass when Twily had me trapped." Shining finished as he interrupted Poindexter.

"Eww... I can't even imagine my mom having to save me from getting raped by my own little sister." Azure jokes.

"You don't have a little sister." Longshot grumbled.

"Anyways, estrus aside, life is good. So did Amora catch up to you, Shiny?" Azure asked as he dismissed the snide remark of Longshot.

"Yeah... And she got me."

"Fucking hay, bro! Congrats on the big kill." Azure exclaims loudly, gaining some unwanted attention. "So I can assume that you two will be meeting up tonight at the big dance?"

"I'm actually escorting her."

The three teens gasp as Shining states that he would be escorting his girlfriend to the dance. "Bad idea, you know how your mums is."

"Tsssso? My mom approved it." Shining said as he shrugged his shoulders.

The three stood in place and stared at the smiling Shining Armor. Poindexter was the first to respond. "Welp, that's it. The world is ending. Everypony pray to Faust for forgiveness."

"It's not that bad. It took a lot of convincing though."

"...Yup cue cut-away cause this shit is not making any sense to me." Longshot said in disbelief as he facehoofed.

"Oh guys, c'mon. You gotta believe me. My mom did agree to let me date Amora." Shining argued.

"Okay. Then explain how the hell did you convince your overprotective mother to let her dear-beloved, first-born, hormonally-driven, teenage son to start dating." Azure inquired while trotting over and putting a hoof around Shining's neck. Shining didn't want to give out all the details of convincing his mother because they were too disgusting to reveal to his friends. It was bad enough that he ended up giving in on the first day, but the other days she and Cadance pretty much tied him to a chair and helped themselves (and each other) to him. No doubt he would have to make up a reasonable story up front.

"...Well..."

Later that day...

"He..."

Rarity stared at the letter that came in the mail. Much of her enthusiasm of receiving the letter died into the pace that matched a snail. Her eyes watered and her tears started to stream down the side of her face. She was left speechless as she read the words that littered the beige parchment. Her heart panged as the letter fell, gently floating to the ground below. Her breathing broke into trembling phrases and her hooves went limp, watching the world that she envisioned with her knight turned into dust. The dreams that she had about him suddenly became as bad as the nightmares that would normally occur before. She held her chest and buckled over in pain.

"He doesn't..."

The pain she felt was not a physical one, but rather it was an internal one. It was too much for her to accept that the one stallion she truly felt was the one who would love her, rejected her a second time and scorned her for her words. The realization of him not wanting to be with her caused her to stay silent as she held her aching chest with her hooves. There was only one thing that she wanted to do; cry.

"...love me?"

She laid across the rug in her room as she stared distantly at the letter that fell to the floor just earlier.

"I gave you my heart... and this... this is how you show me affection? This is what you call tough love, huh?"

She rose to her hooves, staring at the letter on the ground. She stood motionless, the light in her eyes faded into nothing. Her body trembled as she stared at the paper that littered her floor. The ink strokes that made up the words started to infuriate her more than her class bullies. Her hind legs tapped impatiently at the sight of the letter.

"Heh... Heh heh."

Something within her body finally snapped. She started giggling, looking at the ceiling. And lastly, she fell into laughter. Her chortles echoed across the room as she walked slowly to the drawer that had all of his letters he sent to her. Rarity opened the drawer, revealing the overcrowded mess that filled her nightstand. Soon after, her laughing came to a halt.

"You know... I remember you saying in one of these letters that a hero never hurts the maiden..."

She stared blankly at the paper-filled drawer and wore a neutral expression on her face.

"...so that means that you were never my hero to begin with."

The Sparkle family home brimmed with life that night. The lights illuminated the entire house as Velvet and Twilight celebrated the first dance that Shining Armor attended for his high school life. Velvet hummed and danced as she stood in the living room, talking to the inattentive daughter about how the dance that night reminded her of her days in high school. While Velvet danced and rambled on, Twilight danced and cheered as she constantly knocked on her brother's door upstairs.

"Big brother, are you ready yet? Cadance will be here any minute!"

"I know that! Now please stop banging on my door!"

Shining Armor was frantically gathering his thoughts as he tried to make sure that the outfit was free of any obscurities and errors. He stayed in front of his mirror as he paid close attention to every hair in his mane. He wanted his look to be as close to perfection as he could get it to become. He also took various stances and poses as he looked at the reflection of himself. He also took the time to rehearse some lines for his date.

"Hey beautiful, mind if I take you amongst the stars?"

"You murderer. You've killed me with your alluring eyes."

"You know, I bet that the sun itself must be jealous because you shine even brighter than the daylight itself."

"I wonder if you were sent from the heavens above, because you look like a divine blessing."

"So it's true, you do have the ability to make stallions fall flat on their face from seeing you at a first glance."

"Call a medic! I need fifty helpings of You, stat!"

...Needless to say that every last one of them were extremely corny. Some even cringe-inducing.

"SHINING, CADANCE IS HERE!!!" His mother calls out to him as he jumped over to the door and made a quick exit from out of his room.

He dashes by his little sister leaving her to chase after him in an attempt to keep up. As soon as the teen stallion turned the corner that lead to the stairs, he saw the very thing that plagued him since the first day he met the prepossessing pink alacorn; her smile. She wore a pink and purple dress that sparkled brightly, accented by touches of blue that cascaded into a scheme of purple embroidering with white moons and stars. She wore very little make-up that consisted of the light rose eye shadow, blush and mascara. Her mane and tail were undone from the simplistic pony-tail that she always donned and instead wore long flowing curls of purple, pink and blonde. He took the first step to the stairs, missing his balance entirely. Soon after he was sent tumbling down the stairs, stooping as he hit the wall at the end. He immediately jumped to his hooves as he stood at a slumped position, captivated by her charm.

"Ohmygoodness! Shining, are you okay?"

"Hurrburrburr..." Shining answered dazed by the appealing mare before him, wobbling in place.

"He's perfectly fine." Velvet deadpanned.

"Real smooth there." Twilight facehoofed at her brother antics. Was he really this inept?

"Darrrghg faffffnnn-"

"And that's what brought me to you in the first place." Cadance stated to the teen stallion that blubbered on with his jumbled phrasing producing incoherent thought. "So are you ready to go?"

"Ayuk." Shining hiccuped while the mare took his hoof and guided him out the front door.

Twilight Velvet and Twilight Violet both stood in the doorway as they waved to their love-smitten family member. They smiled brightly as they said their good-bye's.

"See you later tonight, don't be out too long!" Velvet screamed.

"You take good care of my big brother Cadance! And make sure that he takes good care of you!" Twilight shouted to the departing couple.

Cadance and Shining Armor stepped inside of the carriage that waited for them in the street. Finally getting situated, the two waived back before the driver pulled off of the street and into the night-shaded distance. Velvet chuckled to herself as she made fun of her son.

"You're so clumsy. I guess your father's smoothness didn't exactly translate into your line."

One hour later...

"Oh my!"

"Well I'll say!"

"She looks amazing."

"I could do better."

Multiple stallions and mares comment on the pink alacorn mare's appearance as the other ponies in attendance partied on the dance floor. The Spring Fling was known to be the dance of the school year aside from the junior and senior prom. The school courtyard was filled with an array of decorations. Balloons and ribbons decorated the trees of the campus. The main walkway that led into the school became the main walking aisle as towels and tables decorated the lawn. Noise-makers and laughter filled the air along with the sounds of the music blasting from the main entrance of the school.

Shining Armor, Poindexter, Longshot and Azure Sword lined up at the concessions table and gathered as many snacks as they could before the other ponies took their rest period. They lined their plates with fruits, assorted cheeses, crackers and macaroni salad as they conversed with each other.

"Wow! They went all out this year!" Shining cheered as he magically placed a cracker into his mouth.

"We didn't get to go last year. Freshmeat aren't allowed remember?" Poindexter states while still placing some of the fruits on his plate.

"Yeah, because they wanted to see who would actually stay enrolled after the first year... or who managed to not get expelled for various reasons." Longshot answered as he shot a look to the stallion that stuffed his face full of cheese. Azure swallowed his food before he spoke.

"Oh come on! I flunked one class. ONE, and you all still hold it against me."

"Dude, the one class you failed was gym. GYM CLASS!" Shining reiterated.

"Oh get off my ass. I had mares to scre-" Azure shouted to the three other teens before being frequented by another. "Hey Amora!"

The pink alacorn rushes over to her coltfriend and grabs him by his hoof. "Hey there. Um, Shining, you wanna go someplace else?"

Shining looks at the pink mare with a raised eyebrow. "But the party's just getting started."

"That's my point. Now lets go someplace else, like now." Amora stresses as she pulls his hoof in an attempt to get him to leave.

"Amora, what's gotten into you? You've been wanting to come to this dance all week and now you're just gonna leave ea-"

Before Shining Armor could finish his statement, the sudden sound of a large brass fanfare filled the courtyard of the school. Many of the dancing ponies stopped what they were doing and looked to the direction of the main entrance to the school. The fanfare continued it's bombastic chord-progressions while a pony clad in golden armor approaches the end of the red carpet, carefully rolled out before him by two other guards. Amora sank herself against her own guard as the golden-clad pony unfurled a white scroll.

"Hear ye! Hear ye! By official decree and in honor of the royal family, I hereby announce the presence of one who's mercy proves great and his generosity knowing no bounds. He is the Prince of Magic. Bow before the beautiful hooves of the prince himself. All hail Prince Blueblood."

Everypony in attendance gasped in shock as the prince's name was announced. The guards that marched up to each side of the rose petal adorned red carpet stopped facing each other and crossed their spears above the walkway. And at the end of the runway was two mares dressed in elegant dresses dashing forth to place the roses in the walking path of the prince that stood proudly behind them. Many of the teenage ponies bowed on spot as they commented to one another.

"I didn't know that a prince was going to swing by!"

"Oh shit! It's actually the prince!"

"Why would a royal come to this kind of party?"

Blueblood walked forward, bringing each hoof high into the air with each step. "Fillies and gentlecolts! Do not mind that I have made my presence known to you. I am not coming for the party... for I am the party. Your prince wishes to celebrate among you! Now let's dance!"

Cheers and praises filled the courtyard in honor of the prince. Meanwhile, Amora was practically trying to hide herself behind the frame of her escort. Blueblood continues his dialog.

"However, I wish not to bore you with my appearance. So instead, I shall grace you with a performance. A performance like no other, and free of charge. All I ask for is a volunteer. And his name shall be... um... Phalanx!" The gold-armored stallion trots over to the prince's side and whispers into his ear. "...ah yes. PRIVATE SHINING ARMOR AEGNUS SPARKLE! Please step forward."

The crowd gasps as they all shoot their eyes around the lawn in search of the stallion that the prince summoned for his demonstration. Meanwhile, Amora clenched to his side as she pleaded with him.

"Please... don't leave me here alone."

"What's the matter?" Shining asked, concern weighing heavily in his tone as he watched the mare hold him close.

"You can't leave me. You promised." She petitioned while nuzzling him.

"...Okay, then you can go with me-"

"No! You can't go up there at all! Please, just run away with me!"

"What are you saying?" Shining Armor and the others looked at her with intrigue as she made the suggestion.

"I wanna live with you. I wanna stay with you. I don't want you to be a guard anymore. You served enough time. I want you by my side at all times. I can't let you go without seeing... I don't wanna be here! Take me away! Please!"

Shining questioned the mare's cryptic statements and tried to make sense of it. "Just tell me what wr-"

"Sir, the prince summons you. It would be wise to ignore him."

Control. Suppress. Don't let them know who you are. Or else... Amora thought to herself as she watched the stallion she loved leave her side, like the others before him.

Amora, Shining and the three others looked at the well-adorned guard that appeared before them. Amora tightened her grip even further. Two more guards walked up to the heavily anchored teen while his friends stood aside, realizing that they were in the midst of their superiors. Phalanx pulled against Shining and ordered him to start walking to the prince. Seeing that there wasn't much of a choice, he obeyed and marched slowly to the chuckling Prince Blueblood.

"Well... Is this what passes for the Royal Guard nowadays? I fear for our security." Blueblood snarks, earning himself a few laughs from the other guards in attendance. "And is that... CADANCE!? Well I never thought that she would find the desire to attend any soiree that I sought interest in."

The other students mumbled and whispered, questioning who he was talking about. Azure, Poindexter and Longshot looked around in confusion until they saw that Amora backed herself into a table. When they turned to her, they saw an unusual facial expression coming from her. It was not one of fear or frustration, but one of total despair. Her eyes shrank to the size of pins. Her hooves wrapped against each other. Her ears folded down as she watched the prince gesture to her.

"Oh come now Cadance, there's no need to hide. Let these fine ponies see your astonishing outfit."

Azure darted his head back and forth from the prince and the pink winged unicorn. His jaw fell slightly as he finally realized that he was trying to address the mare that he knew under a different name. "A...mora?"

"Guess the cat's out of the bag, huh?" The mare spoke with a soft and saddened tone. Her eyes closed as she didn't want to see the faces of the ponies that she lied to; her friends. "Cadance is my real name."

"Then why didn't you tell us befo-"

"Ma'am, the prince requests your presence as well. He says that a beautiful mare such as yourself needs not to see the show he's going to provide from a distance." Phalanx interrupted as he extended his hoof to the exposed pink mare.

Amora, now discovered to be Cadance, trotted slowly to the opened space that the prince stood proudly. She gained many mutters and comments from her fellow classmates as she continued her own march to the center of the spacing.

"So her name is actually Cadance?"

"We've been lied to this entire time."

"Hell, I bet her coltfriend didn't even know. Tragic."

Little did the audience know that Shining was well aware of her name being Cadance. But what they didn't know was why did that particular pairing was set on display before the prince. They would soon find out as Phalanx and the other guards circled around the clear space that the prince created for his act to take place. Azure and the others approach from behind, finding themselves barricaded behind the wall of armor and spears.

"There we are. I wouldn't have you be sitting in the back and not have a chance to see the little... demonstration that I have to offer."

"What is it do you want?" Cadance asked, trying not to show fear and standing up for herself.

Blueblood snickered as he glanced at the newly-sworn guard. "It is simple. I wish to provide a show. And Sir Shining Armor is going to help me in it. Of course it won't be nothing too extravagant. But I do see this as being a chance to see the true nature of this stallion. So I would humbly ask for him to ready himself."

"Ready myself, for what sir?" Shining inquired before Blueblood turned to him, anchoring his hooves into the dirt.

"A duel. One-on-one, no interruptions, no holds barred. Savvy?"

Cadance gasps in horror of what he's planning to do. "No! He's not-"

"No no no! I believe that he's perfect for this demonstration. I want to see what the noble Sparkle family has to offer with their powerful, arcane knowledge. And what better example than that of the first-born son of our dear Captain of the Guard? Can't think of any at this point. He's the pride and joy that his family of magical experts and physical fighters." He argued loudly, trying to make certain that everypony could hear him. His attention turned back to the stallion that stood in front of him. "So why not let him argue for his title?"

"Shining Armor, I order you not to accept his challenge!" Cadance demanded.

"And who are you to make that order? I ordered him to duel me. You can't deny me this access... unless you were to have a title." He sounded, eyeing a frustrated Cadance.

Control. Suppress. Don't let them know who you are. Or else... Cadance backed away. She knew what was to come if she admitted her title in front of all of the students and guards in attendance.

Shining saw the discomfort that she had when she spoke to him and assumed that his presence was making her uncomfortable. "Okay, I accept. But let's make a bet."

Blueblood scoffed at the idea of the stallion making a wager, but he also wanted to entertain the idea. "...Go on."

"If I win, then you'll leave."

"Okay. But if I win... She comes with me and you surrender an object within your possession. Do we have an accord?"

"Fine! Now... DRAW!" Shining didn't waste any time in thinking it over. He sent a powerful burst of energy flying across the cobblestones to the yawning prince. Suddenly, there was a golden shield that emitted a bright light that filled the whole courtyard with the brightness of a flare.

"Manners, where are they? Surely you were supposed to warn me when the duel started." Blueblood snided as he cast his own spell. His horn's aura changed from it's bright yellow shine to that of a dark purple glow. His words echoed into the night sky.

"Gate of the Eternal Void, reveal thy passage!"

A strong wind blew, sweeping the clothes and manes of all the ponies in the courtyard. Shining looked at the rapidly clouding sky as it swirled above the two duelists.

"Seek ye offering of abundant flesh!"

The whirling clouds produced what appeared to be that of a funnel. The powerful winds continued to increase their speed as it wraps around the descending cone.

"Baptize mine enemies in waters of affliction and despair."

Shining Armor launches another beam of energy at the chanting Blueblood, trying to interrupt his incantation. As the beam drew closer to it's intended target, it started to shrink in size and power. Shining then came up with the only other alternative he could think of; taking this fight to a physical level. He charged for the prince, leveling his horn for the piercing blow. The funnel above disperses to reveal an enormous purple blade with runes of an ancient language inscribed down the length of the blade. A thunderclap sounded to signal it's completion.

"FURY OF DARKNESS, COME!!!"

Shining galloped as fast as he could in order to take on the prince in a physical brawl. But suddenly, a circle with the same language as the blade above appeared below the approaching Shining Armor, locking his hooves into the ground. His body froze in place as the blade came falling down with it's tip pointed directly at the young guard.

"BE THOU DAMNED!!! FINALITATIS AETERNAM!!!

The large blade lunged for it's intended target, slicing the wind and driving into the disabled form of Shining Armor below. A bright purple flash inverted the colors of the world around it, creating a negative light that warped in on itself and condensing it's immense mass into the stallion below.

Shining let loose a blood curling scream as the pain of the impact caused his nerves endings to overwork themselves, sending endless signals to his brain. His body convulsed to the initial strike of the attack, causing him to collapse to the ground. As he laid motionless on the ground, his body sizzled and smoked as the effects of the disablement left him. Shining opened one of his eyes as he tried to regain his stance. But the pain all over his body proved too great of an obstacle to overcome. His hooves buckled under the weight of his own body. There was no resisting it; his fighting spirit was far from quenched, but his body was too weak to carry on.

Shining was defeated.

Control. Suppress. Don't let them know who you are. Or else...

"My, my. Well that was anticlimactic. A simple finishing spell and you fall to the ground like a stone." Blueblood said as he teleported next to the wounded stallion. "Tell me, does the fact that you lost to none other than me singes your very hide?"

"AAAAARRRGH!" Shining responds as a hoof presses itself against his charred coat, causing more pain.

"As I thought... But it's no fun in beating a dead-horse. So feel free to stand up at your leisure." Blueblood removed his hoof, much to Shining's pleasure. But instead of leaving the stallion alone, he thrusted his horn into the neck of the downed guard. The audience, already in shock from the brutal display of earlier, gasped and screamed as the horn of the bitter prince punctures the neck of their fellow classmate. Blood trickled down off of the horn as Blueblood whispered his next spell.

"Vulnerum emendandum"

Shining's eyes shoot open as an unfamiliar feeling filters throughout his body. It wasn't painful, but rather pleasant. The energy within his body surged and his muscles regained their strength. It was perplexing that the prince that sought to do so much damage would perform a healing spell. But even then, Shining knew that there was a catch. As Blueblood removed his horn from inside of Shining's neck, the incision that it left behind soon healed.

"...But why not finish me off?" Shining Armor questioned the prince who healed him.

Blueblood simply chucked as he signaled to Phalanx to surrender his weapon. "Well, it's because I won't have the pleasure of seeing you writhe in your agony. I didn't heal you to let you go... I did it so you can be fully aware of the prize that I will take from you, unless that spell erased all memory of our little wager."

"Blueblood stop this!" Cadance screamed as the two guards hold her back, leaving her to only witness what was to come. Control. Suppress. Don't let them know who you are. Or else...

"And since you lost, I'll be taking Cadance with me as well as another little trophy; your life."

Shining, with his renewed strength, launched his body at the cruel prince. But as soon as he closed the distance between them, Blueblood's body turned into a ghostly figure that cause the young guard to run right through him. And before Shining turned around, he found a new pain entering his body. As he looked down, he saw that the spear that Phalanx gave to the chortling prince embeded deep into his left hind leg, running completely through.

"SHINING ARMOR!" Cadance screamed as Shining Armor fell to the ground in pain. Blueblood materialized from his mirage spell and turned around to confront the blood-stained stallion.

"Tell me. Do you know of her true position in this society? If you don't then allow me to fill you in."

"STOP IT BLUEBLOOD!" The pink mare screamed to her cousin. Blueblood stopped short of the stallion, pulling out the spear with his magic. Shining winced as the prince held the bloodied spear over his face.

"There wasn't just you she had an interest in. Princess over there had four others. She loved them all before they all met their ends. They all served their duties and whatnot and died on the field shortly after confessing their love for each other. All of them except for the last one, who was executed for trespassing on place grounds. Points to you though. There was one thing that you were the first to do out of all of them, it was to take what was rightfully mine and piss me off."

"STOP THIS! PLEASE!" Cadance screamed to the angry prince. He nodded his head to notify the guards that it was time to make the young guard pay.

"Hold him down." Two of the guards held him down as Shining cringed in pain. Azure, who watched from behind the barricade, pushed one of the guards, only to have another come from behind and strike him behind the head with his spear shaft. As Azure fell to the ground unconscious, Blueblood held the spear in his hooves while he transferred his magic to the task of pulling back the stallion's mane, raising his head up. "AND FOR TAKING WHAT WAS ALLOCATED TO ROYALTY WITHOUT CONSENT, I, PRINCE BLUEBLOOD, HEARBY SENTENCE YOU TO DEATH! LAST WORDS?"

Reveal... Or else... Cadance's body shifted forward, but any further movement was retained thanks in part of the stallions who held her in place.

Shining groaned softly as the visions of Cadance filled his mind. "Cadance isn't... She wouldn't lie to me... Not like this."

Blueblood drew a smile across his face as he devised a way to make his death as insignificant as possible. "Oh... But she did lie to you. She was going to use you for an escape attempt. She's a princess on the run, avoiding her duties and all in the hopes of finding a stallion to rut her into the dirt. Ask her about anything... Her name was a lie, her status as a student is an absolute lie, she's not even your own age. She's lied to you about everything."

Reveal. Cadance thought to herself as he projected to the blue-maned stallion. "Shining... That's not true! I really do love you-"

"Oh quit it, Cadenza! Go weep on the graves of the stallions that you've sullied yourself with. I'm pretty sure that the dust from their bones must be wanting to hear your wasteful cries just like they have been for the past seventy-plus years."

Cadance ignored his insult and spoke once more to her beloved coltfriend. "Shining Armor, I love you like no other. Please believe me."

Blueblood held the spear against the throat, focusing out on the point where he wanted to plant the blade. "And the ashes shall return to the earth from whence it came. The world shall fully receive what was given unto it!" His blade drew back as he readied the weapon for the plunge. "Recubo illic quod intereo!"

Shining's closes his eyes. There was nothing that could save him. This was a royal execution and only a royal had the power to halt it's course. Visions of his family and all of his friends. The visions of the young filly whom he had to reject faded into the darkness as he awaited his end. There was nothing left. Regrets or not... "This is it..."

REVEAL! THIS IS THE STALLION YOU LOVE! ONLY YOU CAN SAVE HIM! LET IT GO! REVEAL YOURSELF! SAVE HIM FROM THIS FATE! Cadance pushed the guards out of her way with a swift flap of her wings. She stood forward and screamed to the top of her lungs. "UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF PRINCESS MI AMORE CADENZA, I ORDER YOU TO STOP!!!"

Blueblood halted his advancement. The distance between the spear and Shining's neck was still large enough to see that there was nothing to be afraid of. But in his mind, Blueblood pranced up and down in his victory. That was what he wanted. She almost admitted her status to everyone here, but now she would have to explain it to him in front of all of the students. With a grin, the prince retreated his weapon. "As you wish... highness."

Cadance ran to the stallion. She ran past her chuckling cousin and into the lap of the wounded teen she cared for and adored. His eyes opened to see that she was the one to call the halt. The other guards released him from their grip as Cadance openly wept in his hooves. "Shining Armor, my precious stallion, are yo-"

"So it was a lie."

Cadance's head jerked up, noticing that he didn't sound too thrilled about the current circumstances. "...No. I mean yes. I..." She knew that Blueblood had her in a corner at this point. She couldn't deny what she had hid from him any longer. She wanted to come clean. With a deep breath, she finally did the one thing that terrified her the most; tell him the truth. "...My name is Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. I am the princess of the northern snow. My spiritual embodiment is love itself. I left the palace because-"

"You... lied to me... for so long..." He interrupted before she could get a chance to explain. She attempted to defend her reason for lying to him for so long.

"I had no other choice. I wanted to protect you. I didn't want to-"

"You gave me love, you held me in my times of need, you watch over my family but you couldn't even tell me your real name?" He asked her, the heartbreak evident in his voice.

"Shining Armor, I did it to protect you!"

Shining stood up from the spot he was held to, his leg still searing with the pain of being ran through. He held his leg as he pulled himself up to eliminate the need of relying on the mare that tried to reason with him. "Then explain it to me Amora, Cadance, Mi Amore, WHATEVER THE FUCK YOUR GODDAMN NAME IS!"

"Shining... just listen-"

"How long has this... between you and Blueblood been going on? No lies, no bushes, just truth."

"Shining, I really do want you to know that I do love yo-"

"JUST... tell me. How long?"

"...Eighty-seven years."

He drugged the bloodied hoof down on his face, forgetting that there was the blood still trickling from his hind leg. He sighed as he tried to grasp the idea of her being around everything he held dear, and she was in the midst of this extremely dangerous rivalry that could easily get anyone involved killed. "So... not only did you endanger my family, but also my friends, the students that attend, the ponies that you interact with. My little sister is around you all the time and it would only be a matter of time that something should happen to her! You're too dangerous."

Cadance gasped at the motion of him calling her dangerous. "I'M HERE TO PROTECT YOU... don't you see that?"

"I can see that your protection managed to get a fucking spear lodged in my damn leg. You lied to me about everything about you, and you expect me to 'love you as you are'? I can't love somepony I can't even trust! I'm sick of being thrown into every deadly situation because of a hidden truth of a blatant lie. I didn't come here to get my ass kicked by a prince who wanted to have a princess to him-fucking-self. I didn't come to receive an impromptu execution. I didn't come here to find out that my marefriend is over a hundred years old. I came her to have some fun, live a normal life. I don't mind marching out on a field to fight for my life but when I have to do it on my own front porch, then guess what!? I'M NOT GONNA BE FUCKING HAPPY ABOUT IT! I HATE YOU! I DON'T EVER WANT TO SEE YOUR FACE NEAR MY HOME OR MY FAMILY! I DON'T EVER WANT TO EVEN BREATHE THE SAME AIR AS YOU DO, PRINCESS

MI

AMORE

CADENZA!"

The sound of her name echoed throughout not just the school, but also throughout the city. The entire city of Canterlot and it's foundations heard his scream of her name. Blueblood smiled at the development before him grew to a climax that he didn't even foresee in his plans. His screaming of his cousin's name in anguish became the sustenance of his mood at the moment. But his cousin didn't share his exuberance.

"...Shining... Please..." Cadance pleaded as her voice broke. Her breaths shook and trembled as her body failed to gauge the loss her heart felt. She offers to hug him, but his hoof stays raised at her. He doesn't look at her as he gains the courage to look into her eyes one last time.

"You've. Done. Enough."

Shining Armor, without as much as a goodbye, starts to limp for the front gate. The numerous guards disband the barricade and allow him to pass through. Many of the other ponies stared as they moved out of his way. His hind leg dragged as he put forth his best effort to make it to the front entrance.

"Halt..." A voice cried out to the limping, defeated guard. Shining remained facing forward as one of Blueblood's guards approach him from behind.

"..." Shining remained speechless.

"...We'll set up a pegasi chariot for your departure. Just tell them where you wish to go and they will be there swiftly." Phalanx said as the wounded teen muttered back to him.

"I don't need your pity."

"It's our service, as a guard." Phalanx stated.

"...I'm turning in my spear and armor come dawn." Answered Shining Armor before marching forward again. But as he stepped forward, a large chariot with two pegasi raced in front of him, preventing his advance. Shining tried to turn away, but the wound in his leg didn't permit him to do so in a comfortable fashion. Finally realizing that he had a long way's to go to his home and that his wound would bleed him out long before he reached his doorstep, he slowly ascended the chariot. His body finally slumped over as he cringed in discomfort.

"Where to?" The front wingspony asked him in a sympathetic tone.

"Sparkle's Residence... nine twenty-five... Verdant Praise Boulevard..."

"We'll be careful sir. Just hang on." The wingspony said as the two stallions flapped their wings and took off from the courtyard.

Down below, an openly weeping Cadance covers her face as she screams the name of the stallion she sought to protect, or rather the stallion she failed to protect. Blueblood started to trot to the main entrance as he addressed to his guards that they were dismissed for the night. Phalanx walked back to his prince as awaited his further orders.

"Attend to the princess. She is in need of comfort before she takes her leave from this filthy commoner establishment." Blueblood commanded before turning his attention to the depressed, heartbroken mare below his hooves. "You are fortunate this round. Had he stayed to comfort you, he might have seen his demise. Be thankful that I chose to spare his life..."

As he left the campus, he smiled as he looked to the moon. He laughed to himself as he walked. His plan had worked and now the stallion who took what was his, had now felt that he was lied to for Cadance's benefit. His smile grew wide as he sighed in joy.

"I plot to execute him, but instead ruined the lives of him and my dear cousin. But as an upside, I did manage to spare him from a gruesome fate... Such is the will of a generous pony."

"SHINING ARMOR! STOP RIGHT NOW AND TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU!?"

Velvet tried to stop her son from entering his room. She tried everything that she could while avoiding anything that would cause him some stress on his hind leg. She blocked his path and stood in the doorway, only for him to teleport behind her using the last of his magical strength. His legs finally gave out as he magically shut and locking the door, before his horn gave out.
l
He laid on the floor, assessing everything that happened that night. It all started off so well and then it turned into a complete nightmare. He went from hugging Cadance, to leaving the habitual liar of a princess on the grounds of the school. He went from having fun with his friends, to nearly being executed at the hooves of Prince Blueblood for delving into matters that were far older than him, his parents and even his grandparents.

He remained on the cold hardwood floor. For some odd reason, it seemed like the best place to be. The floor couldn't lie to him about it's age, it couldn't tell him that it loved him and became the object of his misfortune, it couldn't endanger his life as long as he stayed on the ground. It wouldn't use something as dumb as social rankings to sway the odds in it's favor. It didn't cast spells against him, healed him and try to execute him. It didn't have affairs with others. It couldn't get pregnant and miscarriage like ponies could. It didn't send any unwanted gifts to his doorstep...

...Maybe that one gift that turned out to be unpleasant was something that the floor gave to him.

Shining Armor looked at the sealed envelop on his floor. It lied just in front of him. It appeared to have fallen from the desk above. Maybe his mother might have placed it there but he didn't care. Deep inside he knew what it was and what it entitled. Not seeking to deepen his depression, he left the letter unopened. His eyes grew heavy as he rested on the cool surface of the floor. His mind floated back to the days before all of these events had occured.

He missed the days when his mother would scold him over making friends who were mares. He missed the days where he, Azure, Poindexter and Longshot hung out on the front lawn after school. He missed the days where he would anxiously awaited his father to return home from his duties. He even missed when his little sister threw stuff at him and called him names. His life was so simple before all of the past events had occurred. As his eyes shut, he grasped all of those fond memories in his hooves and crushed them against his body, not wanting to separate himself from the simpler lifestyle he lived.

He passed out with the unopened letter firmly placed under his hoof...

Dear Shining Armor,

It is evident from this letter that I will no longer be writing you. I don't want to see you again you inconsiderate, cruel, disrespectful, sorry excuse of a stallion. I wanted to open my heart to you and you respond to me by tearing it out of my chest and crushing it underneath your hoof. I don't care about your response because my dad had told me to stop writing you a long time ago. Even my mother had told me that to keep writing you was a bad idea.

I wanted to prove them wrong, that you were something special. But I was sorely mistaken.

I never want to hear word from you again. Forget my address and discard every letter that I've sent to you. I know I've already done the same to yours.

Goodbye forever.

~Rarity Andalusia Belle

ACT 1: ~end

Author's Note

HIATUS TIEM!!!

Glad you enjoyed the story thus far. But remember that this is just the halfway point. ~~why.jpg~~ But onto something that you've been seeing as of late.

Shining Armor Aegnus Sparkle.
Aegnus is an Irish Anglicized form of Gaelic Aonghas, meaning "excellent valor." So when they say his middle name, keep in mind that it does pertain to his personality as a guard. Also, since were on the topic of names...

Rarity Andalusia Belle.
Andalusia is a region in Spain south of the Iberian peninsula, commonly known for a breed of horses called the Pure-Spanish Horse or commonly known as the Andalusian horse. Their distinguishable figures consists of them being strongly built, compact, elegant with a thick mane and tail (which explains why her mane and tail can hold curls very well).

Also, Twilight (mother) Sparkle and Twilight (daughter) Sparkle are unique due to their similar names, hence my usual mix-ups in writing the chapters. I ranted on about the names Velvet and Violet because sometimes I would write Violet rather than Velvet. And that would mean that I wrote in that the daughter was the one to have sex with Shining instead of the mother. And also, the name Twilight has been a staple in their house name (from the maiden side of course) so the name would often be passed down from generation to generation, often with a middle name being their call to identify themselves from one another (because if you walk into a room full of mares under this name and call out Twilight, they'll all look at you asking which one). So to identify them seperately:
Twilight Velvet is the outgoing, charismatic, hotheaded, flirty, bold, and hard-headed mare that mothered
Twilight Violet; the adorkable, neurotic, independent, sometimes anti-social book worm that we all come to know and love.
Notice the colors of the name and look at this picture. See the streaks in their manes/tails?

One last thing. I pretty sure that you took in some of the weird words written in italics. That is what I would like to call Equin (Or a very shitty translation of Latin). Most times you would usually see a unicorn scholar or a high-level caster use these words. And with her being in a prominent position in the magic community, she would know the in's and out's of unicorn anatomy, magic in general as well as every spell listed outside of the Starswirl the Bearded Wing.

But headcanons aside, this is just half of the story. It's time to grow up.

And as for Blueblood... well he'll get his soon enough.

ACT ?: Quills, Ink and Sand

As the sands time filters into the empty bottom of the hour glass, glances of the lives that have been affected by the individuals in this story. Their emotions and personal thoughts fill the blank canvases known to be journal pages. Our two main characters, as well as others, share their inner-most thoughts as their lives carry on.

~Shining Armor
~Rarity Belle

April 27th, 992 in the year of Our Princess, Celeste Delanise Valkyrie.
It turns out that this will be the last time I ever date anypony for a while. I think that with the previous events of the past few months, and especially last night, my interest in mares have pretty much dwindled to that of a mustard seed. My mom still knocks on my door, asking me if everything was okay. And to this moment I refuse to answer.

I didn't bother going to school today. Why go and look at the faces of the ponies who would taunt me for my inability to defend myself? My friends would only want to talk about what happened last night and that was something that I just didn't want to talk about. They were my friends, but I just didn't want to face them after being so humiliated.

Finally read the letter that Rarity sent in. She was pretty peeved from my response, which was fine. I was willing to accept the consequences of my actions, but now she says that she didn't wanna talk to me anymore. I guess I really did a number on her.

I'm done with all of this "royal duty" nonsense. Whenever I find the strength to get out of this bed, I will march to the detainment center and file for my resignation. It's sad that I'm gonna let my dad down so early in my career.

Hell, what career?

April 27th, 992 C.D.V.
Worst. Birthday. Ever.

I went to school thinking that I could live life like nothing had happened. Well much to my misfortune, I was wrong. I couldn't help but to start crying when I finished my lessons in class, realizing that I didn't have to send a letter to my princ Shining Armor.

Why did he not like me? I may be younger than him but my maturity far surpasses those of other fillies my age. But that didn't matter now. As soon as I made it home, I ran to my room and ripped up all the letters that he had sent to me over the past five months. Of course, I made the mistake of wanting to keep myself attached to these letters. But I have to be a lady of my word and destroy all of the letters that I received.

My mom cooked dinner as usual. My father took to drinking his problems away. For some odd reason, he held a bitter disposition with mom at times. Their fights became more frequent and I had to spend more nights at the bakery with both Mr. Cream Cake and Cup Cake.

Cup finally started talking to the stallion she had a crush on for so long...

...I hated her since.

May 1st, 992 C.D.V.
Dad came home today. But instead of being his usual smiling self, he was unusually bitter. I don't know what's going on with dad, but whatever it is, it's not good.

Mom had a long day at work too. I guess nopony was really in a mood to talk. I wasn't exactly in the chipper mood myself. Today I had to explain to practically the entire student body what exactly had occurred to have a prince come to the school and curbstomp me into the grass, pend for my execution in front of my fellow classmates and why did I break up with a princess. You would think that after saying that you didn't wanna talk about it, they would leave you alone. Go figure. After about a full seven hours of constantly saying no, I finally caved and told them what exactly happened (everything that I was aware of). But of course it had to be the administration to take things to another level, saying that treason was inexcusable and that I would be expelled if I didn't explain.

So after I told the administrative staff, the staff told some of the teachers, some of the teachers told the other teachers, then told the other students. I couldn't even make it past the final hour without it getting back to me in the form of a rumor. Now everypony is saying that I tried run away with the princess and that Blueblood was there to put a stop to it. I didn't even meet up with my friends today because I tried to leave as soon as I could.

Fuck this city, fuck this day, fuck everything in all of creation.

...At least Twily had a good day.

May 2nd, 992 C.D.V.
My mom had asked me to see if I could spend a week with the Cake's. They told me that they wanted to go on a cruise to fix their marriage. My mom had finally told me the reason why their marriage was so unstable. It had something to do with Shining Armor.

It seems that I was spot on with the assumption that my mother was secretly engaging in illicit affairs with the one that I thought was to be my hero. If only I hadn't been so busy worshiping the ground he walked on, I would've uncovered the truth far sooner than this. No matter, it would be a while before I can find trust in my mother again.

Father's leg has gotten better. He's managed to walk with the assistance of a wheeled crutch. He still drinks from time to time, but it doesn't get to him like when it initially started. Those first few days, mother had to watch what she bought and how much of it. I guess she wanted to do something to ensure that he wouldn't get any worse.

My bags are packed and soon will be this journal. If only they were packed to move to Canterlo Why did I write that? Canterlot is where He lives. I don't want to move there for the time being.

May 6th, 992 C.D.V.

My dad came in from work really unnerved about an order that was issued to him by somepony he called "a spineless, selfish, cold-hearted, jelly-brained, arrogant son of a bitch".

I had an idea on who he was talking about. And boy did I agree with every word he said.

It seemed that he had a time period of twenty-four hours to make his decision whether or not he would participate of be punished accordingly.

I'm suddenly regretting the fact that my father talked me into staying in the guard. But if it was my only chance at a face-to-face encounter to sink a blade into that blue-waffled, crusty-cunt-flake coated, ass-n-heynnesy smelling, fucknugget excuse of "royalty", then believe I was going to go through hell to get it. And I was not going to pass up on an opportunity of ending him where he stood.

He needed to die.

May 7th, 992 C.D.V.
Well it would seem like dad will be here at home a lot more often than normal.

Apparently, he resigned his position as Captain of the Guard and his status as a royal guard altogether.

Princess Celestia tried to make him reconsider his early retirement, but it seems that he was pretty firm on his decision.

I don't understand why the hell the princess was so insistent on having him stay in the guard. Neither did I understand what exactly did he order him to do. Whatever it was that caused my father to set himself to an early retirement, must've really been fucked up in it's nature...

...Then again, it's BlueBitch we're talking about.

May 8th, 992 C.D.V
Cup and I got into a fight today.

I told her that she didn't need to be with a stallion who wanted to do nothing but break her heart and leave her crying in the late hours of the night. But the only thing that went into the late hours of the night was the constant slinging of words between the two of us.

She argued that I didn't know what I was talking about. She even said that she loved him. At this point, I wanted to bring some sense into her. And within five minutes, I just wanted to beat it into her.

Mr. Cream Cake did all he could to break us apart. He even had us sleep on the separate floors. I made myself a palliate on the kitchen floor, while she got to sleep in a comfortable bed.

I wanna go home. I can't stand it here.

May 8th, 992 C.D.V.
It seems like with each passing day, Blueblood's cruelty could not even begin to reach the levels of what he did to me on the night of the dance. And today father just informed to me and mom why he needed to be ousted.

Blueblood made an arrangement to illegally "purchase" an orphanage in the Canterlot Slums. And by purchase, I meant blackmail the owner into selling his deed. It even got so bad that I heard one of his most trusted guards resigned in shame after Princess Celestia caught on. And of course, Blueblood used the guards around him as a scapegoat.

He piled the charges, sent them on a poor lamb's back and guided him into a burning building. I hated him more than ever. Not only for trying to kill me, but also trying to use my father as a scapegoat in his operation.

Nine times out of ten, the princess let the guard go so she could eliminate all of his possible connections during his search for his new accomplice.

It's a shame that the will of one could ruin the lives of many.

May 9th, 992 C.D.V.
My parents came home only to find out that me and Cup got into a pretty big squabble. As Cup told her side of the story and I told mine, my mom summarized that it was I who started it out of spite of my recent romantic interest being nothing more than a flub. My dad whispered into my ear that he would punish me when I had arrived home for my misbehavior.

My plot is rather sore from the punishment that my father bestowed upon me.

His hooves hurt...

I wanna go to someplace far away from here.

Life just isn't fair.

May 10th, 992 C.D.V.
I have never seen mom so angry in my life.

I finally told my parents what all happened the night of the dance. She literally erupted in a sea of white and purple flames. I didn't even know that fire burned in those colors. My father was more physical with his anger management. He bucked the kitchen table into the wall and left a large gaping hole. We had to eat on the floor for dinner.

Later that night, I saw mom wearing a long black cloak as she walked outside of the door. She told me that she was going to the library. For what, she didn't say.

She came back home with a bunch of combat magic books and dropped them in front of my door as I slept. When I woke up, she was banging on my door. She wanted to start what she called "Intermediate Defensive, Generative and Assault Fortification" regiment at that moment. Pleaded to her that it was far too late and she replied with the first letters of her regiment name; I.D.G.A.F.

...This was going to be a long night.

May 29th, 992 C.D.V.
Hooray! Our teacher, Mrs. Saddlewood, had just placed me in charge of making the costumes for the school play this year!

I've never been so exited. Applejack could do nothing but cheer me on. Surf and Turf rejected the idea of having a blank flank take over the costumes and objected to the idea of being in the play. So they told the teacher that they wouldn't participate if I was the one who was doing the costumes. They were promptly dismissed and I was left with a big smile.

Finally, a moment where my artistic talents could be realized for what it was; art.

This will be the best summer ever!

June 14, 992 C.D.V.
This is turning out to be the worst summer ever.

The heat is horrendous, my mane is becoming frizzled in the sun, I'm starting to sweat and my costumes aren't coming out exactly as I imagined them. What makes it worse is that the the summer play performance was twenty-two days from now and I have no idea on how these costumes were going to make it on fabric in contrast to how I had it on paper.

I'm so pathetic...

June 15th, 992 C.D.V.
My summer just got a little lonelier.

Applejack, wanting to pursue the lifestyle of her parents, moved away to Manehattan to see if she could make it in a sophisitcated lifestyle. I envied her, though only for a bit. I learned that jealousy was not often to lead to successful friendships. That was last month's lesson.

But I couldn't wait to see her come back after spending all of her time in the luxurious life of being an uppercrust citizen. I only regret that it would be her who would live it first before me.

June 21st, 992 C.D.V.
My first patrol mission.

I was assigned to secure one of the travel routes that the princess was to take to the Summer Sun Celebration. Sadly, Twily would have to see me after my task was done. She wanted to watch Princess Celestia raise the sun on my back. She even wanted to go on all the rides at the big carnival they held in the Central District.

But yet again, my duties held me from having any fun. I remembered my dad saying that this would take some of my free time off my schedule, but I didn't think that it was so "no fun allowed".

I had to stand in the position of attention for a full four hours, with no breaks. My hooves hurt from standing in one spot, my legs ached for being so stiff and my eyes hurt from keeping them open for too long.

Finally the sun rose over the horizon. I could imagine my little sister being so excited over seeing the princess raise the sun. I bet that she wants to become a powerful unicorn one day. But unfortunately, her development prevented that. She should've been casting spells like a year ago, but the doctor said that it would be likely that her magic growth would be stunted compared to most other ponies her age.

My mom had different plans. She signed her up to take courses in the elementary department of my school; Canterlot's School for Gifted Unicorns.

If there was anything that I wanted to happen, it would be to take my little sister to the school I went to.

I wanted my mom to be right about her. Twily can do it. I know she can.

June 30th, 992 C.D.V.
So me, mom, and dad surprised Twily today with the letter of consideration to the Canterlot School for Gifted Unicorns.

She was so cute. She danced back and forth while she wore what could've been the biggest smile she ever had. But of course my ears folded in on themselves as soon as my mom read out that there would be an audition for her entrance exam.

Little Twi put on the bravest face and told all three of us that she would do everything she could to pass. It cheered me up, but only lightly because she wasn't aware of her current condition.

Mom, I hope that you're right for this.

July 3rd, 992 C.D.V.
Oh my ribbons and threads! These costumes are absolutely horrible! I can't get them to shine or anything. Mrs. Saddlewood told me that the costumes were just fine, but I didn't want them to be fine...

...I wanted them to be glamorous.

I wanted the ponies to witness in awe my talent and hard work. I wanted them to see my whole entire line and be amazed at what they are seeing. I mean sure the teacher likes it, but she's only saying that to be nice.

There's got to be something that I can do before the day after tomorrow, or else my big debut will be my big de-flop.

July 4th, 992 C.D.V.
What. The hell. Was that?

Out of nowhere there was this big explosion that rocked the entire city. And shortly after that explosion, there were lightning bolts firing from the school's elementary wing. And then there was a dragon that showed up out of fucking nowhere. I grabbed my spear and started making a dash for the area.

When I had got there, everything seemed to calm down for a bit. But there was one noise that stood out above everything else; my little sister's voice.

After running up three flight of stairs, down a corridor and into the classroom where my sister's voice was coming from, I saw both mom and dad smiling and crying. I even saw Princess Celestia herself in the classroom. But what grabbed my attention was something that I didn't think I would see coming until a year or two from now.

MY LITTLE SISTER HAS HER CUTIE MARK!

I ran into the classroom and swept up my little sister, swinging her as I hugged her little brains to mush. My day had been made... except for the bit of bad news that came after.

Princess Celestia said that she would have to start her training immediately. So effective tomorrow, my sister would be moving out and living in the palace with the princess.

She wouldn't be attending school with me. She would be home-schooled by what could be one of the best instructors in all of history; Princess Celestia herself.

But there was one lingering thought that stayed locked in my brain since two months ago.

Blueblood.

July 4th, 992 C.D.V.
My horn dragged me from my own room and into the craggy heights of ghastly gorge. I didn't know why but I figured that it had to been my destiny at work... that is until I saw the giant rock standing before me.

I screamed and stomped my hooves as I cursed my horn for being so useless. I just couldn't accept that my destiny was that of a gigantic rock. It was absurd. I would be a laughing stock if all I was known for was being able to find rocks.

Then suddenly, there was this extremely loud explosion. As I looked into the sky, I saw a large wave of prismatic light streak across the sky. And the sound wave that it produced had shook the entire gorge. But it also shattered the absurdly large boulder before me into two halves. As soon as I found it safe to approach, I saw something that completely changed my whole entire life.

GEMS! GEMS EVERYWHERE!

I smiled wide as I saw the beautiful array of colors that shone brightly against the sunlight. If my horn had sent me to this rock that had all of these gems inside of it, then maybe that's what I needed... FOR MY COSTUMES!

I lit my horn and placed it against the rock to see if that was what my horn reacted to. But as it's light glowed against the gems in the boulder, I could also see the gems under my hooves. I turned around to see if there were anymore.

Gems to my left. Gems to my right. Gems below and above me. Gems galore.

Then I had an idea popped up in my head, sounding like a bell timer. What if I could somehow place these gems into my fabrics to cause them to glitter and shine like I originally planned?

It's going to be a lot of work to move these gems, but it's worth a shot.

July 5th, 992 C.D.V.
Twily had already left an empty void that nopony could ever fill.

She had packed her things, her books, her Smarty Pants doll and took her wits with her. Now there was nothing to fill my mornings with juvenile laughter. She would no longer be able to race me to breakfast, race me to dinner, throw things at me or tell me some of the things that she learned out of various books. She was gone now...

...to the lair of the beast. I would be lying if I didn't say that my dad was doing all that he could to get himself back into the core. But everything he tried was a dead end.

But he did ship out the paperwork that could have me posted inside of the palace for duty. I would just have to leave home in order to do so.

I agreed without a second thought to slow me down. This was a chance to protect my little sister and take out Blueblood in a single setting.

The only time that I wouldn't be there is when I had to go to school. But even then, that's better than not being around in case something was to happen.

Hang on Twilight. Big bro's coming.

July 5th, 992 C.D.V.
The costumes came out without a problem.

The audience was so mesmerized by my work that the parents were asking the teacher who was the designer of this year's costumes. And much to their surprise, it was me. None of them were even expecting a school filly to be the one responsible for the array of colors that they saw on all the lovely costumes.

When I came out from backstage, all of the parents were looking at me, jaws dropping to the ground below. As I walked forward, I heard a gasp come from the audience. I turned my head to the direction of the disturbance to find my mother covering her mouth with her hoof, tears streaming down her eyes.

I was wondering what was making her cry but she continued to call out to me, pointing at me to look at something. I turned around to see what she was talking about but I came out inconclusive as I stared at the three diamonds I was wearing...

...wait. I'm not wearing any clothes.

I looked at my flank one last time and couldn't believe what I was seeing. My breath evacuated at the sight of my own cutie mark. I didn't know what to feel except woozy. I let myself fall against the stage floor and closed my eyes, trying to make sure that I was really dreaming.

Instead, I actually fainted.

July 6th, 992 C.D.V.
Applejack came back to Ponyville.

She decided that her place was on the farm and not in the big city. Though I can't imagine why she would stay on a dirty old farm over the luxury of being in a high-class state of living. But to each their own I guess.

We both talked about how we managed to get our cutie marks. But of course it turned out that that large explosion had led to our cutie marks. If there was one thing that we shared, despite our differences in tastes, it was that we shared the same occurrance of how our destinies came to be.

I'm glad that she is my friend.

July 12th, 992 C.D.V.
I was placed before the Counsel of Three today as they decided whether my abilities would be suitable for a position within the palace guards.

Princess Celestia was there, so was Blueblood and... well of course Her.

Twilight was nowhere to be seen at the moment. Maybe she was attending a class or something. But my mind was more focused on his meeting. My helmet hid who I really was, and it was to a major advantage that half of the entire guard had white coats and blue manes like mine. But the only defining thing that was to set me apart was my cutie mark and even that was covered in twelve layers of fucking heavy-ass cloth and two layers of steel. So they didn't recognize me... that is until Princess Celestia asked me for my name.

The moment I told them who I was, I saw Cadance jump out of her seat and Blueblood hold his hoof over his mouth to cover up his laughter.

Yeah... Keep laughing bitch.

If it wasn't for my mom's I.D.G.A.F. training regiment I wouldn't lasted as long as I originally thought, which was twelve seconds. And my grand total was a time of three minutes... standing.

Princess Celestia was most impressed at my abilities and offered me a position at the courtyard. I pleaded her for a position by her side, which made Cadance visibly saddened. I didn't care. Blueblood made a plea to have me placed at his side to be nothing more than his lapdog and scapegoat. I willingly agreed to his proposition, meaning that I could carry on my plans to off the bastard.

BUT NO! Cadance begged the princess with this long sob story on why I should be her guard instead of Blueblood's. Princess Celestia came to her decision and told me to attend to Cadance's every order.

I don't know which evil is lesser. The stallion that tried to kill me or the mare that endangered everyone I knew and love was trying to rip me away from any hope of protecting my little sister.

July 13th, 992 C.D.V.
Mom and dad came back from the hospital with some rather good news.

I was going to have a little sibling. I only hope that it is a girl so I can dress her up and brush her mane like I do to mine. I can't wait to see what the future has in store.

My life had drastically improved over the past few months. I guess my cutie mare is one of good fortune.

July 14th, 992 C.D.V.
I finally managed to see Twily again.

And her method of greeting me was a lovely little kick to my scrotum. Ouch.

It seems that Cadance managed to tell her about our break-up and she, of course, took the side of the winning team. Girls always wins when it comes to arguments. There is no such thing as winning against them. She was also getting some playtime in with Cadance too so that could explain the opportunities she has to speak with her.

And Twilight gave me a piece of her mind. If there anything that my sister could do, it was lecture me to death. But in her lecture, she managed to explain that Cadance had a hard time in the palace with all of the nobles being mean to her.

It didn't take a scientist of the newly-acquired rocket technology to fill in the blanks.

I feel so stupid for treating her like that. I hope that she could ever forgive me.

October 4th, 992 C.D.V.
It seems like three months had passed in the period of a week. Being a guard in the palace was hard work. I can barely even update this damn journal.

So it seems that Cadance was a little bitter about the whole break-up thing because I didn't apologize. She had successfully taken it out on me in various methods that involved ropes, whips, chains, paddles, beads and more prominent in her arsenal...

...strap-ons. Yeah I couldn't sit right for weeks. I managed to get back into school without too many issues. The only thing is that I have to be back on palace grounds by five thirty in the evening, or 1730 as they would perfer. But there was some good news out of this ordeal.

Blueblood managed to run out of scapegoats and Celestia managed to strip him of much of his authority and sentenced him to twenty-six thousand hours of community service at a small village known to be Trottingham. So that meant that I wouldn't see Blue for almost a full five years. I didn't really like the punishment, but hey I'll take that over nothing at all.

Me and Cadance's visits from Twilight have already started to shorten to as little as one hour per week, as her schedule would allow. She really loves that schedule.

October 9th, 992 C.D.V.
Longshot managed to make the same mistake that I made with Pearl.

He met a cute little mare from Ponyville (a seductive little freak to boot). If I remembered correctly her name was Elaina Love-Tap Mash. If that name wasn't an indicator of her highly overactive sex drive, then I don't know what is. Now she's pregnant with a foal and she thinks that it belongs to Longshot.

So Longshot, Poindexter, Azure and I decided to take this upcoming weekend to go out and start window shopping for cribs and the My Little Filly playsets.

We all even pitched in to buy diapers to send over to Ponyville just earlier this week.

We were all doing the same thing that we did when I had found out that Pearl was pregnant. And in the end, I realized how fucking awesome my friends were. I love those guys.

...no homo.

December 2nd, 992 C.D.V.
There are things in life that can make you happy. There are things that can make you sad. There are things that can alter your life forever. And then there were things, that even the strongest stallions in all of Equestria, couldn't hold their tears to.

I was summoned to Las Pegasus in order to help with the surveying of a crime that occurred in a small apartment complex. Of course there were the bodies of a mare and a stallion. They lied with their eyes halfway open, looking at something in the center of the bed. As the investigators continued to explore the scene, there was movement in the center of the two bodies. As we tried to see if the victims were still alive, we all just turned our heads in silence as a newborn foal was recovered from in between the two parents.

I just watched as the crying, infantile filly was wrapped up in a blanket and sent to the medical team outside for evac.

It was too cruel for fate to leave that young filly alive in between the decaying bodies of her parents. They protected her even until the very end. They gave their last breaths and their remaining body heat to keep the filly safe and warm inside of the cold December air.

Later, it was determined who was the closest family members to the young foal. So the authorities would ship her off to them and inform the family that they had encountered the two deaths of family members the closest to them. Whoever was going to see after the foal was going to be a crying mess.

Me on the other hoof... I wanted to go home and hug the nearest foal that I could see.

...Twily. I love you. So much.

December 3rd, 992 C.D.V.
I came into the palace causing a ruckus.

I protested my duties in favor of seeing my little sister just one more time. I just wanted to hold her. I wanted to let her know that I was here for her. She was my little sister and I will be damned if I will let her be harmed.

Eventually, I started galloping up and down the halls, screaming for her to come out. I didn't care how many of the other guards tried to stop me, I demanded that I saw my sister.

After about three hours of running around the palace and vocally protesting, Princess Celestia finally came to me and asked what the problem was. I asked her if I could tell her in private, and she acknowledged my request.

Forty-five minutes later, I finally got my wish.

I know that stallions are supposed to be strong when they're in front of their younger siblings, but I broke down and hugged her tightly and kissed her forehead. I smelled the lavender in her mane and saw the shine in her eyes. I felt the warmth of her body kindle against mine, the softness of her fur. The sweet voice that called me her Big Brother Best Friend Forever. My little sister...

...She was worth more than my own life. And I would give mine up to protect hers.

No questions asked.

December 3rd, 992 C.D.V.
I could only offer my condolences to her as she stood motionless, speechless as they told her the news.

Applejack's parents had been killed.

Poor thing, she didn't know how to react. Her big brother was constantly screaming in the yard about how unfair it was that he couldn't see his parents again. Poor Granny Smith was tearing up as she made all the letters to inform the other family members of the deaths.

Applejack just stood there, not knowing where to start from.

~Applejack

December 3rd, 992 C.D.V.
Princess Celestia can raise the sun and the moon...

...so does that mean that she can give ma and pa back?

I tried to reason with them, to have the princess come over and bring back ma and pa, but all they keep rambling on is the fact that my little sister, that we didn't even know existed until today, was there with them.

It just ain't fair I tell ya. SHE GOT TO SPEND TIME WITH MA AND PA AND we don't even get a day to...

...

...

...

...it just ain't fair.

December 10th, 992 C.D.V.
They held the funeral for Applejack's parents today.

It was a quiet and somber affair.

There isn't much to say...

Applejack... I so sorry.

December 25th, 992 C.D.V.
This was the first Heartswarming Day that the Apple family ever had without the little bit of hope of my parents coming home. Instead, we have a little sister who just started to walk on her own.

Ma and Pa were beyond dearly missed, they were wanted.

But all we have of them is the bow that they found in Applebloom's crib, Pa's yoke and Ma's old stetson.

Me and Big MacIntosh swore to wear those very items with the pride of the Apple Family. We were Applebloom's parents now.

December 25th, 992 C.D.V.
I spent this day in the hooves of my father, who managed to find his happiness once again and my mother, who was with foal.

We even invited the Cakes over to share the occasion with them. Mr. Cream Cake, Cup Cake and a stallion named Carrot Stalk came over to wish us a happy Heartswarming.

I made up with Cup and she introduced me to her new stallionfriend. He was really kind and good humored. Albeit he was rather awkward at times and clumsy, he seemed to be a good match for her...

...I wonder how He's doing.

December 25th, 992 C.D.V.
THIS SUCKS!

I can't believe my superior instructed me to stay here on patrol for the holidays while he went out and got plastered all over the sidewalk. THIS IS SO FUCKING UNBELIEVABLE!

Well, at least Twilight was safe at home with mom and dad. I bet they must be having a pretty nice time. But the fact that I won't be there to see them this year because of my duties makes me so angry. Now I know what dad felt when he was on patrol.

But Cadance was there to kinda put a smile on my face...

OKAY, FINE! I CONFESS! We started talking again. Only this time, we took things one step at a time and got to know each other for who we truly were.

I could've never thought that a princess had to go through so much hell, just to experience happiness.

April 6th, 993 C.D.V.
We're... so... screwed...

It's estrus season again and all of the maids are running across the palace to find guards to plow. At this moment, there are mares trying to bust down the doors of the barracks were the rest of us (who were lucky enough to escape) were shacked up inside of. This place was our last fortress of solitude. If this fell then we would all have to service the two-hundred plus mares that battered the door. Pegasi mares have already tried to invade using the windows. Unicorns have started to throw tables and chairs into the windows. The others just pushed a fallen pillar, like a make-shift battering ram, into the door.

We cannot get out...

They have taken the overpass, and the third corridor.
We have barred the doors... but cannot hold them for long.
The windows shatter around us.
The ground shakes...
Screams resound through the air.

We cannot get out...

A shadow moves in the darkness of our escape.
There are too many.

We cannot get out...

They are coming (that's what she said).

May 13th, 993 C.D.V.
Today, my prayers have been answered.

Symphonia Wenda Belle, shortened to the common name of reference Sweetie Belle, was born today in the Ponyville General Hospital.

She has emerald-green eyes, a white coat like mine, and a curly pink and purple mane.

She's so cute.

August 1st, 993 C.D.V.
My dad has came to a decision on his career.

He would run right back out on the field this season after his horrible leg injury and would do what he could to bring back the championship.

I hope that he's making the right decision.

August 11th, 993 C.D.V.
Not much to write about.

I went to a meeting. I ate lunch. hung out with Cadance and that was it.

...I'm so bored. Honestly can't wait to go back to school. Senior year is going to be the entire shit! I'm going to make this the best damn senior year ever. Hell, you can only have one senior year. It's gonna be great to see all my friends graduate from class and become guards with me.

I am so going to roast their shit in basic training.

September 12th, 993 C.D.V.
Longshot had to run to Ponyville this week.

Elaina had went into labor and she's being treated at the Ponyville General Hospital. On today, Longshot and Elaina are the proud parents of a strong young colt by the name by the name of Trigger Mash. From what I heard, she was pretty adamant on the name.

Either way, it's awesome to know that he's going to be raising his own little sniper. I am honored to be a friend of that stallion. I wish him all the success with his family.

October 9th, 993 C.D.V.
My parents are leaving on a vacation to Las Pegasus.

They can go over there if they want to, but the image of the dead family in the cold hotel room holding their filly still haunts me to a certain degree. True, it is one isolated incident, but it was enough to persuade me into not taking a visit anytime soon.

Senior year is pretty awesome thus far. These golden halls I walk shine ever so brightly as me and the boys take our daily slow-motion walks down the hall. We do it specifically to pick up mares (though I am taken at the moment). Poindexter grew out of his small framed figure and into something a little more built. Longshot grew tall and slender, mares can't seem to resist him, despite the fact that he does have a baby's momma down in Ponyville.

Azure has kinda melloed out after these past few years. He's really taken his lessons seriously and started to get into his classes. Though that doesn't matter after three years of nothing but B's and C's. But I'll give it to him; he really started to grow up.

Two to three years can really bring a lot of change...

November 5th, 993 C.D.V.
I can't stand the fact that a dream from a long time ago comes back to haunt me.

I had it again. The dream where the knight came to save me from the jaws of the evil dragon. I hate that dream because every time I have that dream, I end up thinking about things. When those things come to my mind, I try to rid myself of the feeling that comes shortly after I wake up. When I can't get rid of them one way... I end up being unlady-like in my attempts to rid them once and for all.

It still hurts me. But why does it keep coming back to do more damage than it does pleasure?

Dear Faust, make these dreams stop.

December 14th, 993 C.D.V.
There was an attack on Canterlot.

Members of the Ghost Griffon Faction came in from the northwest to attack our railroad lines. We managed to hold them off and regroup for a counter-attack. As soon as our aerial specialist force, Codename Wonderbolts (yes, I meant the show group), came flying in to take the fight to them, they couldn't do much but turn tail and haul ass.

Civilian casualties have been kept to a minimum, being that of a total of fifty six wounded and three lives lost.

Twily was helping out with the medical teams down below. I did what I could with my magic for our boys that got banged up in the battle. Sadly, I couldn't save all of them.

Dad, I now understand what all you meant by our jobs requiring us to lay more than just our lives on the line. Thank you for coming back home safely and with a sound mind.

I couldn't do what you did.

January 7th, 994 C.D.V.
I was assigned to a specialist squadron today.

Mission: Classified.

Status: Target eliminated.

...Can I really hold Twilight with this much blood on my hooves?

January 8th, 994 C.D.V.
Our teacher managed to inform us that there was the possibility of a war breaking out with the Griffon Kingdom.

I've never been so scared to hear those words come out of a pony's mouth. Immediately after school, I ran to my mom, thinking that the worst had happened.

To my temporary comfort, it would seem that when they say that a war could possibly break out, it means that it hadn't started yet.

But still, what caused all of this?

January 21st, 994 C.D.V.
I can't believe that the Griffon Kingdom has the balls to say that they weren't the ones responsible for this attack. This is bullshit!

They are the ones responsible! Those guys had their crest on their talons. They used their tactics. They wore the fucking uniform that had the damn sigils and everything!

And Princess Celestia just bought it!? Something has to be done about this! Innocent ponies are going to die if nothing is done!

FUCK SENIOR YEAR! WE NEED TO LIVE TO FUCKING GRADUATION!

~Cadance

January 21st, 994 C.D.V.
Shining Armor is very angry in hearing the results of our meeting.

I'm trying to convince him that we don't need to start pointless engagements and march ourselves into an early grave. I don't want to see anymore families crying over the bodies of their lost sons, fathers, brothers or friends. Even romances come to their untimely ends in the trenches of the front lines.

And that was one thing that I couldn't bear to see. I didn't want to be by the side of my dying Shining Armor. I didn't want to see his mother praying in a corner, only for the news of her son's passing to send her mourning to the floor. I can't look at Twilight and say that her dear brother has lost his life.

War is not needed and we, Equestria and the Griffon Kingdom, have already come to that agreement.

January 30th, 994 C.D.V.
The documents came in and stated that it was a rebel group large in number who wore the uniforms of the Griffon Forces.

These guys wanted to start a war simply because they didn't agree to the land-trade agreement. They wanted to keep the crystal mountains for their mining exports. So they wanted us to declare war on an otherwise peaceful nation.

I can't believe that there are some individuals out there who want to cause a immense amount of bloodshed over a land that is practically inhabitable. And all of it for the sake of greed...

...oh no.

Anypony but him.

February 3rd, 994 C.D.V.
It seems like that everything that happened with this talk of war was nothing more than a fluke.

What kind of pony, griffon or whatever would think of something like that? Starting a war for your own personal gain. Oh well, that business is now done.

I was asked to do the costumes for the drama department for the local high school. Apparently, my reputation had preceded me. So starting tomorrow, I will be heading out to find more gems to use with the fabrics. I guess I can come up with something in a short amount of time.

March 10th, 994 C.D.V.
I can't believe they actually liked my designs!

The production of Little Pot of Horrors came out alright, but the citizens of the town have really come around to me and wished me all the best on my future endeavors.

Ooh! I suppose that means that I will be a little more busy than usual. Less time to spend with Applejack...

...I suppose she would understand that business is indeed business.

April 27th, 994 C.D.V.
I believe that no other birthday shall top this as best.

MY MOTHER AND FATHER BOUGHT ME MY OWN PERSONAL SEWING MACHINE!

Now I don't have to bother my mother about using hers. It was getting rather annoying. Things were getting out of hoof especially the messes that I had to clean up in her room. But of course, mom and dad did tell me that I would have to work in the garage from here on.

I'm perfectly fine with that.

May 4th, 994 C.D.V.
Me and Applejack had a bit of a falling out.

Our differences were too great. She desired to work in the dirt, while I chose to live in organized chaos. She's blunt and harsh while I was gentle and fair.

It also didn't help that a stallion named Caramel that she had a crush on turned out to have a crush on me. I graciously declined, causing him to embrace sadness. And Applejack sought to defend him.

I think this will be the last time we ever speak to each other.

May 28th, 994 C.D.V.
We all graduated high school today.

My mom and dad were standing on the side of the stage as I claimed my diploma. Azure managed to come out swinging, though he just barely cracked the top half of the class. Poindexter made Salutatorian, surpassed by a surprisingly intelligent Longshot. Our jaws dropped when they initially claimed that Longshot was actually the Valedictorian. I managed to pass on honor roll as was happy with just that.

But of course, the mares of our class was left in tears as we all said our final farewells. And just one last time, the four of us in our caps and gowns walked in slow motion down the halls, just so the mares could scream at us one last time.

Outside of high school, life had taken a toll on me. But here, there was an escape from all of it. Here was where I made my mark and would always remember the fond memories in these colored halls.

Hail to thee our Alma Mater. Canterlot School for Gifted Unicorns. Shit was real.

June 16th, 994 C.D.V.
I am practically swamped with orders.

My teacher notified me that there were a few of her friends that were in need of a few trims and fits for their outfits. And being that I am the only one for miles that has an eye for extreme detail, my name had came up on the list first.

Of course I was not in it for the pay. My father's finances allowed me to purchase much of the fabrics needed to do the job and my attention to detail while being frugal in my usage allows me to minimize the amount of fabrics and threads used in my repairs.

After all, who needs payment when I can find gems in the ground?

June 18th, 994 C.D.V.
Big Mac paid me a visit today.

It turned out that his little sister's favorite ribbon had a large tear in it. She also wouldn't stop crying over it apparently. So he came over to get it repaired. I offered to do it free of charge.

He started talking about Applejack and how he was worried about our friendship was dissipating. I told him that it was just fine and that he didn't need to worry about it. After all, she and I are no longer friends after all.

After I finished tending to the ribbon, he placed a bag of bits on the table and left me chasing after him. I constantly screamed to him that this wasn't necessary but he returned my statement, saying that a mare's got to make an honest living and not allow herself to become a tool for somepony else's personal gain.

For a stallion of few words, he sure knew how to cut deep.

October 11th, 994 C.D.V.
The boys have officially entered into basic training.

And I was their drill sergeant.

...

...

...MWUAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

YOUR FUCKING ASSES ARE MINE YOU INBRED SHITSTAINS!

January 7th, 995 C.D.V.
I know my friends hate me for the hell they went through. But for the moment they can relish in the fact that they won't be seeing my face for a short period of time.

Today, they had successfully displayed the skill and conduct needed to complete their courses. Basic training was completed.

Now I pray that they are mentally ready for the real shit that's gotta go down.

Hoo-vah!

September 2nd, 995 C.D.V.
I can't believe this day has finally come.

I am now a student at Ponyville High. The students there are a variety of ponies. Though the school is a bit smaller than I thought it to be, I can easily say that this should make for an interesting year. Can't wait to meet some of my other classmates.

September 19th, 995 C.D.V.
Mr. Cream Cake had a heart attack at work today. I went over to the hospital and found out as soon as I got here about the bad news.

This day was the day that Cup lost her father.

He died on the operating table shortly after he came in. Sadly, the stress of his job became too much and he finally broke down. Cup had always said that he would...

...out of good taste I won't even finish that statement.

couldn't ever know how she feels about this. Her father ran the business and she was more of the co-captain of the ship that was the Sugarcube Corner. Now everything that once held her is now lost.

It's a good thing that Carrot took that internship over there at the bakery, otherwise she would be in this all by herself. He really was an amazing stallion. I consider her extremely fortunate not having to try her luck in a herd and be the lucky one chosen. He loved her and only her.

I wish that I would one day have a prince come say that about me... Oh who am I kidding? But I digress...

Rest in peace, Mr. Cake. Your wife welcomes you with open hooves.

February 17th, 996 C.D.V.
I can't believe that Princess Celestia has placed me in charge of a huge, thirty-day operation to wipe out the last of the Black Claw, the defected military core of the Griffon Kingdom.

And as it turned out, Azure, Longshot, Poindexter and I were all in the same group. What are the chances of that?

But I do know this; when we finish this mission, there will be a huge promotion for all of us in this.

Now if you would excuse me, I have a mission to complete.

March 21st, 996 C.D.V.
HO. LEE. FUCKING. IN MY ASS. SO DEEP I CAME. AND BARFED SEMEN. SHIT!

PRINCESS CELESTIA JUST MADE ME THE FUCKING CAPTAIN OF THE GUARD!

I am the youngest stallion to ever achieve this honor.

Can't write right now. I'm finna go get my ass drunk to shit!

...

And Cadance just literally fucked my brains out of my dick and into her womb. Best sex ever.

November 13th, 996 C.D.V.
When they say you can find help from the weirdest of places, they meant it.

A strange pink mare with a untamable, yet fluffy mane and tail, came prancing into town with a wagon full of balloons and streamers.

She was quite bold in her approaches... a bit too bold. She walked into Sugarcube Corner and ate about half of the inventory! But she also paid them back in full. She actually enjoyed the food so much that she offered to stay there and pay rent.

Cup and Carrot really needed the money to keep the business afloat, so reluctantly they agreed to her proposition. Then she rambled on and on...

...and on and on and on and-WILL THIS MARE EVER SHUT THE HELL UP!?

Finally her irrational sense of reasoning led her to believe that she should work over there at the bakery. The only thing she wanted was a place to stay.

I do believe she has a good heart, despite that mouth of hers running of the energy of a miniature sun.

April 13th, 997 C.D.V.
This was the worst estrus season yet.

Not only did we have to lock ourselves in the tower, but we had to abandon said tower in search of a more secured location. As we ran down the sunny corridors (curse you Celestia) into the emptyness of the throne room, Cadance thought it would be funny to pull that same stunt she did back in high school. She flew in, ghosted me, and left the others to be ruthlessly rutted into the red rugs of the main hall.

After Cadance was finished with me, I got a really weird letter in my room saying that I was in for the rutting of a lifetime.

Please no. My dick hurts.

April 15th, 997 C.D.V.
Remember that little letter placed on my desk? Guess who wrote it.

...Yup, I'm eternally screwed.

Twilight had successfully placed traps all over the entire castle. Oh sure, lets give unrestricted access to the female student of Princess Celestia that just so happen to be my little sister. And when I finally got caught...

...lets just say that little sister did growing up, did some homework and was ready for her extra-credit courses.

...

...

...

...I am utterly hopeless. My sister proceeded to rape me and I did nothing but enjoy the shit out of it. I know it's the pheromones that did all the hypnotic damage, but still...

...I have a mighty need to scrub my balls with a barbed-wire sponge.

April 27th, 997 C.D.V.
I have the best parents ever.

What did they do? Oh nothing shy of BUYING SOME LAND, BUILDING A BOUTIQUE AND SENDING IT MY WAY FOR MY SIXTEENTH BIRTHDAY!!!

I can't believe this is actually real. Sompony please pin-

...

And Pinkie Pie shows up out of nowhere and pinches me.

This day is truly the greatest! There are no words.

March 23rd, 998 C.D.V.
I had a strange dream tonight.

Apparently it was strangely erotic.

I ended up saving this one really beautiful damsel in distress. I tear off my armor and start kissing her, planting my lips whereever she so desired. And in the end, I ended mounting her.

I just hope that Cadance can't see into my dreams because if she could, the my shit is beyond fucked up. She'll be trying to tear my dick off and use it as her personal sex toy.

Welp, I guess it about that time to rub a good one out.

March 23rd, 998 C.D.V.
There is a reason that I keep a pillow placed firmly in between my hind legs.

It's because whenever I have that accursed dream, I start to ache inside. That aching turns into an itch that only the gentle cool feeling of my pillow grinding against my nethers can scratch.

Curse this dream, it drives me to ride myself silly. It's a system now. My dream comes up, I masturbate, I go to sleep. It's all like clock work. EVERY. SINGLE. NIGHT.

Why can't I soothe my inner cravings? I try to date other stallions, but none of them fill me with the excitement I feel whenever I dream about my prince saving me.

Maybe I should stop looking for him and let him come to me...

...but that will take too long.

December 14th, 998 C.D.V.
I tried to recreate my interaction of that dream I keep having with Cadance.

Nothing at all.

I'm more than scared to ask Twilight. Knowing her, she would say yes in the name of science. But you know what's really odd? The fact that dream always have the same mare with the indigo mane set in large luxurious curls. I want to plow that snow-white ass into the sheets. But I already do that with my current marefriend.

Maybe I need to ask Cadance about a threesome.

...

She said no.

January 3rd, 999 C.D.V.
I have to be dreaming a horrible nightmare.

I woke up this morning and thought to myself that this was going to be a beautiful fucking day. Birds are chirping and shit. Then I head into the breakfast nook and start making my waffles. Before I can even get myself a cup of batter, my jaw drops at the sight for sore eyes. And by sore, I meant burn my shit until they sizzle and crackle out of spite.

FUCKING BLUEBLOOD HAS ENTERED THE GODDAMN CASTLE!

Welp, there goes the year.

November 19th, 999 C.D.V.
There were two transfer students that I met from Cloudsdale High.

One ran into me and constantly apologized for bumping into me. I told her that it was okay and that she just needed to watch where she was going. But for some odd reason, I could not keep my eyes off of her. Her clean yellow coat, her long flowing pink mane and tail, her sweet little voice that trembled as she spoke. Her curved eyes. Her fragile demeanor...

...It was just... too... cute.

She and I had to get to know each other. She took after most of my interests after all. I believe that we would be the best of friends...

...until Applejack showed up with the other transfer student.

She was more suited to Applejack's tastes. Unkempt mane and tail, bold choice of colors (almost as if she couldn't choose which one was good enough so she decided to wear the whole damn rainbow on her), hyperactive and all the more, to put it blindly, HARSH.

She scolded poor Fluttershy for speaking with me. Apparently Applejack's been persuading her to join up with her.

And to think that these two pegasi actually were life-long friends when they were so different.

~Celeste Delanise Valkyrie (Celestia)

December 31st, 999 C.D.V.
Oh dear sister...

How have I long missed you.

The preparations are almost complete.

I do see that you are more than willing to participate now.

Your room has been readied for your arrival, dear sister.

Do you remember when we were younger?

How carefree we were when we were fillies?

It will all be the same.

We live in a gentler time.

Nopony will ever shun your night again.

They seek pleasure in your nights.

...Your stars.

They will aid you in your return to me.

I love you dear sister.

And happy new year...

...the years of the Sisters Reunited.

June 20th, 1000 C.D.V., 0 S.R.
I don't know why she has us writing that new year format down like that but I guess it's for a good reason.

Twilight left for Ponyville today. Princess Celestia has left the palace without an escort. And of course, she ordered that she would leave the palace alone.

Princess, what is it exactly are you planning?

June 20th, 1000 C.D.V.
I met another guest to the town, her name was Twilight Sparkle.

SHE CAME FROM CANTERLOT!

If it wasn't for my father's trade into the Seaddle Seaponies team, then I would be living there myself. She also had a cute little baby dragon named Spike with her. I think he has a little crush on me (so cute). Anyways her mane was a mess and I decided to tidy her up a bit. Turns out that bangs are her thing (though I don't see why personally). She left without as much as a goodbye.

Later we stayed up to party with Pinkie Pie and the other ponies here in the library. And Twilight quickly retired to her room. Well there's nothing that could be worse than having a party pooper along for the ride.

June 21st, 1000 C.D.V.
It got worse!

A large scary-looking alacorn mare came to Ponyville, kidnapping Princess Celestia and proclaiming that the night will last forever. She actually grabbed me and slapped me. Of all the nerve.

Anyways, we went to find the answers in the library. Then we had to trek into the unknown depths of the Everfree Forest. I fell down a cliff, I kicked a manticore in the face, laughed at some ugly looking trees, cut my tail off for a sea dragon to use as a mostache (seriously, my tail looks absolutely luxurious on his face)... Stop that.

To summarize everything in a few seconds, we went into the castle, followed the glowing from the other side of the castle, reunited with Twilight, big flash of light and now I'm wearing this lovely piece of enchanted jewelry on my neck.

Princess Celestia came forth and greeted her student Twilight... SHE'S CELESTIA'S WHAT!!?!?

Oh and trivia for the day; Princess Celestia actually has a younger sister named Princess Luna. Just going to let that sink in for a bit.

Anyways, we got back into town, had a celebration and Twilight was permitted to stay here with us to study her lessons in friendship.

I sure hope she has some for that rowdy Applejack.

June 21st, 1000 C.D.V., 0 S.R.
Okay, the night lasted a little longer than most us were comfortable with. And I'm a little upset that Twily will be based in Ponyville from here on. And I'm perfectly fine with whatever Celestia orders me to do...

BUT WHO IN THE BLUE SAM HELL FUCKING A MULE IS THAT!? IS EVERYPONY GETTING A BUY-ONE-PAIR-OF-WINGS-GET-A-HORN-FREE SALE OR SOMETHING!? HOW MANY FUCKING ALACORN PRINCESSES ARE THERE!?

There was this princess that we apparently didn't have for like a full one-thousand years. So what else is going to pop up that we should be aware of? Is one of the damn statues going to come to life? Will random shit start raining from the sky? Is a whole fucking nation just going to appear out of thin air? Let me guess, my sister is already an alacorn princess. I am sorry but none of that shit seems likely nor does it seem logical.

I am lost with all the shit that has been happening under my damn watch and Princess Celestia being so damn cryptic about shit is not going to help me at all. I think I need a drink.

And... Princess Luna... no way... she just didn't.

Azure... I think you're going to have a few problems buddy.

Author's Note

I covered 8 f*cking years in as little as 11,000 words. *Pant Pant*
So what do I win? Nothing.

You've read 8 years of mainly two character's lives in a nutshell.
What do you win? ACT 2 to be issued sometime during the course of 8 days.

I like the number 8.

ACT 2: Your Highness

The ponies of Ponyville danced and shouted with joy as their princess made declaration that her most trusted student will be taking residence in the town. The news brought much of it's excitement to the citizens as well as it's mayor, who had already started to fill out the necessary paperwork for various reasons. Some were something simple such as requests for unlimited rail access for the young student. Others were more perplexing matters such as a variety of insurance claims, healthcare benefits for certain ponies and waivers that protected against lawsuits. Even the postal service was to get a few noticeable upgrades from it's current condition.

Meanwhile, Princess Celestia and newly-established bearers of the Elements of Harmony talked inside of a well-guarded tent. The six young mares giggled and jumped for joy as their princess sought to know each of them better.

"Now what were all of your names again?" Celestia asked.

"Rainbow Dash! OhMyGoshOhMyGosh!" Stated a cyan pegasus mare. She had a wind-weathered mane and tail that displayed all the colors of the rainbow. Her cutie mark was a lightning bolt that struck in three different colors from a white cloud. She had a set of rich, magenta eyes and spoke with a raspy voice that cracked into a feminine tone every now and then.

The other mare that spoke was an earth-pony that had a rosy-colored coat, a summer-pink, poofy mane and tail. Her cutie mark was three balloons clustered together. Her eyes were a bright sky blue. She was very active in her conversations. "Pinkamena Diane Pie! But mostly everypony calls me Pinkie Pie! Whee!!! I can't believe that the princess is actually talking to us! But what should we talk about? Oh I know! We can talk about cake! I love chocolate cake with vanilla frosting. I also like to lick the frosting off the cake sometimes. But I only lick it off it has a real nice buttery texture to it. You know what else I like? Pudding! I like all kinds of pudding. Vanilla pudding, chocolate pudding, strawberry pudding, banana pudding, figgy pudding, ap-"

"Uh sugarcube, Ah think the princess asked only fer ya name." Interrupted the other earth-pony mare with a strong, tangy southern accent. Her bright-blonde mane and tail were tied into long ponytails. Her coat resembled a burnt orange color that matched perfectly with the brown stetson on her head. She donned two sets of freckles on each cheek and a cutie mark of three apples clustered together. "Mah name is Applejack by the way. Honored ta be meetin' ya." She extended a hoof while taking her hat off out of respect, looking the princess in the eyes with her large bright green orbs.

The next mare was rather timid in her approach. "Um... my... my name is Fluttershy your highness. ~doh" The whimpering pegasus mare had a pale yellow coat as well as a long flowing pink mane that stretched out across her face, covering half of her face from the princess. She bore a cutie mark of three pink and mint-green butterflies clustered together. Her voice was rather delicate and her eyes carried a mix between green and blue.

The final mare to introduce herself was a unicorn mare, much like her student. Though she was a far cry from Twilight's appearance. While the lavender mare's appearance was more homely and simplistic, this mare was completely different. Her coat shone as white as the virgin snow in the midst of the sun. Her rich indigo mane twined and curled into a set of luxurious and extravagant curls. Her eyes glowed a sapphire blue and she donned thick eyelashes as well as a light touch of eye shadow that matched her tri-gem cutie mark. "Your... majesty. Forgive me for my lackluster appearance. If I had known that Twilight Sparkle was your actual student then I would've dressed for the occasion."

"My dear, you have nothing to fret over. But I do fear that you have yet to refresh me on what your name was." The princess stated as she smiled.

"My name is of little importance. Please, I am humbled to be in your presence."

"No. It is an honor to meet all of the element bearers, and under the circumstances on this momentous day no less. But once again, I wish to know your name."

"I'm so sorry, princess. My name is Rarity Andalusia Belle." The beautified diva pony answered finally.

"Rarity... That name is a bit familiar..." Princess Celestia remembered that name from an event that involved one of her guards a long time ago. It didn't take the wheels in her head to start spinning to remember exactly where she heard that name, and seen this very mare from. "Very well then. I shall be seeing all of you very shortly. In the meantime, please partake in the festivities you worked so hard to provide."

"Yourhighness." The six mares bowed to the princess before slowly walking outside. As the group took their leave, Celestia waved her hoof, signaling one of her guards to meet with her. The guard approaches her side and she starts to whisper inside of his ear. In the meantime, the six mares speak among each other outside before making their departure to the amusements that awaited them. Suddenly, a guard came out to meet with one of the mares.

"Miss Twilight, the princess has asked you to speak with Princess Luna. I am sure that she will be most pleased to converse with you."

Twilight nods her head, confirming her task. "You can count on me, Princess."

As the lavender mare takes her leave, the guard addresses the young diva. "Miss Rarity, the princess has requested your presence. She wishes you to come alone."

The others look on with excitement as Rarity fumbles with her thoughts. "Me? Alone? WITH THE PRINCESS?"

The guard ignores her antics. This was practically apart of the job whenever it came to the princess. He urged the extravagantly groomed mare onward. "This way, miss."

"Well, I'll suppose I'll be meeting up with you girls in a moment. Do leave without me." Rarity speaks before disappearing into the tent once more.

As the guard and the fashionista entered, the princess awaited her on the other side of the room. She politely sipped a cup of tea before making her first statement.

"It's been a long time, miss Rarity."

Rarity looked at the princess as confused as the guard that looked that the mare he escorted in. "Excuse me... your highness?"

"You may have forgotten it as it was of a circumstance that wasn't within a pleasurable setting." She spoke, leaping over to her.

"I... don't recall."

"Your mother. Has her wounds healed since we last met?"

Rarity's eyes shot open as she finally remembered exactly what she was referring to. "Oh my goodness! Well she's doing quite well. In fact as of right now, I have a sibling that is eleven years shy of my age because of your healing spells."

"That is a relief to hear. I asked because I haven't heard much about your mother or you for that matter."

"My family cannot thank you nearly enough. Your spell was nothing shy of a miracle."

"It was nothing. A spell easily learned. You could even ask Twilight on the details."

"Well yes... how did Twilight become your student?"

"It was really more a happening of circumstance. Though I am pretty sure that you will find that out in due time."

Rarity pondered the meaning of what Celestia meant by she would find out in due time. Did she meant that it would be revealed to her by word of mouth, from Twilight herself, maybe from something that was coincidental? Rarity, however, was not one to stay on cryptic thoughts without a reason to delve any further. She took the answer as it was and bowed out of respect.

"Again, it is wonderful to see that you and your family is still in good health. But I am afraid that our parting will bear a bit of bad news."

Rarity looks up to the princess as she tries to figure out what the princess meant by 'bad news'. "Is there something the matter?"

"Yes. I'm afraid that I will be needing the element that you wear around your neck."

Rarity looked down at the purple jewel placed intricately on the center of the golden choker that rested on her neck. Her ears flopped to her head as she realized that the beautiful piece of jewelry would soon leave her possession. "I guess it was to good to be true to have something as beautiful as this on my neck. As heartbreaking as it would be, I have no other choice but to allow myself to part with it."

Rarity levitated the element off of her and into the hoof of the guard that stood beside her. Princess Celestia held a hoof to the chin of the crestfallen unicorn. "Do not fear, for you will have an opportunity to wear this element once more. As for now, I have to keep them sealed away for security reasons. Being that you are the chosen bearer of the Element of Generosity, I already place my trust into you. It is the other ponies that would grow jealous around you that I feel would be a threat."

"I understand." Rarity answered, looking up to the princess one last time before dismissing herself.

As Rarity made her exit, Princess Celestia levitated a purple and gold chest from underneath the table while gesturing to the guard.

"Sound Hoof, I need you to send after the others."

"CAPTAIN IS PRESENT! GUARDS, ATTENTION!"

"As you were."

The long line of armor clad ponies that lined the halls as Shining Armor walked through, took heed to their captain's order and proceeded perform their daily tasks. Shining Armor made his way through the long, carpeted corridor as he continued to inspect the security of the castle.

Under normal circumstances, Shining usually took advantage of his free time and made his way into the personal chambers of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza for a bit of fun. But with the knowledge that the sun took an unusual amount of time in order to rise and for it to take this long on the day most recognized for the extra hour of daylight, he knew that there was something amiss. His mind was more focused on finding out anything about his boss more than it was to pleasing his princess. Many of the guards could see the determination within his eyes and they acknowledged the fact that he was so determined to see that Princess Celestia was indeed safe and out of harm's way.

But that didn't stop a certain unicorn from walking the halls with another one of his herd in tow.

"Oh did the sun come out of hiding? I fear that Celestia is getting a little senile."

Many of the guards turned their heads in the direction of the prince who made the outlandish statement. Some of them bore looks of disbelief, others were just simply offended at the statement in general. Shining stepped forward and defended the solar princess' honor.

"So did the turn-tail prince come out of hiding? I fear that you're getting a tad bit useless."

Blueblood took his steps closer to the armored captain as he wore a scowl on his face. "I am the Prince of Magic and I will not tolerate disrespect, Captain."

"Princess Celestia is the sole princess who rules our lands, does our negotiations with other nations and countries, issues orders of a military objective, gets to know her subjects on a personal level, raises the sun and the moon, properly teaches little fillies in the ways of magic and she is a pony who would give her life for the sake of protecting all of us. You are a little colt that protects only what interests you and what ultimately gets you off. You don't respect your superiors nor do you respect anything that they stand for. You don't even have any power. The only thing that you carry is a title. But I'm so sorry, I didn't mean no disrespect sir prince."

"Oh please, Captain. If you think that I am offended by your banter, then you are sorely mistaken. Please feel free to fornicate with that slut-tease of a princess that you supposedly 'guard' every single night."

"Well you look offended, but please feel free to stick your dick inside of a mare that has some power over you-OH WAIT!"

Blueblood breathes heavily as he halts his approach, standing muzzle-to-muzzle with the guard who challenged him. "You would be wise to end our little playground exchange here and now."

"Oh what's the matter. Some kid took your lunch money and gave it to charity?"

"Those are words that instigate wars, sir Captain."

"And my dick instigate the sound of your dreams barfing up my cum. The only difference is that your dreams actually keep coming back for more. What a dirty bitch."

"YOU TAKE THAT BACK!" Blueblood screams.

"And she calls me daddy every time she swallows." Shining whispers.

Blueblood inches himself closer as he curls his hooves into the ground, furious that the captain dared to call him out. "I... am going... to end you."

"How? You don't have the authority. In fact, I'd see another pony walking into the damn castle and taking up what was your's sooner than Celestia giving you a second chance after your last inglorious fuck up. You have no power here, you whiny, self-absorbed, prissy, spoiled, pussy-lipped, two-faced, arrogant, self-serving, sexually-aggressive, racist, homophobe, misogynistic, cowardly, degenerate waste of pony hide."

"Are you done?"

"No, bitch... now I'm done."

Blueblood took a deep breath as he came to the conclusion that the only way to silence the boastful captain was to put him in his place. And it would be similar to how it had happened eight years past. "Then suppose you wish to engage in a duel. How about it? A rematch for redemption of that one night where my royal seed rained upon your face."

"You cheeky dickwaffle. You would like me to waste more of my time and indulge in more of your depraved fantasies, wouldn't you?"

"So you must be ready to take it to the hilt, you commo-"

"BOYS!" The two stallions halt their stand-off as another figure approaches from the end of the hall. Shining Armor bowed down to the figure who walked to them. Cadance acknowledge Shining's gesture of respect and allowed him to raise from his submissive posture. "Can you minimize your foreplay? I really don't think that you have the time to be engaging in Blue's ideals."

"Forgive me princess. I apologize for-"

"You'll also be punished for that little comment about the, quote-unquote, 'dick in authority'."

Shining closed his eyes in shame as the other guards oohed and chuckled in the background. Blueblood also took a laugh as the over-excited captain humbled himself. "I'm sorry, your majesty."

"Meaning that everypony in the castle knows that we're dating doesn't mean that you are allowed to disclose our more... private affairs." Cadance states as she slowly approaches the purple-armor clad stallion. The other guards in attendance whistle and whoo at the statement of the princess engaging, and openly admitting, that the captain and her were currently involved with each other.

"GUARDS! AT-TEN-TION!" Shining Armor shouted, causing every guard in the hall to line up and keep quiet. The young captain snorted as he grew annoyed at the lecture that he was going to receive.

"So how would you discipline your guard today, Cadenza?" Blueblood asked in a chortle, Cadance zipped her eyes to the ignorant prince.

"It is not for you to know. Now please excuse yourself, this is my jurisdiction and I don't see that you are needed in the matter."

Blueblood rolled his eyes and groaned at Cadance's order. "Ugh, yes... princess."

As the verbally defeated royal angrily trotted down the hall, his trophy followed him while trying to stifle a laugh. Blueblood was embarrassed to the point where one of his own servants saw humor in his failure. Meanwhile, Cadance circled her captain as she tried to figure out exactly how she was going to chastise the boastful captain in front of his guard. Shining sweated nervously as the sounds of her hoofsteps wandered around him.

"Sticking your dick into some authority... I wonder what kind of punishment this would call for. Maybe I can take a page from Blue's notebook and tie you up to the wall and give you thirty lashes."

"I would deserve it, your highness, for my brash statements." He admitted, lobbying for mercy.

"...You would like that wouldn't you, you naughty little boy?"

Shining's eyes shot wide open at the princess's teasing. He kept his voice as low as possible as he urged her to stop playing with him. "Prinzezz, now iz not the time."

"It's never the time. But I do tend to make time for it, since you apparently have the freedom to do so. I mean, you have no literal duties that you are performing at the moment."

"Actually-"

"Oh, so you do have something to do that's more important than your marefriend?"

"Well... we're supposed to be trying to find Princess Celestia." Shining answered guiltily.

Cadance's tone suddenly changed from a flirty tone to a more serious one. "Then please inform to me why you managed to get distracted from your duties."

"No excuse, princess."

"Then stop trying to pick fights and do what it is that you are supposed to do." The pink princess orders to her captain as her attention immediately turns to the guards around them. "GUARDS, DISPERSE! I WANT YOU TO COMB ALL OF THE CENTRAL REGION OF EQUESTRIA! SHE COULDN'T HAVE GONE TOO FAR ON HER OWN!"

The roaring sound of dozens of the guards' clattering as they brought their forelegs to their head and saluted the princess' order. "YES, PRINCESS!"

And just like that, the dozens of guardsponies fled to various locations within the palace. Princess Cadance saw that the guards left and then turned her attention to her captain. He stood at attention as she walked up to him. If there was anything that Shining took into consideration, it was that no matter the fact that the princess was his marefriend, she was still his superior for the majority of the day. And it was his job to adhere to her every order.

"Shining... *sigh* Why did you let Blue get to you like that?"

"I'm sorry princess. It won't happen again."

"You've been saying that for a year now. And not once has it changed. I know that you despise him for all the strife that he put you through, but you have got to learn how to take a high road."

"But this time he insulte-"

"Okay, he may be a little bitter at the princess for sending him to do community service in Trottingham for almost five years. Let him be. His bitterness will only get him in even deeper trouble."

Shining groans at the idea of ignoring the taunts of the disrespectful prince. "Why does she allow him to stay? He shipped money to the Black Claw-"

"Indirectly. He was sending money to one of his griffon partners in the shady side of the royal business, who in turn sent that money to the terrorists, who then used it to stock up on weapons, uniforms and rations. True, auntie found out and sent him away for something that he was completely unaware of."

Shining rolled his eyes as he combated her argument. "He was not unaware. He knew what he was doing."

"Yet we couldn't find proof of his direct involvement." Cadance rebutted. "She could only take away his authority in the matters of the economy, which after a while started to do some serious damage to the rebel faction. And plus, she has a bit of favoritism for him."

"Like what, cause I don't see it."

"She was her first student to be instructed by her in many years and the only one that she directly instructed while being a mother figure to him. She treats him like her own. She wants to see him change back into the Blueblood that she raised to become a prince."

"But even you said that he didn't have much love in his heart, so couldn't it been nothing more than a ruse?"

"Maybe. But at least in those days, he was really really sincere to his studies and his principles."

"Power corrupts, Cadance."

Cadance took some offense to his statement and offered to prove him wrong. "So are you saying that I'm corrupt?"

Shining jumped back from his previous statement. He stuttered and fumbled his words as he tried to convince Cadance that she was not subject to his blunt assumption. "No... I'm not saying that at all."

"I understand your frustration. But put it this way, if you were to marry me one day then you would carry a title. How would you feel if ponies started calling you corrupt if you had the title of prince?"

Shining thought about his friends calling him an evil politician or a shady captain in this case. His ears folded into his skull at the thought of being hated by everyone. "...Not too well."

"You already carry the title of Captain of the Royal Guard. You don't need to be royalty for others to call you corrupt."

"But-"

"Power corrupts, Shining Armor. But it can be controlled if one's heart is pure and sincere. Even my heart may not be all pure, but I've learn to control it."

"But you've been in power and was taken advantage of by those who had power under you."

"Yes. But does that mean that I have to be vindictive in return?"

"...No."

Cadance walked up to her captain, firmly grasped his chin and planted her lips into his. She stayed long enough to give him some time to consider her argument. As she pulled back, their lips separate with with the sound of an audible smack. "Shining, I love you. You know this. If I had any corruption inside of me, then do you think I would've just let you go the first time?"

Shining giggled at the thought of her being so selfish that she would devise some master plan to get him back against his will. It amused him because she didn't have a need to at this point. He came back to her by his own choice. "No."

"Then do you believe me when I say that power can be controlled rather than it being in control?"

"Okay, I give up."

Cadance wrapped her hooves around the neck of the young captain, rallying him to close the distance between them. "Shining. I know that Blue can be a total dick sometimes, but I really need you to learn to not feed him any attention."

Shining nods in agreement. "Okay."

"Good. Now c'mere and kiss me."

He softly presses his lips into hers and shifted his angle slightly to give him some room to welcome her inside. Before his tongue made it's appearance, he whispered to her. "Yes, my princess."

Cadance slowly bit her lip, allowing it to gradually slide from her grasp as the enchanting breaths of her coltfriend started to stir within her a desire most lewd. She pulls him in, disallowing any form of retreat from her captain. He follows her every non-verbal command and pulls his mouth into hers. His tongue sinks against hers as she gasps in yearning of his attentive organ to touch every place within her body. Her hindquarters grew warmer with every time his hoof came around to caress her, stroking ever closer to her succulent flank.

"CAPTAIN! PRINCESS CELESTIA HAS RETURNED!"

"Fuck!" Cadance spurts out, irritated that their romantic moment was interrupted by the announcement.

"Gotta go, Cadie. Duty calls." He states to her, giving her one final peck on the lips before dashing down the hallway. Cadance shifts her hind legs as she feels the increased moisture beginning to seep out from her hidden folds. Cadance growls before she screams out to the galloping stallion.

"YOU ARE FINISHING WHAT YOU'VE STARTED WHEN YOU GET BACK, DO YOU HEAR ME!?"

Princess Celestia as well as her younger sister, Princess Luna walks down the halls of the Palace as the many servants and guards line up along the sides of them. Many of course are silent out of respect, however few question the strange blue alacorn mare that walks alongside her. Judging from the stature of the blue mare, they assumed that she was still a child in comparison to even Cadance. As they arrive, the Captain of the Guard dashes in front of the two winged unicorns. He holds his head low while addressing the ivory princess.

"Princess Celestia, it is of a great relief that you would return to us unharmed."

"Captain Shining Armor, I do apologize for my sudden leave. But I have returned with most excellent news."

Shining looks at the towering figure of his princess and saw that she wore a smile unlike any other that he has seen. "I can see that you are in high spirits, princess. Please share with us your findings."

Princess Celestia urges the bowing stallion to rise as she makes her announcement. Clearing her throat, she stands proudly as her wings unfurl and extends to their optimum lengths. Her voice brimmed with cheer as she spoke.

"My dearest subjects. Today is a day unlike any other. I have left in a search of one's self and have come back with more news than what could have been anticipated. As you all know, I have made a declaration on the first day of this very year, Year Zero of the Sisterhood Reunited, that this will be herald as the dawn of a new age. An age that has never been seen since the passing of a thousand years. Year Four-Hundred Sixty-Two of the Two Sisters, a day that I proclaimed that the year will hold to the title known to be the era of Celeste Delanise Valkyrie, came the banishing of Nightmare Moon and the dawn of the Summer Sun Celebration."

The ponies remain silent as Celestia resumed with her decree.

"A thousand years has long passed as this day has finally come. For today we celebrate in honor of three miraculous events. The first of these events is that of the annual Summer Sun Celebration and also of it's newest opposite. Let it be decreed that the date of December the Twenty-First shall be proclaimed as the Wintertide Moon Festival, when the night shall hold the extra hour of darkness."

The mass of maids and guards applaud their princess upon her decree as she allows them to finish before carrying on her decree.

"Secondly, it shall be known that my dear student, Twilight Sparkle will no longer be with us for the moment to carry on her studies abroad. Her reason being is that she has found the new bearers of the Elements of Harmony. Bearers are as named to their element as followed. Jacqueline Samantha Apple, known to the name of Applejack, is the bearer of the Element of Honesty. Prisma Ricarda Dash, known to the name of Rainbow Dash, shall bear the Element of Loyalty. Pinkamena Diane Pie, known to the name of Pinkie Pie, shall bear the Element of Laughter. Filomena Silvana Abelie, known to the name of Fluttershy, shall bear the Element of Kindness."

The ponies continued to applaud as the names were called out.

"Rarity Andalusia Belle, known to the name of Rarity, shall bear the Element of Generosity."

Shining's ears perked at that name. It wasn't just a name that he remembered over the passage of time, it was a name that was engraved into his memory. He held his tongue as the princess called the final name of the last bearer.

"Twilight Violet Arcana Sparkle, known to all of you as Twilight Sparkle, shall bear the Judge Element, the Element of Magic."

At that point, Shining Armor lost most of his composure. He cleared his throat as he screamed internally at his little sister's big accomplishment. The others continued to applaud loudly. Celestia carried on to her final portion of her decree.

"Last but certainly never the least. Nightmare Moon has been vanquished once again, this time permanently. As her dark magics pulled away and dispersed into the light of the elements, a new princess returns to all of you. Fillies and Gentlecolts, it is with much joy that I finally introduce to you, for the first time in one-thousand years, Princess Luneste Seline Valkyrie, my dearest little sister."

And Shining could no longer hold his discipline. "SAY WHAT!!!"

Gasps and awes come from the audience that had assembled in the halls of Canterlot. Many of them are unsure as to what to think of their princess having a younger sister. Even some of the guards started to question on what was going to happen now. How would the chain of command change now that there was another princess among them? Only time could tell.

"Princess Luna shall hold the title of the Princess of the Night, meaning that she shall resume her duties of raising and lowering the moon, commander-in-chief of the nightly guard, and also the guardian of dreams. These are all the tidings of good news that I have to offer. And just as you would treat me, I do expect you to treat her with the same warm-heartedness that you show unto me. Thank you all for your commendable service, and let us join for a mighty feast tonight in her honor. I bid you farewell until the festivities tonight."

Shining and the other ponies remained standing in place as the shock of the situation started to set in. The two princesses walked side by side as they conversed with one another.

"Dear captain." Luna called to the shocked and now even more surprised Shining Armor.

"Y-y-yes, p-p-princess?"

"Would you so kindly escort me and my elder sister to our quarters? I fear that we have much to catch up on." She asked with a juvenile, yet soothing voice.

"At once, princess."

Shining galloped to the side of the princesses as he left the hall of babbling ponies as they talked about the changes that would soon hit them. There was much on his mind that matched their conversations word-for-word. But sadly he would not have the time to partake in them.

He still had a job to do.

"I don't see what makes the guard of today so special over the guard of our time, dear sister." Luna says as she looks at the long line of guards posted on each side of the grand hall.

"You shall see for yourself. The guards these days are more attuned to the safety of our citizens equally as they are to us. They are no longer pretentious to the point where only the nobles would be paramount to the common pony." Celestia states in their defense.

"But even the captain could not withhold his enthusiasm as my name was announced."

"Could you if you were in his position?" Celestia asks. "He just found out that one; you are my sister, two; his sister is now a bearer of an Element of Harmony, and three; he has heard of the name of the mare who once pined for him in their youth."

"The captain does seem a little young for this position, dear sister." Luna admits to Shining's surprise. He feels a little offended that he would be referenced to be 'too young' to be in this position. But at the same time, he was proud of that facet of his job. He was the youngest to ever achieve it.

"He is the youngest to achieve that honor. His combat prowess, his magical skill and his physical strength is quite unusual in terms of the unicorn standard. He takes after his father very well."

"So he is of a legacy?"

"Actually, he's the beginning of one."

Shining feels a little nervous that the princess are speaking about him so openly. Though he can only remain silent as he continues his task of escorting the two princesses to their private quarters.

"So what was his name again, Celestia dear sister?"

"Shining Armor Aegnus Sparkle, more commonly known to be Shining Armor. Shining by those who are acquainted with him."

"I see... So Sir Shining, do you enjoy being in my sister's company?"

Shining takes a deep breath in order to calm down. He raises his head and answers the younger princess quickly. "It is an honor your majesty. And it will be an honor to serve you as well."

Luna smiled at the kind words of the young captain. "Your warm words of welcome pleases your princess. Pray tell, how young are you?"

Shining starts to sweat bullets. Princess Celestia's younger sister had asked him about his age. What else did she want to know about him? He once again answered her quickly. "Twenty-Five, princess. Forgive my for asking so harshly, but what fuels your desire to know of it?"

"Your voice is a soothing whisper. A rich tenor that can sing to me many psalms of virtue. You speak with an eager ambition yet shy in it's approach. It is adolescent in it's nature. And your current appearance does not even resemble the age you gave to me. In fact, you look far younger than you lead on to be."

Shining was confused on whether she was describing him from a novel's perspective or if she was hitting on him. "Your majesty, how old do I look?"

"Hmmm... From the time period that I have grown accustomed to, I would say around fourteen to sixteen years of age."

The princess just told him that he was a full ten years younger than what she had originally anticipated. Shining blushed at the fact that the princess perceived to be so young. "Um... thanks?"

"Luna, most colts now and days look like this because of their nutritious diets and healthy standards of living. The life expectancy has doubled, nearly tripled for ponies everywhere. Now they all grow faster than they lead on to be and they look far younger for far longer." Celestia stated. Shining Armor sighed to himself as the elder princess made him seem a lot more insignificant. He at least wanted to bask in the praise of her little sister for a little while longer.

"Another thing, dear sister. Do stallions still... you know... court?" Luna asked.

"I do recall it being called 'dating' nowadays, but yes. In fact, they are more open to it than ever."

"So does this captain have one that he may court for himself?"

Shining freezes as the other guards in the hall shift their eyes to the three ponies in the middle of the hallway. Luckily, Celestia comes to his aid before he was forced to answer that question for himself. "Yes actually. He is currently engaged to another princess for the time being. Her name is Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, though she prefers the name Cadance."

"Oh... Well I suppose that the other guards aren't allowed to engage in the courting practices." Luna states with a softened tone, seemingly upset.

"Actually, many of the guards here do date mares to their liking. But I-"

"THEY DOST!?" Luna exclaims, rumbling the halls of the palace with the sound of her tri-harmonic voice. Shining covers his ears as the surging decibels causes him pain. Most of the other guards feel the same pain as an eager Luna runs to a nearby guard, picking him out of the crowd of others.

"Luna dear, I don't think that's how it quite wo-"

"You. What is your name?" She asks to an armored unicorn stallion with a midnight-blue coat and a silver mane. His green eyes shrank to tiny dimes as the exuberant princess demanded his name.

"A-A-Azure... S-Sword... princess." He answered shaking with nervousness.

"Hmm... You seem to be around the age of our fair captain here." She said as she looked up to the surprised guard.

"Well... we did attend high school together... princess." He admitted, still trembling a bit.

"So it would seem that not only are these guards well-nourished and groomed, but that they are also very well-educated." Luna spoke to her older sister who stood side by side with Shining Armor.

"It would appear that way." Celestia returned her sisters sentiment. Luna smiled as she took in the knowledge that the guard was something that was similar to her interests.

"Very well then. I will have him escort me to the banquet tonight, and he shall become my watch for the evening hour. I expect him to be at my door at around six. And I also pray that he has no further plans for he shall spend the night with me."

Her statement caused three voices to erupt simultaneously as the other guards gasped in surprise.

"WHAT!" Shining Armor shouted as his jaw fell to the floor.

"PRINCESS!" Azure exclaimed as he couldn't believe that she bluntly placed him on the duties of being nothing more than trophy.

"LUNESTE!" Screamed the elder sister at her younger sibling's statement to have him spend the night.

"What?" Luna asked as she looked at the two ponies that stood behind her. "It won't be as if we'll be engaging in any lustrous activities. Now let us trek onward."

Celestia and Shining Armor shook themselves out of shock and started to make their way to the final hall of their journey. Shining started to trot onward before Celestia stopped him cold. "A moment, Captain. Allow our young guard here to accompany us to the room as well. Also please feel free to call off the escort party if you will."

Shining knew exactly what this was. He been through it less than eight years ago when he started dating Cadance all over again. He just chuckled at the the princess' command and followed through on it.

"COMPANY, DISMISSED!"

The other guards turned to the end of the hall as the unison sound of armor and hooves slammed and cracked loudly throughout the halls. The long line of guards made themselves scarce as the four ponies walked down the hall, made a right turn and stopped at a set of two doors. To Shining it was of no surprise to see the doors as he had escorted the princess to this area many times before, but what did surprise him was the fact that the insignia on the dark blue door resembled the cutie mark of the small-framed blue alacorn. To Azure, this was a complete surprise. He didn't even know that this hall had even existed.

"Shining Armor, can you show Princess Luna to her living arrangements?" Celestia asked.

Shining nodded as he guided the princess of the night into her new bedroom. "This way, princess."

Azure offered to follow them but found an ivory-colored hoof clad in gold holding him back from entering. Celestia smiled eerily as she walked slowly in front of the bewildered guard.

"I see that Luna has requested your presence to the banquet tonight." Celestia sounded off with a cheery tone. Azure started to get comfortable in seeing his ruler smile.

"I honestly didn't know that she would choose me your majesty. I am more than humbled to escort Princess Luna to the banquet." Azure says with confidence building in his heart.

"Good. I hope that my sister will be treated to the best night of her life while she is with you." And then the sun came out. "Because if you don't..."

Azure swore he could have heard the distinctive sound of a wine glass shattering in an empty room as Celestia seemed to tower above his trembling form. Celestia slowly descended her head to the ear of a now-scared Azure, letting her scalding exhales kiss his neck as he imagined the multitude of the consequences. She raised a hoof to the back of his head and spoke softly as Azure's hope for escape dwindled down to nothing more than that of an eye of a sewing needle.

"...I will find a suitable place for you on the sun. Luna is my little sister and I don't want to see her hurt after all these years. So if you burn her..." She slowly cradles his head closer to her as her muzzle closes in on his ear, letting him feel the searing heat of her words brand into his brain. "I'll burn you."

She gives him a slow peck on the cheek as her soft lips presses against him, showering it with the intensity of an oven set to broil. As she retreats, Azure is left to a bumbling incoherent mess. Before anything else could be said, Shining Armor calls out to the princess.

"Princess Celestia, Princess Luna sends for you."

Celestia regains her regality and trots to the room of her younger sister. "Very well, Captain. You and your guard are dismissed for the time being. Oh and Azure... Do try to be on time. Punctuality is a valuable asset to the life of a guard."

The doors close with a resounding boom as the two guards are left in silence. Shining Armor starts to chuckle as he looks at the current state of his friend.

"W-what's so funny?" Azure asks as he looks to his laughing friend.

"Nothing... So is Celestia's lips a little hotter than normal or is it just me?"

"YOU KNEW THAT THIS WAS GOING TO HAPPEN!?" Azure shouted as Shining urged him to use his inside voice.

"Well, I'm dating Cadance, her niece." Shining said with a smug look.

"Oh... right. So what do I do now?" Azure asks before Shining walks off in a fit of laughter. Of course, Azure doesn't seem to know what the joke was exactly. "No. I being serious. C'mon. Please say something."

Shining laughed some more as he shook his head, remembering that this was all a part of his trials with Cadance. He placed a hoof around Azure's neck and said in a mumble.

"Azure... I think you're going to have a few problems buddy."

Author's Note

I had to look up names and their meanings in order to get this right. But luckily the names won't be a reoccurring thing unless there were weddings involved. But either way, this should prove to be an interesting setup for future shenanigans. Hope that the chapter was half decent. Now if you excuse me, I'll be out of commission due to Comcast being an asshole on internet usage.

ACT 2: The Night of the Banquet

"So... how do I look?"

"Calm down, Az. You already know that everything is going to be fine. And besides, you're wearing armor. You're always wearing armor."

Shining Armor and Azure were fitting themselves for the next leg of their duties. Their assignment was rather simple as it was to escort Princess Cadance, Princess Luna and Princess Celestia to the banquet. Shining Armor was dressed in a white and purple uniform clad with ribbons and medals. His cutie mark was shown on the collar. Azure was dressed in a silver-plated armor which was saved for instances of royal gatherings. But despite the fact that he was going to a banquet wearing armor that covered much of his body, hes thoughts on his self appearance had proved to be a worry on behalf of the fact that he would be in attendance with none other than the Princess of the Night. Meanwhile, Longshot and Poindexter sat on the other side of the barracks as they shared a laugh at the expense of their friend.

"Shining, this is Princess Luna we're talking about. THE sister to Princess Celestia. I may be a big flirt-"

"And if I remember correctly," Shining interrupted Azure. "You said back in high school that you had the abilities to please a princess."

"Did I say that? Because I don't remember saying anything like that." Azure said while laughing nervously.

"Oh, you said it." Said a laughing Longshot.

"You said, and I quote; 'If Shining can gain the attention of a princess, then I could easily fuck one into rolling her eyes into the back of her head. D game is so strong.'" Poindexter recited to his nervous friend. "Don't tell us that you were just bluffing."

"I'm not! You quoted me wrong!" Azure scolded Poindexter for being right.

"Be that as it may, you now have a chance to make yourself a legend." Shining began. "You have the chance to run around and tell every mare that you sleep with in the future that you could please that of one of the princesses, and the best thing about it is that it won't be a lie. You would go around with the confidence knowing that you have successfully dated a princess, no less the little sister of Princess Celestia."

Azure spoke as he turned to his profile in the mirror. "Yeah. But have you seen the little sister of Princess Celestia? Yeah, she a filly in comparison to her Marazonian-sized sister. Celestia's got legs so long you would need to climb a ladder to mount her. She's got the hindquarters of two, rounded mountains crushed firmly against one other. She's got the wings that could easily support the weight of ten stallions."

"And your point is?" Shining asked.

"That's it. Now look at Luna. She's smaller than your little sister. Her wings are so big that they can barely even fit to her body. Her frame is small and underdeveloped. She has the mentality of a foal to her first date. And not only that but she hasn't seen a stallion in a thousand years. If your first Estrus Season with Cadance went as how you said it went, then I can't even imagine the sexual tension that she must have bottled up from the past millennium. And Faust forbid that I can't even see to the fact that she's not even in season being that it passed two months back."

Longshot groans at the long list of discrepancies Azure continues to provide. "Complain, complain. She chose you and she is expecting you in ten minutes. There's n-"

"TEN MINUTES!?" Shouts both Azure and Shining.

Neither of them wanted to face the consequences of being late to a royal engagement that they were asked, or in Azure's case ordered, to attend. Shining and Azure immediately abandoned their mirrors and made a mad dash for the exit of the barracks. As the two took to the races, Longshot and Poindexter looked at each other in silence before they laughed at their friends who took an early exit from the conversation.

"I guess dating royalty must really be a pain, huh?" Poindexter asked as Longshot took a long sigh.

"Dating in general is a pain. Try being married to a sexually controlling mare that already has two foals, is still finding the time to masturbate and openly admits to wanting to have three more foals after the next one that she wants to have."

"Yikes. I didn't know Elaina was the breeding type."

"Well, we've already got two boys and now she wants girls. Lots of 'em."

"...So is that why her cutie mark is a heart and a baby bottle?"

"If the sex with her wasn't so awesome, I would've stopped her after the second foal. It's the only way I can have sex with her. When she wants to have a go at a foal, she will tease me until my dick becomes diamonds."

"Then have you ever considered getting gelded? You may not be able to have foals but you can still... you know."

"FUCK NO! I like my boys where they are at the moment, thank you very much... Aaaaand that would be the quickest way to a divorce in my case."

"Catch twenty-two?"

"Yup. But I wouldn't change that for anything. She is my wife and I will love her all the same, even if it means that our consummations do have the occasional walk-ins by either Trigger or Button."

"...Well that escalated quickly."

"With all due respect Princess Celestia, I don't see what is wrong with me wearing the ceremonial armor to the banquet."

"And I'm telling you, Sir Azure. You're overdressed. Lose the armor, wear a nice uniform like your captain's and keep a stiff upper lip."

"Ma'am?"

Azure's coat almost turned white at the sudden order from the solar princess. The princess determined that the armor, though used for ceremonial purposes, was a bit too much for the fact that he would instead be partaking in the banquet rather than guarding it. And also, she didn't want him to hide anything when it came to her little sister. Luna deserved the company of a guard. But in all honesty, Celestia wasn't so sure that she had chosen the right guard. She started to think to herself as she observed the guard before her.

"I already had enough problems with Shining Armor dating Cadance alone. Why was it that Luna had to choose his best friend who was considered a purebred womanizer? Oh, right." She finally realized what Luna was trying to do and opted to hold her tongue on the matter. "You're not here to be on duty. You're here to show my little sister the changes between the courting rituals of the past and modern dating practices of today."

Azure took a deep breath, realizing that this was indeed his biggest fear; this wasn't an escort assignment. "So this is literally-"

"A date. Though, it will be a supervised one under my discretion." Celestia finished as Azure dropped his head in response.

"Yes... *gulp* ...your highness." If Azure hadn't used the bathroom earlier, his sheath would be streaming with yellow fluids.

"Good. Now step in here. I already have a uniform that has been chosen for you by the best tailors in all of Canterlot."

Azure's ears perked up and his eyelids bounced open as the princess order him into the place that he never even dared to enter. "Wait. You mean... in your room?"

Celestia nodded. "Luna is waiting for you. Now hop to it. Tardiness is a sign of disrespect and I will not tolerate that show of immodesty against my little sister."

"B-But princess. It would be embarrassing to change clothes in front of you. I'll be stark naked."

Celestia finally let her regal composure break in front of her guard as she rolled her eyes unamused. She drew a soft sigh before she started to speak. "We're ponies. We normally don't wear clothes. I don't wear anything else aside from a choker plate, slippers and a crown. You don't need to concern yourself about this. Now hurry up."

"A-as you wish, your highness."

Azure walked into the chambers of the Princess of the Day followed by the aforementioned princess, who stared daggers into the backside of the armored guard. As he walked through the door, he was astounded by what he saw. The princess' room was as large as a two story home, complete with a balcony that led to an outside world that revealed nothing more than a scenery of mountains, waterfalls and plains in the distance. Her bed was as large as three of the largest beds in all of Equestria put together. Her bookshelves stacked all the way up to the top of the bedroom. And to his right was a large doorway that seemingly led to a bathroom. But time would not allow him to see any further than that.

"Hurry up. Your outfit is laid out neatly on my bed. Dress expeditiously."

His eyes traveled to the behemoth bed to find a similar outfit to what Shining wore on his bed. The only difference was that instead of the trim being purple, it was yellow. He assumed that the trim bore a similar trait to the armor that he and Shining wore, being that the captain wore purple armor and he wore gold. But there was no time to dwell on the matter, he had to disrobe himself... in front of the princess.

"Um, princess. If I may ask, could you turn around?"

"For the love of..." Celestia's impatience grew with the ticking minutes that passed. Each minute was another minute that her little sister had to wait. So with her magic, she pulled all of the armor off of Azure and laid the pieces of it on her bedside. Azure blushed as he felt the outside summer air hit his damp, sweaty coat. It was a bit of a cold surprise, though not as much as it was a refreshing release of his burden. But before he could get accustomed to the summer breeze, the princess magically slapped the white and yellow uniform on his body. It was a bit of a snug fit, but it was made to be comfortable while simultaneously revealing the muscle structure of the stallion's body. With a final tug, the uniform was set in place.

"...How do I look?" Azure asked as the princess' magic finally disappeared from his new outfit.

To Celestia's surprise, she can actually see exactly why Luna choose him to begin with. His muscles were firmly toned against the features of the uniform and his every line and crevice was as distinctive as the mountains in the far distance. His mane swept lightly in the wind as she caught herself in a stare. Her eyes traced his every inch as they began to wander to his hind quarters. Though Celestia had endured many years without mating, she knew how to control herself in the eyes of her subjects. But after over eight hundred years of being alone, she found it hard not to stare at her guards from time to time. This was one of the only times that she could get away with it.

"Princess?"

She blinked as her mind reset back to the current circumstances. "You look nice. Now make your way to my sister's door."

"Yes, princess." Azure acknowledged her request and quickly galloped to the door, leaving the princess alone in her room.

Celestia had felt the slightest sensation of her natural feminine urges surface after so many years. Her cheeks flushed to a rosy tinge. Her wings became partially unfurled as she tried to convince herself that her hormones had long since passed over. But she couldn't seem to shake the reality that this was the first time in many years that she was in such close quarters with a stallion. She undressed him and dressed him. Had she been as active as Cadance or as deprived as Luna, though her little sister had it easier with the lack of male attention, she would've forced herself on him. But there was the fact that she was the ruler of Equestria and that she couldn't afford any male attention at the moment.

The years of being alone without her sister and the years of not being with a stallion had both caught up with her. She sighed once more and closed her eyes.

"Why must I feel this? I've sworn off of my intimate desires long ago. Please don't let me become as feral as Luna is... or worse."

"HEAR YE, HEAR YE! NOW ENTERS THEIR ROYAL MAJESTIES, PRINCESS CELESTE DELANISE VALKYRIE, PRINCESS LUNESTE SELINE VALKYRIE AND PRINCESS MI AMORE CADENZA! ESCORTED BY SIR SHINING ARMOR AEGNUS SPARKLE AND SIR AZURE CADFAEL SWORD!

The three princess stand proud at the head table as Princess Celestia remains standing, centered of the five as the others take their seats. The room grows quiet before Celestia speaks.

"Fillies and Gentlecolts. I thank you for attending this glorious day, to which my dearest little sister has come back to serve as the Princess of the Night. And of course I cannot thank the current element bea-"

"So those foalhood bedtime stories are actually true? Well I'll stand corrected."

The ponies of the banquet turn their attentions to the hallway which the three princesses made their appearance from. As the elegantly dressed ponies look back to the doors that swung wide open with a bright yellow glow, Shining Armor facehoofs himself as Cadance holds his other hoof in hers underneath the table. Azure groans in disbelief as he hears the snobbish voice pierce his ears.

"Crier, will you not announce my presence?"

The crier rolled his eyes and begrudgingly complied. "Hear ye, hear ye. Announcing the entry of Prince Blueblood, the Prince of Magic."

"Well a little more enthusiasm is in order. Correct that, if you would."

"A-HEM! HEAR YE, HEAR YE! NOW ENTERS PRINCE BLUEBLOOD, THE PRINCE OF MAGIC!"

"Thank you. Now let the soiree commence."

Prince Blueblood, along with one of his personal maidens, walk slowly to the main table to which the princesses and their escorts were seated. As they walked, a series of murmurs and whispers interrupt the silence of the hall. Before he made it to the table, he saw that the seat that was normally set aside for him was taken.

"Sir unicorn fellow, may I ask why you are seated here at this table? And also, Aunt Celly, there is a young filly in my seat."

Cadance silently gasped as she held a hoof to her mouth while Shining just simply shook his head. Celestia cleared her throat as she restarted her previous statement.

"Fillies, Gentlecolts and Prince. I thank you for attending this glorious day, to which my dearest little sister has come back to serve as the Princess of the Night. And of course I cannot thank the current element bearers of harmony, for a job well done on the vanquishing of Nightmare Moon. Now we have come together in a ceremonial banquet in her honor. Let us celebrate her return with open hearts... And to my dearest little sister," Celestia turns her attention to the young alacorn sitting to her left.

"I... am so sorry, Luna. I couldn't save you from the evil that devoured you. To send you away for a thousand years has placed me in a place of guilt. A single hour with you has reminded me of the millennium that I had without your presence. I could never send you away again. Please... for..."

The hall softly rang with the sound of applause as their princess hiccups and sobs softly. Cadance starts to tear up in response to the moment that she knew was going to come for many years of her life. Azure and Shining remained silent as they took a moment to reflect on the reason why she was so protective of Luna and why she emphasized that her little sister needed to experience one of the best nights of her life. Luna rose from her chair and urged the cheering crowd to be silent as she answered her sister's apology for the first time in a thousand years.

"Celestia, my dear elder sister... Please do not apologize. You did what you could. You did what was expected of you while I... I let my personal feelings get in the way of my duties. I know that my desire of making the night last longer began to cause much grief for everypony. And for my selfishness... I... I'm..." Luna started to sob along with her older sister as she confessed her wrongdoing, her voice breaking with every consonant. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean what I said back then. I do love you dear sister, and I could never see myself alone knowing that I was the cause of your... I was just so bitter that the ponies didn't appreciate my night. I became so jealous that everypony loved your day and shunned my night that I wanted everypony to experience it a while longer... just so that they would appreciate-"

"Princess... Please excuse me for interrupting." Azure spoke out, disrupting the princess. Both princesses looked at the guard in uniform before Celestia instructed him to speak.

"Go on."

"If I may say, Princess Luna..." He began as he kneeled before the two teary-eyed alacorn mares. "I've always had a hobby that I followed since I was a foal. Every night I would look at the stars, watching the sky as I tried to find the falling stars. I would normally make a wish on them. So... if... I m-may ask." Azure grew nervous as he finally built the courage to ask her his request. "Would you show me how the stars are made?"

Luna gasped, holding both of her hooves to her mouth as the tears continued to fall from her eyes. Celestia held on to her little sister, more than happy to see that somepony is telling her that her night is beautiful.

"I love it when the stars shine in the night sky. I love how the moon shines so bright. It's not only mysterious but it is also elegant. I want to see the Princess of the Night's night sky. I know if Princess Celestia can satisfy me with her night, then I am sure that you can astound me beyond words with yours. I love the night... And I want you to know... that your night is loved by many."

Luna clenches her eyes at the news of her beloved night that she worked so hard to compose was being admired by other ponies. Her breaths shorten to soft hiccups and whispers as she slowly tightens her grip on her older sister's hoof. Celestia nuzzled her little sister as Azure continued to explain.

"There's this one holiday called Nightmare Night, where the foals come out and collect candy and a whole bunch of treats. There are the summer nights of the falling stars, where everypony stays up late to watch the meteor showers. Then there's the Eve of the New Year, where everypony counts down to midnight so that everypony celebrates the coming of the new year. And those are just the holidays. Outside of those, you have ponies who have parties, camping trips, sleepovers and even passionate moments in the waking of the night. I may not know of everything that happened between you two but if there is anything that you can take from this night, it is that your night is surely to be praised... Welcome to the age of the ponies who like to stay up past their bedtime... and welcome home, princess."

The hall once again erupted in a sea of cheers and hear-hears while Celestia and Luna hugged each other. Cadance started to bawl, producing tears that if gone unchecked would cause the room to flood. Shining Armor smiled and nodded his head in approval of his friend's speech. Azure raised a glass and merrily shouted.

"ALL HAIL PRINCESS LUNA, OUR PRINCESS OF THE NIGHT! MAY SHE FOREVER BE LOVED AND ADORED!"

"ALL HAIL!!!" The congregation called out in honor of their new princess. As they all took to their drink, Celestia spoke loudly.

"Before you all drink, I should have you all know..." The crowd looked at their tearing ruler. "Azure... What you spoke to my sister is most true. And I do believe that she needed to hear that after all these years. You showed to her the sincerity of your heart and also revealed to her that her gift was not one to be ignored... Thus, you shall now be placed under her sole command. You are now considered her guardian. Show her care and compassion as well as protection."

Azure's heart was beating at a million miles an hour as the princess made her decree before the mass of the ponies in the dining hall. His eyes glanced over to his best friend, hoping for some sort of reinforcement. Shining and Cadance guestured him to accept as they both did so with lively smiles. Seeing that his friends approved, he took a deep breath and accepted his position.

"Princess Luna... I am at your command. Direct me to do what you so desi-uuuurrrreeee."

Azure's voice droned as he felt the soft sensation of a pair of lips press firmly against his cheek, earning him a wink from Cadance and a laugh from Shining. His cheeks flushed into a deep crimson while he watched the small-framed lunar princess retreat from his cheek. As his eyes remained fixated on the princess, she smiled and whispered a 'thank-you' to her new guardian. Celestia chuckled at her little sister's antic and it's effects on the temporarily disabled guard. She walked closer to Azure in order to whisper in his ear while the crowd looked on and cheered for the newly appointed Guardian of the Night.

"You would do kindly to follow the three cardinal rules of a guardian. You must, first and above all, protect your princess. The second is to love your princess. And finally, you must serve your princess. You would do well to remember this or... you know what's coming."

"It will be on my life, princess." Azure responded without hesitation.

"Very good then. Now please continue to make my little sister happy... even if it means that you disobey my orders."

"Yes princess."

Celestia withdrew her muzzle and turned her attention to her nearly forgotten nephew as he stood with a disgusted look on his face.

"Please tell me that this pointless prattle has met it's end."

"Well to start off," Celestia spoke softly to where the other would not hear them but boldly enough to get her point across. "I didn't remember inviting you. So it was to be expected that my sister would be taking your seat for the moment. But please feel free to ask one of the others to provide you with a seat. And do not erupt into one of your tantrums or else I will knock that horn clean off of your head, do you understand me?"

"...Crystal, your highness." Blueblood said as he strained on calling her by her authoritative title.

He performed an about face and merely asked his maid to find him a chair and place it on the main table. Meanwhile, Luna turned to her elder sister and cleared her throat one last time to get her attention. When she saw that she had Celestia's ear, she spoke in a soft voice.

"You have always been a good sister to me, and I expect no less in the coming years. I forgive you, despite that there is nothing to forgive. Once again... it is I who should be apologizing to you.

"Luna, please. No more of this. Let us enjoy the rest of this night."

The group eagerly proceed to engage in idle conversation, all of them except the bitter prince who had to signal his maid to send over a common chair for him to sit on, rather than a specially-made dining throne. If there was one thing that irked Blueblood, it was that the comment that Shining had made earlier during the day about him losing his power to another was seemingly coming to pass.

Needless to say that Blueblood was not happy.

"Surely this was a most memorable night!"

"Yeah, I know right?"

Luna and Azure made their ways through the darkened halls of the Palace as the princess giggled and gasped for air out of the excitement of her first day back after a thousand years of being alone. Azure stayed true to Princess Celestia's orders and continued to make her little sister happy by any means necessary. Luna finally recovered from her laughter and spoke to her escort.

"First it was the grand feast, to which I merrily... or maybe found myself to overindulge upon." She admitted, remembering how quickly she packed away the food from the banquet. It almost took her a full six helpings for her to just simply slow down.

"Yeah, that food stuffed me pretty good. Then there was that traveling Thespian group. They did... I mean that Oedipus thing? Gosh, I thought I had problems." Azure recalled while causing Luna to erupt into another one of her giggle fits. Thankfully, this time it didn't take her nearly as long from the last time to recover.

"Yes. T'was a most entertaining spectacle. It is unfortunate that our dear captain and his princess had to depart upon it's better portions... where the misguided stallion began to advance upon his own mother. Are there many more plays like this?"

Azure did remember that Cadance and Shining did leave at that part. But in his mind, it was just merely the two taking an early leave to partake in a more physical activity. "Yeah. There's a lot similar to that one. And then there are some that are for the kids, some like the one we watched today which was for a teen audience and... well... there are the more-ahem... mature ones."

"Interesting... Speak more on these 'mature ones' please." Luna asked as she nudged Azure in his side.

"Maybe later." He said as he made his stop before the large twin doors. Looking at the blue and white twin, he spoke to the now-blushing princess. "Well princess, this is our final stop for the evening in what is considered my best night ever."

Luna played with her hooves, earning her a look from her escort. She looked away from him, feeling shy from what she wanted to ask. "There will be many more to come... Though, I don't think that it should end... just yet."

Azure quirked an eyebrow as the blue alacorn looked at him from a down-snout. "Princess?"

"Please escort me inside of my chambers." She asked softly. "I wish for you to spend this night with me."

The guard looked at his princess with shock that she would be so forward with her request. But being that she was in a powerful position, she would easily get whatever she asked for. Without hesitation, Azure telekinetically opened the door. He awaited the princess to enter the room before he followed her himself, shutting the large door behind him. When he entered, he saw a similar arrangement of how Celestia's room was set up. The difference was that not only the room was mirrored, but the decor was in contrast to her elder sister's room. But there was an unusual freshness to the room compared to her elder sibling's. Probably due to the fact that this was literally the first night that she would spend in here.

"What a marvelous room, princess." He complimented.

"My sister made if for me herself. She told me that every moment that she found the time, she would look for the supplies and the items necessary to make it as extravagant as hers. But of course there is the subtle differences of the theme."

"Her's being the sun and yours being the moon?" He questioned.

"How did you know?" She asked astounded that his answer was practically spot on.

"Lucky guess." He lied, not wanting her to know that her older sister invited him into her room first. Despite that it was for the fact that she wanted him to wear a uniform rather than his ceremonial armor, he decided that the better thing to do was not mention it at all. It would only make things awkward, more than they already were with Luna being unaware of the modern times.

"...Do you ever dream?" Luna seemingly asked out of nowhere.

"I...I do. But why do you ask?" Azure inquired.

"I wish to visit you within it." Luna said with a smirk.

The young guardian laughed at the princess' statement. "Wow. I didn't think that you were so into pickup lines."

"What is this... pick up line that you speak of?" Luna asked with a tilted head, earning a worried look from Azure.

"Oh... right. A thousand years means that you wouldn't know. Sorry for ever mentioning it."

"No! Please, tell me more. This is a practice of the modern courting. That means that I should know everything that you know now. I know I may be antiquated, but that doesn't mean that I am incapable of learning new things."

Azure looked at the princess, bewildered by a word that she used. "Antiquated?"

"Erm... Ye-olden?" She responded trying to find a phrase that he would understand better.

"Old school, Okay. Well princess, let's just say that it is a sort of... lobbying for the means of... well... premarital advances."

Luna gasped in shock over his answer. "Oh dear heavens! Fillies and colts have surely gone bold over these past one-thousand years."

"Don't worry. I won't shoot any your way, princess." He reassured.

"And why not?" Luna asked, sounding offended by his statement.

"Well, firstly out of respect." He quickly answered, not wanting to offend her but at the same time explaining the reason why he would refrain from using any pickup lines on her.

"...You know this isn't a simulated courting ritual in my eyes... or a play-date, as you would call it. To me, this is all real." Luna said with a bright blush.

"I understand princess."

"No! You don't!" She exclaimed. "I wanted to just merely choose a guard to help me restore my powers, but now... I think that I may have found something better; something that restored my heart. I-"

"I'mma let you finish, princess." He said while he raised a hoof in the air. "But that had to be one of the corniest lines of all time."

Luna scoffed at his opinion, folded her forelegs and pouted. "Well back in my day, those 'lines' were considered to be the most romantic."

"Try something else like this..." He said while thinking of something that would definitely grab her attention. Taking a deep breath, he said the words that he almost dreaded to even tell a mare. "I want to marry you."

Luna broke out of her shunning posture and into a look of surprise. Her face started to feel warmer while her heartbeat increased rapidly. She struggled to put her thoughts into words. "But... I... You... It is forbidden."

"Only if you make it so." He answered with his quick wit.

"Even then, I will age past your years." She argued while new emotions awoke deep within her. Her stomach swarmed with butterflies as her guardian stood before her, grabbing both of her hooves.

"And I'll be just fine with whatever you so choose." He closed in on her.

"Y... You don't even know me." She turned her head away from him, only to be brought back before him and his gentle smile. He placed a hoof on her chin and raised her to see him, offering no escape. His green eyes met with hers while he whispered to her, inching closer to her muzzle.

"Then I'll have the rest of my life to find out."

Luna's breathing destabilized as her exhales, while long, trembled in various pitches and volumes. Tears started to form in her eyes as a painful ache reminded her that this was all a practice. She wanted it all to be real, but she knew that he was still joking around. "Please... enough of these lies. They are too much for me."

He withdrew himself from her and relinquished his stare. He blushed profusely while looking away and rubbing the back of his head. "Okay. Romantic Dialog 101 is now dismissed."

"You speak with a buttered tongue." She spat out, annoyed that his antics were that persuasive.

"And yet I do so to make you happy." He admitted. Despite the fact that he was more nervous than anything, he did try to make her happy by any means necessary.

Luna looked to the balcony and saw the pale moonlight blanketing much of her room. She smiled as she looked back to the blushing guard. She closed her eyes and held a hoof to her still heavily beating heart. Her words left her lips like a song from a bird on a beautiful morning. "...Thank you. For this night that I could not create for myself."

Azure nodded and hummed in return, thinking of an idea. "Though the hour is late, do you wish to stay up?"

"Nay. *yawn* ...I do wish to spend more time knowing you in your dreams." She said while trying to keep her eyes open.

Azure chuckled at the sleepy princess. "I still find that hard to believe."

"Take me to my bed, lay asleep with me and you shall soon find that I tell only the truth." She muttered in a low voice. As she walked over to her bed, she used the last of her mental strength to magically push Azure into her comforter. His body sank into the comfortable fluff of her mattress. He felt his body sink into the bed, but at the same time he could also feel that it supported his weight and contoured to his bodily frames while the princess laid beside him, nuzzling herself deep into his chest.

"Your bed is really nice." He complimented once more. As he took a deep breath, she did the same. Her eyelids fell under their own weight as she listened to the sound of his beating heart as it ushered her into the realm of dreams. His signs of life had become her lullaby as she finally drifted away into slumber, while her touching words escaped her lips.

"Goodnight, my Azure prince."

The sound of the crickets outside soon found it's way into the ears of the young guardian as his eyes also felt the weight of the world upon them. His mind began to wander off to an unfamiliar land. A land that was far away from the reaches of reality awaited him. The slumbering princess would be his companion for the night, as he finally closed his eyes and let the darkness take him.

"Sweet dreams, princess."

An astral plane formed around the stallion. Stars were lit in every area while he wandered from left to right, trying to find out where he needed to go without being lost. As he searched, his voice echoed and phased into ambient sounds.

"Oh boy... this is a really weird place. I wonder if-"

"Teeheehee."

Suddenly, he turned around as he heard the sound of a mare laughing behind him. It was a playful laugh, yet it was strangely haunting and calming at the same time. He looked around his position and found nothing.

"Okay... nothing is behind me so let me just go on ahead and-BWAAH!"

Before he could retain his balance, he found himself laid out on the ground before a rather large-framed alacorn. Her coat was three shades darker than his own. Her mane was made of the night sky itself, including the various stars and it flowed like that of Princess Celestia's. Her wings became much more fitted to her body rather than being the awkwardly large appendages they were once before. As she approached, her lips released a smooth and elegant tone as she spoke.

"A hello to you too, my Azure prince. Do you find pleasure in your dreams this night?"

Author's Note

This chapter is a build up for what I have in store for the conflict of Luna and Blueblood as you can tell. Their battle will not be a physical one but rather a power struggle. Also it will show the dynamic of Azure's relationship with Luna (shameless ship ahoy). SPOILER WARNING: And yes, Azure will be more of a Chekhov's Gun as the time progresses.

Now to discuss a little something. It has occurred to much of the fandom that all of the events of Seasons 1-3 actually takes place in the matter of a year or so. So to accommodate, some events will transpire in accordance to time and seasons, meaning that Discord will appear after the Gala, which is sometime around early to late September (three months is still enough time to allow Twilight to send off her various letters to the princess, considering that she sends one or two every Tuesday).

Announcement and Warning

I know that you all feel that Blueblood is rather a dick just for the sake of being a dick. But have you ever wondered why? Why would I portray Blueblood as an entitled brat to begin with?

The answer is in the form of a question.
What would you do if you had power when you started with none to begin with?

A variety of things come to mind. Some would be humbled by their experience of living without. Now take into consideration that you obtained this power at an early age, despite being born with none, and grew older with it. Would you still be the incorruptible individual that you once were?

The answer to that would depend on the individual. But from a historical standpoint, the answer is no. The answer is a resounding nay in the case of those who were abused in the past because usually, those individuals (Vlad Tepes to name an example) would be in search of revenge. Now there are some individuals that face these kinds of circumstances and overcome, becoming not a name of wealth but of influence (Martin Luther King Jr is an example). You also have those who were born with power and were a just person who lived life well. And then you have those who were given wealth at a young age and decided to become selfish and only looked after themselves (I'm talking to you Justin Bieber).

Now, you have the one that fought tooth and nail for their wealth (and got dirty). S/he had a bad past and never gotten a chance to make amends with that part of their life and carried that emotional baggage with them. Now that they feel like: "Since everything bad had happened to me, I would be entitled to everything. I am this. I own that. I have the money and influence to make my agenda happen. I want the world to cater to me, the fragile flower. And if someone doesn't agree with what I think, then I will do everything I can to destroy them or their reputation. I deserve the power and no one else is worthy of it except for me." (~~She-who-shall-not-be-named~~)

This is the Blueblood I envisioned in my writing. But some of you will ask what made him so evil?

And the next chapter will hold your answer.

Though it will be a flashback chapter similar to that of ACT 1: Hail Mary, this one will also focus on Blueblood. But this time it will reveal his origin, his name, his backstory, and his thoughts on everything that happened.

Now to the warning.

THIS CHAPTER IS NOT GOING TO BE SUNSHINE AND RAINBOWS. There will be violence, there will be rape, it will be dark, and it will have some rather disgusting parts as well. So for the sake of all of the followers who will not be into that kind of stuff, here it is.

What is this, you may ask. This is your warning label. It means that past this point, there will be some pretty nasty stuff and it will continue to be nasty until another one of these show up. This also means that you can skip this portion of the story if you so desire. This warning will stand for the rest of the story if I deem it necessary.

Please leave all comments and concerns in the posting area below if this concerns you and your personal enjoyment of the story thus far.

Author's Note

Also, this chapter will be written very slowly, as I really want to take the time to flesh out his character. This is not going to be a short chapter either. If anything, it will be a long one and will take a long time to do (I would say about 2 weeks from now, tops. Considering my schedule in the studio, that number may also vary.)

ACT 2: From Destitution to Apprenticeship [READER'S DISCRETION IS ADVISED]

Author's Note

If this is at the top of a page then I would expect you to read it before you find yourself disliking the story. I can only advise you to skip past the elaborate page break if you so wish to avoid the gruesome scene. This is a warning to all readers. This chapter will consist of graphic themes such as abuse, violence, rape, filth, homosexuality and a not so canny unicorn. Read at your own risk.

This chapter will be in first person.

Once more... YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

ACT 2: From Destitution to Apprenticeship [READER'S DISCRETION IS ADVISED]

I deserve everything.

The riches.

The power.

The fame.

Everything.

I earned my title.

I wasn't born to have power.

Yet I claim it.

I climbed over mountains to get it.

I swam through troubled waters to obtain it.

I have serviced many stallions to receive it.

I have been beaten and abused for it.

I bled my own blood to taste it.

And I killed entire families in order to ravage it.

I have to have everything in this world.

...And I will be damned if it is all taken away from me.

I deserve power.

Me... and no other.

~Olysseus Blueblood Patrikios

September 23rd, 901 C.D.V.
Canterlot Slums
99 Years Ago...

*smack*

"Aaaugh!"

I fell to the hard stone floor of the darkened room, awaiting my master's next blow. His previous had caused me to remain in such a state where I could not even defend myself. But why would I? I would only get hurt even worse. Then he would take me to the stockade and whip me like the common dog that I am. Who am I to him? His pet. His slave. His object to relieve his stress.

No matter how much I disagreed.

"You failed me yet again Olysseus. This time, you shall pay dearly." My master said in a deep raspy voice. His tone was as harsh as the carpenters sanding parchment. His tall form towered that over mine as I pleaded for his mercy.

"Master! Please! I beseech you for your forbearance! I... I did all that you have asked for. Show compassion to your lowly servant."

My cries have gone unanswered.

*smack*

"AAaaugh!"

His left hoof caught the flesh of my cheek and struck me like the blacksmith's hammer to the searing metal. My bone became the anvil to which it was set upon.

"No... I shall not take order from those who lie beneath me... Now present thyself, plebeian filth."

I tried everything I could to hold back my tears as I followed his order with unwavering loyalty. I turned around and faced the opposite side of where my master stood. I could feel his anger searing into me with every second that passes.

"Raise."

Before me was a bar to which I would normally hook my hooves onto. This was here so that I may raise my body to a standing position. From there onward, he would tie my hooves to the wooden bar of the stable. He always tied them so tightly that if suspended for an extended period of time, my hooves and forelegs would run warm with the trails of blood. I can feel him tugging away at the hemp rope that held fast to the bar. To my left was a black whip that he eagerly took into his possession. As I heard the sound of the lengthy strip of leather hit the ground, I could already feel the coldness of the air on my back. It was a sensation that struck fear into me, for I knew what was coming.

"Disobedience, maladroitness... and begging shall not be tolerated." He said, scorning my pleas for mercy. "And resistance will only provoke me to strike harder."

He didn't waste any time.

*WA-CRACK*

"AAAARRGH!!!"

I felt my legs buckle beneath my weight as my back burned with the searing pain of the whip coming into contact with my flesh. Immediately after, I could feel the coolness of the air again. To my displeasure, it only meant that the next strike would come far sooner that when I expected it to.

*WA-CRACK*

Two minutes later, my body slumped into a heaping mess of tears, blood, matted fur and hay. My hooves still suspended my weight as my master stood over me and kicked my side as I lied there. But no matter how much I wanted it all to stop, he continued to unleash his wrath upon my young body. And no matter what sort of abuse he gave out, it still was not enough for him. Instead of seeing that I had enough, he carried on to perform one of the worst things that he could ever do to me.

He untied my hooves and left me on the ground as I lied helplessly in pain. Through my water-clouded vision, I could still see the blood beginning to dry around my hooves and down my forelegs. I could also see the panting form of my master standing before me. As he watched me breathe laboriously, he pushed my head onto the hay on the ground below. While forced his weight into my neck, I felt something beginning to prod at my sphincter.

"Master! What are you-"

And then he pushed.

"AAAAAAAAAAHH!!!"

I didn't want to believe what was happening to me at the moment. I didn't even remembered the words that my master uttered to me as he pushed himself further into me. The pain of his throbbing mast stretching my unclaimed depths was far too unbearable. Tears flowed freely from my cheeks as he sped up his process. Then suddenly... I felt it.

I felt the tip inside of me grow to a behemoth size. With each reentry I held my breath, realizing that my master's satisfaction would soon be met. I only sobbed to myself as I clutched my eyes closed. I felt a strong hoof pull on my mane as he raised me to meet him. His hot breath lashed in tempo of his thrusts as he forced his muzzle into my neck, relishing in every moment he pressed onward towards his inevitable release.

"Fail me again... *huff* and The Griffon's Claw *puff* shall be yours to endure."

I said nothing to acknowledge his statement. His teeth bit deeply into my neck as he pushed and pulled his length through my innards. I kept my eyes closed despite my pain receptors erupting within me, normally causing my eyes to gape in response. I didn't want to see what was happening to me. It was just too much. My sobs rose in volume as his speed halted for the first time in what seemed to be an eternity. I could feel the muscles of his body tense against mine as he arrhythmically forced his flaring tip in and out of my colon. His seed lined my entrails in abundance while I felt the uncomfortable surge of pressure filling me to a breaking point.

"Aahhh... Hahhh... ahhh... ohhhh... ooohhhhh yesss..." He whispered as he tenderly kissed my neck.

My anal ring made way for his exit as he pulled himself off of my bloodied body. A smile crept onto his face, or at least that's what I would've believed after such an act, as I heard the sound of hoofsteps approach to my front. I slightly opened my eyes in fear of my master standing in front of me. Such fears were realized as he gave me my next order.

"Cleanse me. Open your mouth... and pledge to me your fealty."

I initially refused to obey, being that his member was coated in a thick layer of his seed as well as a pink residue that I knew was a mixture of his fluids and my blood from his invasion. He pressed the foul-smelling mass of flesh against my lips while I held fast to resist him. After only a few seconds he brought his hoof to my abdomen, causing me to urk in pain. As my jaw separated, his entry was assured.

"Yes... Renew me... you filthy whore."

I could only watch as he forced himself on me. His member reeked of a sinful encounter and tasted as such. My tongue continued to brush against the underside of the foul treat, the rancid pudding pop that only tasted of a waste of yesterday's past nourishments. Bitter sensations echoed throughout my body, causing me to immediately feel nauseous. I felt my stomach churn as my abdominal muscles compressed and urged me to disallow any form of sickness and infection to enter. Suddenly, he pressed his stallionhood to the back of my throat and continued to force himself inward. Thankfully, my body's natural responses proved too great of a force to deny.

I evacuated the contents of my stomach onto the length of my master, though it was unintentionally. My master retreated with disgust as he stared at my heaving form. I coughed and spat at the hay-lined ground below while his voice crescendoed into a loud roar of disapproval. As I finally found the strength to look back up to my master, he gave me a swift kick to my abdomen.

Still feeling the effects of my prior assault, I keeled over and held myself as he glared down upon me.

"You filthy charlatan of a servant. You are not worthy to serve me... Find your belongings and leave this place!"

I felt the tears rolling down my cheeks without restraint as I watched him storm off into the blurry distance.

"And never return! Do so and I will have you under The Claw!" He shouted.

He slammed the door behind him as I thought to myself about the punishment that he threatened me with. The worst in the foreseeable future had already come to pass with the events of the hour's past. But I still held fear of one instrument that I have only seen him use once against a thief. The Griffon's Claw was similar to the famed Cat O' Nine Tails in it's design and functionality, but it's intent was far crueler. Instead of having knots at the end, it had several steel hooks that curved menacingly inward. Not only was it fitted with hooks, but there were three prongs to each hook, so that no matter the angle of approach, there was always one barb that stuck to the skin of it's victim; like a fish to a hook. As the wielder tried to retreat the weapon, there would be many attempts to dislodge the instrument. As a result, lacerations occur instantly. There have even been accounts of the victim losing their hides to the cruel device, revealing inner layers of tissue and even muscle structure.

I painfully, but quickly, rose from the ground and ran to my home. I couldn't help but to cry as I galloped from the stables to my mother's abode. And if I knew anything about my mother, she was going to be furious once I tell her that I've lost this job.

I can only hope that my previous punishment would prove to be enough in her eyes.
If you read this and liked it, good for you. If you read on despite my warning, do not leave a dislike.

I arrived home early that evening. Usually the sun would find it's shelter in darkness before I would even dare to set onward. But due to my current circumstances, I am sent home while the sun yet shines... though barely.

*PLOP-PLOP-PLOP-PLOP-PLOP*

Though incredibly light-headed, my ears turn to the sound of the kitchen. It was evident that my mother was home. And judging from the sound of things, she was with company. Every once and a while, this is the sound that I managed to hear in the late hours of the night as I tried to obtain my rest. But to hear it even now... It would annoy me, had I not been devoid of my energy. Weary from my earlier struggle, I walked slowly to the kitchen. It wasn't that I was perverted, but rather I needed to ask my mother where the ointments and herbs were located.

*PLOP-PLOP-PLOP-PLOP-PLOP*

As I entered the kitchen, it was quite evident that the guest was thoroughly enjoying himself. His hips eagerly slapped into my mother's body while she moaned like a horn in response.

"Yes! Plow ye 'arder! 'Arder, I tell ye!"

Such sickening words to hear.

"A fine rut you are! Can't seem to have enough of it." He said as his testes cradled back and forth with every thrust.

I tried to avoid getting any attention, because my mother would find herself angry that I interrupted another one of her sessions. She would normally flog me with the nearest item available. And that was something that I had already had a share of for the day. As my reminder of the emasculation that took place at the stables came to mind, my back resumed it's painful stinging sensations. It would've been so much better had my master had not kicked me in the stomach, not to mention the bruising on my forelegs made it a little uncomfortable to walk. I just had to remember to take it one step at a time.

*clop*

Unfortunately, all it took was a single step for me to be caught by the two ponies that ceased their rutting session on the kitchen table. I was really going to get it now.

"Oi! I thought I told ye to never disturb another one of me sessions!" My mother scolded me.

"Sorry mum. I just came to get the ointment and sages."

"No! Ye not gonna waste any of me time filly-fucking around! Now, fuck off with ye!"

My light-headedness was getting to me as I pleaded my mother one last time. "Please, mum."

"FUCK! O-"

My mother didn't get a chance to properly sound off her words as I fell to the floor below. My body was too fatigued from the pain and stress that I had to endure. I went limp and lied on the ground, breathing laboriously as the pain all over my body wreaked havoc on my nervous system. Quickly, the stallion dismounted my mother and found himself rushing over to me while my mother looked on in disgust.

It is a shame that your own mother is slow to assist you whereas a stranger would do so without a moment wasted.

"Easy there, lad! Don't worry about the medicine. I'll get it for you." He assured to me, placing a hoof on mine and turning to my mother. "Where do you store your ointments? Your herbs?"

My mother looked at him with a smile, something that she never bestowed upon me, and pointed to the wooden chest across the kitchen.

"There. I also keep lots o' sage whenever the time's needed. Help yourself."

The stallion rushed to the other side of the room while my mother gave me an evil look, unsatisfied that I came home to interrupt her usual affairs. She visibly clenched her jaw at me before turning back to the stallion as he came out with some ointments and medicinal herbs. Furiously, he grabbed a bowl and mixed a concoction to prevent the infections of my wounds. My body still lied limp as the stallion started to apply the mixture to my open cuts.

"This will sting a mite, but I believe you can live past it."

As he brought the medicine into contact with the whipping cuts, I bit my tongue as the unquenchable burning sensation caused me a great deal of pain. My limbs found new life, though they only twitched and flailed in response to the pain. The stallion continued to tend to me as my mother stared at the both of us.

"Fair lady, please fetch us some water. I fear that he thirst for some."

He wasn't telling stories when it came to my thirst. After running across the slums from work, I grew dehydrated, My mouth could no longer water at the thought of being refreshed. My tongue pried off of every surface within my own mouth. My throat latched onto itself, I was so thirsty.

"I'm on my way." My mother called back with a false tone of worry.

My mother didn't care. If it wasn't for the fact that she could obtain another source of profit from me, then she would have allowed me death a long time ago. My mother always blamed me for the way we lived. I have a father, but he long since denied my existence.

My father was a being of noble descent who also had his own herd of mares that all competed to have his hoof in marriage. My mother was one of the many mares that sought his attention. When my mother found that she was with foal, she argued that she would be the one to marry him. But as it turned out, he denied me before my birth and also denied my mother a chance at a finer life. Since my birth, she has struggled to avoid the tax collectors and we often found ourselves short on food. With each passing year, her malcontent with me continued to fester into a hatred of my existence.

And every year, on the anniversary of my birth... she wishes that I had never been.

Moments later, I am refreshed and my wounds wrapped. I even informed them the means of how I got the scars on my body. I managed to go out on a trip to the market, only for the bits my former master gave to me be lifted from my possession without my knowledge. As I returned to the stables, he asked me why I came back empty-hoofed. I told him why and was severely punished. I was also violated in the worst way, but I chose to stay those words out of fear. The stallion commends himself on a job well done on my bandages while my mother continued to curse me in silence.

She didn't need to verbally speak in order for me to know when she was rebuking me. All she has to do is acknowledge my presence in the room. And apparently I was being acknowledged by our esteemed guest, who did more for me in this past hour than my mother did in a year. Not only did I take the attention from her, but I also became the sole focus of his conversation.

"So lad, what is your name?"

"Olyssius, sire." I answered.

"Surely that is not an Equis name. Please, do you have a more common name to go by?" He asked.

I looked to my mother while she tapped her hoof on the ground impatiently. I knew exactly what was coming as soon as he left. But I also remembered that it would be rude to ignore others when being spoken to.

"My full name is Olyssius Blueblood Patrikios."

He placed a hoof to his chin while looking at me. He shook his head in disapproval. "I don't like the name Olyssius... It means that you are full of hatred. And I see much potential in you that doesn't rely on such negativity. Patrikios means that you are of noble descent. And that, sadly, would be a boldfaced lie. I like Blueblood better."

"Then it would please you to call me Blueblood?" I asked, questioning the name that my mother provided for me.

"Yes. And I would recommend that you would take more pride into it." He advised to me as I took the time to think about the name my mother gave me.

It all adds up. My first name was Olyssius, which meant 'hatred'. My last name was Patrikios, which meant 'of noble descent'. So in reality, my mother's hatred for the events that transpired to my birth became a reminder of what was and is. My name described her wrath; 'hatred for those of noble descent'. And I have illegitimate noble blood coursing through my veins. So another reason my mother loathes me is because I am of a noble's blood... the noble that she could not hope to wed.

It even explains why she hates the fact that I took after my father's race rather than hers. She was just an earth pony mare while I was a unicorn. I had magical capabilities that she often discouraged me from using. She even condemned my horn saying that it was an overgrowth that protruded my skull, a birth defect.

But no matter. This stallion gave me hope that I yet have purpose in this world. So with bravado, I stood tall on my own strength and accepted the name that the man preferred to call me.

"Then Blueblood I shall be."

"Very good, lad." He commented.

But a thought stirred within my mind. "Sir, how did you know the meanings of my name? My mother didn't tell me anything on the matter?"

"Well, if you must know... I used to serve in The Royal Guard, which means that we always study up on some of the names of each other."

"The Royal Guard!? Did that mean you actually got to see Princess Celestia?" I questioned with excitement while he began to laugh.

"Yes, and a fair mare she is. I could only hope to be graced by her... But in seeing that my passion could never be realized, I chose to distance myself."

I never knew that a mortal stallion could be so infatuated with that of a royal figure, especially the princess. I suppose that the rumors of her beauty are indeed true. "So you left the guard because you fell in love with the princess?"

"Aye... it was never meant to be. Bygones be bygones. Now I'm a smithy in the Central District."

"Oh, I see..." There wasn't much left to say. I only wished that he could stay a little while longer.

"...Well it would seem that my time here is up. I shall make myself scarce as your mother starts to prepare your supper."

I really wish he wouldn't have said that. Now my mother would never feed me, knowing that I lost my only source of income. Hell, she barely even feed me as it is.

"Wait sire. Do you wish to stay over for supper?" I pleaded, that way knowing that she would have to feed me in front of the guest.

"Sorry lad. But I have my own supper and my own mare awaiting me in the shop."

If you had a mare then why did you come over to rut my mother? Oh well, what matters is that I won't be eating tonight.

"But I will come by to visit you every now and then. Then hey, maybe I could teach you a thing or two about my work so you can have a source of income. I know your mum would appreciate it."

Being anywhere else, no matter how tedious the job, was better than being here. And if I wasn't mistaken, my mother now knew that I was currently unemployed. That's definitely bad news on my end.

Then it was the time of his departure. He waived us both farewell with a large smile planted on his face. That was a look that I often liked to see from ponies around me. It distracted me from the reality I lived in.

"Okay. Well I'll see you again young lad!" He yelled across the way.

"Please stop by sometime soon to visit!" I yelled out to him as he traveled down the road.

As his figure disappeared over the horizon, my mother crept slowly behind me and whispered in my ear.

"Oi, little faggot. You've gone an' got yourself discharged, eh? I ought 'ta BASH YE FUCKIN 'EAD IN, YOU LITTLE SHIT!"

I knew what exactly was going to come next. My head sank low as my reality came battering through the gates of my fantasy. Suddenly I felt the familiar sensation of a hoof striking me in the back of my head. I hated my life. I didn't ask for this. I didn't like it here.

I want to be loved, not abused.

September 26th, 901 C.D.V.
The streets of the Canterlot Slums

It's been three days since the encounter of the blacksmith. In those past three days, I have known what it feels like to be tossed on the streets with no food or water. Since the morning after the his visit, my mother sent me on my way to find him. I looked all over the lower quarter for a means to enter. I could only find myself passing the checkpoint that led into the lower district due to strict security guidelines. They were mainly in place to protect the higher-class citizens from robbery.

I suppose the guidelines are a little vague when you first hear of them, so I will recall what I do know. Whenever there was a pony who was from the slums, their passage would go no higher the lower district. When there was a pony from the lower district, their passage could only reach as high as the central district. There is an exception to that protocol, however. If the pony was of financial success then he would even gain access to the Inner-District. If you lived in Central-District, then you could go no higher than that of the Inner-District. If you were in the Inner-District, then you would find yourself at the top of the 'Commoner's Ladder', meaning that you would gain access to much of the city. And if you were wealthy enough, then you would gain access to the illustrious Canterlot Keep, where the nobles, lobbyists, counsel members and even guards reside. Going any further would require you to have a position of power within The Parliament and those grounds are the palace grounds, home to Princess Celestia herself.

...It isn't fair. Why is it that my father saw it necessary to abandon us? Why did my mother harbor such a hatred for me when my only sin was my existence? How was it possible that a mare could be so callous to her own flesh and blood? How could she just simply throw me out on the street? I didn't know the exact answers for all of these questions and even if I did, I still had no power to change that. So I did the only thing I could do to comfort myself; I cried.

As the cold mountain air blew past me, I shivered while trying to find something to warm my body with. I had no home, I haven't eaten in three days. And for three days, I've had to beg for water. I am only fourteen, why am I having to live like this?

Sometimes I envy the orphans of the slums. They don't have parents who throw them out every single time something doesn't work out in their favor, or if there was a situation where their parents would perpetually beat them unconscious, thanks to their insatiable love for money. They don't have parents who would blame them for just being born. At least they will never know the pain of being brought to the world and being mistreated by the pony who conceived them. There is no way in Equestria that there would be an orphan on these streets who were worse off than I was, am or ever will be...

...Am... Am I going to die like this?

I gave up hope after I finally came to the conclusion that my mother had left me out here to die. This is what she wanted me to do. She always wanted this. So I suppose it wouldn't matter if I just closed my eyes and waited for it.

And wait for it...

...Death takes it's sweet time whenever it comes to misfits like me, I suppose.

Once more, I simply bowed my head and awaited sickness to fill my body and take me to the lands of the eternal judgement. At least there I know that my tragic existence has ended. It would only be a matter of time...

"Hey you! Make way!" I heard a guard say nearby.

I assumed that it they were addressing another pony. I remained silent.

"I said make way!"

Suddenly, the familiar sensation of a hoof shoving me out of the way became an indication that it was me whom they were addressing. I looked at the guard who removed me from the place where I sat and looked to the exquisite carriage in the middle of the street. I knew that whoever was in that chariot had to be important for them to be escorted by the guard.

Normally, traffic would consist of the usual throng of ponies and the occasional carriage. But whenever there were individuals who were of the higher standard of living, they would often be escorted by a numerous set of guards. Sometimes, they would line the streets with them as they passed. And those who were unfortunate to get in the way, whether it was an elder mare or a young foal, were either trampled or crushed by the wheels of the carriage. They would soon die after from the injuries that were sustained. Though the guards felt remorse for the accidents, they are often told to carry on by their client, in spite of the tragedy that occurred. Normally, those kind of grand, and sometimes tragic, occurrences would fall under the jurisdiction of a noble.

Clearly this wasn't a political figure of some sort. This may have been a wealthy business owner to have so few guards on patrol. There were only six, four that wore bits and harnesses to steer and the two who were on clearance detail; the ones who tried to warn the others to clear the streets.

And deep within the inner-workings of my mind, I thought to myself that my means of a hastened death had just been provided to me.

"What are you doing?" The guard asks me while I slowly trot to the center of the street, positioning myself where there was no means of avoiding me.

I lifted my eyes to the clouded sky above and saw that my release would soon be achieved.

"If you stay there, then we will have no other choice but to remove you by force."

"Leave me..." I whispered to him, finally admitting to him that I was more than finished with this life. "I have no home and I am starved. Please allow me to await my fate."

The guard grabbed me and tossed me a few feet over. I instantly removed myself from the ground and found my place among the center of the street once more. Then the armored stallion shook his head in disbelief.

"Is your life really that horrid? Is it not worth anything?" He asked softly.

"...It is worth only the dirt on these stones. Please be merciful kind sir and end it."

The guard slowly removed his helmet and approached me with great sorrow wrought across his face as he heard my plea. "It doesn't have to be like this. Please reconsider."

"There is nothing to consider. Run me through, trample me, behead me even. Just finish it." I sternly asked without much though as he drew his sword. He looked at it's blade and then at me. I knew that something was bothering him as he approached me with the brandished blade.

"I've never killed one so young. Please do not ask me to do this. There are other ways, I could see that you could-"

"There is no other way! Let this be the end of it!" I shouted loudly as the guard flinched at my resolve.

Suddenly, I heard the sound of a sword falling to the ground. I looked down to see the blade that he held was lain before my hooves while he looked at me with disgust. "Take your own life. I will not take the life of one so young."

As he signaled the escort party to carry on, he led me to the side of the road and told me that this was a mistake that I was making. I only smiled at him and spoke. "Sire, my birth was one of misfortune. My mother cares for me not and thus left me to these streets. This is what she would want, and this is what I want."

Before I could say anything else, I found the sword being thrown across the road by a yellow magical aura. The sword landed in a pile of hay, out of the way of everypony who was there and out of my reach. My head raised to the carriage to see a pair of violet irises staring directly at me through a window. It was obvious that it was a female unicorn. Her horn was lit with the same color of magic as the aura that cast away the blade I was to use on myself. I watched the guard bow down as he watched the door slowly open, followed by a stern voice of the mare who exited.

"Are you this selfish?" The mare asked as she left her cart.

My eyes were fixed to her form. She was a beautiful mare that had an ivory coat, though much of it was covered in a rich thick black cloak. She stood beside her carriage and looked at me with a concerned expression while she awaited my answer.

"I'm not being selfish. This is fo-"

"You are being selfish!" She answered, interrupting what I was going to say. "You place so little value on your own life, unaware that others are actually relying on you."

"The only pony that 'relied' on me was my mother, and she long since disowned me!" I retorted while she took the opportunity to slowly approach me.

"Are there not others who would appreciate the company that you have to offer?" She asked in a soft and calm voice that was a startling comparison to her original tone.

I looked at the ground, feeling sorry for myself as I finally gave my answer. "No. There is none."

I was surprised to see one of her hooves come up to my chin and gently guide my eyes from the ground to her face. While she was unusually kind and generous, she was also terrifying. I've never seen a pony who stood so tall that I had to back away just to fully be able to look up to her face. She smiled softly and whispered. "...Then perhaps you would like to see what all your future can hold for you."

"But... there is nothing that my fu-" She silences me with a hoof to my lips as she gently pushes me into the direction of the cart.

"You'll need to see this more than you realize." I felt a sudden surge of magic press against my backside as she walked forward to the carriage she rode in. "Come along now."

Whatever she had planned, I didn't want to be a part of it. But maybe I would get to experience one last meal before I would take my leave. And besides, I was with six guards and a noble to say the least. I suppose I should allow myself the opportunity to see what it is like to live among the upper-crust. I suppose that I could at least see the finer things before I pass on.

As I stepped into the carriage, she sat directly in front of me. As my eyes wandered from her to the window and to her again, it had occurred to me that she was far beyond pretty. This mare was the most beautiful thing that my eyes had ever laid eyes on. But even her aesthetic charms could not hope to shake off my anxiety. Just what exactly did she wanted to show me?

"What is your name, young sir." She asked with a sweet curiosity.

I opened my mouth, letting my name flow out like the four colors of her mane. "Olyssius Blueblood Patrikios, m'lady."

She hummed to herself while placing a hoof in mine. I blushed as I felt the softness of her fur cross against mine. She quietly asked me. "What does everypony else calls you?"

"Olyssius." I answered swiftly.

"May I call you Blueblood instead? That name is not as harsh."

"Yes m'lady." I responded, not wanting to be rude.

Then suddenly, she took another hoof and rubbed it against mine while she closed her eyes and started to lower her head. Her horn glowed a soft yellow light as her magic danced from her horn, down her forelegs and onto my body. She didn't make a sound as her magic continued to flow to me, warming me with it's presence. Her face originally started off with a cheery smile. But as the time progressed, her smile turned into a frown. Her jaw fell lightly as she gasped in what seemed to be in sheer horror. I tried to separate myself from her, but she held on to me with the strength of an angry deity. Soft sobs fills her lips and pleas of mercy trace her tongue.

Wait a minute. Was she actually looking into my memories?

Her eyes jumped open within a moment's notice and she breathed heavily, deactivating her magic simultaneously to her withdrawal. She looked at me with worried eyes and retained possession of my hooves. Her breathing grew labored and her cheeks started to stain with tears.

"M'lady... Are you alright?" I asked with concern as to what she may have seen.

The only response I ever received was the sudden feeling of two hooves wrapping tightly around my body as the mare held me in her hooves, softly sobbing while she spoke.

"So dark a soul to one so young. Your mind is so bright... yet it's filled with so much baggage. Your heart is horribly damaged."

"Ma'am?" I questioned before I felt her tighten her grip on me.

"Your pains... they don't need to plague you any longer. Abandon them here and now please... abandon them here with me."

A deep pain filled my chest as my stomach fell to the ground below. My lungs gasped for air as the warmth of the mare's body surrounded mine and provided me with a sense of security. She nuzzled me while my mind continued to analyze what was happening at the moment. My eyes lightly watered and my throat grew wetter with each second of her embrace. Her lips pressed against my forehead as she whispered to me.

"Let it all go. I'm here for you now... I'll always love you, my dear."

Then it hit me, like a battering ram to the gate of a besieged castle. She was offering me the one thing that I had to live without for all of these years. She held me like her own foal. Her coat grazed against mine as my eyes closed, in fear that I might cry. My tears still managed to find themselves flowing from behind my eyelids. My hooves trailed her body as sought to return the kindhearted gesture.

"It's okay. It wasn't your fault. Now let go. If you need to really squeeze it all out, the-"

I didn't even allow her the chance to finish her sentence. My hooves clasped tightly around her as my head sank into her bosom. My tears became a torrent of my emotions as I screamed into her chest. All the air inside of my lungs emptied into her soft, vanilla scented fur. My heart finally received the one thing that not even my own mother dared to provide for me...

...For the first time in my life, I've received a mother's love.

January 12th, 902 C.D.V.
Canterlot Palace

Much has happened in the past few months since the Princess had adopted me into her care. Of course she had to adopt me under the title of her nephew. She often went on about how it would've been a bad idea if I was proclaimed as her adopted son. She went into detail on how the other nobles would see me as a threat and would go out of their way to cause me harm. No matter how many times I told her that I wasn't going to fall prey to that cycle, she still carried through with her idea.

But I couldn't help but to feel that I was left out on a few of the details. Nevermind that, I'm thinking too far into the issue.

Anywho, I had even started to take some magic lessons from the princess herself. She said that since the announcement of my adoption was made before the guard, my education would be privatized to prevent any form of hindrance to my learning process. Even then, it was difficult in trying to maintain a focused attention span when dealing with the fact that I could easily request something, anything within the realms of the law, that it would be given to me.

And even with her, I found my enlightenment. She has shown me the ways of Faust and now I am a devoted Faren. Much of my former practices of being nothing more than a scapegoat for my mother's anguish towards my father have now been long abandoned.

Oh... I feel that I should state this rather quickly. My mother does not come to visit. Not that she can if she wanted to, but rather two reasons stand out for her lack of visitation. The first is the methods of the gates, which being that her residency is placed int the Canterlot Slums, she can not find a means of getting a pass to see me here. This brings me to reason number two. The second reason is simple. Though she was cleared to visit with a gate pass, it was my responsibility to send it to her. And being that I didn't want to send it to her for the time being, she could not gain access to the Palace Grounds. So in short, I disallowed my own mother the visitation rights.

Why does she need to see the pony whom she abandoned to the streets?

In case you haven't noticed, I now harbor a deep discontent for my mother. Reasons being: she made my live a living hell, she used me for an extra source of income, she fornicated with every stallion, griffon, mule, donkey and even minotaur she came into contact with. She shamed me in so many ways and I can only imagine the increase her 'business' must have seen with my four month absence. And besides, it's not like the princess will grant her a chance to visit.

"Oi! Where's me bloody Olly? Olyssius!"

Please tell me that the princess didn't just give my mother a chance to 'say hello'.

"Ah! There ya are! Come now, give yer mums sum of ya sugar, eh?"

She came to 'say hello'. I wonder what kind of front she's putting on for the princess.

"Hello mother." I said begrudgingly. But I decided to play along. Sometimes it requires two to dance. "How was the trip?"

"How was the trip!? Why I 'avent 'ad a trip like that in ages! Brings me back to me maiden days!" She stated while eyeing a vase and quickly tucking it away in into her saddlebags. And of course, the princess just so happen to miss that. Guess she didn't really want that vase anyways.

"You don't say?" I asked. Besides, she acts like she never left her past days. There was no possible way that she could have been taking the time to reform herself. I knew my mother. If there was anything she wanted to do, it was to take advantage of my current status as Princess Celestia's apprentice and get whatever she so desires. That is one game that I will not play.

Princess Celestia also took the time to report that my mother requested my presence back home. She rejected the princess' offer to stay the night here in the palace. No surprise there. Besides, how else would she get the enormous payoff of that lovely little vase she just absconded from under the princess' muzzle?

As my mother and I made for the carriage that awaited for us outside in the courtyard, Princess Celestia pulled me to the side to speak with me.

"I know that you are angry with me." She started off.

"...a little." I admitted in a low, dry tone.

"But the main reason I called her here is because I knew that your mother would come and visit you if she had the opportunity. And being that she had confirmed that one of my original theories of you not sending her the pass to the city gates..."

My ears folded as I started to hear the disappointment in her voice.

"...I figured that it would be best to let the two of you settle your family problems."

"But princess..." I argued. "I can't just go back to the way things used to be."

"You won't. You are my most trusted student. I have complete confidence that your mother will see the error in her ways and seek to better the relations between the both of you. And one last thing Blueblood..."

"Yes, princess?"

She made the face. The face of the sun erupting past the clouds with a vengeful fury, impaling the grounds below with a searing heat as it struck it's victim with extreme prejudice. She made that face whenever it came to me failing in my lessons. This was the side that the politicians and maidens around the palace feared the most. She had to have been really angry about something.

"Be sure to bring me back my vase." She spoke with an evil venom.

"Yes, ma'am." I squeaked out like a mouse to it's predator.

As we took our leave, my mother held on to her saddlebags for dear life. Seeing how the princess feels about that vase, I can see why. That is one article of decor that I will defiantly be watching after.

There wasn't much to say about my return. The food stores were as empty as they were when I left months prior. The chairs haven't changed. In fact there were less of those now than ever. My mother is still having company come by and rob her blind, and that was after she shared her bed with them.

During dinner, she tried to explain to me what all had happened here. So far, nothing that was substantially different except the endowment of the various males that she bedded. But no matter, I made a promise to the princess that I would try to address and rectify the situation that I had grown accustomed to throughout my life.

And what a disaster it was. Me and my mother had gotten into a heated debate and we even started to stare each other down into a corner. I guess there has been one significant change in the home: I no longer backed away in fear of my mother striking me. This time, an arsenal of intermediate offensive magic was on my side. It had also helped that my morning regiments were the same of the guards around the palace. Yes mother, your son gained a little confidence and strength while he was away.

Our engagement ended in a stalemate as my mother laughed off the fact that I stood up to her for the first time. The food was acceptable enough to say that I was fed, but was insufficient to the point where it felt as if I had not eaten much at all. Finally, I made my way to my bedroom, which smelled of stale air and more fornication.

It disturbed me that my place of rest was now a place of whoremongery. But if there was a choice between the bed that was now shared with an unknown amount of stallions, and a bed filled with the years of filth of a stallion's and mare's shared bodily fluids... I vote my room.

I closed my eyes and thought about the life that I would soon return to. The lushness of the bed that my mentor had set aside for me. She treated me more of her own child than my own mother ever could. But that was apart of her nature. The princess was always so warmhearted to others.

It's quite relieving that my mentor actually had offered me a place to stay during my studies. She could have left me here in the slums and made me travel all the way to the palace. But instead she offered me a bed, a place to think, books, lessons in magic, a warm bath, three square meals a day and her sincerest affection. I could almost fall in love with her. She treats me well enough, so why shouldn't I be able to show her how she makes me feel.

She make me feel as if there is a rush of energy flowing through my veins. And even inside of my heart I know that she is worth it. Just thinking about her causes me to perceive her in the most sinful ways. I sometimes imagine that she is alone in her bed, in need of comfort. I would reveal myself and bestow upon her my deepest love. I would force my love into her as I start to feel myself erupt inside of her...

...Wait. I'm asleep. I'm not supposed to actually feel intercourse. Oh no.

I wake up from my slumber to find what could be the worst thing that a stallion could ever see in his eyes.

"MOTHER! WHAT ARE YO- AAAAAHHHH!"

It was a sight that no mentally healthy stallion wished to see in his life. Before my eyes rested my mother and her flushed expression as she eagerly rose and fell on my loins. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head as her hooves extended to my head and clasped me towards her.

"A well-endowed little fella you are. Why 'avent ye told me that ye were packing as much as a mule in a summer sun? I would've kept ye here a lot longer." She panted into my ear.

"Get off of me!" I commanded.

"Oh, quit yer belly aching. You're a stallion so it means that you're s'posed to enjoy that kind 'o stuff." She replied. "In speaking of which, you were 'aving a good time in yer sleep. Who was the lucky mare?"

"Off. Me. NOW!" My magic flared and launched her across the room and I rose from my bed... or rather I was tied to my bed, trying to rise from it. I yanked and pulled all of my fours until I found that my efforts were futile. My mother rose from her spot in a chuckle as I looked at her from my place of holding. I screamed at her once more. "Let me go!"

"O dearie, ye not gonna leave me for a while. Ye think that ye gonna leave 'ere and run back to where I can't even enjoy me'self? Not even the princess can stop me!"

"Oh? I beg to differ..."

I looked at my mother with anger as the reality of my situation sank into my mind and became ingrained into my consciousness. I was not only sexually assaulted by my mother, I was held captive and raped in my sleep. Even as I woke, she persisted in her efforts to reach the pinnacle of her pleasure. But my mother grew a look of fear as she looked at my lips, trying to comprehend the tone that came out of my voice. It was almost as if there was another within me. But then I had remembered that the tone of voice actually was a haunting mix of my own as well as my teacher.

Then it struck me... My teacher, Princess Celestia was standing right in the doorway.

Her countenance was like lightning as her coat shone as bright as snow. Her breaths sizzled and crackled with every draw. Her large violet orbs that were once filled with a ever present shine, were now as empty as my mother's morality. Her mane was still in it's ever-flowing state, but it was a lot slower than usual. Parts of her mane were even set aflame as she angrily stared into my mother.

"A mother... who would choose to take advantage of her own child... and even..." She turned her head to me and saw that I was chained to the bed. Her words dripped to the floor like molten lava. "It's disgusting."

"You would ne'er understand the love that I 'ave for me child!" My mother lied, trying to sound convincing. Neither I nor the princess was buying.

"...Blueblood... I am sorry for subjugating you to this... unfavorable situation. I only wanted to see your mother's true nature. Before we came to meet with you, she pleaded for me to allow you to come home for the moment. As it turned out, it seems that she only wanted to do horrid things to you. I should have never let you leave my company."

"Back off! He's my son and I will do with him as I wish!" My mother spat at the princess. "Besides... I can show my son what love can do f-"

"You carry no love!" Princess Celestia screamed to my mother as she slowly approached the two of us. "How dare you call upon the name of love and declare yourself as it's champion. How dare you try to misguide your son into thinking that forced incestual procreation is a show of your affection."

"I raised him for many years and I will continue to raise him. As. I. So. Choose." Argued my mother, stepping in front of the princess without a show of remorse.

"You will not raise him anymore! He will not be yours to corrupt! I would take him in before I would allow you to treat this poor young colt as you did for the fourteen years of his life!"

"And surely a mare who can't even bear her own child would know more than one who strove through the pains of foalbirth. You are NO mother! I can even assume that you are as fertile as the soil of a barren wasteland!"

"SILENCE, YOU CUR!!!" Princess Celestia screamed, pain evident in her voice as she turned to me and unbound me from the shackles of my mother's confinement. She tried to make her way over to me, but was stopped by my mother standing in the way.

"I WILL NOT BE SILENCED!!!" My mother lashed back at the mare who towered over her. "My son will always choose me because I am his blood. Olysseus is mine and mine alone!"

I looked on as the princess slowly backed away to the doorway and softened her composure. She bore a similar facial expression to the one that she wore when she first read my memories. At this moment, I had already knew what was coming.

"Blueblood, this isn't who you are. You are worth so much more than this. You don't have to stay here. Come with me... and I will become a mother to you."

"Olysseus, do not listen to her lies! She will only seek to deceive you, like your father did to me!"

"I will shower you with the affection and desires of your heart. I wish only to love you Blueblood. Please hear me."

"She will only show you despair and hardship! A noble's life is worth as much as the excrement we produce!"

"I will do everything you desire from that of a mother. I am sorry that you had to go through all of this. But I am more than willing to bear the burden of providing for you. I will become your teacher, your guide... even one who you may love. Choose me, Blueblood."

"I FORBID IT! AS YOUR MOTHER, I COMMAND YOU TO ABANDON YOUR STUDIES AND REMAIN 'ERE!"

The arguments of my mother and my mentor swirl and whirlpool into my inner-thoughts until one key phrase remained. As your mother...

I took a deep breath and walked over to my mother. Princess Celestia is evidently distraught in my choice.

"Blueblood... no."

I heard the tear-stained words of the princess desperately hug my ears while I walked to my mother, who wore a smile of satisfaction.

"Mother..." I asked as I stopped short of her reach. "What is my name?"

"What are ye talking about? If ye a mite bit confused due to 'er calling ye Blueblood, then I'll keep it simple. Olysseus Patrikios." She answered with a smile, causing me to look at her with concern.

"...Why does my name mean 'hatred of the noble descendant' where I do not harbor such feelings?" I asked her.

"..." She remained silent as she wanted to keep the answer hidden to herself. She was already in a state of shock as I told her what my name roughly translated to. Her lack of an answer set my temper ablaze.

"Is it because my father chose to abandon you for his own pursuits?"

"I-" I didn't even give her a chance to answer.

"Is that why you have treated me with negligence all of this time? Because I am the bastard child of a stallion that you sought to take advantage of by allowing yourself to create a foal fixed to his bloodline? Because he saw through your plan and decided that he wouldn't have any of it!? Because I was the result of your failed ploy, a mistake that you carried for months and had to care for!?"

My mother unhinged all of her hatred at once in the form of a single sentence.

"Ye should be appreciative of the fact that I didn't leave ye for the timberwolves like I 'ad originally planned!"

A knot formed in my throat as I had finally heard the truth. I was the result of not only failure, but also pity. At least now I had the closure to make my choice. I nodded as I quietly suppressed my tears and turned around, facing away from my 'mother'. It had turned out that she never intended to raise me. Before my eyes was the tall form of my mentor, who shed many tears as I had whispered to her.

"I'm ready to go home now."

Thus I became her student, her legal nephew and her own metaphorical child. For many years, I studied under her wings and took in much knowledge from my lessons and would ultimately prove to be a far better scholar than many other colts my age. I traveled with her in most of her journeys. I accompanied her in many of her assignments. I even protected her as her personal guard. The status of my apprenticeship proved to be of a great asset to my own social development.

...But my title as her student would not go unchallenged. For there were others, nobles and their sons more specifically, who sought to replace me out of spite. But I resisted their attacks and their assaults, proving to be a far better opponent than what they had originally perceived.

There was much bloodshed.

Author's Footnote:
This is a first look into his past. There will be more to come in the coming chapters, though they will be greatly shortened like this one. Now about the society that he lived in. Though Celestia was a just ruler, her courts were filled with those who abused their power and used it for the wrong reasons. Now many of you would ask why does he seem so different from when he was younger? Those questions will be answered in due time with more of his dreams.

And by shortened, I meant that yes, there is another fanfic in the works. A prequel to this one, covering most of the other details to his accomplishments from apprenticeship to his crowning.

Once more, opinions are appreciated.

ACT 2: The Morning After and The Midnight Slumber

The birds chirped loudly in the summer morning as a young filly raced to the door of another ponies bedroom. Her smile reached from ear to ear while she eagerly pranced from the bottom of the stairs to the top. A juvenile humming could be heard throughout the empty sounds of the home. As she raced to the door, she pressed the door wide open without regard for the occupant of the room.

"MORNING RARITY! IT'S TIME FOR BREAKFAST!"

As the younger sister screamed out to her older sister, Rarity turned over in her sheets. It was evident that she was still a bit tired from the events of the previous day. It took a lot out of her in order to go out and save an entire nation from the evils of a legend, especially when they stayed up all night the day prior to the event. And despite her little sister's cries, she insisted that she would stay in bed for the day.

"Nommmmm... Smoke... D'oh Sweetie Belle, can you please turn down those flames..." Rarity whispered before a timer went off inside of her head. It ultimately reminded her that smoke was not supposed to be apart of her morning rituals. "...SMOKE!?"

"Yup! This morning I made you cereal!" She eagerly answered with a bright smile on her face, oblivious to her elder sister's concerns.

"CEREAL!? Did you remember to, oh I don't know, NOT SET IT ON FIRE!?" Rarity asked Sweetie Belle while falling out of her bed.

"We ran out of cereal, so I tried to make some of our own." Sweetie Belle answered yet again.

"Oh dear Celestia!" Rarity screamed while running directly for the door. To her misfortune, she forgot to remove the sleep blinders that she wore over her eyes and promptly ran into a wall, inches shy of the door. Realizing her mistake, she magically tossed the blinds to the side and galloped for the kitchen, followed by a calmly trotting Sweetie Belle.

As they reached the kitchen below, Rarity turned off all the flames that were lit on the stove and extinguished any strays with buckets of water. After the battle for the kitchen, Rarity panted over the blackened stove as she triumphantly stood with a bucket of water on hoof.

"Awww Rarity! Now the cereal's going to be all soggy." Sweetie griped to her older sister, angry that she doused the homemade cereal flakes, or their remnants in this case, in copious amounts of water.

Rarity took a deep breath as she tried to remain calm and collected for the sake of her younger sister. With a false, yet convincing smile, she chose her words carefully.

"Sweetie Belle, dearest. If you wanted something to eat, then you come upstairs and address me on the matter. I do not think that a subtle interruption in my sleep cycle would prove to be as... treacherous."

"But I didn't wanna wake you up." The young filly stated. "And plus you always cook. I wanted to give it a try. Besides, it couldn't be that hard to be able to fix something."

Rarity looked at the burnt stove-top and back to her sister as she deadpanned. "You don't say?"

"And also, there was a letter in the mail. The mailmare dropped it off this morning. It said something about a town cleanup before the big thunderstorm this evening." Sweetie Belle recalled facing the stove.

"A cleanup? Well I'll suppose I'll particip- YOU READ MY MAIL!?" Rarity said furious that her little sister read her mail.

"You were going to be too busy to read it once you got started on your dresses." Sweetie rebutted.

Rarity understood that her little sister had the best in mind when it came to what she wanted to do. The only thing that irked her was the means of doing so... and the results that would occasionally cause a great deal of damage to the Carousel Boutique. But despite all of these things, Rarity still loved her little sister in spite of her antics in her search to find her cutie mark.

With a sigh, Rarity accepted her little sister's argument and took it to heart. "Thanks Sweetie. But the next time I get some mail, please keep in mind that it's for my eyes only and that the only times that I would permit you to read them is when I ask you to do so."

"Okay." The young white filly responded to her sibling's request. "...So what are we going to do for breakfast?"

Rarity looked at the stove and knew that cooking wasn't exactly the best idea at the moment. But then she was reminded of one of her recent friends working at a certain bakery downtown. A smile grew on her lips as she came up with a solution.

"Say Sweetie, how about we grab ourselves a bite to eat before you head out to school?"

Azure slowly opened his eyes to see the light of the sun filtering into the bedroom of Luna. As he came to his senses, he surveyed the area and remembered that this was the room of the lunar princess, the younger sister of Princess Celestia herself.

Slowly, he observed her sleeping posture and took notice that her hoof was firmly held against his abdomen, locking him to her. He lit his horn and manipulated the space around her hoof and slowly pulled at it. But the amount of strength she had placed into keeping him there proved to be far greater than he had anticipated. Her size was an obvious deception to her actual physical might.

Once more, this time with more strain, he lifted her hoof off of him and slowly slid out of place. In his stead, he took one of the large pillows and placed it in between her and her hoof. Finally completing his escape, he quietly made his way to the door.

"You would leave your princess, despite her wishing that you would not leave her?"

Azure froze in place as he realized that she may have been awake the entire time. He didn't dare to turn around, fearing that her eyes were fixed on him. And much to his fear, they were.

"I did not grant you permission to leave me. I did not dismiss you. Though, I will in a moment."

Azure cursed to himself as he looked at the doorway in front of him. His voice crept in from his early morning exhaustion. "What would you like for me to do this morning, princess?"

"I would like you to turn around."

Azure obeyed her command without question. But what he saw when he did made him want to do one of two choices. The first choice was to run to her. The second was to turn around and remove himself from her presence out of embarrassment.

There on the bed lied his princess. Though she was young in her appearance, she was more than mature in her gestures. Her eyes trailed to him, urging him to behold what she was offering to him. His eyes follower hers and he noticed the small blue frame of her body, her lanky wings that unfurled lightly and her shapening figure. His eyes continued on down until he tried to bypass what she was really trying to show him. And she immediately caught on to his strife as she noticed the blushing on his face, the sweat of his brow and the rate of his breathing.

"Do not look away, my guard. This is what is offered to you. But it shall be only a sample of what is to come." She spoke in a sultry voice.

Azure gulped hard as he stood at attention. She also noticed that he was raised to half mast. A devious smile crept on her face as she took notice on what was happening to him down below. She internally squeed with glee as she observed the first log of stallion flesh that she had seen in over a thousand years.

"P-p-prin...c-cess. I h-have... to go now." Azure stuttered before he opted to run out of the room.

But before he could turn around to make an exit, he felt his entire body being swallowed with the light blue aura that was not his own. Instead, his princess ensnared him with her magic and proceeded to move him back to the bed. As she did so, her hind legs restlessly rubbed against one another as she bit her lip. She did all that she could to contain her obvious excitement as it oozed from her nethers and onto the bedding below.

"So... what would you like to see of your princess?" She asked as her words became as hot as steam. Her every consonant hissed like droplets of water to a lit flame.

"I-" Azure didn't even get a chance to place his arguments as she held a hoof to his lips.

"It is just you and me now. Pay no heed to the world outside. Now... I suppose that my sister did tell you the three things that a guard is to do when serving his princess, yes?" She removed her hoof from his mouth so that he would answer her question.

"To protect your princess." Azure quietly answered, feeling a knot in his throat.

"Yes... but sometime you have to go a little further than to protect her from all harm." She stated.

"L-Love your princess."

"Yes... though I wish to go even further." She said as closed the distance between him and her.

"S-s-s-serve... your princess?"

"That's better. Now service me my dear guard."

Azure figured that the large lump in his throat had to have been his heart, or at least it felt like it as her lips inched to his and her hoof trailed down his chest, just inches away from his own show of eagerness. His face flushed as he tried to clarify what she was really asking for.

"Princess... How may I service you?"

"...I wish for you to kiss me... grace my lips with yours."

He offered to close the distance between their muzzles, but she restrained him and teased him for his eagerness to do so. "Foolish colt, I did not mean those lips."

He felt every inch of his exposed stallionhood pump full of excitement and heat as he slowly, yet nervously, lowered himself to her inner thighs. She whispered to to him, impatient at his speed yet praising his approach. His muzzle finally reached the final destination and he breathed at an agonizing pace, ensuring that the heat of his air ravaged her senses.

"Kiss me dear stallion. Serve me like no other."

Her hooves hugged his head as he grew close to her desiring sex. Her back strained and arched as he finally made his first contact with her moistened lips.

"You've wounded me last night, my guard. Your teasings of love and romances filled me with much joy. But they have also left me unfulfilled, as they were naught but lies. You shall repent for your actions by this deed." She whispered in a labored tone as he continued to work himself against her folds.

He prodded her entrance with his tongue, ellicting a loud moan to pass from her lips. She rapidly retreated herself from him, releasing him and rejecting him from going any further. Azure raised his head with concern for his actions.

"Did I do something that did not please you?"

"No!" She exclaimed, not wanting him to feel like his performance was lacking. "In fact it was the opposite of displeasing. But I requested that you kiss me, not taste me."

"But my princess," Azure asked, feeling his confidence build back to the days of his high school freshmeat year. "You taste divine, allow me to finish my indulgence."

His words nearly brought her to ruin as she tried to repress her instinctive urge to force himself into her. "You may finish, but not today."

"I understand." He responded. "Though if you think that this is something that you felt was of the heavens, then I should warn you that this is actually a taste of what's to come."

"Your mocking will only hasten and prolong your punishment."

"Then punish me now, princess." Azure requested, desperately seeking to finish what she started.

"I already have." Luna retorts as she rises from the bed and quickly trot to the bathroom. "Now feel free to patrol the halls."

"B-But-"

"You are dismissed, Lieutenant." Luna enforces while pushing him out of the door. "Now go forth and serve your princess."

The door closes with a loud resounding boom. The halls echo with the sound of hoofsteps and light conversation as Azure remains standing in front of the door. His mind wanders back to the taunting of his princess, desiring that he would finish his engagements with her as well as finishing himself within her eager depths. If there was anything that was certain, she longed to have the familiar sensation of a stallion thrusting within her and rutting her into the carpet.

"WHOA THERE!"

"WOOD ON DECK!"

"ARMS PRESENT!"

Azure jumped at the three voices that shouted behind him and immediately went to hide himself by whatever means. As he turned around to face who it was that was taunting him, he found that it was nothing more than his three friends: Longshot, Poindexter and Shining Armor.

"S-s... SHUT UP!" Azure shouted to his three laughing comrades.

"So what, the princess threw you out because of a case of morning wood?" Poindexter joked.

"No! She thought my wood was more than adequate, thanks for asking!" Azure lashed back, gaining a few laughs from the others.

"So what, you wanna explain why you're outside of her room with a raging boner?" Longshot asked.

"Too much mare for him to handle, I suppose." Shining jested.

The three continued their long line of boner jokes as well as jokes that teetered into the subject of erectile dysfunction. Azure was reduced to nothing more than a blushing husk of himself. It was apparent that he didn't want to be there at the moment of being blue-balled.

"All of you, FUCK OFF!"

Later that evening in Ponyville, thunderclouds and the sound of the winds howling throughout the air. A torrential downpour has come down to the very town of Ponyville. The storm was scheduled as a cleanup of the events of the day's past, as well as making up for the lack of a rain shower the past week, but it would seem that this storm was making more of a mess than cleaning it up. And those who were unfortunate enough to find themselves in the storm received the full wrath of the weather.

Both Applejack and Rarity were the ones caught in such a downpour. The both of them argued originally debated on whether the branches were better off being salvaged and replaced on the trees or if they were to remove them, adding to the mess that was created with the massive celebration. Applejack was thinking in terms of the practical while Rarity was thinking on the levels of simplicity. But their debate soon erupted into whether taking shelter underneath a muddy table would prove to be useful or worse depending on the current conditions of the pouring rain. Fortunately, there was a third option.

"APPLEJACK! RARITY!"

The two mares looked at each other with a distasteful look before facing the source of the voice.

"APPLEJACK! RARITY!"

"Twilight?" The both of them called out in question.

"COME INSIDE GIRLS, QUICK!" Twilight shouted from the comfort of the library.

Instantly, the two rained-on mares made a dash for the library. As Rarity took a burst of speed leaving behind Applejack, she managed to make it inside of the tree-shaped library while Applejack made a stop short of the welcoming mat.

"Whoa nelly!" Applejack exclaimed. "Is inside of a tree the best place to be in a lightning storm?"

"Is is when you have a magical lightning rod protecting your home like I do." Twilight spoke with a smile, obviously planning something. "Come on in!"

Rarity gasped in relief as she looked at the purple unicorn walk towards one of the larger bookshelves. "We are most grateful for your invitation."

"Thank ya kindly fer yer hospitality." Applejack cosigned as she started to walk inside. But before she could go any further, Rarity stopped her before she could make her way in. As the orange apple mare looked at the prim fashionista, Rarity took a moment to remind her that mud was still on her hooves.

"Um... Do be a polite house guest and wash up please, won't you?" Rarity spoke in a mocking tone before walking away.

Applejack groaned to herself as she made her way outside. "Arrrgh... If Ah gotta spend one more second with that fuss-budget Rarity today, Ah can't be held responsible fer what Ah'm gonna do."

It was no secret to the town that she and Rarity didn't get along very well. And to their respective families, it was quite a shame. The reason being was that they were good friends when they were foals. Applejack was often supportive for when things got tough for Rarity. And Rarity was always present in Applejack's worst moments, including the news of her parents death and their funeral. Time tended to separate friends from each other in many cases so it was no different in their case. As the time passed, their interests grew separate from each others and more so their own personal feelings.

In short: a colt got in between the two. Applejack liked him, he liked Rarity and Rarity denied him, causing him to be saddened. And of course, Applejack sought to defend him and stood up to Rarity. They haven't talked much since then. Usually her time would be shared with Fluttershy, as Applejack tended to spend her time with Rainbow Dash. But now they had to do the one thing that irked them the most: spend time with each other.

Twilight stopped in front of the large bookshelf and looked back at Rarity before she spoke. "Some storm, huh? The pegasus ponies really outdid themselves this time. I hope that you and Applejack don't have any trouble of getting home."

Rarity looked around to the windows and saw that the storm was indeed getting worse and finally admitted to the lavender mare. "It... may indeed be a problem."

"Well, you're welcome to stay here if need be. Spike is away at Canterlot on royal business..." Twilight answered.

Meanwhile at Canterlot...

"CHUG! CHUG! CHUG! CHUG! CHUG!"

While a large group of stallions chanted and cheered at the two drinking stallions, Spike was busy as he was monitoring the group of guards, more noticeably Twilight's elder brother and his friends taking down as many drinks as possible. He was the score keeper while Shining and Longshot took back drink after drink. Poindexter was busy marking up a passed-out Azure's face with the words 'The Royal Bone Monkey' followed by the words 'Insert penis here' that pointed to his mouth.

Spike wore a pink lampshade on his head that had the words 'judge' defacing the surface.

"...So I'm home all alone tonight." Twilight continued before an idea came to mind, providing something to entertain her while her assistant was away at business. "You and Applejack should totally sleep over! We'll have a slumber party! I've always wanted one of those!"

Rarity proceeded to look at the mare as if she had lost all trace of sanity. The mere thought of Applejack and her sharing a bed sent shivers of disgust down her spine. She blinked herself out of her moment of reflection.

"Oh... goodness! I-uh... do believe I have another engagement scheduled for this evening. It completely slipped my mind until just now. Hahaha" Rarity lied while failing to sound somewhat convincing. "Oh silly me. I... can't possibly stay here all night... with Applejack."

Twilight levitated a book off of the top shelf and placed it in front of the snow-white unicorn. As Rarity took the time to read the words out loud, Twilight smiled at the possibilities of what all could occur that night.

"Slumber-101: All that you wanted to know about slumber parties but were afraid to ask."

"My own personal copy. It's a fantastic reference guide. You should see the table of contents. I've been waiting for a chance to use it, and today's the day. This is going to be so great!"

Rarity faked her enthusiasm and laughed nervously as her eyes darted from the exuberant mare in front of her to the not-so excited mare outside of the window. Applejack was busy cleaning her hooves and found a nice cold stream of hose water to the face. Rarity rolled her eyes and thought to herself.

"Dearest Celestia, this is going to be a long night."

"Okay! The winner of the weekly chug off is... Longshot!"

The group of stallions cheered as they watched their fallen captain accept his defeat with a large thud to the floor, losing all sense of balance. Longshot on the other hoof, stumbled and wobbled as he raised his hooves to accept his victory. Spike laughed and chuckled with many of the other stallions in attendance while they all sang songs about Blueblood's mom and often gathered a long list of insults that they wanted to call out to the prince's face without the repercussions of literally saying it to his face. They even got on the subject of the new guard regiment that was established earlier that day.

But the majority of the guards were there just to forget their daily troubles and have some fun. Life in the was not difficult, but rather frustrating. And they needed a release from all of that anger and stress of dealing with the nobles and more infamously, Blueblood.

Surprisingly, none of these mature subjects affected Spike. In fact, he was more accustomed to this kind of lifestyle than he was being treated like a child. It was true that he still had his child-like excitement within, he also had a snappy wit that was far beyond his age. He knew of all of the dirty raunchy jokes that the stallions told on a Saturday night. He judged all of the games. He even covered for some of the guards who brought a mare with them.

Spike was more mature than he had led Twilight to believe. With his constant work inside of the library meant that he was well read and well studied. He could even last as long as Twilight did when it came to the extended lectures that she received and gave out to others. He considered Twilight as an older sibling, though he didn't like it when he was considered to be a child. It was true that he was a child, but he also knew what he wanted and how he would go about obtaining the object of his desires.

One such desire was a mare that he recently met in Ponyville by the name of Rarity Andalusia Belle. Though he wouldn't dare disclose the name of his crush out of scrutiny that he would be too young for her to handle.

"Hey Spike! Why don't you come over here and help me get Shiny off the floor!" Longshot joked as he pointed to the defeated challenger.

"Sure thing." Spike answered with a giggle.

As they made their way to the inebriated form of the Captain of the Royal Guard, they counted to three and hoisted up the temporarily disabled stallion.

"Nnnnnthanks guize." Shining groaned to the stallion and the young drake.

They took him to the couch and offered him a cup of coffee to waken him from his stupor. Shining accepted the drink and took it down as soon as he received it. Though his motor skills still needed some time to properly gain ground, he still found the ability to walk forward.

He still stumbled as he finally took another seat to the bar.

"Hey, I don't think you should be drinking anymore. You just got sent under the table not even five minutes ago." Spike advised to the captain.

"Yeah... I'm just here to get another cup of coffee. I need to get myself back on track for later. Besides, if Cadie finds out I've been drinking, she'll have my ass on a pike." Shining answered, remembering that his fiance didn't like him drinking at all.

"Yeah, sounds about right." Longshot cosigned with knowledge on the subject. "Fiances and wives don't usually like it when you go out with the guys."

"Don't see why not." Spike added. "They have their outings and they don't usually like to talk about all the details. So why tell them about everything. What happens on Guys-Night-Out, stays in Guys-Night-Out."

"Yeah... But they want to know everything about you since you share a life with them. And being that they care more about your personal safety, I can see why the would be so concerned with your drinking habits." Shining stated while ordering another cup of coffee. "Double espresso please."

"Well since you put it that way, I guess I could see why Cadance wouldn't want you to drink... but it still doesn't answer why you do it anyways." The young drake asked as he nudged the older brother of his caretaker.

"Well... there are a variety of reasons. I can name one off the bat." Longshot answered.

"Blueblood." Spike answered, knowing first hoof of the nuisance. His mind constantly ran filled with the sounds of all of his annoying banter. Not even he was oblivious to his constant stream of insults and him especially since he was of a different species.

"Winning." Shining interjected confirming that the upbringing of his name would drive one to drink.

"All sense has been made. Carry on with the drinks." Spike said in deadpan, causing the others to laugh in agreement.

"So Spike," Longshot asked. "Have you managed to see a mare with a creamy brown coat, long hazelnut hair tied to her right side and she has a cutie mark of a heart and a baby bottle down there in Ponyville?"

"Yeah. I saw her at the Summer Sun Bash before the ceremony."

"Is she still flirty and all?"

"Yeah. But she usually teases all of the stallions who danced with her on a 'look-no-touch' basis."

"Yup, that's her."

Shining's ears perked up as he started to have a bit of concern that his sister would be staying there for some time. "Hey Spike, one question."

"Ask away."

"You think that Twily will like Ponyville more than she does Canterlot? Like you know, to the point of staying there?"

Spike scratched his head as he thought about how to answer that question. "I don't know. I mean, she just got there. At least give her some time to think about it. And besides, you're getting married to Cadance soon enough. That means that your life would eventually take you someplace else aside from her. And being that she is a student to Princess Celestia, you should be more than prepared to see that she's willing to seek newer horizons."

"I know. But she's still my little sister. And now I grow worried thanks to the fact that she's an element bearer. I... I just want to make sure she's going to be okay."

"Sure, she's going to be okay." Spike reassured. "She hasn't been trained by the princess to be nothing more than a sitting duck."

"Okay. Just remember to take care of her when you get back."

Spike smiled with pride, sticking his chest out as he emphasized how important he was to his caretaker. "C'mon. If I wasn't around to write her schedules, it isn't like she would be in a mess right now. And plus she would know how to take into consideration that everypony is not some sort of walking checklist for her lessons. And plus I'm more than certain that she can handle things on her own. Besides, what could possibly go wrong?"

"There's a giant tree branch in the middle of my bedroom! And the book doesn't say anything about having a giant tree branch at your slumber party, or at least I haven't found that entry yet!"

Twilight frantically flips the pages of her Slumber-101 guide while Applejack and Rarity continued to argue in the distance.

"What'n tarnation are y'all doin' over there!?"

"Cleaning up this mess that somepony made! Who was that again!? Oh right, THAT'S YOU!!!"

Applejack furiously rolled her eyes and dipped into the greenery of the foreign object that managed to find it's guidance to the bedroom, thanks in part to her lassoing the large branch from off of a nearby tree in frustration of Rarity, who also took blame for wanting to repair the damages done to the tree. As she rose from the enormous green shrub, she found that Twilight was still reading her book for answers.

"We gotta do sumthin'!" She yelled as the rain from the storm outside started to fall into the room.

"Baking... BFF's... Brothers... There's nothing in her about branches!" Twilight answered to the farm pony, while still trying to find a solution in the book.

Applejack disregarded her statement and did all that she could to remove the branch from the room by herself. She offered to pull it out using a lasso, but found that it was far too heavy to move. She bucked it to try and break some of it off, but her efforts proved to be far too ineffective. She even jumped on top of it repeatedly in hopes of smashing it down to size, but the branch was far too strong to be crushed by her own weight. Finally giving up on her individual efforts, she finally gave up and swam through the branch to find Rarity still trying to stack some fallen books onto a bookshelf nearby.

"Rarity! For ponies sake, stop sweatin' small stuff an' help me get rid of this thing!"

Rarity gave her a nonchalant glance before continuing her task of moving the books. Even more furious, Applejack shouted once more to the pony on the other side of the room.

"Ah said hustle on over here an' help me!"

Rarity continued to pay no mind. Applejack started to grow even more furious as she finally found gave the fashionista a piece of her mind.

"...Ah'm sorry, alright?"

Rarity's head shot up in disbelief of what she had heard come from the farmer's mouth. "What was that?"

"Ah said Ah'm sorry! Ah should've listened to ya when ya noticed where this here branch would end up. Yer annoyin' attention to detail would'a saved us from this whole mess. But right now, y'all need to stop bein' so dang fussy pickin' up all the little things and help me move the one big thing'n here that actually matters!"

Rarity took some time to think about the sentiment of what the farm pony said to her. She felt almost as responsible for the mess due to her own stubbornness getting in the way of doing what really needed to be done.

"Please!" Applejack pleaded to her foalhood friend. "And... I'm sorry about-"

"But I'll get all icky!" Rarity stated with concern that her coat would get dirty, earning a frustrated groan from Applejack.

"Consarnit! What the... eh... ya..." Applejack took the time to reconfigure herself before she would lose the attention and sympathy of the fashionista. "Ah mean, yes, ickiness is often a side effect of hard work. But y'all need to get over it, on account Ah just can't fix this mess Ah made myself... Ah need your help."

Rarity took the time to think about the statement of her foalhood friend. It seemed that her statement did have some sort of merit. Being a pony in the fashion industry did mean that sometimes, being messy would ultimately prove to be fruitful to her efforts over a concern of being in a clean environment. After all, she called the messes she made 'organized chaos'. She drew her breath and pretended that she was combating the evils of last Fall's fashion line and stepped up to the task of helping out both Applejack and Twilight.

"...Let's do this."

With a draw of magic, Rarity transformed the branch into a series of small figurines on sticks, eliminating the mass of the object in general. Applejack readied herself to buck a small piece of the branch out of the window, but was stopped by a look of disapproval by Rarity. Realizing that bucking a small piece of wood would only prove to be of more harm than help, she lowered herself and resorted to a gentle grabbing of the branch and tossing it overboard, allowing the branch to fall safely to the ground below.

Finally closing the window, they stopped the rain from falling into the bedroom. Rarity, unfortunately, took notice of her current condition and whimpered in response of the muddied mess she had managed to become.

"I look awful."

Applejack's heart melted at her tone and the words that came from her as she remembered something about mud facials and found a bowl of zucchinis lying on the shelf. She walked over and grabbed the bowl, took two slices of the green vegetable and laid them over the eyes of the dirty seamstress.

"Better?"

Rarity giggled at her friend's antic and finally realized that it was nothing to stress herself out over. "Thanks."

The two embraced in a hug shortly after Rarity found where Applejack was standing. Meanwhile on the other side of the room, Twilight was still reading her book. As she looked up to see what was currently going on, she saw two figurines of leaves and wood placed gently before her.

"Oh, pretty! Where did these come from? They're not in the book either."

Author's Note

The first time I used a canon scene inside of the story. Let me know what I can do to improve these little scenes.

ACT 2: The Calm Before the Swarm

"See ya Spike! We'll write you up another one of those 'official business' letters sometime next month."

"Thanks. Definitely need the time away from Twilight sometimes. For some odd reason, I usually get hit by a door or ran over by somepony while I do something for her."

As the chariot that held the young drake took it's flight to the town of Ponyville that morning, Azure, Longshot, Poindexter and Shining waved their honorary drinking buddy goodbye. As they made their way inside of the palace, they tried to recall the events of the night's past. Many of the antics that they partook in were typical guy stuff. They played cider pong, shots, darts, sang songs and played a game they made up called hide the mayonnaise. Why it was called that, nopony knows.

"AZURE SWORD!!! PLEASE REPORT TO PRINCESS CELESTIA IN THE GRAND HALL, UNDER HER ORDERS!!!" A stern voice called out from inside of the castle halls.

Azure shrank in size, or at least he wanted to when it came to dealing with the princess as of late. The three others oohed and snickered while Azure started his slow ascension to the halls above. His ears folded back as he walked up the stairs, feeling as if there was some sort of punishment awaiting him up the stairs.

As he arrived in the hall known to be called the Grand Room, he could already feel Celestia's presence burning him like the heat of her summer sun. He looked at the tall doors that reached as far up as the ceiling, took a deep breath and magically opened the door, entering into the room.

"Lieutenant Azure Sword, please step forward." A light grey unicorn mare with a brown mane called out from the side of the throne that Celestia sat on.

"Thank you Inkwell. You are dismissed." Azure heard the princess whisper from across the hall. He couldn't help but to overhear the exchange, thanks largely in part to the ever-present silence that seemed to roam the room.

As he made his way to the throne, Inkwell gave him a nudge before speaking.

"You've gone and done it now."

It was no rumor that she was known to mock many of the guards that entered the room with that statement. But when it came to those who were more than nervous entering in, that's where it starts to eat away at their minds. Azure was no different in this case as he stopped ten feet short of the large golden and red-velvet-cushioned throne.

Azure bowed his head and removed his helmet as a sign of respect. "Your highness."

"Sir Azure, I would like to ask you on the behalf of my little sister. Where were you at the time of nine thirty last night?" Celestia asked sternly.

"I was with the guys. We had guys night out last night." Azure confessed, knowing that a lie would only become trouble in the long run.

"I see. So why is it that you left my little sister alone?" The elder princess questioned.

"I... I was only doing what I would normally do on guys night out. I didn't think that Princess Luna would mind-"

"Yet she did." Celestia interrupted. "And Captain Shining Armor is no more excused than you are."

"So sorry princ-"

"Allow me to finish." The princess commanded as Azure became silent. "You and Shining are guards of a royal. That means should anything happen to them during the course of the night, you two are held responsible."

"But I thought that Shining and Cadance were... you know... your majesty." Azure rebutted.

"Yes they are dating. But Luna also desires your presence come the late evening. And as her guard, you are to stay with her at all times until you are told otherwise or unless she dismisses you from your duties."

"But shouldn't I be notified about these kinds of things, your majesty?" Azure asked before finding himself under a disapproving stare from the princess.

"Your duty comes first. That means that all things are to be held to a later time until the duties that you have been assigned are completed." Celestia said in a snarl.

Azure found himself backing away out of fear while Celestia stood from her seat. Before he could take another step backwards, Celestia leaped high into the air and landed right behind the fearful unicorn.

"I'm so sorry princess! Please forgive me!" Azure begged before he found himself curled into a ball.

Celestia softened her tone as she spoke. "I know... And I accept your apology."

Azure's eyes popped open and his shivering came to a complete stop as he looked back to the solar princess. "Y-you.. do?"

"Yes." She restated. "Now please hear me out. I feel that I should disclose this to you since you are protecting my little sister."

Azure nodded his head as the princess took her seat before him.

"A thousand years ago, as you may already know, was the rise and fall of Nightmare Moon. But before her emergence, there was a civil war that swept the lands."

Azure placed a hoof to his chin as the thought of a civil war in Equestria perplexed him greatly. "I... didn't think that there was such a war."

"It was a history that I preferred to be erased." Celestia whispered in a quiet tone. "But nonetheless, there was a war. Many stallions lost their lives in the most uncivilized manner. Families were torn from the seams, foals turned against their parents, homes were destroyed in the blink of an eye. And it was all for the cause of whether the night was to last longer of if the day should remain the same."

"Night and day?" Azure asked, finally understanding where the princess was getting to. "So that means that the civil war was actually..."

"Yes... It was a war that my sister and I fought... against each other."

Azure felt his throat dry out as the princess continued her explanation.

"My sister desired that there would be a longer night so that ponies would appreciate her night. And I denied her, foolishly saying that ponies felt endangered in the night, that they feared the night. And so my little sister took that thought into the account of her heart. And that darkness overtook her heart in due time. Eventually she stood before me, saying that there could be only one princess of Equestria: her. So she allowed her darkness to take her and transform her into the being that was no longer my little sister, but my own arch nemesis... Nightmare Moon."

Azure took shock to her testimony as he thought about the young princess, the princess that smiled and laughed with him, was the entity of darkness that he feared when he was a foal. He almost couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"So in time... the battle was decided. I used the Elements of Harmony to disarm my younger sister, but instead it only sealed her away to the very object of her control. For days after her defeat I waited for her return, not realizing that power of the Elements held her there for a long period of time. With more research, I came to realize the ultimate cost of using the Elements that we shared against her. So... for a thousand years I waited. And waited. And waited until just two days ago."

"..." Azure remained silent. He finally understood why she was so gun-ho about making sure that she would experience the best night of her life.

"Now that you know this, you can understand why I am so overbearing when it comes to my little sister. She is the only thing that I have left in this world that I can truly call my own. I cannot bear foals, for I am barren. But Luna... she is the only blood that I can call kin. And I don't want to see anything bad happen to her... because I won't be strong enough to see her... perish."

Azure watched as the powerful mare sulked and sank her head down. Tears fell from her cheeks and dripped onto the floor. Her mane had even began to change from it's four colors to a rose pink. His jaw dropped in awe as he finally saw the princess in her vulnerable state. It was a stark contrast to the powerful ruler that he respected, admired and feared. Instead, she was just a mare, no more equine than anypony else.

"She is in danger, Azure. Many nobles who seek power will do what they can to take it. And they will seek to use Luna as their primary bargaining chip. And you are the only thing that would be close enough to her in her duties to protect her. She watches over the night, but she is still unaware of the technological advances that the nobles now have to combat her. She is powerful, but she will be powerless if she's alone. Please..."

Azure could not believe what he was seeing. The princess slammed her body to the ground below the hooves of the blue unicorn guard and begged him, abandoning all the poise and grace that she would carry on a daily basis.

"Stand by my little sister. Protect her from all harm. Love her as you would yourself. Make her smile."

Azure knew that there were protocols in place that prevented random outbursts of guards hugging the princess. But in this case, it would seem like those protocols were doing more hindrance than assistance. He lowered his head to hers and nuzzled the pleading princess and gave her all the affection she needed.

"You don't need to worry about that. I am a stallion of my word, princess. She shall be protected under my care. I swear to it."

Celestia lunged at the guard and crushed him with the affectionate embrace of her hooves while she cried happily that she could entrust the life of her sister to a stallion who was so openhearted. It also gave her a sense of relief.

"Azure, you don't realize how much this makes me happy."

"As...phyx.....ia.....ting." Azure struggled to get out, tapping on the giant alacorn mare's forelegs.

"Sorry. It has been a while since I have passionately hugged a stallion." Celestia said as she released the guard from her deadly embrace, allowing him to breathe once more.

"It's okay. We all need a hug every now and then." Azure said as he brushed himself off while blushing.

"Yes. It is a shame that there all of these protocols are in place. Sometimes my guards see that I am upset and notice that I am in need of compassion. And the only thing they are allowed to do is say 'it will be okay'. Sometimes... I just want to be held and told those words."

Azure rubbed his head as he finally had the courage to ask what no other stallion dared to ask. "With all due respect, princess... why haven't you found a mate?"

Celestia felt her cheeks become as pink as her mane and looked elsewhere as she avoided eye contact with the guard that asked her the embarrassing question. "I... I am barren. I told you this."

"Okay... What of it?" Azure asked confused as to why that would be an issue.

"I cannot... bear foals. My body has disallowed me to do so. Though I have tried many times, all have failed. The last time I've attempted to consummate my previous marriage was sometime over eight-hundred years ago."

"You were..." Azure bit his tongue as he realized that asking her on the subject of her martial status would be rude. "I'm sorry. You don-"

"It's alright." Celestia said before taking a deep breath. "We tried many, many times. But as he started to age past his prime, he abandoned what we had in favor of obtaining what he longed for; a foal."

"Wow..." Azure said in disbelief.

"I didn't want him to be angry with me for something that wasn't his fault, so I allowed him to divorce me and carry on with his life. After all, why waste twenty years of bedding me and stay around when I can offer nothing in return?"

"What a dick."

Celestia's expression perked up to bewilderment as she tried to process what the guard had just said. Azure stood before her with a disgusted look.

"The guy just decided that since you can't have a kid, you were unfit to be a wife?"

"Please... you don't know how it feels to have tried for decades with one and three years with others... only to find out that you are unable to carry life."

"I'm going to say this quickly because I have to get back on duty. You should never allow your past relationships to interfere with what you have in the present. If that guy truly loved you, then he would've ripped up those divorce papers the moment he saw them. I may not know how marriage practices worked in those times, but I will say that love is unconditional and should be held to that standard. It doesn't matter whether you are fertile as an estuary or as barren as brine water, he should still anchor himself where he made his promises. Crappy analogy, but you get what I'm trying to say."

Celestia immediately regained the color of her mane and raised her head in hearing the words of her guard. She wiped away the tears that she once shed for all of her past shortcomings. It seemed as if everything he said was the very thing she needed to hear in order for her to move on. Finding her voice, she turned her attention to the guard.

"You are the first one to stand up and talk to me on a personal level like this."

Azure backed away as he thought about the princess' confession. "I... am?"

"Yes. Well, the first of my guards. I still have Cadance and Twilight who talks to me like that every now and then. Even Blueblood used to comfort me with his words of encouragement a long time ago."

Azure almost took a draw of breath to release a laughing fit as soon as he heard Blueblood's name come into the mix. That was one thing that he didn't think was possible. To hear that Blueblood was offering words of wisdom was to say that every unicorn in existence could resurrect the dead. But he held his composure and remained quiet.

"Now, I have a guard who can show me the same kind of compassion that I can only expect from my own student and my niece. Thank you for this conversation. It's great to be seen as equine rather than some sort of god." Celestia said as she extended a hoof to Azure.

"I suppose that a hoofshake wouldn't break protocols." Azure joked, gaining a giggle from the princess.

"This isn't an invitation for a hoofshake." She snickered as she magically drew in the stallion for a warm and gentle hug. "This is what I was inviting you for."

Azure once feared the embrace of the princess ever since her 'sunlight kiss' managed to leave a light mark on him, followed by a slight burning sensation. But this time, he allowed the princess to hold him close. Azure even took a mental note that all royalty wished to be seen as equals... Most of them anyways.

"I'll keep this to myself, princess."

"I would greatly appreciate it. Now let's go see how Luna's doing."

The two started to make their way out of the Grand Hall as Azure started to ask more questions. "So how as she been doing?"

Celestia sucked in some air through her teeth as she cringed at the thought of her sister's reaction this morning. "Well, she hasn't been on her best behavior. I'll just put it like that."

"Siblings. What can you do about them?"

"Not me. You. Also, you may want to brace yourself as soon as you enter her room. She has a habit of tackle hugging that hasn't disappeared much since she was a foal."

Azure gulped in response of having an alacorn princess that had the strength fueled from what was thought to be dark matter coursing throughout her body, squeezing him like a tube of toothpaste on it's last reserves. Innards aren't meant to withstand that kind of pressure.

"Uh oh."

Later that evening, Princess Celestia was sitting on her throne as she awaited for the Captain of the Guard to enter into the area. As she sat, her assistant read to her another scroll depicting official business.

"And furthermore we, the Order of the Northern Light, would like to thank you for your assistance in the preservation of the crystal artifacts. Thus in conclusion, we shall be sending one of the brilliant artifacts that we have managed to uncover during the past three months. Our days of research have been most fruitful with our combined efforts. Thus concludes our weekly report."

Celestia nodded with approval as she heard the news of the uncovering of the crystal artifacts that showed hints of the fabled Crystal Empire reemergence.

"Very good. I trust that we will have a prince and princess for those lands."

"Any reason why Blueblood isn't a viable choice, m'lady?"

Celestia shook her head. "He is not ready. I still need to see to it that most of his selfishness will leave him before he ascends to any throne of any sort. As much as I do love him and herald him as my own, I cannot allow him a position of power for the moment being."

"Understood, your regalness. Then I am to assume that Princess Mi Amore Cadenza will take that position."

"Her destiny has already been decided. She shall become their new princess."

Inkwell hummed as she scribbled the details on the arrangement on an empty scroll. As she scribbled, she asked more on the subject of her younger sister.

"Your majesty, why not Princess Luna? I would only ask because her powers are far beyond that of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza."

Celestia closed her eyes as she unfolded her wings, signifying that her words would stand uncontested, even against the masses of the nobles. "Luna shall rule beside me at all times. She shall only take her leave when I see fit to allow it. Her safety is priority, because if something was to happen to me, then she would become the ruler. Shortly after her will be Cadance, followed by Shining Armor, then Blueblood, and if something should happen to us all, then it will be Twilight Sparkle who will take head of establishment."

Finishing with the last word, Inkwell bowed before her. "Noted. Your word is law, my liege."

A guard approaches from the far end of the hall as he removes his helmet and speaks to the princess.

"Your majesty, I understand that you are busy. But Shining Armor wishes to seek an audience with you."

"Very well. As he enters, I would like for all of you to be dismissed." Celestia spoke softly as the other guards heard her words and bowed before her.

"Yes, your highness." The small ensemble of guards shout as they make their exit, notifying their captain that the princess awaited him.

As the hall of stained glass emptied with the exception of the ivory-colored mare and the snow-white stallion, Celestia made her welcoming statements.

"Captain, I have summoned you here to notify you of a leave that I shall soon be taking."

Shining bowed before her as he spoke. "To where, your highness?"

"Ponyville."

"Shall I accompany you?"

"That won't be necessary, Captain."

"But princess, I-"

"That won't be necessary, Captain." She repeated, enforcing her order.

Shining swallowed hard as he took the rejection to heart. "Yes your majesty."

"I will be sending a letter to Twilight come later tonight, notifying her that I will be able to make my arrival to see the town tomorrow."

Shining questioned the princess on the abrupt visit. "Princess... don't you think that scheduling a visit so suddenly at this point in time would be rather inconvenient to not only her, but to the nobles as well?"

"Off the record captain... to hell with the nobles."

Shining grinned at the words she spoke. As much as she was royalty, he enjoyed seeing her unhinge herself from 'the royal image' and speak what's really on her mind. It reminded him that the mare he served was no different from him. It made him feel comfortable.

"Keep talking, let it all out princess."

"These nobles are the very thing that corrupted Blueblood from the start. I could care less what they think. If anything, I wouldn't mind having them wait an entire month to have an audience with me. They are rude, disrespectful and condescending. They are so focused on making sure that the citizens grovel at their hooves that they get off solely on the fact that they can manipulate a pony's mind to do whatever they so desire. It's disgusting!" Celestia finished, leaving her panting out of exhaustion and indignation.

"Should I prepare an escort for a spa day sometime later this week?" Shining asked, concerned that the princess may indeed be stressed out.

Celestia recovered from her rant by clearing her throat. Finally she regained her regality, taking a deep breath and finally answering Shining's question. "Doing that would make me no better than they are. Instead, I will be heading out to Ponyville. Their lifestyle is so relaxed in comparison to that of the lifestyle here."

"Oh... Bad day in the parliament?"

"When was there ever a good day, Captain?"

"The day after you sent Blue to Trottingham for community service."

Celestia chuckled at the reminder of the day where every noble that stood against her peed on themselves, literally. "Oh yes. That was a humorous day."

"Yeah, I can only imagine..." Shining agreed.

The two stood in a long pause of silence as the halls shined brightly with the setting of the sun. Shining noticed that it was close to the time of her final duty of the day was steadily approaching. Celestia broke the silence between the two as she looked at the stained glass window before her.

"Tell me something, Shining Armor. Do you think my sister would take joy in this age?"

Shining took a moment to think about it and shortly came to his conclusion. If he enjoyed the nights as they were, then surely Luna would find joy that there was an active night life in the city. "I would believe so. Why do you ask?"

Celestia remained facing the stained glass, avoiding all eye contact with Shining. "...Just asking."

"Do you remember the night of the banquet? She seemed pretty happy then."

It was then that Celestia was reminded of the colt who helped made that night so special to her little sister. He was also the same colt who made her feel a little better about her own circumstances. And in all honesty, she did want to know more about him. So she figured that there was no better time to ask than the present. "...Tell me about Azure."

Shining tilted his head to the princess as he didn't know what to think of the princess' request. "Uh..."

"He and I spoke briefly earlier today before I sent him to Luna."

Shining started to laugh, remembering that he was spending the night with the guys. "So how did that go?"

"Luna was a little upset at his absence. As for now, she's only angry at the fact that he spent his night drinking with you and the guys over her."

"So you heard about our little... Guys-Night-Outing?"

"I won't tell Cadance, though this will be the last time I'll cover for you."

"Princess, you're awesome."

Celestia's lips formed a smile at his response. It's been a while since she was called that by his younger sister. But she still couldn't help that he had yet to say anything that pertained to the blue unicorn stallion that was assigned to her younger sister. "Now about Azure... Do you think he would take an interest in Luna?"

"I... uh-I don't know for certain. He doesn't speak about her very much." Shining said with uncertainty laced in his voice.

"I see... Then... do you think he would take an interest in another mare I know of? She's very well spoken, strong minded, kindhearted and dedicated."

Shining was completely thrown for a loop by the princess' request to pair him with another mare, completely oblivious as to whom she was referring to. "O-kay... Is there anything else?"

The solar princess turned her head to the setting sun as she wanted to prevent Shining from seeing her facial expressions. "The only drawback is... she has a bit of a disability of... not being able to reproduce."

Shining felt his heart sank at the recommendation. He knew that Azure was interested in having foals of his own, but he also knew that Azure was committed to his relationships (no matter how short they were in high school). If there was an instance that he would truly fall in love with a mare, then he would go all out. He would even die for her. It was a hard choice, and it was one that Shining could never come up with an answer to. If there was anypony who had an answer for that request, it would only be Azure himself.

"Um... I don't know about that. You might want to ask him about it."

"Oh... I understand. It's just that she had kinda grown an interest in him." Celestia said in a painful tone as she tried to swallow back her tears before she spoke. "But I'll be sure to tell her to keep her chin up."

"Great idea. After all, you never know what these kinds of things can do. Relationships I mean." Shining reassured the princess, trying to sound optimistic about the situation.

"Right." She said before she glanced back to her captain. "So I will be leaving for Ponyville tomorrow."

"Understood, princess. I'll ready your chariot for your leave come dawn. In the meantime, it looks as if the sun has grown tired of it's shift."

Celestia looked at the sun and felt the energy of it dwindling. It was far past the time to lower the sun. Spreading her wings, she sent Shining off. "Agreed. You are dismissed captain."

"Princess."

As Shining Armor took his leave from the stained glass hall in one direction, Celestia quickly trotted off in the other. She soon found herself in the open aired halls of the castle, the bridge that she would normally watch the festivities in Canterlot take place. The corridor was often sealed with a variety of barrier spells that prevented a multitude of things, such as rain and projectiles, from entering. But it held no quarrel for the things and ponies that were held within. With a mighty flap of her wings, Celestia leapt from the bridge to the ground below.

She allowed herself to gain as much momentum as possible while she made her rapid descent. And just as the ground was rapidly approaching, she spread her wings and allowed herself to rise to the sky. Her eyes saw the spinning of the world around her as she barrel rolled towards the object she controlled. As her eyes closed, she found visions of the night forming in her head. Every star that she tried to place, every constellation she pieced together in mimic of her sisters work, the stallion who adored them.

She remembered the night that Azure was assigned to be Luna's personal guard. She remembered what he had said. He enjoyed the night just as it was. He enjoyed her night, far longer than he did her little sister's. A trace of envy fell upon her heart as she asked herself the questioned that plagued her as the sun fell below the horizon.

"...Azure... do you really like her nights... or mine?"

The halls are quiet as the guards remain at their posts. The once lively sound of guards talking to each other about trivial pursuits have grown into nothing more than a whimper. And deep inside of the hall of the princesses private chambers, Celestia sat inside of her room, staring at the fireplace.

Her mind wandered on what Azure said to her earlier. It sparked emotions that she ultimately didn't experience for a very long time. And she ultimately didn't see herself crying before one of her guards so openly, but with him... it was different. In short, she felt as if she had learned something valuable that day. Not just about somepony who served under her, but also something of herself.

As she though about lessons learned, she thought more on her own student. Twilight's previous letter stood on the adjacent nightstand, unsealed and read by her eyes only. The lesson she learned was one based on differences.

Dear Princess Celestia,

It's hard to believe that two ponies who seem to have so little in common could ever get along. But I found out that if you embrace each other's differences, you'd just might be surprised to discover a way to be friends after all.

Your Faithful Student,

~Twilight Sparkle

P.S.: Is there any reason why Spike came home smelling like a bar?

Celestia often thought about how much her student would improve on her magical abilities, if she had the opportunity to understand how relationships with others can drastically improve your casting. Even the most powerful unicorns could never prove themselves in a test of their might based off of their individual might alone. To succeed, Twilight had to learn how to work well with others. She had to learn how to depend on others as they would depend on her. Though the only problem that would prove to be an issue would be those who weren't considered as a true friend, the ones who would leave her hanging.

*Plop*

And just like that, another one of Twilight's letters appeared out of thin air. This time it appeared with a small vial of ink. As she lit her horn to open the letter, she began to read aloud.

"Dearest Princess Celestia,

Today I learned that it's hard to accept when somepony you like wants to spend time with somepony who's not so nice. Though it's impossible to control who your friends hang out with, it is possible to control your own behavior. Just continue to be a good friend. In the end, the difference between a false friend and the one who is true will surely come to light.
Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle"

Celestia took pride in knowing that Twilight was taking her lessons seriously. She also took comfort in the fact that she did indeed find the company of good friends who were more than willing to show her the way. She took a quill off of her nightstand and dipped it into the vial of ink and began to write.

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

My most faithful stude-

Before she could finish her first sentence, she noticed that the words she started to write down had started to disappear. She turned her head back to the vial and tried to gently peel back the label. Much to her amusement, it was actually a vial of vanishing ink.

"Oops. Wrong ink." She notified to herself as she picked up the vial of ink on her nightstand and brought it next to the letter. As she hummed and giggled at her student's sense of humor, she jotted down her words once more.

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

My most faithful student, it would seem that you have taken a liking to your new studies. Although there are some times where your friendship will be tested, I would think that those trials would prove to be but a testament of how far your friendships have come along. And also it would seem that I too, am learning more on the magic of friendship.

Just earlier today, I talked with a guard that managed to make a small mistake. As we started to talk, I told him the importance of his mistake and how I ended up making a mistake that caused a great deal of pain. I even went as far as disclosing something of my past, that was quite painful to recall. But what I did learn today was that no matter what position you hold in society, you will always have others around you who will ultimately become a friend to you. Furthermore, it is of great importance that I would remain true to who I am despite my rank, because princesses needs companionship and camaraderie as much as you do.

I do believe that it will be much easier to discuss our findings with each other in person. So I would like to take the time off of my duties tomorrow and come to Ponyville for a visit. Please take the time to ready only yourself, because my time is with you for the moment. I will look forward to seeing you very soon.

Your loving mentor,

~Celeste Delanise Valkyrie

P.S.: Spike is called for royal business when I say so. If my seal is not on the letter, then he is prohibited from leaving your company.

Celestia looked at the letter before sending it off for any errors that she may have made. As she placed her seal upon the letter, she muttered to herself.

"Well that at least takes care of the drinking problem."

Author's Note

A Celestia-centered chapter, but a chapter that will help build up to a little something that will happen a little later. Leave your comments below.

ACT 2: Swarm Assault

ACT 2: Swarm Assault

The morning of Celestia's departure, Shining and Cadance slept quietly in their beds as the warm summer air filled the room. They slept close to each other as Shining stirred from his slumber. His eyes fluttered open as he groggily hummed and looked at the alarm clock next to the bed. The clock read six fifty-eight, just two minutes shy of his alarm going off. Realizing that Cadance was still asleep, he removed himself from the comfort of the bed, disabled his alarm and made his way to the closet.

"Nnnnnngh... Shining..." Cadance moaned while still in her sleep.

Shining Armor smiled as he watched her stir, though he couldn't help that his dream came back that night. He convinced himself that there was no need to keep his mind on it and that it was time to move on. After all, he was in a relationship with a princess and that was far better than a random mare... so he tried to tell himself every morning he had that dream. The dream of the white mare and the indigo curled mane.

"Ohhhh... yes... that it." Cadance purred as Shining looked at the pink alacorn mare in her sleep.

"Is she... masturbating?" Shining mentally asked himself as he observed the moving form of his princess.

Shining chose to disregard her morning antics and grabbed his chain mail shirt that he wore under his uniform. He lifted the weighty article of clothing above his head and pushed his hooves through the sleeves. Pulling the shirt down to his waist, he quietly trotted to the mirror and inspected himself. He picked up a brush and began to adjust his mane so that he would look somewhat presentable.

"Shining... you naughty boy... stop teasing me..."

Shining couldn't resist the lustful murmurs of the pink princess as he crept back to the bed, deciding that he would assist her in her morning debauchery.

"Need some help with that, princess?" Shining asked, feeling a little aroused at Cadance's moans.

"Nnnngh... Shining Armor, stop teasing me like this... You're gonna make me soak the sheets." She whispered while cracking an eye open.

"I haven't even started to play with you. You're the one who's hoofing yourself." Shining playfully argued, earning a look of disapproval from Cadance.

"My hooves, for your information, are grool free." She shot back as she raised both of her forelegs and showed that there was a lack of any vaginal secretions. She also lifted much of the covers that warmed her. "Now stop teasing me with your magic and fuck me into this bed."

Shining looked at his horn and noticed that he has yet to cast any magic. He even looked at her horn to see that she wasn't using any of her magic either. "Cadie, I'm not using magic. And neither are you. You haven't touched yourself and I haven't touched you yet... Do you have a toy of some sort?"

"Me! Toys!? Never."

Shining shot her a deadpan look. "U-huh... That's coming from the mare who has a strap-on, four different sizes of faux-horns, three ponut plugs, three sets of anal beads, five pairs of hoofcuffs, two spreadbars, two whips, three paddles, two different sets of rope, a torture table and a spell book used to summon Cthulhu."

Cadance was taken aback from Shining's explanation on the matter and decided to combat his argument with one of her own. "All of that stuff I use on you. Now the spell book that summons the tentacle beast is one that Twilight gave me for my birthday four years ago, and I haven't even thought about using it until you brought it up just now."

Shining shook his head as he thought about the idea of his little sister giving her something so pervasive at an early age. Apparently she had been practicing long before her trapping him in the lookout tower. But he regained his focus to the present situation.

"Cadance, that still doesn't change the fact that you're using a toy."

Cadance grew impatient and decided to show that she was not lying. "For the last time Shining, I'm not using a damn toy! If you want to see what's inside my pussy then see for yourself!"

Cadance flipped the covers off of her as she splayed her legs wide open, exposing her moist marehood to Shining, who looked dumbfounded at what he was seeing.

"Uh... Cadie... you were right. That's not a toy. That's a parasprite."

Cadance found no humor in his statement and levitated a mirror in between her legs to see what was going on. "Ha ha, very funny. You know if you didn't want to fu-"

Her words were silenced as she saw a bright set of eyes in the center of a pink ball looked at her from the reflection of the mirror with bright blue eyes.

"Purrreeee?"

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!! GETITOUT GETITOUT GETITOUT GETITOUT GETITOUT!!!

Cadance screamed frantically as she aimlessly flopped her hooves all over the place. Shining was left dumbfounded as he tried to calculate what exactly was going on, how it all happened and more importantly, why.

"What the hell Cadie!? Was I that boring!?" Shining asked the panicking mare.

"Shining Armor, I have no fucking time for your stupid little jokes. Just get this damn thing out of me!"

"Okay! Hold still..."

Shining lit his horn and allowed his magic to surround the parasprite. With a light tug, he pulled the invasive violator out of the scared mare's folds and onto the floor, where he subsequently squashed it under an angry hoof.

"Fucking little perverted shit. You just tried to vore yourself in my mare."

Cadance started to cry as she held herself. She felt violated in the worst, and also the most disgusting way. She could barely look at the stallion she called her own out of shame. Shining rushed over to his weeping princess' side, lifted her chin with a hoof and calmly assured her that everything was going to be fine.

"Cadance, it's over. The little bastard's out and now he's dead. It isn't like things can possibly get any worse."

And in a show of comedic timing, a voice could be heard out in the hallway.

"It's in my mane! It's in my mane! It's in my mane! GET IT OUT!!!"

A smile appeared on Shining's face as he heard the voice of the stallion that claimed victim to something being inside of his mane.

"See? Now Blueblood is having issues. The day is getting better already."

"I just had a bug in my vagina! That is not the sign of a good day!" Cadance snapped.

Shining marched to the front door and started to open the door as he spoke. "C'mon Cadie, that was just the worst part of your day. At least you won't have to see another one of..."

A parasprite flew into the room as he tried to finish his sentence. "...those..."

Shining opened the door wide to see a large congregation of the small spherical insects flying around the place en masse. They swarmed up and down the hallways in a show of technicolor horror as the smile that he wore in hearing Blueblood's cries of misfortune, soon disappeared.

"...annoying little fuckers!"

My dearest Twilight Sparkle,

It would seem that our plans for today will have to be postponed due to unforeseen circumstances. I would like to make my appearance to the town of Ponyville come tomorrow morning. For the moment, please keep in mind that this is a casual visit, meaning that I will be there to speak to you and only you. Also, if you hear of a creature called the parasprite, do feel free to notify me as soon as possible. They would prove to be a problem and I would not want Ponyville to fall victim to their invasion.

I humbly apologize that our time together will he held off to a different date. Hopefully, we will be able to spend some quality time together come my next visit. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.

Your loving mentor,

~Celeste Delanise Valkyrie

Twilight immediately dropped the letter that she held with her magic as she started to frantically breathe and gallop around the library.

"Spike, postpone our visitation plans for today and start cleaning this mess! I have to go into town and notify the ponies that the princess will be here come dawn tomorrow!"

Spike, already picking up as many books as he could possibly carry off of the messy floor, looked at his caretaker with concern. "What happened Twilight?"

Twilight instantly spun around to face her assistant, muzzle to snout, as she answered her question. "What happened!? The princess postponed our meeting for today for tomorrow! Oh, I have to get the entire town ready for her arrival! I just hope that we're gonna be able to pull it off."

"Uh, Twilight... it's tomorrow."

"YES I KNOW THAT!" The purple unicorn said as she galloped to the front door. "That means we have only a day to pull this off! I can't possibly embarrass myself in front of the princess."

As the door slammed behind her, Spike was left to take care of cleaning up the library. He questioned what exactly was going on with the princess that would cause her to reschedule a day with her own student, knowing full-well that Celestia held no duty that was more important than spending time with the student that she took in as a surrogate daughter.

"YOU!"

"¿Pedóname, por favor?"

Blueblood angrily spat at Shining Armor as the confused captain looked at the angered prince, wondering what he was being accused of this time.

"This... This is all your fault!"

Shining was offended that he was being accused of the parasprites invading the castle. "Quack?"

"Stop your idiotic nonsense this instant and show some damn professionalism!" Blueblood scolded the captain as he continued to taunt the livid prince.

"Professionalism? How about you stop using your maids as sex dolls and then we can talk about professionalism."

"SHINING ARMOR AEGNUS SPARKLE, OLYSSEUS BLUEBLOOD PATRIKIOS! STOP YOUR INCESSANT ARGUMENTS THIS INSTANT!!!"

The walls of the castle seemed to rattle and shake at the demonic tri-toned voice of a very indignant Princess Celestia. The two immediately shut their mouths and stood at the position of attention, all while avoiding the urge to release their bodily wastes onto the floor. The solar princess slowly walked to the two stallions and gave the both of them a menacing stare.

"If I hear so much as you two exchanging a breath of air, I will personally hang you both by your entrails and leave you outside to rot in the sun, do I make myself clear?"

The two stallions shook their heads out of respect, and mostly fear.

"Good. Now apparently there has been an infestation in the city. As the both of you have discovered, that infestation is a phenomenon called the Parasprite Migration Cycle. This event happens every one to two hundred years or so, in case you were wondering or if any of you found this to be some sort of prank. Now, they would not pose too much of an issue if it wasn't for the fact that these creatures have a long list of problems, some of them including the cause of a major famine, mastering the art of deception, rapid reproduction rates and a habit of invading in places where the sun doesn't shine."

"Ain't that the truth?" Shining thought to himself remembering the ordeal that Cadance underwent just earlier that morning. Celestia continued her debriefing.

"There is also a reoccurring case where many towns that are struck by the swarming. Those who cannot find a proper defense of their food stores will find themselves starving until royal aid is permitted."

"Heh, good luck with that one. Those parliament members will be the ones eating away at you for lunch." Blueblood mentally mocked as he rolled his eyes and allowed the princess to continue.

"I know that the two of you are not the best of friends, but it will take a combined effort to quell our loses."

Shining saluted the solar princess, accepting the task despite the drawback of who would be teaming up with him. "For the citizens of Canterlot, ma'am."

Blueblood rolled his eyes and looked away from the captain that stood by him.

"Also keep in mind that if the public food stores are hit, then we would come out of the royal reserves, meaning we would have to ration our meals to that of a fifth of our daily consumption to accommodate the citizens."

Obviously, Blueblood heard that part of Celestia's argument. "One-fifth? OF OUR FOOD!? But... that's barely enough for the common feast in the slums."

Celestia stood tall and raised her snout in the air as she teased the prince. "A sacrifice that we all would have to make. That also include no deserts."

"Over my dead body!" Blueblood screamed, showing his support out of self-interest.

Celestia gave his statement a simple nod as she started to walk over to Cadance, who was slowly making her way down the hall. "Cadance, do you have anything to say?"

The pink princess moaned as she stumbled to the the three ponies' position. Her voice shook as she made her statement. "Auntie... I... feel... I... I'm cumming."

"SAY WHAT!?" Both Shining and Blueblood shouted as they watched Cadance fall face down to the floor, pointing her flank in the air. Her tail lifted and she panted hard as she felt something from within her trying to find it's way out. As she panted, she reached a hoof to her nethers and started to rub herself. With each movement, she could feel her orgasm rising from within her. Her eyes shut tightly while she seized her muscles, pushing out her much needed orgasm. As her tail flicked one last time, she cried out in a feminine grunt, pulling against her teased mound. Gritting her teeth, she rode out her orgasm and fell over to the marble tile floor below. As she fell, a small light-blue bulb with green eyes flew into the air and landed on the ground next to her.

"Purrrree?"

Shining and Blueblood stood with theirs jaws dropping deep enough to dig for jewels while Celestia stared blankly at the development.

"Well, that's a development." Celestia muttered.

"Dammit, stop it boner." Shining said to himself as he tried to hide his obvious arousal while it was still hideable.

"Oh my Cadenza," Blueblood said as he gawked at what had occurred before his eyes. "I am slightly disgusted, yet strangely aroused. Cadenza dear, I think you may have help me discover my new fetish."

"F...u...ck... y...ou." Cadance struggled to speak while she still tried to recover from her orgasm.

"Well it's apparently worse than I initially thought." Celestia whispered to herself. "Okay, new mission objective: Find any mares that are passing sprites. These sprites' reproduction is slowed to that of a third due to a chemical reaction that is caused by the exposure of a mare's vaginal fluids. This means that with each parasprite created every ten minutes, they will reproduce in around thirty minutes or more. Cadance will assist you in your mission, because of reasons."

Celestia batted an eye to the prude prince. Shining knew automatically why Cadance would be taking care of that department. Blueblood looked at the two ponies who both stared at him with an eye of discernment, causing him to be in the metaphorical 'hot seat'.

"...What?" Blueblood asked.

"Now that you have your assignments, I trust that you will be able to complete them. You three are my strongest magic users, so I will be depending on the three of you."

"You can count on us, princess." Shining saluted.

"Our dinners, as well as our deserts shall remain in our stores, consumed by only us." Blueblood proclaimed.

"Uguuuu... on it." Cadance said sluggishly, trying to stand up.

"Very good then." Celestia said before turning around. "I will protect the royal reserves alongside Luna and Azure. Poindexter and Longshot will take the Keeping District. You three take the Central District and the Inner District. Swifthoof and Silverleaf will take a small contingent and cast a barrier around the stores of the Lower District and the Slums."

Shining nodded at the commands of the princess and the three watched as Princess Celestia took flight and made her way down the hall.

"Well... I guess we are doomed to a party." Blueblood spat out, not wanting to work with the stallion who insults him on a daily basis.

"We'll continue our feud later. As for now, duty calls." The captain noted.

Cadance rediscovered her energy and stepped in between the two stallions as she tried to make the best of things. "Nice to see that you two have decided to join forces. After all... The enemy of my enemy is my fr-"

"Cadenza... Don't ever-"

"Say that again, babe."

Both of the stallions said in a collaborative effort to silence the notion of them ever being friends. Cadance took a step back as she realized that the two would appreciate her not finishing that quote.

"Oops... sorry."

Royal Food Conservation Center
Palace Grounds

Ponies throughout the city of Canterlot screamed and ran in circles as the sortied parties took their positions. Armies marched out of the barracks as the emergency response teams took the city by storm. Many were either trained guards or specialists that were skilled in magic use. As the various teams filtered to the city streets, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna and Azure held their ground nearby. The three ponies stood in front of a large hall that seemed to go on forever. With a sound voice, the two princesses cast their spells.

"Attollere!"

Celestia's horn shone brightly as it created a large set of golden walls, resembling the color of her magical aura, that contained the hall that they stood in, the windows and the ventilation shafts.

"Protegam!"

The walls solidified around the area, causing them to repel any and all threats to the food stores that lied further down the hall. Not too long after, Luna stood next to her sister as she lit her horn. A light blue flash filled the air as the the lunar princess cast her spell.

"Augeret!"

The spell hardened the walls to the point where there was no possible way of breaking them. The spell enhanced the strength of the protection spell that her elder sister cast before her, complimenting their efforts with one another.

Azure stood amazed at how well the two siblings could easily cast high level magic without so much as batting an eye. The magic that emanated from their horns simmered down until they were as calmed as their owners' demeanor.

"Wow. You two must be a really attuned to each other in order for your magics to synchronize like that."

Luna smirked at the compliment and spoke. "It takes the minds and hearts of the two casters to become united in purpose. Only then can your spells work in tandem with each other."

"Have you not tried to sync your magic with another?" Celestia asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Um, not really. I just learned a little about it in class. But I never really tried it. No need to."

Luna tsked and shook her head at the stallion's response. "That is most unacceptable. How dare you say that you would abandon such knowledge on the grounds of 'not needing to'. You must learn to sync your magic with another."

Azure blinked in reaction to Luna's argument. "No seriously. My skill set is set to close quarter combat. I can't use magic to those levels. That's going into the advanced casting. I only studied into intermediate."

Celestia giggled at his answer, causing him to become offended.

"What's so funny?"

"You." Celestia answered. "You stopped your lessons at an intermediate level. My student Twilight, who is a full seven years younger than you, has graduated her advanced courses and moved on into altering arcane algorithms, creating her own magic."

"Your student. Exactly. She took lessons from you." Azure tried to defend his position.

"She has a driven will to learn. That is why I teach her. But..." Celestia shared a look between her younger sibling.

"Maybe we could teach you how to use algorithms in your casting. As a result, you can become quite dexterous with your levitational skills." Luna finished her sister's statement.

"But I was born with a far more advance method of levitation skills. It's all those chants, runes and incantations that I don't understand... And besides, shouldn't we be watching over the food?"

"The food is taken care of on our end. There is nothing more for us to do." Celestia said as she walked to the other side of the unicorn.

"Then why are we here?" Azure asked, frustrated that he was asked to a pointless task.

Luna and Celestia looked at the upset guard and smiled as they came up with an idea. They both wore sinister looks as they closed in on the guard, thinking of a variety of ways to entertain themselves as they waited for the swarm to pass over.

"...No seriously, why are we here?"

Meanwhile in the Central District...

In the panic-stricken city of Canterlot, many of it's citizens ran amok as the numerous amounts of parasprites took comfort in the manes of their victims. Some even took to the the mares as the earlier parasprites did within Cadance, who were all inside of a tent in the Central District. Shining Armor took guard outside of the tent as Blueblood frustratedly erected a barrier around the large granary.

"Of all the things that I have been reduced to, a common errand boy is the last thing I would've imagined!" The prince arrogantly shouted to the stallion standing next to the tent. "Get over here and provide some sort of assistance!"

"Cadance has placed me under strict orders that I am not to leave this spot, nor am I to allow stallions to enter. I can swat away whatever parasprites comes our way but that's as far as I can go without leaving my post." Shining retorted, remembering why Cadance placed him in guard duty and not Blueblood. "And besides, if you were in my position, you would be sitting here trying to get a glance at what's going on in this tent."

"Oh come on now. Even you can't deny your curiosity in seeing the orgy taking place behind that tarp."

"And that's why you aren't allowed to come within fifteen hooves of this tent."

"Be honest Shining Armor, you're more aroused than you are attentive."

"Only you would think about sex in this current situation."

"No. For your information, I am thinking about the fact that my precious meals will be shortened to a poormare's helping. I am NOT eating a fifth of a sandwich every three hours."

"Three hours!?" Shining asked, frustrated that he would be so self-indulgent and also jealous that the glutenous nature of his diet has yet to have any effect on his physique. "How the hell do you even stay in shape?"

"I was more of a guard in my youth and have managed to retain my usual physical and magical exercises. They just so happen to have the payoff of... well taking the nearest maid and rutting her into the carpet afterwards."

Shining shook his head at the immature nature of the prince. It was similar to how Azure acted during the first year of high school but at the same time, it was far worse due to the fact that he actually didn't have to do much. At least Azure had to risk a trip across the city and down the halls of a school he didn't even attend. Blueblood had easy access and was a complete douche to the majority of the mares he met, often making them serve him instead. "How do mares even find you attractive?"

"Enough Captain. I am trying to protect a large storage of food. I am not here to entertain you."

"Funny. If I was in your position, I wouldn't even be able to focus with the fact that you were constantly peeking inside of this tent."

"Want to trade then?"

"Hell no. And let you just wal-"

Before Shining could finish his question, he and Blueblood witnessed something that they would've never imagined. The parasprites started to gather at their position and form a thick technicolor cloud of flying puff balls that coughed and gagged in unison. Before they could process what was going on, the sky above them darkened and the the numbers of the parasprites doubled into a mass that could block out the sun.

Shining ran from where he was stationed and stood adjacent to Blueblood, seeing that this was going to be a problem that neither one of them could deal with alone. Blueblood gasped in awe as the large cloud of the insects started to funnel to their position and make a charge for the granary. Blueblood gritted his teeth and braced himself for impact. Shining immediately erected a barrier around the tent, protecting the mares inside from any further harm.

"Protegam!"

Instantly, a magenta barrier encircled the tent and sealed off all means of entry for the moment. Shining was more than proud of his work but he knew that now was not the time to take admiration of his efforts. There was still the matter of protecting the granary. As he turned his attention to Blueblood, he saw that he was struggling to keep the forcefield around the large storage center intact from the large tornado made of prismatic insects. Though he struggled to keep a hold on the field, his resilience proved too great to overcome in a single blow. More of the bugs came.

"Ugh! These filthy bastards are a little heavier than anticipated." Blueblood admitted as the second wave of parasprites came from the cloud above. This time, there was a second funnel that fell from the sky and barreled towards the shielded tent.

"Looks like they'll be coming for me this go round." Shining muttered to himself as he braced himself for the impact of the thousands of creatures to hit against his barrier.

The legion of bugs dove from the cloud above and took the shape of two twisters, aiming for the two separate targets. Shining awaited the inevitable blow that would be caused by the funnel that closed in on his position. The funnels twisted and turned until each one of them hit their respective targets.

Blueblood, who was already hit once before, cringed in pain as the golden barrier concaved under the pressure of more than a thousand insects swept in and bounced off the shield. As the magic of his spell continued to distort, so did the the magic in his horn which lead to not unbearable pain, but significant enough to cause a headache that would cause the spell to falter if provoked enough.

Shining grimaced while the swarm assaulted his barrier. His protective spell, similar to the prince's, concaved inwards and repelled the attacking wave. But also similar to Blueblood's case, this would cause a painful headache to occur. Shining dipped his head and retracted a hoof in response to the pain.

"Shit! I didn't know these little guys would cause me so much pain." Shining mumbled while he stressed under the pain of the attack.

"That's the thing about unicorn magic. The more powerful the spell, the more painful it becomes if something interrupts the casting or if it strikes against it." Blueblood stated.

"Then what do we do?"

"Hold out, I suppose. Now shut up. I really would rather not be caught speaking so casually with you."

"You... I... Bu... You have got to be kidding me. You are worried about that while we have a large-ass swarm of these bastards trying to have at us?"

"Yes. Now brace yourself. They'll be coming in for another sweep."

The hive-minded horde made their way to the skies as they regrouped their formations and started to barrel a larger funnel to strike. As the funnel formed, the shape it produced became a wedge shape that seemed to be made for the sole purpose of hitting an impacted area quicker and harder than what was previously achieved. The two stallions blinked in horror as they witnessed the darkening cloud lower itself on their position. The swarm launched their next attack to what appeared to be the granary.

"Blue, you've got incoming!" Shining shouted to the prince as the two of them readied their positions once more.

Blueblood rolled his eyes and braced himself while the quickly approaching swarm made their way to the golden barrier. "I see it! Now don't call me that again! It's awkward enough to work with a rival."

Before Shining could respond, the large vortex fell atop of the barrier that Blueblood held together. The golden aura which covered the storage of food, bent inward and stressed to keep all of the parasprites who attacked it outside. Though the attack was repelled, it didn't go without causing a considerable amount of mental fatigue to the caster of the spell. Blueblood fell to his knees as the stress of the attack did a number on his mental stamina, causing a severe headache to occur. It almost caused him to become disoriented from the sheer force of the attack. But their attack was far from done; they had another objective to complete as the large funnel twisted and roared across the way.

"Armor, heads up!" Blueblood screamed out in pain, trying to warn the other unicorn.

Shining could feel the wind that the swarm produced sweep his mane as he anchored himself into the cobblestone road below him. He closed his eyes and amplified his protection spell over the large tent. He knew what was going to come and he knew that it was going to hurt, but he thought that if he would amplify the spell over the tent then there would be no chance of the bugs entering.

The large twister made it's way to the tent. But as soon as the forcefield strengthened, the large congregation of insects rose from the ground and took to the air. The funnel rose from the ground and suspended itself above, earning a surprised look from the caster below. Shining was perplexed at the development; he reassured himself that the parasprites would come to him and hit the tent from the front side. But he realized a possibility on why they ascended: they were going to strike from above.

"This is going to hurt..." The captain mumbled to himself as he saw the funnel in the air flex and weave.

Soon after, the parasprite funnel descended once again. As it fell to the top of the magical barrier, it created a whirring sound accompanied by the high pitched sound of the barrier trying to retain it's integrity. As the seconds ticked past the insect tornado rose to the air, leaving behind a pain-stricken stallion on his haunches. Shining held his head, trying to relieve the massive headache that he managed to suffer during the onslaught. His brain pulsed with the signals of his pain receptors going off all at once, leaving him temporarily disabled. And as he tried to recover, a large crack in his spell formed above the tent he protected.

"Armor, get up!" The prince commanded with ferocity. "Don't tell me that a swarm of magically enhanced bugs are causing you so much pain that you can't even stand on your own strength!"

"Look who's talking!" Shining lashed back out of pain and frustration. "In case you haven't realized it, you're in the same boat as I am!"

"Do you expect me to surrender my meals to that of ponies who stand below me? Never!" The prince said as he struggled to stand up.

"Oh for the love of... You've been serving community service for a full five years! How did you not pick up from that!?" Shining asked as he also stumbled to rise from the ground.

"Because I've been worse than they have and I deserve the best that life has to offer! To hell with them! Being around them only reminded me how better off these ponies are with today's systems of welfare! I say again, to hell with them! Let them figure out the pain of being helpless and homeless without all of the extra aid that they've been receiving! Let them experience what I've had to go through! Even... even they were more entitled than I was when I was younger!"

"So you didn't have the best of what life had to offer at an early age, but that still doesn't excuse you from being a total asshole to them! If you were truly humbled by your previous life, then you would try all that you could to see that those ponies would get the best out of the nothing that they have! Why won't you help them instead!?"

Blueblood found his inner strength and regain his hoofing on all fours as he screamed his answer. "BECAUSE THEY WOULD BE GETTING WHAT I NEVER HAD IN THOSE YEARS! I CANNOT STAND SELF-ENTITLED FUCKWITS THAT WERE GIVEN EVERYTHING FROM DAY ONE! I HAD TO EARN EVERYTHING! IF THEY WANT IT SO BAD, THEN I SAY LET THEM EARN IT FOR THEMSELVES!"

"Man... mommy really didn't like you, did she?" Shining asked sarcastically as he stood up tall.

"...No. She didn't. Now are we going to end this discussion or not? I can't be preached to at the moment."

Shining tried to approach the prince, who turned his back on the guard. He tried to talk some sort of sense into the prince as he reminded him of the real reason why they were there to begin with. "...I know that your past was bad. But do you have to be so selfish? I mean, we're not here for ourselves. We're here for the ponies we serve."

"I've earned the right to be selfish. These ponies serve only themselves while we serve them all the more. Now ready up, they're coming back."

Shining turned his attention away from the stallion and looked back to the sky. It seemed that the swarm readied their fourth attack on the two stallions. Shining gulped as he knew that anymore of the previous assault would prove to be a breaking point for the both of them. There was no hope of keeping up what they were previously doing. They needed a plan, and they needed one soon.

"Armor..." Blueblood said as he stood next to the other stallion. "Take down your shield on my command."

"What!?" Shining responded with shock. "Are you kidding me?"

"No I am not. Now listen to me. We can't keep this up on the account of the stress that these creatures are causing to both of us. And anymore stress of this magnitude will cause our barriers to break anyways, leaving us magically disabled and physically fatigued. So when they make a break for the granary, I want you to lower the shield and blast them with a strong bolt of your magic."

Shining placed a hoof to his chin as he thought about how many he would have to hit before staving off the attack. "That's way too many to blast in one go."

"You don't have to hit them per se, but rather disrupt their formation. That way when they do hit us, we can last longer as long as they don't hit our barriers in concentration. They will be dispersed in various areas and our spells will be effected in the smallest manner."

"So instead of being a battering ram, they'll be more like rocks and arrows; ineffective and annoying."

"Precisely." Blueblood confirmed, earning a bit of respect from the captain.

"Huh. As much as I loathe saying this, but that's not a bad idea."

Blueblood rolled his eyes as he reminds Shining of his service long before him. "I used to be a guard too. Now ready up. Lower your barrier on my mark."

The two stallions stood tall and watched as the cloud lowered itself once more. It seemed as if with every time the swarm descended, the funnel would grow bigger and stronger than before. So the both of them expected that this would be a rather powerful attack that needed to be diluted to a series of smaller attacks in order for them to remain standing by the end of the day. Once more, the funnel took shape and coned into a large wedge that closed in on the golden barrier of the prince. As they approached, Shining readied himself to deactivate the spell. The parasprites circled overhead and thrusted themselves towards the granary.

"Now! Let it down!" Blueblood signaled as Shining cut his spell loose.

The large magenta shield that covered the tent disappeared and now he felt all of his magic concentrate into his horn. Lowering his head to get a good aim at the center of the formation, he charged a deadly bolt of pure magical energy. As he maintained a lock on the funnel, he felt a force the pushed him further into the ground he stood on as the bolt of magic speared forth from his horn. Instantly, some of the parasprites that were caught in the beam or were close to it were instantly burned to ashes. The other parasprites that witnessed the massive counterattack took their retreat from the area that was still riddled with magical radiation.

The funnel that barreled towards the food stores was now reduced to nothing more than a rainstorm of the multicolored insects. The golden barrier held all of it's integrity against the powerless assault of the numerous parasprites that bounced helplessly off of the surface of the barrier. Blueblood smiled in seeing that his plan had indeed paid off with astounding results, though he was more surprised at the amount of magical strength that the captain had managed to put on display. Surely he was more powerful than their first encounter.

"Nice job on not messing up, Armor." Mocked the prince.

"Give me some sort of credit. They didn't make me Captain of the Royal Guard for nothing." Shining responded with snark, letting his pride show.

"No need to get big headed. They'll be coming in for..."

Before Blueblood could finish his statement, he and Shining watched as the large cloud of parasprites took to the sky with an even larger cloud above them.

"Another... pass."

Shining stood next to the prince as they both watched with mouths held agape. "We're fucked aren't we?"

"Ooooh maliciously." The prince concluded.

As they readied their horns for the next coming attack, they then noticed what was really going on as the cloud started to filter out.

"Wait... Are they-"

"Leaving?" Both Blueblood and Shining asked out of bewilderment.

As they watched the massive cloud start to disperse before them and head in a different direction, they could also hear the faint yet distinctive cheers of ponies being heard around the city. It would seem that their individual victory was one that was shared by the entire city.

"Now that's some music I could dance to." Shining muttered to himself.

"At least my lunch is safe." Blueblood stated proudly, earning a facehoof from the captain. "And the best part about all of it is that we don't have to deal with any more of these little bastards running around the city."

"Shining! In here! NOW!"

Shining's eyes sprang open as he turned around and ran for the tent that Cadance was in. As soon as he entered, he saw a miniature swarm that infested the tent. And just across the room lied Cadance on a cot as she rigorously rubbed her hoof across her soaking mound. It was then that he was reminded on why Cadance was here, as well as a few other mares.

"Shining... you need to get these things out of me now!" She stressed out as she continued to masturbate. "We've been having orgasm after orgasm after orgasm with these things. My pussy is sore from cumming so hard and so much. I am tired of giving birth to parasprites and even more tired of not being able to... you know."

"Well what do you want me to do about it?" Shining asked the sexually exhausted yet frustrated princess.

"Flush them out!" She answered, annoyed that these creatures have caused her so many miniature orgasms. "We're tired of constantly masturbating just in order to pass another one of these things."

"And how exactly do you plan for me to do that?"

Shining found himself being magically dragged across the room and to the cot that held his princess, earning the attention of the other mares in the vicinity. As soon as he was before Cadance, she grabbed him with a soaked hoof and pulled him towards her face, making him face her eye-to-eye. "You need... to fuck me... and fill me with cum... so that this little asshole inside of me can drown!"

Shining laughed nervously at the order, realizing that it wasn't just Cadance who was acting like this. "So you want me to do this for you and all of these other mares?"

"You said you wanted a threesome, now you got an orgy! Quit complaining, whip your dick out and get started!" Cadance shouted out as she pushed back Shining and ignited her horn. Her magic started to rapidly massage his sheath, trying to get him at his peak arousal.

"Cadie, serving you alone is hard enough. But now you expect me to do this with twenty-eight other mares?" Shining asked, trying to persuade her to think rationally. He didn't have the stamina to please four mares at once, let alone twenty-eight. He even had reservations on Blueblood being able to please that many mares in a single setting. There was no physical way to achieve that feat.

"...Actually I have an idea." Cadance said as she halted her ministrations to her fiance. While he tried to hide his erection from the other mares in the room, the pink alacorn mare summoned a dark green book with am unusual emblem set on the cover.

"What's with that book?" Shining asked while Cadance opened the book to the table of contents. She read the full title aloud.

"Hmm... The Tentacular Tentacle Tour to Two Thousand Orgasms: A Reference Guide to Spells Used When a Hoof Isn't Enough. Warning: For best results, use in the estrus season. For mare's use only*."

Shining nodded in approval of the description. "That'll work."

Cadance found the first spell of the book and immediately began reading the incantation off of the page. Before long, the book floated to the middle of the room and glowed an ominous green glow and erupted into a brilliant flash of light and smoke. As soon as the light faded, many of the mares, including Cadance, coughed and gagged at the smoke. Neither of them could barely see though the thick smoke that started to clear out from the tent.

"Well did it work?" Cadance asked herself as she watched the smoke clear to reveal the monstrosity that she summoned, assaulting the one pony who was far from need.

"CADANCE!!! HAAAALP!!! I'M NOT READY FOR THIS KIND OF RELATIONSHIP!!!" Shining shouted as the tentacles coiled and wrapped around his hind legs, suspending him in mid air. The dark green tendrils assertively clasped and squeezed his testicles. His eyes bulged as he felt one of the offending limbs encircle around his puckered ponut hole. The tentacles eagerly snuggled his flopping erection as it jerked the large rod up and down. Cadance watched in dormant arousal and apparent horror as her guard was being sexually assaulted. She looked in the book to see if there was anything that pertained to the usage of stallions. She instantly went back to the table of contents and read the bottom of the page.

"Okay...Uhh, fine print reads: *Do not use if stallions are present, as the tentacles will naturally try to assert their dominance over the opposing sex..."

And it just so happened that Shining was the aforementioned 'opposing sex' that the book warned of.

"Oopsie."

Shortly After...

A flurry of birds and butterflies roamed freely around the edge of the Everfree forest as they all watched a yellow pegasus mare gleefully trot by, singing to herself.

"♫La-la la-la la-la la-la la~♪"

As she trotted, she held a basked filled with beautiful flowers. Many of them were without flaws as she happily sang past another patch of flowers.

"♫La-la la-la la-la la-la la~♪"

She stopped at another flower patch to pick up another daisy to place in her basket as a squirrel eagerly bounced to her. As she turned around, she saw that the squirrel was holding something in it's possession. It held a dandelion seed plant firmly in grasp, presenting it to the yellow pegasus. She smiled and lowered herself to speak with the squirrel.

"Thank you little squirrel, but remember: these flowers are for Princess Celestia. Only the prettiest ones will do."

Before she could say anything else, she felt a light breeze come along. As the breeze swept the plain, all of the seedlings gently fluttered away. The only thing that remained of the plant that the squirrel presented was a sulking stalk of green. The squirrel saw that the one it carried clearly didn't match the qualifications of the yellow pegasus. In response, the squirrel signaled to the mare that it would return with another candidate for her basket. And with a lift of its hind leg, it dashed off into the other direction.

The mare continued her search, but soon found herself rather hungry. She knew that it wouldn't be the best thing to keep up a search on an empty stomach. She concluded that she would go to her resting place to partake in a juicy apple before continuing her search. As she made her way to the center of the meadow, she happily sang.

"♫La-la la-la la-la la-la la~♪"

"Purrreee?"

"Gah!"

The mare jumped at the sound of a random rock sitting next to her. She hid behind the larger basket that held all of her apples, knocking one over as she hid from the unusual occurrence. As she looked at the rock, she saw a set of legs and wings appear. Shortly after, it was a light-blue bulb with bright green eyes that chirped and purred at the mare.

"Purrreee?"

Immediately, the mare seemed to have completely warm up to the adorable little creature. She removed herself from her hiding place and approached the small creature.

"Hello, little guy. I've never seen anything like you before." The mare whispered to the small creature who flew over to the apple that she dropped on the ground earlier. It took a quick sniff at the large red fruit as the mare took the initiative of being kind to the unknown creature.

"Oh, are you hungry?" She asked. As she took notice of the creature's hunger, she realized that the apple was much too large for the creature to devour. So she crushed the apple with a hoof and turned it into a thick sauce. "Here you go."

Without warning, the small creature leapt to the basket of apples and in seconds, demolished the contents of the basket. The mare gasped in surprise but also in admiration of the creature's rather large appetite.

"I guess you were hungry." She muttered to herself as the small creature nuzzled her and found comfort in the warmth of her mane. As the small bulb closed it's eyes, she found her energy directed at showing the unknown creature to most of her friends.

"Purrrrree..."

"You're the cutest thing ever! I can't wait to show you to my friends."

Author's Note

Well this was a rough chapter to write. Not only was this a little difficult, I tried to get this out as soon as I possibly could. But due to me being hit hard with a number of communications, which led me to catch the flu, I was pretty much left out of the game. But now that I'm feeling a little better, I can get back on the ball. If this chapter is a little hit and miss, I apologize. I try not to leave with an unfinished chapter and come back to it after a two-day (or more) hiatus. So to make up, I will write a one-shot between two characters of your choosing (and a one shot in my case is no shorter than probably 6k words).

You all may suggest the pairing. Then whoever has a nice idea, you can all upvote them. The top three will be polled. The winning pair will be written out as soon as I find the time in between work, chapters, stories, etc.

Hope you guys will be able to stick around to the end.

ACT 2: The Newest Sensation Swarming the Nation

The sun shone brightly in the small and humble town of Ponyville. Though it was actually rather sizeable, there weren't enough businesses that produced notoriety for the town. The clouds were cleared by various pegasi, who zipped and dashed across the sky with eager smiles on their faces. Many ponies filled the streets of the little town with various decorations and banners, singing praises and songs to the exciting news of their beloved ruler coming to their town once more. Though it will be the second time in the span of a week, they still treated the visitation as if it was the first. Though to them, it was the first time outside of a major holiday or event that the princess would grace the cheerful townsponies.

Fillies ran up and down the streets and colts dashed across the way as they bypassed the one place that brought a smile to many of their faces. With gumdrop doorknobs, gingerbread drywall, frosted gutters, window seals laced in chocolate wafers, cotton candy colored windows and decked to the brim with as much sweets as a young foal could dream of ingesting, this fantasial wonderland of sugar was one of the prime estates that the small town had to offer. There was no other bakery that came close in comparison. A couple's dream that came true in the form of their spiritual successors; Sugarcube Corner.

Inside, a turquoise mare with a pink mane was giving orders to an energetic, young pinkaholic mare who just graduated high school the past year.

"Pinkie, don't forget to-"

"Change the oil out of the doughnut fryer, got it!"

"Yes. And also, I want you to-"

"Organize the spices in the cabinets in order from commonly used to rare, okey dokey lokie!"

"And Pinkie, where is my-"

"Your pen is behind your left ear, silly!" The energetic mare pointed out as the older mare looked up to the location that was previously pointed out. With a sigh she raised a hoof and grabbed the pen off of her ear, writing off a checklist that she created to maintain the maintenance of the eatery.

"Thanks Pinkie."

The poofy-maned mare zipped across the room to survey what was going on in the kitchen. As she dipped her head into the room, she saw a orange stallion working in the kitchen while looking after something in the oven. She raised her voice once more to notify her employer. "Oh! And Mr. Cake is watching over the cake that you placed in the oven about three minutes ago!"

"Well that's a relief. Oh, and please be a dear-"

Pinkie zipped back to the other side of the room, standing next to her boss as she wrapped a hoof around the neck of the older mare. "Mrs. Cake, don't worry! Everything is going to be just fi-Ooooh! Pretty picture!"

Cup Cake shook her head as she watched the sudden attention span of the pink mare shrink to the size of a flea as she tra-la-la'd to the small portrait on the display counter. Normally she would be too busy trying to throw parties, cater to a variety of events or tending to the kitchen to notice it. But for some odd reason, she saw interest of the photograph of a young filly and her two parents. They stood in front of a large abandoned building holding up a large sign saying 'A dream starts with the first nail'. The sepia-toned portrait invoked the curiosity of the attracted mare.

"Hey Mrs. Cake, who's the ponies in this picture?"

Cup walked over to the young employee and looked over her shoulder to see the picture in question. With a light sigh, she gave her an answer.

"I remember that day. That was the day my father bought an abandoned property here in the town. He worked extremely hard to fix that property up."

"So that's your dad? So I'm assuming that this beautiful mare is your mother?"

Cup Cake smiled in hearing the compliment to her mother as she responded to the question. "Yes. And the little one in the middle that's struggling to hold up the sign from underneath is me."

"Wow... What ever happened to them? I don't see or hear about them much." Pinkie asked, invoking a deep sadness in Cup as she was reminded of the concrete fact of what was, is and always will be.

"My mother... She fell ill and passed away when I was still a preteen. My father passed on shortly after I graduated high school. Ever since, I've been taking care of that property that those two passed on to me and Carrot. We weren't even married when my father's will came in stating that he would take the co-managing position of the property. Fast forward from then to today and... well let's just say that my parents dream came true through the both of us."

Pinkie felt a bit of sadness in hearing the story of her employer losing both of her parents at an early age. One would expect these kinds of losses when they were old enough to see grandchildren. It's was unfortunate that the two deceased entrepreneurs would never see their own grandfoals in the coming months. But that wasn't the only thing that drove the poofy-maned Pinkie to shed tears along with her boss.

"Pinkie dear, why are you crying?"

"Oh... It reminds me of a loss that I experienced before I moved here."

"Your grandmother, Granny Pie?"

"Yeah." The pink party pony whispered as she wiped away a tear. "I'll never forget her last words."

"Oh... Pinkie."

"She said something that I still remember to this day. Well she said a lot of things, but she spoke of a poem before she closed her eyes for the last time."

My dear, Pinkie I say
that I fear this will be my last day.
So before I go, some wisdom I'll share
So that you'll forever be in good care.

When they come, they'll darken the skies
and they'll consume all crops before their very eyes.
But remember this list and you will see,
what kind of a hero you will be.

A trombone to fanfare the melody
An accordion to patch out a symphony
A tambourine is what you should also use
and a harmonica to sing the blues.

A banjo to pluck, some cymbals to crash,
A tuba for bottom and a bass drum to bash.
A final dose to break their spell,
is found in the hint of a little cowbell.

Play and prance with all your might,
for that the insect horde will leave by night.
And with the final insect left bouncing away,
you would stand tall as the savior of the day.

That is all I can share with you right now.
My life-long performance is over, it's time I'd take my bow.
But remember to smile, to laugh and to play.
Remember to be happy for the rest of your days.

"And those were her last words. They still touch me deep in my heart."

While Pinkie tried to recover from her tears, Cup tried her best to recover from the strange words that she had heard come from her employee's mouth. Though she knew that Pinkie had always had a thing for saying something that was off the wall, she decided that it was for the best to disregard her statements and move on with the day. It was just Pinkie being herself. Though she was more saddened in remembering her grandmother. It was always a difficult thing to deal with in her case. It was the sole reason why she moved to Ponyville after all.

Cup took a moment to think about how she could get the attentions of her pink party worker. Almost instantly, an imaginary light bulb shined overhead as an idea came to mind. She took notice of all of the cakes and pies lying around and thought that the best thing to cheer her up was to at least allow her to sample some of the baked goods. If there was anything that Cup learned from her father, it was that the sweets that they made often put smiles on the faces of those who partook in them.

"Pinkie, how would you like to be the taste tester for the sweets today?"

"...And that's why I'm considered the best flier in all of Equestria."

As the cyan-colored pegasus mare complete her final statements, a wave of silence filled the lobby of the Carousel Boutique. Her only audience member merely looked at her before clopping her hooves in false praise.

"Bravo. Such intricate details. So many astounding facts." The seamstress cheered flatly, earning a dejected expression from her visitor.

"Your sarcasm is showing."

"Well, you could argue that you could be one of the best fliers in all of Equestria. It wouldn't make any sense to proclaim yourself under that title when you don't even have the proper resume to prove yourself right."

Hearing the words that the fashionista chose, she rejected the argument and shunned the fact that her 'generous' nature would cause her to be so harsh and reality driven. "Yeesh, Element of Generosity."

Hearing the mumbled words of the rainbow-maned mare, she walked up to her in a show of concern. She didn't mean to cause harm, but she did want her to see that her statement was rather exaggerated. "Sorry Rainbow Dash, but I just don't want to see your... *ahem* ...ego get in the way of your natural talent. Those who rely on their ego usually don't fare off so well."

"How do you know that for certain?" Rainbow asked, raising an eyebrow.

Rarity took a moment to think about the events of a past that she long chose to forget. It was an event that caused her mother so much pain and even threatened to cause harm to her. It was something that always plagued her whenever it came to letting one's pride get in the way and as a result, she definitely took the time to humble herself before allowing her ego to overtake her sense of rationality.

"It's... a long story that I would rather not get into. However, hear that you want to try and look presentable for the princess."

"Shhh!" Rainbow Dash silenced the snow-white mare with a hoof, as her eyes darted from one side of the room to another. She didn't want anypony to hear about her being in a boutique for aesthetic reasons. "Not so loud. I do have a reputation to uphold, remember?"

Rarity lit her horn as she levitated the cyan hoof away from her lips and trotted to one of her mannequins. "Oh come now Rainbow Dash. I am not the one to disclose secrets. As a lady, I know how to remain low key when it comes to private discussions. Whatever happens or is said in my presence is often gone unrecalled."

"How do I know that for certain? You could be one of those gossip ponies." Rainbow says as she points a hoof to the elegant seamstress.

Rarity cleared her throat before she made her rebuttal. "Well... I do participate in the usual gossip of another. But usually those matters are already in an undisclosed fashion, meaning that everypony already knows about it. And I never speak of what is told directly to me from the anonymous party. I may gossip on public issues, but when it comes to more revealing issues... well let's just say that I've managed to keep a lid on all of it."

Rainbow sighed deeply before she slowly started trotting over to Rarity. "...Okay. But the moment this comes out to anypony, I'll be coming for you. And trust me when I say this: I hurt mares and stallions equally."

"Well I guarantee that you won't be needing to hunt me down. So let's get started shall we?" Rarity agreed as she pointed to the podium that she wanted her client to model on. "Up here please."

Rainbow Dash did as she was instructed and leapt up to the podium. As she landed, she noticed that she was getting a disapproving glance from the fashion-savvy mare. It seemed that she didn't take a liking to her unnecessary aerobics. "Alright. I want to look somewhat presentable for the princess. But I gotta look awesome. It has to be something amazing."

Rarity moved the mannequin from one side of the room as it had a fuchsia and gold dress with a large powder wig set on the top of it's head. "Well, I suppose wigs are considered a big thing this time of year, especially with the nobles. How about it Rainbow Dash? I'll set you up with one of my newest creations."

Rainbow saw exactly where this was going in the eyes of the fashion mare. There was no escaping the reality of being roped up into another one of Rarity's experimental fashions. This was a solid indication that it was going to be a long day for her. With a large gulp, she said the only phrase that could accurately describe what her mind was thinking of at that very moment.

"Uh-oh."

"What happened to the rest of her name!?"

"We couldn't fit it all in."

"You can't hang a banner that says 'Welcome, Princess Celest'. Take it down and try again!"

As the young lavender mare finished scolding a pair of mares for their inability of adjusting the font of the letter to fit the banner's length, she began to trot down the cobblestone road within the town's central park. As she walked, she took notice of a beautiful patch of flowers that were being tended to. The flowers were a mixture of blues and violets that graced her snout with the alluring scent of the summer nectar. She halted her walk to give the mare who watered the flowers her approval.

"That looks perfect! Keep up the good work." Twilight said as the other mare smiled back and continued watering the flower patch.

The lavender mare kept a smile on her face as she strolled through much of the town and complimented a variety of others on a job well done. She had to also politely scold some of the others on some minor details, though she gave them credit for the efforts that they gave. Twilight was not the one to let small things breeze by her; she was rather invested into seeing that everything was going to be perfect for the princess' arrival.

Almost instantly, her stomach started to growl. It was obvious that her running across the town and going back to the library to help clean up would cause her to gain a sizable appetite. She made her way to the one place that she knew that she could not only grab a snack, but also check on the progress of the preparations. She would be able to knock out two birds with a single stone.

The bells of Sugarcube Corner rang as she entered the bakery. Upon walking in, she saw the Cakes hard at work as they were busy rolling dough and placing cakes out on display.

"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Cake. How's the banquet coming?" Twilight asked.

The turquoise mare turned around and gave the young lavender mare a worried look as she pointed to the other side of the room. "Um... It would be coming a little better if..."

As she took notice of the half eaten cakes and pastries all over the far end of the bakery, Twilight felt a growing concern fill her mind. But before she could ask anything else, she saw a pink pony completely leveling a large pink cake with white frosting. As the pink mare came up from her destructive antic, she wore a beard made entirely of vanilla frosting. And after noticing, she promptly swirled her tongue around her face and rid herself of the evidence.

Twilight immediately ran over to the pink saboteur and stopped shy of her face, angry that all of the Cakes' hard work was all for nothing. "Pinkie! What are you doing!? Those sweets are supposed to be for the princess!"

The pink pony nervously clopped her hooves together as she gave her reason on why she was pigging out on the sweets. "I know. That's why I'm tasting them. Somepony needs to make sure that everything is tasty enough to touch the royal tongue." The pink party pony ran from behind the table full of the destroyed deserts and walked over to the adjacent counter as she took notice of another sample. "And I, Pinkie Pie, declare that these treats are fit for a king, or a queen, or a princess."

Before the mare could open her mouth wide enough to ingest the next victim of her frosted genocide, Twilight gave her a stern look that said 'do that and I'll drive a hoof down your throat'. Pinkie ignored Twilight's warning out of not paying any attention. Though what grabbed her attention was the sound of another voice entering into the bakery.

"Twilight, Pinkie, you won't believe..." As the yellow mare galloped inside, she skid across the floor and stopped herself, thinking that she was probably disrupting a conversation. "Oh, I'm sorry. Uh, am I interrupting?

"No, not at all. Come on in and make yourself at home!" Pinkie said right before rolling out her tongue and demolishing a cake before her very eyes, earning a look of criticism from her friend Twilight. "What's going on, Fluttershy?"

"You won't believe what I found at the edge of the Everfree Forest." The yellow pegasus said as she looked to a long lock of her pink mane, indicating that there was something within. "Come on out, little guy. It's okay."

In an instant, three little creatures jumped from the pink mane of Fluttershy, invoking a gasp to part from the mare's lips.

"Three?" She questioned, remembering that she came to the shop with only one.

"They're amazing! What are they?" Twilight asked as she trotted over to see what the little creatures were called.

Fluttershy looked in confusion as the three critters took to the air. "I'm not sure. I'm also not sure where these other two came from."

"I'll take one off your hooves. I've never seen anything so... adorable. Besides, it'll be nice to have a companion for Spike so he won't bother me so much while I'm studying." The purple mare answered as she snuggled the yellow bulb that flew over to her.

"Pinkie, do you want the other one?" Fluttershy asked to her friend.

Pinkie looked on in disgust. She knew what exactly were those creatures were. Immediately, she had a flashback of her Granny Pie's poem before her passing. This was just the beginning of an even larger problem to occur. "Bleugh! A parasprite? Are you kidding?"

"Ugh?" Fluttershy asked surprised at her friends disgust for something so cute.

"A para-what?" Twilight asked, thinking that Pinkie was up to her usual antics.

"How could you not like-" Fluttershy tried to ask before the pink pony interrupted her.

"Ugh. Now I gotta go find a trombone." Pinkie said as she ran for the front door.

"A what?" Twilight asked, even more confused as to why she would need an instrument.

"A trombone. You know." Pinkie Pie said as she imitated the instrument in question before leaping off to find one.

Twilight shook her head and sighed as she finally came to the conclusion that her friend didn't exactly have all of her cupcakes in the oven. She once again dismissed her antics and carried on with her day.

"Typical Pinkie."

*Knock Knock Knock*

"Come in!" Rarity muffled out to the door as she refocused her attention to the mare on the modeling podium, sewing pins in her teeth. "Stand still, Rainbow Dash!"

Rarity tilted her head as she tried to pin down parts of a brand new dress she created for the visitation of the princess. Her cyan-colored model had different plans.

"I can't!" The rainbow maned pegasus shouted in obvious frustration, trying to take to the air. "I need to fly! This is way too boring for me."

Rarity spat out the sewing pens, trying to emphasize the importance of her friend standing still. As Rainbow tried to escape from the seamstress, the indigo-maned pony pointed out that the princess was to arrive tomorrow.

"Do you want to look nice for Princess Celestia or not?"

While the rainbow-maned mare sat and pouted on her inability to take to the air, Twilight entered the room and took notice of the newest creation that the fashion pony had set up for Rainbow Dash.

"Wow. Rarity, those outfits are gorgeous." Twilight complimented.

Rarity hummed with satisfaction in hearing her work being beautiful. "Thank you, Twilight. Nice to know someone appreciates my talents."

Rarity turns her head as soon as she saw the slightest motion in her peripherals. To her prediction it was none other than Rainbow being annoyed of having to model instead of flying around. Rainbow Dash drug both of her hooves down her face as she emphasized on how she was feeling.

"Ugh, sooo boooring."

"Purrreee?"

"Huh?" Rarity said as she heard an unfamiliar sound.

"What's that sound Twilight?" Rainbow asked finally finding something that appealed to her curiosity. She even took the distractive moment to take the air once more.

Chirping noises were heard as the two other mares closed in on Twilight, trying to identify what the sound was. As they were continually asking what noise was coming from Twilight, a small pink bulb with bright green eyes. Also with the pink critter showed the yellow one that Twilight originally had on the way to the boutique and a dark blue one that jumped to her back.

"Wow, what are they?" Rainbow asked, taken in by the little creature.

Twilight looked at the three smiling bulbs that sat on her back. "The better question is, where did they come from? I only had one a minute ago."

"I'll take one!" Rainbow exclaimed.

"Me too! Oh, they're perfect!" Rarity agreed as the door to the boutique opened once more.

"Does anypony know where I can find an accordion?" Pinkie asks as soon as she walks in.

The girls continue to snuggle and hug their newest pets, much to the distress of Pinkie Pie. The pink pony raised her voice in hopes of getting her point across. "Girls!? Hello, This is important!"

The three other ponies still continue to ignore her as they start to make a variety of baby noises. Rarity is busy watching the blue bulb fly around, sometimes landing on the tip of her horn. Rainbow Dash is busy petting hers to notice who was at the door. Twilight was busy nuzzling her own. Ultimately, Pinkie concluded that the three mares were not going to be of help for the time being and stormed out of the doorway.

"Arrgh! Thanks a lot!"

"Score one for us! The little bastards are gone and now we won't have to deal with 'em for another hundred years!"

"Shit who cares!? We'll be dead by then!"

Numerous guards in the halls of the Canterlot Palace have taken to their mugs and started praising their efforts to keep the damages to a minimum while the migration took place. Though there were some losses in the food, it wasn't enough to declare a state of emergency. And as a result, many of the guards were either given the next day off or the remaining night off in honor of their momentous victory.

Among those shouting and dancing blindly in the halls was that none other than the four stallions that often hung around each other. Throughout high school, basic training, and even up to this point, the stallions have persisted through life and their friendship remained. The four sat at a table in the dining hall, discussing the events of the day.

"And that's how I learned how to do my first incantation." Azure said as he recalled the training that the princesses managed to give him on casting spells.

"Congrats, mane! I can't even believe what the hell had happened today. First the bugs, then Azure learning his first advanced level spell and now Blueblood fighting alongside Shining Armor." Longshot added.

"So how was it fighting alongside Prince Dickhead?" Poindexter asked while taking back a mug of the cider.

"Well-"

"Did he try to hide under a pillow?" Longshot asked first.

"Did he have one of his maids do it for him?" Poindexter asked as he stacked on top of Longshot.

"Did he actually cry?" Azure asked as he stacked on top of both Poindexter and Longshot.

Shining laughed at their usual hijinks and smiled as he gave his answer. "Surprisingly no. He was actually rather smart and he even had an idea to stave off the parasprites' attacks. It's just too bad that he's so closed-minded about protecting other that he's willing to let others suffer. That's just my only complaint, but aside from that he appeared to be a very competent soldier."

"So that little light show he threw back in high school was actually legit? I would've thought that somepony else was doing those spells behind the scenes." Azure asked, referring back to the night of the Spring Fling of '92.

"Yeah. He knows some pretty powerful stuff that not even my little sister had even heard of." Shining retorted as he took back his own mug, drinking down the cold cider.

"Shit. So you must be a legit walking powerhouse if you go around challenging him on a daily basis." Poindexter asked as he signaled to the maids for another round of cider.

Shining chucked at his friend's implication. "Heh heh... Maybe I have a little something that you guys don't know about."

"Woah there, I don't roll on that side of the barn." Azure joked, taking the statement out of context.

The four stallions all laughed collectively as they continued to joke on the matter of the day's outcome. But before a new subject could be brought up, a voice echoed throughout the halls.

"Hey boys, we got a fix on where the little bastards are headed!"

"What's the sitrep, Silverleaf?" Shining asked as he heard the news.

"The swarm has separated itself into two halves. One half has move east, the other moved south of here. The one that is moving up east from here is scheduled to hit the Hollow Shades come tomorrow afternoon. And if we follow the wind currents that are now sweeping the plains, their migratory route of the southbound swarm could be diverted to that of the Everfree Forest."

"That means for the most part that they would hit Ponyville within the next day, and that's the best case scenario. If not, then they would probably bypass Ponyville and hit Appaloosa next as a worst-case scenario. Appaloosa is an agricultural phenom. Lose that and we could easily lose some of our food." Shining concluded.

"The good news is that they shouldn't hit the town until after the princess' visit." Siverleaf added to his summary. "In fact they would just be arriving by nightfall."

"Have you tried to explain to Princess Celestia on why her visit would have to be cancelled?" Shining asked his subordinate.

"Tried and failed, sir. She's adamant on visiting her student. For what reason, she will not say."

Shining shook his head at the warning. He always knew that the princess had a habit of making things difficult. "Then I will assign an escort party. Come dawn, I want you to give her the best pegasi you can find in all of Canterlot."

"Yes sir."

Shining watched as the stallion trotted off into the hall. He took a deep breath, counted to three and resumed his drinking. If there was one thing that he didn't want to interrupt is night off was the fact that a hardheaded princess insisted to visit a small town in the middle of a infestation. He was going to enjoy his night, guilt-free or not.

"So who's ready to play some spades?"

"I may not know where all of you may have came from but there is one thing that I can get behind. And that is not only are you adorable, but you're also quite useful."

The next morning, Rarity waltzed around the boutique as she instructed the sudden multitude of the bulb-shaped insects danced around her and followed her every direction. It was almost as if she was a conductor and the cheery little bulbs were her entire symphonic orchestra. With a wave of a hoof, she direct some of the little critters to lift a cloth from one side of the boutique to another. With a flick of her head, she ushered them to release the cloth that they carried. Everything was as she desired it to be and her clothing lines were created much quicker. And as a reward, they were often treated with cuddles from the snowy mare.

"Purr-ack!"

As her pet coughs and gags on something, Rarity shows concern for it's health. "Oh! Are you okay?"

With a final gag, the orange bulb coughed up a fuzzball the size equivalent of it's own body. As it found a landing on the eyelid of the fashionista, she expressed her disgust in a shriek. Upon removing the sticky mess from her eye, she held it in her hoof and saw the brown shape distort into a smooth sphere and instantly grow a pair of wings and eyeballs. It was then when she realized how the numerous bugs came to be.

"Gross gross gross! No creature that behaves so revoltingly is allowed in my boutique!"

As she turned around, she had witnessed yet another one of the bulbs having digestive issues. As it coughed up a similar ball of bile, it too transformed into yet another creature. Rarity screamed in abject horror as she watched another three do the same thing just down the hall.

"That's it! I've had enough of this! You and all of your little revolting friends can leave my boutique! All of you! Get out!"

35 Minutes Later...

Rarity closed the door to her boutique as she exited with a set of bulging saddle bags. She wore an angry expression as she check whether or not the insects would find themselves flying out of her bags as she walked. She levitated the keys to her front door and locked the door as she gained an unexpected visitor. Pinkie Pie eagerly bounced over to the brooding mare to speak.

"Look Rarity, Applejack loaned me a harmonica. Isn't that great?"

Rarity looked behind her as she heard one of the annoying insects chirp. And upon noticing that the bag had started to become undone, she pressed the creatures inside under the loosened lid as a means to discourage their escape.

"And not a moment too soon." Pinkie continued as she watched the distressed mare close her bags.

"Ugh, Pinkie, I'm a little busy right now."

"And I'm not? You know how many more instruments I've gotta find? A lot, that's how many. Now if we split the list between us, we might just make it in time."

Rarity groaned in displeasure as she decided that her friend was talking more nonsense. She didn't have the time to deal with her. There were more pressing matters than trying to help Pinkie. "Please, Pinkie, I don't have time for some silly scavenger hunt. I've got a real problem."

As Rarity walked away she could hear her friend call out to her. "You've got a real problem alright. And a banjo is the only answer!"

As the fashionista walked further down the road, she ran directly into another one of her friends. Luckily, it wasn't the pony that insisted on grocery shopping. As she stop walking, Twilight came to a skidding halt before her. Her mouth fell with a gasp as she noticed the saddle bags that Rarity was wearing.

"I see we're having the same problem." Rarity pointed out.

"Ditto!" Said a third, who was revealed to be Rainbow Dash trying to evade a small gathering of the annoying bulbs.

"Fluttershy knows everything about animals." Twilight recalled as the three ponies broke into a full-speed gallop, making their way to Fluttershy's front door. As they made it to their destination, Twilight offered to knock on the door. But before she could, the door swung wide open, unleashing a massive flood of the annoying critters. "I'm sure she can tell us how to stop them from multiplying."

"...or not." Twilight finished as she called out for the mare inside. "Do something Fluttershy, can't you control them?"

Fluttershy was preoccupied with trying to dodge the insects that carried a variety of her belongings, ranging from cookware to household appliances. "I've tried everything I know: I've tried begging, and pleading, and beseeching, and asking politely and..."

"If we can't get them under control before the princess arrives, it'll be a total disaster." Twilight said as she imagined her mentor being abducted by the strange creatures. As she tried to snap herself out of her vision, another one of the insects coughed up yet another one of their own.

"Ew! If you ask me it's already a total disaster." Rarity corrected her friend.

As the four mares tried to think of something, another mare showed up in time to catch the mayhem that unfolded before their very eyes. Applejack arrived with a large wheelbarrow full of apples stacked tall.

"Here's all those apples ya wanted, Fluttershy, but Ah still can't figure why y'need so many."

Applejack soon found out exactly why the caretaker needed all of those apples. A sudden cloud of the multicolored insects swarmed the wagon and in seconds left it empty.

"HEY!" Applejack exclaimed in seeing her apples being stolen like that, though they were going to be eaten in the same manner either way.

"What do we do?" Fluttershy asked as the other three watched Applejack shaking a furious hoof at the swarm that just took her apples.

"I got it!" Twilight shout out as she took notice of the cowpony before her. "No pony can herd like Applejack."

"Yeah! We can drive 'em back into the forest." Cosigned Rainbow Dash.

Applejack scoffed as she started to formulate a plan on how to get rid of the pesky little critters. "Ah'll rastle 'em up, but Ah need everypony's help ta do it. Twilight, you and Rarity wait over there. Ah'll herd the little critters straight at ya like a funnel. Rainbow Dash, you and Fluttershy stay on top of 'em, don't let 'em fly away."

"Aye-aye!" Rainbow called out, confirming the orders that were given out. Applejack kicked her hooves into the air as she called out her notable 'yee-haw' and started herding the nearest group of parasprites together. As the pegasi pair took to the sky, they gathered the ones that were high into the air and ushered them towards the ground. As the time passed, they had amassed a large snowball of the the creatures.

"Alright y'all, here goes nothin'." Applejack sounded off as the five mares managed to get the ball rolling. As they ran, they guided the large sphere into the path that lead to the Everfree Forest.

Look out Rarity, that one's fixin' to get away. Keep a lead on 'em, Rainbow Dash. Hold on girls, we're almost there."

While the cowpony mare continued to give orders, the party of five received a sixth visitor.

"Pinkie!" Twilight shouted as she found herself running side by side with the pink mare.

"Twilight, we don't have much time."

"You're telling me. The princess could arrive at any moment."

"Exactly. That's why I need you gals to drop what you're doing and help me find some maracas."

"Maracas?" Twilight started to lose patience with the random mare and her rather unusual suggestions. "Pinkie, we've got much bigger problems than missing maracas."

"You're right! Getting a tuba has to be our number one goal. Follow me."

Twilight continued to run in the direction she was facing as Pinkie dashed in the opposite. Within a few seconds, Pinkie found herself running backwards in trying to get the girls to help her.

"I said, follow me!"

"Pinkie Pie, you are so random." Rainbow Dash groaned outwardly.

"And you are all so stubborn!" Pinkie said as she made her way in the opposite direction, even more frustrated with her friends' inability to pay attention to what she had to say.

"Forget her ladies. Focus. Head 'em up and move 'em out."

As they climbed a hill, they successfully managed to herd away the large ball of insects that infected their homes. The five mares rejoiced in their accomplishment as they made their way back to the cottage that Fluttershy stayed in. But not before commending their efforts to one another.

"All right!" Rainbow Dash screamed as she gave her aerial companion a hard high five.

"Ouch." Fluttershy whispered as she rubbed her hooves from the harsh gesture that she and Rainbow shared.

"We did it. Nice work, Applejack." Twilight said as the other two pegasi grounded themselves besides the workmare.

"Couldn't a'done it without y'all." Applejack said as she looked at many of the other ponies, her attention slightly taken by one of the mares.

Twilight led the group back to the cottage as she spoke. "Now let's get back and clean up the mess they made before the princess arrives."

As they arrived, Twilight continued on about how they were going to clean up the town. "Okay, everyone knows what to do, right? We gotta work extra hard to make up for lost time."

But before she could open up the door to the cottage, a second swarm of the creatures busted open the door and flew past the five mares. The group of ponies stood slack-jawed at the sight of another swarm being as large as the one that they had managed to get rid of, if not larger.

"Where did they all come from?" Twilight asked as she watched the swarm fly into the air.

"Well..." The timid pegasus began as she revealed a bright orange bulb that bounced happily on her back. "I may have kept just one."

The other mares were more than livid as they gave the yellow pegasus a death glare. Fluttershy tried to defend her argument.

"I couldn't help myself. They're just so cute."

"Princess, I implore you to reconsider. Our sources show that there will be an early infestation in both Ponyville and Fillydelphia come this afternoon. By the time you get there, it would've already started."

"I appreciate your concern for my well being Captain, but I'm afraid that not going is no longer a viable option. If they are being attacked by the swarm, then would it not be best for me to take my leave in an attempt to assist them?"

Celestia and her captain trotted down the halls of the palace as they made their way to the chariot bay. While they walked, Shining tried to convince the princess to cancel her visit and have him go instead to clear out the parasprites. Of course, she rejected the idea out of concern for her student.

"Princess, with all due respect-"

"Ponyville is about to be swarmed with a large amount of parasprites and I am one of the only few who can cast a spell that will be able to protect the entire town. I am leaving and that is final, Shining Armor."

The captain swallowed his pride and much of his anger as he bowed before her, not wanting to show disrespect. He understood that she wanted to take the responsibility of protecting the town for herself and being able to see her student, but protecting the citizens and their ruler from all sources of harm was his primary assignment. He knew that she cared, but he hated how cryptic she could be in her methods in doing so.

As she climbed aboard her chariot, the four pegasi who led the carriage saluted their ruler as well as their captain. Shining Armor cleared his throat and spoke to the four stallions held at present arms.

"As you were." He said as he signaled for them to go back into the position of attention. "Boys, your assignment is to escort the princess to the south. Your destination: Ponyville. I expect no less of exceptional service when you are held to the duties of protecting your princess. But remember if anything should happen to her, then all of you will be held responsible. And believe me when I say that your failures will bring a punishment that would be the equivalent to death itself. Protect your princess, get her to where she needs to go, and get her back her safely. Do you copy?"

"Sir, we will adhere to the commands that we are given, sir!" The four pegasi sounded off in unison.

Shining walked to the side of the chariot as he bowed to Celestia. "Princess, are you ready?"

"I am ready captain."

Shining raised himself and walked away from the platform. As he parted, he gave the orders of dismissal. "Squad, ready flight!"

"Ready, sir!" The four pegasi guards answered as they simultaneously unfolded their wings and raised them high into the air. "Cleared for take-off, sir!"

"Godspeed, boys! DEPART!"

The swarm of the creatures have now made their advances from the edge of the Everfree Forest to the town of Ponyville itself. As they gently descended from the air, they started to scope out all of the possible venues that there would be food. As the multitude of the colored locusts fell to the ground, they had already gained an idea of what places to hit; everywhere. Without warning, they proceeded to gulp down all of the crops and foods that the town had available. They showed no signs of discrimination over what they ate as they chewed on fruits, vegetables, candies, sweets and more.

By the time the five mares entered the town, it was far too late to do anything in hopes of rounding them up for a second time. They were already tired from the first round up and were even more frustrated at Pinkie Pie, who brought a pair of cymbals to a tornado Rainbow Dash created to move the insects to the Everfree Forest, causing the metallic disks to get caught in the tornado and break Rainbow's concentration on holding the funnel and accidentally sending the swarm directly to Ponyville instead.

"What do we do? They're eating all the food in town!" Fluttershy asks as Applejack watches a group of insects eagerly partake in her produce stand.

"My apples!"

As Applejack ran over to her stand, Twilight wondered what she could do for the moment. Finally, an idea came to her as she thought about her lessons back in Canterlot. She had almost forgotten about the long list of spells used to change a pony's nature. Though she had never tried it on an animal, she knew that it was still better than doing nothing.

"I got it! I'll cast a spell to make them stop eating all the food." Twilight announced as she closed her eyes and gained her mental focus. Waves of magenta rippled throughout the air of the entire town square, where the swarm was based heavily in. As she opened her eyes, she noticed that all of the eating had stopped before. As they observed, Pinkie Pie came to the scene with some saddlebags filled with instruments.

"Look, tambourines! If you could all just..." And she once again became angry at the fact that nopony was paying her any mind. And with an angry grunt, she stormed off.

The five mares watched as one of the bulbs walked up to a wooden basket and sniff an apple. Twilight smiled in seeing the creature reject the fruit, but grimaced as it ate the wooden basket instead. Suddenly the entire swarm went from eating food to eating everything except the food.

"Hey, it worked. They're not eating the food anymore." Rainbow Dash snarked as Twilight mentally cursed herself for forgetting the various side-effects to habit-changing spells.

"Oh no... if they get inside my store..." Rarity thought about all the materials and dresses she had put together this morning and realized that the creatures would definitely eat everything in the room. "Everypony for herself!"

30 Minutes Later...

"Just keep it together Pinkie. I know that my friends may not know about the dangers of parasprites, but I know one thing is for certain, and that is I am the only one that can put an end to this."

The pink mare stood in her room as she finished creating a harness for her instruments. She knew that it was going to be a one-mare effort since no one would help her. She knew that this was going to happen also and had constructed a plan that would ultimately end with her being the sole musician for her one-mare marching band. She already took all of her music lessons back in high school to help her learn all of the instruments at hoof. The only thing that upset her was that this was a plan that she didn't want to follow.

She had another plan, one that involved all of her friends. She knew that some of them were musically inclined. Rarity could sing, Applejack could play a fiddle, a banjo and a harmonica, Fluttershy could play a tambourine and Rainbow Dash took a liking to bass drum. Twilight didn't have any knowledge on how to play an instrument, but she had the studious attitude to learn one. She wanted to save the town with her friends...

...but she was all on her own for now.

She strapped on the harness of the multiple instruments and checked if all of the auxiliaries were functional. With her rear-left leg, she would control the bass drum. With her rear-right leg, she could control the accordion. With her forelegs, she could control the cymbals. She would have to alternate from the tuba and the harmonica from time to time, but that was a sacrifice she was willing to make. As soon as she confirmed that her harness was in working order, she walked down the stairs with her instruments and made her way to the front door. Her grandmother's words filled her mind.

When they come, they'll darken the skies
and they'll consume all crops before their very eyes.
But remember this list and you will see,
what kind of a hero you will be.

As she opened the door, she could already hear the screams of the ponies in town. With her head held high she walked out the door.

A trombone to fanfare the melody
An accordion to patch out a symphony
A tambourine is what you should also use
and a harmonica to sing the blues.

She walked past the front entrance as the world around her slowly revealed it's madness. The parasprites ate away at the vendors booths down the street as the ponies ran away from incoming groupings of the multicolored menace.

A banjo to pluck, some cymbals to crash,
A tuba for bottom and a bass drum to bash.
A final dose to break their spell,
is found in the hint of a little cowbell.

Her prehensile tail grabbed a fallen cowbell off of the ground as she looked left to see the fallen mess of the dairy counter. She looked to her right and saw Rainbow Dash down the street while avoiding a group of hungry parasprites.

Play and prance with all your might,
for that the insect horde will leave by night.
And with the final insect left bouncing away,
you would stand tall as the savior of the day.

Pinkie smiled as she heard her grandmother's voice recite the final line. In spirit, she stood next to her granddaughter with a broad smile cresting over her face. Pinkie knew that this was something that her Granny Pie had prepared her for. And she was at peace with herself knowing that she followed through with her words of wisdom. With a deep breath, Pinkie raised her trombone and cranked out the highest notes in the upper register to fanfare her start.

"Pinkie!? We're in the middle of a crisis here! This is no time for your... nonsense?"

Twilight and the others stood dumbfounded as they watched the entire swarm dance and bounce after their pink friend, who played every instrument that she gathered. The five friends followed the long line of insects as they eagerly made their way into the Everfree Forest. And just as they followed the parisprite parade, they took notice of yet another visitor approaching from the sky. As Twilight pointed out, it was none other than Princess Celestia.

"Uh... Your majesty..." One of the pegasi whispered back to their esteemed passenger.

"I see them. And thankfully the little buggers are making their exit." Celestia called back as she also took notice of the parasprites making their exit.

"Oh, I see. So they managed to strike earlier than anticipated." The pegasus spoke quietly.

"Yes. Here is good enough, I wish to speak with my student for a while."

As the chariot landed before the party of element bearers, Celestia climbed off and made her way over to her student. As she approached, the five ponies, minus the one that was busy trying to remove the hungry menace from the town.

"Twilight Sparkle, my prized pupil."

"Hello, princess." Twilight said nervously.

"So lovely to see you again, as well as your friends." Celestia said before a large crashing sound brought her attention to the large parade of insects bouncing cheerfully past her.

"So... how was the trip? Hit much traffic?" Twilight asked, failing to distract the princess.

"What is this?" Celestia asked as she stared at the parade even more confused as to why and how they were leaving the town without some sort of magical reinforcement. As she watched, a yellow parasprite made it's way over to the princess with a smile. Celestia already knowing what's going on, decided to find a little humor in the matter in hopes of sharing a laugh.

"Oh ho ho, these creatures are adorable." She said with sarcasm.

"They're not that adorable." Rainbow Dash mumbled silently.

"I'm terribly honored that you and the good citizens of Ponyville have organized a parade in honor of my visit." The humored princess added, seeing if they would at least find some laughter in her statement.

"Parade?" Twilight asked as she looked at the marching line of parasprites, finally understanding her mentors humor. "Oh. Yes, the parade."

"Unfortunately, that visit is going to have to wait for another time. I'm afraid an emergency has come up in Fillydelphia. Apparently there's been some sort of... infestation."

"An... infestation?" Twilight asked in disbelief that there was yet another case of the annoying bugs elsewhere.

"Yes, a swarm of incredibly bothersome creatures has invaded the poor town. I'm sorry Twilight, to have to put you all through so much trouble."

"Trouble? What trouble?" Twilight asked as she laughed nervously.

Celestia made her way back to the chariot, but not before speaking with her student one last time. "Before I have to go, would you care to give me your latest report on the magic of friendship in person?"

"My... report?" Twilight asked as she realized that she didn't get a chance to write another report with all of the events that occurred in the past two days.

"Haven't you learned anything about friendship?" The white alacorn mare asked her student.

Twilight took a look back at her musical friend and realized that her lesson was all with her for the day. She realized that she was ignoring her friend and waived her off for not being serious enough, where in fact she had the answer to their problems the entire time.

"Actually, I have. I've learned that sometimes the solution to your problems can come from where you least expect it. It's a good idea to stop and listen to your friends' opinions and perspectives..."

A loud cymbal crash interrupted Twilight, signalling that Pinkie had heard her loud and clear.

"...Even when they don't always seem to make sense." Twilight finished.

"I'm so proud of you, Twilight Sparkle, and I'm very impressed with your friends as well. It sounds like you're all learning so much from each other."

As Celestia finished her statement, she and her guards took off into the air as she knew that everything was going to be okay on that end. As they ascended into the air, one of the guards spoke.

"Well, that was something. Had we known that a marching band was all we needed to move the critters out yesterday, all of this nonsense could've been avoided."

"I agree." Celestia said as she and her envoy made their way to the next town. "As soon as we land, we need to inform the ponies of Fillydelphia that they need a band to play off the little critters."

"So, does that mean-"

"Start my fanfare as soon as you land."

Author's Note

I never thought that trying write out a whole episode of the show would be challenging. Go figure. I have a level of respect for the writers as they have to write out lines, actions, situations, plot devices, etc.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter and remember to leave a comment on my progress thus far.

Poor Celly, she still can't seem to get ponies to see her as one of them.

ACT 2: I've Got a Golden Ticket

Inside of the Royal Palace of Canterlot, guards line the halls of the palace as they await the return of their princess for the aftermath strategy meeting. As they waited, Shining Armor stood in full uniform while he watched the royal chariot come in from it's deployment. As the four stallions landed their princess, many of the guards in the area bowed before her, including their captain.

"Good evening Princess Celestia. How did the operations go in Ponyville and Fillydelphia?"

Celestia signaled for the guards to rise before she dismissed them to have a private conversation with her captain. "A well-wished evening to you as well, Captain. It seems that the parasprite infestation was resolved upon my arrival in Ponyville. As for Fillydelphia, we managed to get there before it had even begun. Though in short, the operation was a resounding success."

"Well that's good to hear, your highness."

The princess hummed as she started to make her way to the large doors that led deeper into the palace. "Captain, a question."

"Yes, princess."

"Would you stop being so formal every time you deal with me?"

Shining almost jumped at the request. It would seem that he started to place her on a pedestal as of late, and he remembered that she didn't exactly took much appreciation to that kind of treatment. "Uh... Okay. So what's poppin'?"

Celestia smiled as she heard a more informal statement come from her captain's mouth, placing her more at ease. "Well, I was thinking about Twilight and her success in her friendship studies. Now I do wish to reward her for her diligence. What would be a good thing to get her?"

Shining took a moment to think as he walked side by side with the princess. "Um... Another spell book. Twily love those things."

"Yes... or perhaps I intended for something that would get her social juices flowing." Celestia suggested as she decided that the last thing her shut-in student needed was another vice for her to stay locked up inside of the library.

"Oh! Well I know that the big Fall Formal in Manehattan is coming up in three months. But isn't that a little far?" Shining asked as he thought about the party that he and Cadance went to in the past two years.

Celestia nodded her head as she thought about the distance from Ponyville to the metropolis. But it wasn't just the distance that plagued her mind. It was also a matter of her safety. "Yes and it would be out of my jurisdiction. If Twilight was to go to Manehattan, there would be stallions there willing to take a chance and... well you can fill the blanks."

Shining knew what kind of riff-raff resided in the town. He remembered how many of them didn't respect those with a title and instead respected those with a large bag of money. But he knew exactly what could happen to his sister if she was to so happen to walk into a bad sector of town. And keeping in mind that she didn't have very much social experience or street smarts, he immediately took back his suggestion. "...Bad idea."

"Yeah." Celestia whispered. "And I intended for her to be in an environment that not only I could survey, but one that she could easily find herself having fun. Safe fun of course, but it will be an enjoyable experience nonetheless. I also intend for her to get the opportunity to enjoy herself as soon as possible."

"Oh... I know where you're getting at."

"And not only I will be able to spend time with her, but providing that you will be one of the VIP's, you would easily be able to spend some time with her as well."

Shining was on board with the idea of having his little sister here in the city once more. It would give him a chance to spend some quality time with her. "Agreed. The Grand Galloping Gala is a great idea! Twily would love it."

Celestia felt a sudden firecracker go off in her mind as she heard the word love. "Oh! And in speaking of love, I ran into your foalhood crushee today."

Shining stopped walking as he looked at the princess who mentioned the filly he once wrote letters to. "Come again?"

"Oh you know, the pure-white unicorn filly with the indigo mane. If I'm not mistaken, her name is Rarity."

"Oh yeah... her." Shining said as the reminder of her name brought a bad taste to his mouth.

"She's an element bearer now, though I'm sure you knew."

Shining sped up his walk as he tried to make his way down the hall quickly, trying to avoid the subject. "That's nice."

"And might I say that she has grown to become a very beautiful mare."

"I'm sure she has." He said with a bemused tone.

"And not to mention she's into fashion. I'm more than certain that she'll be designing your sister's dress for the Grand Galloping Gala. I even hear that sh-"

Shining immediately performed an about-face and looked the princess square in the eye, wanting her to stop talking about the subject. "I get it! She's beautiful, she's wonderful, and she's successful! Can we move on!?"

Celestia backed away in response to the sudden change in Shining's tone. Though she was used to politicians and nobles staring her down and shouting words at her, it still surprised her to see that her captain would do the same. She answered him in an apologetic tone. "I... just thought that you should know."

"It's okay, princess. With all due respect, that's in the past. I can't bring myself to remember the fact that I was the sole reason that her life is what it is now because of my mistakes. Mistakes that ended up costing me something I wanted for myself."

Celestia remembered how painful it was to watch him cry into her chest eight years ago as he heard the news of his unborn foal being taken away by the distinctionless grips of death. But she also knew that this wasn't something that was of his control. He was a victim to fate no different from everypony else who was involved. "Shining Armor, it's okay to remember. You would even be surprised of what has all come to pass since that day. You are not at fault. This was meant to be."

Shining hiccuped at the words that left the princess' mouth. He felt angry that she would be so blunt. "It was meant to be that... Pearl got hurt? That she lost a foal that she carried, that was mine to begin with? I even had a name for her! It was S-"

"Sweetie Belle." Celestia whispered, causing Shining to trot backwards.

"...How did you know?" He whimpered.

The white alacorn princess took a deep breath as she finally disclosed the closure to the dark chapter of his life. "Symphonia Wenda Belle, shortened to the common name of Sweetie Belle, now attends the Ponyville Schoolhouse under the instruction of your fellow classmate, Cherilee. Her current age transitioned to seven since last month. Her mother is Pearl and her father is the retired Hall-of-Famer Magnus Belle. She has an older sibling by the name of Rarity Andalusia Belle, who bears the Element of Generosity."

Shining could not find the words to express how he was feeling. He was happy that Pearl's marriage was apparently sustained and salvaged. He was content that Rarity was doing well. But he was deeply saddened that the name that he thought was going to be tied to him was that of another. His mind was racked with confusion as he struggled to put everything together. "But... I don't understand. I thought-"

Celestia placed a hoof over his mouth as she interrupted him. "Fate can be cruel at times. I know this because of my own shortcomings. But if there is anything that is unfortunate for some, it will be fortunate for others. Fate is a fickle thing. Sometimes the only thing you can do is watch."

"Coming from the mare that can control the sun?" Shining asked as he thought about all of the power she has and her inability to make miracles happen. Though Celestia took offense to his statement. She was not some sort of savior to be herald as a god.

...Her mother was enough of that.

"Coming from a mare, period. My talents do not define who I am as a being. And as a pony, I am susceptible to all that fate has to offer; I am no different from you." Celestia said enraged that he would assume that she was a higher being than him.

"I'm sorry. I only... misjudged." Shining's ears folded as he sunk his head, not wanting to look at the mare he offended. But he found himself looking at two large pools of lavender as the princess lifted his face to hers and spoke in a gentle tone.

"Shining Armor, I know that the past was difficult to swallow. But you above all others should know that what happens in the past can follow you into the future, but only if you allow it to."

Celestia released the smaller pony as he turned away, still not wanting to look her directly in the eye. "...Okay. But I still rather not hear about Rarity for the time being. I can't face a mare who's heart I broke at an age so young."

Celestia sighed as she realized that he was still essentially running away from his problems. "I'll give you the time."

"Thanks for understanding." Shining said softly.

"You are most welcome. Now come, we have a meeting to attend to."

"Right." He agreed as the two started to make their way down the halls once more. But before they could get a solid pace going, he had one more question to ask. "Hey princess."

"Yes." Answered the princess as she turned around to look at Shining.

"How did Ponyville get rid of the parasprites all by themselves?"

"They had a parade. It seems like the little creatures just wanted to dance."

"...What?"

Two Month's Later...
Saturday, September 6th, 1000 C.D.V., 0 S.R.

"Captain?"

"Yes, princess?"

"I have a question to ask."

"Shoot."

Princess Celestia remains seated on her throne as Shining Armor stands before her, holding a large schedule. As he levitates the large schedule to the side and teleporting it to a different location, he turns his attention to the princess.

"As you know, I intend to send Twilight a ticket to the Gala. Though I started to think on whether I should send her two for a pony that she may want to bring along."

"That seems... wait a minute, what do you mean for a pony she wants to bring along?" Shining asked with curious flames stoked in the back of his mind.

"Well I started thinking. Twilight is a mare now and she's had a full two months to develop a social life in Ponyville. And with a social life, comes social interaction. And comes social interaction, comes the interest in the opposite sex."

"So you would think that Twily is seeing somepony?"

"But of course. After all, she has a lot to work with in Ponyville. The town just so happens to have one of the better female to male ratios. The only candidate that has more males is the city of Manehattan and stallions are the majority in that city. Ponyville would be the perfect place for her to find a date."

Shining took a seat as he gestured to the princess to continue. "Explain further."

"Ponyville has a female-to-male ratio of three to one. That means that the selection of the town is very diverse despite the mares outnumbering the stallions. And most of the stallions there are humble workers who seek nothing but the simple things in life. Things such as getting a job, finding a mare, getting married, having foals, so on and so forth."

As the princess finished her opening arguments, it was Shining's turn to provide his own. "Well princess, I can only say that I know my little sister more than anypony. So trust me when I say this: she has no interest in stallions whatsoever."

"Oh dear..."

"What's wrong?"

"I just didn't know that she was like that. But if she should pursue love by those means, then I will not judge her for it."

Shining felt his jaw land on the floor as he tried to clear up her false impressions. "Wait, are you implying that my sister is a mare-muncher?"

"Oh... dear. Um, did I go too far?" Celestia asked as she felt guilty of putting Twilight's business in the open.

"No, you just made a wrong guess. What I'm saying is that Twily has no interest in mares or stallions because of reasons I can't say."

"Oh..." It took a moment for the solar princess to think about the statement that Shining provided. After a few seconds, it finally dawned on her that he was simply stating that her interests were indeed with a stallion. It just so happen to cross past the borders of taboo. "OH DEAR ME!"

"Yeah... just between us, princess." Shining whispered as he motioned that the princess keep her voice low.

"I do not recall what we were conversing about and therefore have no comment at this time." Celestia said nervously, finally realizing why she never went after other colts when Celestia made a push for her to introduce herself over the past few years.

"Nice. Now why are you sending Twilight two tickets again?"

"Don't worry about it. I'm pretty sure that she'll find somepony to go with her. And besides, I already sent the tickets."

"You what!?" Shining exclaimed.

"I sent them in earlier this morning. I had to since I had a long list of VIP's. And in speaking of which, you and Azure will be attending as well as Cadance."

Shining was about to question her on why she needed to send off the tickets without his notice but found interest in another matter. "Wait, what about Princess Luna?"

"She declined for matters of a... *ahem* public issue."

"Public speaking?" Shining deadpanned.

"Bingo." Celestia said flatly as she remembered that Luna tended to get very excited when speaking in front of a large group of ponies, using the Royal 'We', old Equish and even going as far as speaking the the Royal Canterlot Voice. She was often nicknamed Princess Capslock for her means of summoning Azure to whatever room she was in.

"Well that's all I needed to hear. So back to the matter of the tickets, why not send Poindexter and Longshot some?"

"Well... Longshot denied for taking his day off to spend with his family in Ponyville. And Poindexter declined under the impression that it would be, and I quote, a large heaping mess of uppity ponies with entire tree branches rooted deeply in their asses."

"Oh wow." Shining felt his jaw drill into the floor as he wondered if he heard the princess correctly.

"And ultimately, I agre-"

"You actually cursed." Shining said as he started to giggle a bit, finding amusement that his princess made a swear.

"Forgive my rude language, as I was merely quoting your fr-."

"No you're fine. I just can't believe how fluently it left your lips. Do it again!" Shining commanded as if he was a colt in a candy shop with all the bits he could have.

"No."

"Please."

"No."

"Please."

"Fuck off."

Shining squeed openly while Celestia rolled her eyes. "I am soooo going to pay Poindexter his fifty bits. This is worth every penny."

"Captain..." Celestia urged as she wanted him to snap out of his schoolgirl mode.

"My apologies, princess." Shining mumbled as he blushed a light tone of pink.

"Remember that I am held to a different standard, and though I may not like it, I do it for the image. So my colorful language stays with you, otherwise the palace will be getting a front row seat to an opera of profane obscenities directed to you and only you." The princess warned, not quite letting the sun come out but giving enough indication that it will if it has to.

"I really want to hear the words she screams out in bed now. Cadie, can we pleeease have a threesome with Princess Celestia? Her swearing is so hot." Shining thought to himself as he found the extended vocabulary quite arousing. Though he ignored his thoughts and gave the princess a wink. "Your secret is safe with me, princess. Though my concern for the moment lies with my sister getting those tickets."

"Oh Shining," Celestia chimed with a smile. "Twilight is more than capable of deciding who she will bring with her. Besides, they're tickets. What could possibly happen?"

"Are these what I think they are?"

It was yet another lovely day in the town of Ponyville. Though in Twilight's case, that day was now soiled with the fact that she had more friends than tickets to the hottest party of all of Equestria: The Grand Galloping Gala. It was bad enough that Applejack and Rainbow Dash had already got into an argument over who would go. Now Pinkie started to assume that she would be going. And it didn't help that Rarity now found the tickets also.

"Uh-" Twilight didn't get a chance to finish as Pinkie Pie interrupted her.

"Yes, yes, yes! Twilight's taking me to The Grand Galloping Gala in Canterlot."

Rarity interjected her own view as she didn't want to pass up on the opportunity to go. "The gala? I design ensembles for the gala every year, but I've never had the opportunity to attend. Oh, the society, the culture, the glamour! It's where I truly belong, and where I'm destined to meet... him."

"Him... who?" Pinkie asked as she never heard of this Him before.

Though Rarity struggled to recall his name, she very much recalled some of his appearance. The main thing she remembered that he was a tall and well built stallion with a coat of pure white. The image of his face often eluded her in her dreams, but she knew that he lived in Canterlot. Though the details of him being a literal prince started to distort her visions a bit.

"Him. I would stroll through the gala, and everyone would wonder, 'Who is that mysterious mare?' They would never guess that I was just a simple pony from little old Ponyville. Why, I would cause such a sensation that I would be invited for an audience with Princess Celestia herself, and the princess would be so taken with the style and elegance that she would introduce me to him, her nephew: the most handsome, eligible unicorn stallion in Canterlot. Our eyes would meet, our hearts would melt. Our courtship would be magnificent. He would ask for my hoof in marriage, and of course I would say, 'Yes!' We would have a royal wedding, befitting a princess, which is what I would become upon marrying him, the stallion of my dreams."

Rarity sighed deeply and let her romantic fantasy play out in her head. She allowed for her vision to subside as her mind drifted from the heavens above back to the world below. Realizing that Twilight was on the verge of giving away that ticket, she felt anger swell within her heart.

"Twilight, I simply cannot believe you would invite Pinkie Pie so she can... party, and prevent me from meeting my true love. How could you?"

As Rarity tooted her nose to the air in anger, she heard a voice scream out.

"Hey!"

As the three ponies turned around to see what all the commotion was, they noticed that Spike stood angrily as he watch the tickets he held carried away by a bunny that climbed on top of a mare's head, presenting the tickets to her.

"Angel, these are perfect." The yellow pegasus praised the rabbit.

Meanwhile, Twilight was still trying to get things cleared up. "Uh... listen guys, I haven't decided who to give the extra ticket to."

"You haven't?" Both Rarity and Pinkie asks, unknowingly giving Fluttershy an initiative.

Fluttershy knew that it would be rude to ask for something out of the blue, but this provided her with an opportunity to see the animals of Canterlot. She wouldn't allow it to pass her by. Angel, the bunny, would be her guide to assert herself. "Um, excuse me, Twilight. I would just like to ask, I mean, if it would be all right, if you haven't given it to someone else-"

"You!? You want to go to the gala?" Rarity asked in disbelief; she knew that Fluttershy wasn't one who was comfortable with crowds.

"Oh, no." She said, feeling nervous that her friends were so aggressive on the issue. Angel Bunny corrected her as he tapped a foot into her foreleg, urging her to speak her mind. "I mean, yes, or, actually, kind of. You see, it's not so much The Grand Galloping Gala as it is the wondrous private gated garden that surrounds the dance. The flowers are said to be the most beautiful and fragrant in all of Equestria. For the night of the gala, and that night alone, would they all be in bloom... and that's just the flora! Don't get me started on the fauna. There's loons and toucans and bitterns, oh my! Hummingbirds that can really hum, and buzzards that can really buzz. White-blue jays, and red jays, and green jays, pink jays and pink flamingos!"

Twilight tried to see what was so interesting about her pursuit over the others. At least with the others, they were more outstanding reasons. Applejack's was to make a profit for the sake of her farm and to get it placed on the map. Rainbow Dash was to spend time with her lifelong idols, The Wonderbolts, in pursuit of becoming one of them. Pinkie Pie solely wanted to enjoy herself. And Rarity sought the love of her life. To go to a party to see animals was a rather strange argument to make.

"Gee, Fluttershy. It sounds... beautiful?" Twilight tried to sound interested but found herself startled by a familiar voice.

"Wait just a minute!" The rainbow pegasus shouted as she leapt from the top of a house down to the ground in front of the lavender mare.

"Rainbow Dash, were you following me?" Twilight asked sounding annoyed.

"No. I mean, yes. I mean, maybe." Rainbow didn't know how she answered that question, but she knew that she had to persuade her to give her the ticket. "Look, it doesn't matter. I couldn't risk a goody-four-shoes like you giving that ticket away to just anybody."

"Wait just another minute!" Another voice rang out. The purple mare saw that yet another one of her friends had come to sway her into giving her the ticket. Twilight was far from amused.

"Applejack, were you following me too?"

"No. Ah was followin' this one to make sure she didn't try any funny business. Still trying to take mah ticket." Applejack answered as she pointed to the rainbow pegasus.

"Your ticket?" Rainbow called out trying to correct the farm pony.

"But Twilight's taking me!" Pinkie shouted out to the both of them starting a large argument between the five mares.

Twilight held her ears as she heard the various arguments fill her head.

"But this is a chance for me to fulfill my lifelong dream!Your lifelong dream? Mine is way more important than yours! MUST... But what about my dream, girls? It wouldn't be fair to-Your's isn't even a valid reason! At least Ah can say that Ah have a legitimate reason.Legitimate my ass! You can't even beat me in a hoof wrestling contest! HAVE... And of course I told her that peanut butter would be a great addition to her recipe.Fluttershy dear, wouldn't you rather allow me to find you a picture book of all the animals? PEACE... Rarity, seeing the animals would be far more enjoyable than you trying to pursue a stallion who might not even like you.*Gasp* How rude!And of course I had to tell her that wasabi sauce on her cupcakes was a bad idea. AND... Ah'll bet ya ten bits that ya won't even be able to win this time!Why not the tickets, cowpony!?Then she told me about a new ingredient to add into the cookies!I will have true love!But the animals, I have to see them."

"QUIIIIEEEEET!!!"

As Twilight managed to silence most of the other ponies, Pinkie continued her statement.

"And then I said: Oatmeal? Are you craz-" Pinkie stopped shortly after she realized that she was the only one talking. "...oh."

"Girls, there's no use in arguing."

Rarity stepped forward to further plead her case. "But Twilight-"

"Eh!" Twilight shushed the fashionista with a hoof and politely pushed her away. "This is my decision, and I'm gonna make it on my own, and I certainly can't think straight with all this noise..." As she continued her tirade, she was reminded by her body to eat something. "...Not to mention hunger. Now go on, shoo."

All the other mares sank their heads as they walked away in disappointment. Twilight continued to speak to them as they made off to their separate ways.

"And don't worry, I'll figure this out... somehow."

"I cannot believe the nerve of those other mares!"

Rarity sat at her sewing machine as she stitched up various patterns and shapes in order to make her dress. As she fitted the cloths into place, she grumbled on how the other mares tried to take her opportunity at love away from her.

"And to think that these girls would all try to go to the Gala for their own reasons. At least mine will benefit the interest of another."

Rarity stopped herself from fixing up her dresses as she took a moment to think about the stallion of her dreams.

"Oh how I long to see him again. I can't believe I forgot his address. Arrgh, this is so frustrating... Why did I ever send that mean and disrespectful letter to him? If only he could see who I've managed to become, what he could still have."

Rarity walked away from her desk and made her way to the large mirror in front of her modeling stage.

"If you could see what you do to me, my dear prince. My cheeks swell with a rosy tint when I think about you. My legs shake in anticipation of your touch. Your fragrant musk would fill my nostrils and send me ever so close to your lips. Why I doubt that I would be so strong as to even get that far before melting into your hooves."

She imagined that the stallion was the image within the looking glass as her heart started to shoot pain throughout her body. Her body falls forward as she crashes herself against the mirage of the stallion she can only see in her dreams. The knight in the shining armor that stood before her urged her to grovel at the foot of the mirror. She raises herself to meet the figure face to face as a hoof slowly makes it's way from the nape of his neck to the peak of his chest. Her eyes closes as she whispers to him.

"Will you touch me... after all these years? I am old enough for you to have your way with now. I care not that you have committed sins against my family. I forgive you for the pain that you brought to me. I can't bear to keep myself away from you any longer, my sweet."

Her lips presses lightly against the glass, the skin of her lips latching on to the phantom image. After a second of imagined bliss, her lips part from the glass, leaving a print of her puckered flesh. As her eyes open, she can only see the image of herself. Her heart continues to ache once more as the bitter and cruel reality of her being separated from him rains on her life once more.

"Of course we will find each other... I know we will."

She makes her way to the window as she watches the clouds go by. The sky continued to get darker as the sadness in her heart started to settle in.

"Though it is only a matter of when and how long. I cannot wait to see your face again."

While she started to look at the sky above, something caught her attention. She noticed that there was a large hole in the dark clouds that floated over the town. And in the center of that hole was a cyan pegasus placing clouds in strategic areas. Normally, pegasi would bunch the clouds together rather than building them in a ring. As she looked to the ground below, she noticed the one thing that confirmed her suspicion.

"That Rainbow ruffian. Why, she would think that her antics would go unnoticed? How dare she start a rainstorm and leave a sunny day out for Twilight. She... trying to win her favor!"

Rarity jumped away from her window as she ran back to her sewing machine, quickly working up a sweat as she breezed through her designs and made a dress in seemingly no time at all.

"If Rainbow Dash wants to play this game, then I will do my best to outshine her. She will rue the day she ever thought to challenge Rarity Andalusia Belle!"

As the snow-white unicorn ran down the stairs, she grabbed an umbrella from beside the door and made her way outside into the pouring rain. While Rarity trotted to the restaurant across the street, she saw her purple friend drenched in rainwater. Spike stood beside her as she held a pouting disposition.

"Twilight, it's raining." Rarity called out as she made a gallop to the lavender unicorn.

"No, really." Twilight mumbled before Rarity grabbed her off of her seat.

"Come with me before you catch a cold!"

As they ran back into the Boutique, Twilight shook herself dry. As she finished, she realized that she had ultimately left Rarity completely soaked from her shaking off the rainwater. Twilight giggled lightly as she saw the look on the fashionista's face.

"Heh heh, oops, sorry."

"Oh no, it's quite all right. After all, we are the best of friends, are we not? And you know what the best of friends do?" Rarity asked as she snuggled up to her purple friend.

"Uh..."

"♪Makeovers!♫" Rarity sang-sung as she levitated a large curtain over to the confused mare.

The boutique became a symphonic cacophony of yelps and hums as the fashionista tried to measure up the purple mare for the dress she recently made. The only problem was that she had to make some last minute adjustments. Many last minute adjustments.

"Ugh-Rarity-ow-this really isn't fixing it. I mean, thank you but-ooh-that's too tight."

"I-nnngh-know it's a little-arrgh-tight, but believe me-nngh-when I say that you'll be just fine. Now suck in your gut."

"Suck in my wha-HOOOOOooo... can't... breathe..."

"Okay... now let me loosen this, annnnnnd voila!"

As the fashionista pulled the curtain back, the purple unicorn wore a blue saddle and collar ensemble with accents of green and white. Rarity secretly applauded herself as she complimented the mare on her appearance.

"There. Oh, you're simply darling."

"Uh, yeah. It is kinda pretty, isn't it?" Twilight said as she spun around to get a better look at herself.

Rarity made a devilish grin as she looked at the younger assistant. Before the young drake could finish his gesture of disgust, he found himself as the seamstress' next victim.

"And you. Oh Spike, I have a dandy little outfit for the dashing gent."

Spike tried to make a break for the door but found the curtain on one side and the wall on the other. Rarity held him with her magic as she dragged him in. Upon capturing the dragon, she started her work immediately.

"D-ah! Ow! Oh, hey! Ouch. Watch it! whoa!"

"Don't move-nnngh-for one more second. Annnnnd presto!"

With the curtain removed, Spike stood embarrassed as he saw that he was dressed in a frilly blue blouse and wearing a blonde wig. Twilight laughed as she saw the young dragon dressed in the unusual attire.

"Oh Spike!"

Rarity walked towards him as he didn't react in time to avoid her. "Now you just need a hat."

Feeling the hat land on his head, Spike asserted himself on the matter of his appearance. "I told you, I don't want any part of this girly gala gunk. See you back at the library."

Spike broke into a dash as he ran for the door, leaving the absurd outfit all over the floor. He also left a laughing Rarity as she refocused her attention back to the matter at hoof.

"Oh, who needs him anyway. This is all about you, and how fabulous you'll look at The Grand Galloping Gala."

Twilight instantly knew something was up at the mention of the prestigious event. "Wait, The Grand-"

"And oh my goodness, what a coincidence. I happen to have an ensemble of my own that matches yours to a T. We would be the belles of the ball, you and I. Everyone would be clamoring for our attention. All eyes would be on us, and then everyone would finally know, the most beautiful, most talented, most sophisticated pony in all of Equestria is Rarity the unicorn!"

Rarity ended her little speech as she suddenly remembered who she was speaking with. With a nervous laugh, she tried to minimize the damage she already caused. "...and Twilight Sparkle, of course."

Twilight wore an angry look as she started to unlatch the ensemble she wore. "I see what's going on. You're just buttering me up so I give you the extra ticket. Well it's not gonna work. You're going to have to wait for my decision just like everyone else."

Finally freeing herself from the ensemble, Twilight made a trot to the front door. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've been trying all day just to get some lunch."

"Did somepony say lunch?" A third voice with a twangy southern accent called out from outside, causing Rarity to feel even more upset. She cursed herself in silence as she picked up the ensemble off of the floor.

"Damn... so close."

As the sun moved below the horizon, signalling the end of the day, Celestia's horn shut off it's magic as she turned to the next door balcony to her right. As she watched her younger sister flare her horn, she watched as the moon took to the sky. Luna cheerfully raised the moon and started to paint the sky with black. With a wave of her hoof, she drew the many constellations that littered the night sky. Celestia smiled as she watched her sister do the thing she was best known for, and took much joy that her night was as appreciated as her own day. In the distance, a voice calls her to the door.

"Princess Celestia."

She knew who's voice it was and walked to the door. "Yes, captain."

"I was wondering about something..." Shining said as the door opened before him. Celestia allowed him to enter into the room as she allowed him to continue with his question.

"...Speak."

"Have you ever had a dream that kept coming back?" Shining asked as the princess closed the door behind him.

"Several, many of those pertaining to my little sister. Why do you ask?"

"Well..." Shining wanted to tell her what was going on, but he changed his mind out of fear that she would disapprove. "Nevermind, forget I said anything about it."

"Well I wouldn't be the one you should talk to. That's Luna's department." Celestia said as she pointed to the wall that separated her and the lunar princess.

"Luna is with Azure for the night and she ordered that they would not be disturbed." Shining recalled, not wanting to disobey orders.

"Oh. Well then it will have to wait until tomorrow."

Shining looked at the wall, knowing that both Luna and Azure was holed up inside of the room. Curiosity filled his mind as he felt the need to know about their relationship. "Does Princess Luna have a thing for Azure?"

"And who would I be to disclose her personal matters to one whom she has not allowed to know on her own terms?" Celestia asked, pretty much telling the captain to mind his own business.

"Oh... So that's a yes?"

"If that is what you think, then I will not change your mind."

Shining sighed and shook his head at the princess' response. "Boo! You're no fun."

The princess quirked an eyebrow as she turned away from the captain. "And you've been trying to get Cadance to do a threesome."

Shining felt his body grow cold. He remembered asking her for one, but he didn't remember telling anyone else aside from his friends about it. He stuttered as he tried to find out her reason of knowing that aspect of his and Cadance's relationship. "H..bu...she... How did you-"

"Cadance shares everything with me, Shining Armor. And sometimes, she does go into detail." Celestia said as she chuckled softly.

"Wait... that means-"

Celestia turned around to see the expression of pure horror come across the captain's face with each step she took, closing the distance between them. "I know your kinks, length, girth and even that reoccurring dream that she hears you speak about every now and then."

"So... you knew everything... about me?" Shining questioned as he felt his legs go numb as the ivory alacorn princess tower above him, close enough to whisper words of mockery. As she raised her hoof, he closed his eyes, not wanting to see what was coming.

"Well just the dream part. She doesn't tell me about your nightly activities with her." Celestia admitted, booping the captain on the nose. He opened his eyes to see if his body registered the correct feeling. Indeed, it did as he watched the solar princess trot off happily.

"That was a low blow, princess." Shining said as he felt a bit of embarrassment for falling for her bluff.

"And you're the one saying that I'm no fun?" Celestia asked as she turned around, poking her tongue out at the captain while winking an eye.

"Well played." Shining said as he watched a green cloud of smoke enter the room and drop a letter in front of the princess.

"It would appear that a letter has come from Ponyville." She spoke while enveloping the letter in her magic. She read the letter aloud.

Dear Princess Celestia,

I've learned that one of the joys of friendship is sharing your blessings, but when there's not enough blessings to go around, having more than your friends can make you feel pretty awful. So, though I appreciate the invitation, I will be returning both tickets to The Grand Galloping Gala.

Thank you for your generosity, and I'm sorry to reject such an offer.

Your faithful student,

~Twilight Sparkle

"...Twily." Shining droned as he heard the bad news.

"Well that is most unfortunate. It would seem that our reunion with Twilight will be withheld to a later date."

Shining saw a bit of disappointment come across the princess' face. He thought to himself on how he could find a way to get his little sister to reconsider her choice. He knew that she wanted to go, but not without her friends. He thought to himself of a way to get another ticket to her, as a means to rectify the situation. Then he came up with a solution that started with him; he would give up his ticket.

"Princess, I give up my ticket to send to her."

"Well that's generous, but that still leaves three others who would still not be able to go. And the guest list has already been finalized, so I cannot order for more tickets to be made." Celestia explained while she collected the ticket.

"If I don't go, then Cadance wouldn't want to go either. She never really took an interest in formal engagements anyhow." He said as he surrendered her ticket as well.

"That still leaves two."

Shining pointed to two envelopes on her nightstand, addressed to two of his friends. "And you still have the tickets that Poindexter and Longshot rejected. So two tickets, plus Cadie's, plus mine, plus the two that Twily sent back-"

The princess instantly levitated a quill and a sheet of paper to her side and started scribbling words on the parchment. "I'm writing a letter now. Shining Armor, you are absolutely amazing!"

My faithful student Twilight,

Why didn't you just say so in the first place? Had I known that you would vouch for your friends to attend the Gala with you, I would have made provisions to do so. Though there is some bad news; I cannot request that there would be more tickets made at this time, as the guest list has been finalized.

Though there is a silver lining in this situation. The good news, there is approximately four others on the guest list that would be unable to attend. So enclosed are the original two tickets that I sent to you earlier, plus the four tickets of the guests that will pass on their tickets to you.

I am very proud of you. You have learned a most valuable lesson today. And not only that, you can see the seeds of selflessness that you have sown become a blessing that you are more than able to share with your friends. Well done, my most faithful student. I will see you, and your friends, at the Gala this upcoming weekend.

Your loving mentor,

~Celeste Delanise Valkyrie

"Yeah I a... Oh wait... Spike." Shining said with a bit of concern; he didn't want the little guy to feel left out of anything. Celestia sympathized with the captain and went over to one of the voice pipes on the wall.

"I'll ask Inkwell if there is a pony on the list who still desires not to attend."

"Okay." Shining said the princess lifted a lid on one of the tubes that lead to the floors below.

"Inkwell, is there anypony who is unable to attend the Gala?"

The princess waited a few seconds before there was an answer. A mare's voice filled the pipe and resonated throughout the room. "Well... There is one... Princess Luna. She said that she wishes not to attend for private reasons."

"Princess Celestia." Shining said with concern for his ruler as she wore a heartbreaking frown on her face. The both of them knew that the princess was not going to attend out of recommendation. But hearing that Luna declined out of her own free will sent waves of concern to the older royal sibling. She felt that Luna was rejecting the occasion out of envy that ponies would rather speak to her older sister than her. Luna was always a jealous one, but Celestia was often one who tried to look for another reason on why she would reject her ticket. She shook her head and wore a light, yet painful smile.

"It's only a night without her. I can bear it. It's not like she's going away afterwards. After all, she's home now."

"...Princess." Shining whispered as he watched the princess walk over to her bathroom. It seemed as if she needed some time alone. It was obvious that the pain of being rejected by her younger sister was getting to her. Realizing that she was in no mood to speak, Shining took the pipe and spoke.

"Delegate that ticket to Spike, Twilight's assistant. He would surely appreciate it."

The night was home to many things. It was home to an array of animals that crept in the darkness of the shadows. Some of them were dangerous while others were harmless. Though in some cases, there would be cases of promiscuous activities going on in the darkness of the shadows. And ponies were no different.

In the darkness of the room, a nightstand silently squeaked and creaked as a bright gold ticket laid across the surface. The glowing tickets shook slightly as the stand rocked back and forth. And to the edge of the nightstand was a shadow of a pony. The shadow slowly took it's time as it grind it's hips into a smooth corner of the wood. Soft whispers fill the air as unsteady breaths trickle into the melody of the squeaking wood.

The pace intensifies as the shadow figure gasps silently for air. The sharp bolts of pleasure rattles through the shadow of the pony as the wood continues to moan against the shifting weight.

"Ah~"

A feminine voice sounds out as she focuses on the ticket on the nightstand. Her hoof eagerly grabs at her chest as her squeaks join with that of the table. She coos with soft ooh's and ah's as her hips rock back and forth against the wood of the nightstand. Her mouth opens as she falters out of weakness and lands on the surface of the wood. She presses herself harder against the wooden surface as a puddle of juices accumulate on the top of the nightstand with some even falling to the carpet floor below.

The vapor of her breath creates a large abstract figure on the top of the wooden surface, disappearing as soon as it appeared. Her lips parted as she kissed the ticket that lied before her. Visions of the object of her desire gilds itself on the laminate surface of the glowing golden ticket. Her kisses are tender and soft as her ministrations become harsher and more assertive.

"My... my..."

She struggles to finish her phrase as she rocks her body back and forth. As one of her hooves clasps against the tuft of fur on her chest, another snakes its way down her abdomen, past her teats and against the leaking folds that she continues to distribute the abuse to. With a few pats against her marehood, she pulls back her secretion-lathered hoof and allows her tongue to cleanse the mess she created. The taste of her own juices filled her tastebuds with a bitter sorrow, yet a sweet reminder laid before her.

"It is all for you... my~"

Her mind is distorted by visions of her stallion taking her then and there. His stallionhood plunging into her virgin depths. She could feel the painful bliss of her building climax approach as he pulls her tail, aggressively forcing her to stay on him. Her lips parting with multiple clouds of vaporous clouds as she feels the sweat of her body pour onto the wooden stand. His sweat becomes her shower as his body rocks in and out, grinding his hips in a circular motion. Her eyes lock to him, despite her being unable to see him from behind. Her pace increases as his does.

"Abuse me. Defile me, foul beast. Destroy my precious flower with your throbbing ram. Crush me. Impale me. Send me to the heavens above and plunge me to the sinful flames below... Love me... my~"

Her climax approaches as her speed doubles, her hips crushes the wood below her as she jackhammers her clit into the corner of the nightstand. Her eyes closes as she slowly throws her head back. She tries to stifle her cries with a hoof, but she finds her self-control in lacking as she pulls herself against the stand. She sees the tickets glowing in the darkness as her horn also provides it's own source of light. Her magic slowly oozes from the tip of her horn as she rides to her orgasm.

"I am yours, take me... my prince~"

Her body seizes up as she hurries up to clean up any and all evidence of her wrongdoing. A soft knock on the door sounds through the room, causing the mare to end her orgasm in the weakest way possible, finding herself rather frustrated after such a monumental build-up. The door cracks open to reveal a small filly.

"Nnnnn-Rarity... I heard crying... Are you okay?"

The older unicorn cleared her nightstand as he answered her younger sister's question. "Yes dearie. There's nothing to worry about."

"Oh okay. I though I heard you crying, so I thought I could check up on you."

Rarity stayed in the darkness where her little sister could not see the state she was in. She thought of a quick lie to tell so that she couldn't see what was going on. "I'm quite alright. You've... had a bad dream."

"Maybe... Goodnight." Sweetie Belle whispered as she groggily trotted down the hall. "I love you, big sister."

Rarity gently smiled as she remembered how wonderful the little filly could be at times. Though she had a knack for destroying the kitchen, she often did it to show her heartfelt affection.

"Goodnight, Sweetie Belle. I love you too."

As the older mare magically closed the door, she flopped into her bed as she stared at the ticket on the nightstand. The golden glow reminded her that her hour of reunion with her prince was indeed at hoof. Her eyelids grew heavy from the fatigue of the physical experience she underwent prior to it's interruption. It was a feeling that took entirely too long to replicate and would be too difficult to get herself back in that zone now that Sweetie Belle had heard her. She took a mental note to hold off her lustful activities when the young filly was with her parents. Closing her eyes, she saw the dream that would rile her to her usual nightly passions. She mumbled as she let the dream take her.

"My prince... take me to a faraway land. The land of eternal pleasures."

ACT 2: Everything But the Kitchen Sink

The next morning, Rarity woke from her slumber and carried out her usual morning errands; some of them included taking her shower, waking up Sweetie Belle, cooking breakfast for both herself and her younger sibling, cleaning the kitchen, walking Sweetie to school, going shopping for materials, going to the gym for her usual morning workout to keep her body in shape, going home to take her second shower and finally going over her plans for her dress for the Grand Galloping Gala. She wanted to look her best for when she saw her prince. She hummed merrily as she sewed the patches of cloth to her new dress. A smile lit her face as she realized that she would get the opportunity to work in silence, free of all visitations for the day.

*knock knock knock knock knock knock knock*

...Or so she thought. Her smile faded as she found the interruption of her day most unamusing. She tried to ignore the knocking in anticipations that her visitor would get the hint that she was unavailable to take visitors. Her eyes remained fixated on the dress in front of her. Following the diagram, she sewed the thread in a looping motion. As she managed to prod the needle through the last hole of the phase, she heard the door slam wide open followed by the voice of a twangy-southern mare.

"Howdy, Rarity!"

Another voice corrected the mare as the seamstress did all she could to maintain her focus. "Shh... Can't you see Rarity is trying to concentrate?"

"What do ya think she's makin'?" Rarity heard from her left side, growing annoyed that they continued to talk as she worked.

"Looks like a dress." She heard from her right side as she started to feel her temper boil over.

"Well, that makes sense. Since this is a dressmaker's shop and all." Rarity's body shook as she suppressed all of her anger at once, turning around to speak with the two disruptive mares.

"Is there something I can help you with?" Rarity asked, selling her best smile.

"Oh, so very sorry to trouble you, Rarity, but I need a quick favor. Could you please fix the button for me?" As Rarity moved out of the way of the table beside her, Twilight laid a plainly red dress with orange and white stripes. "It's my dress for the Grand Galloping Gala."

Rarity could not believe what she was seeing. Her friend wanted to go to the Gala with a dress that wouldn't even catch the eye of the fashion police. She looked at the simplistic design and how the color clashed with her friend. She shook her head in objection. "Oh, no, no, no! You can't wear this... old thing. You need a glamorous new outfit for the Gala..." Rarity felt another idea come up as she thought about what colors would go well with the lavender mare. Her mind traced out the blueprints for her dress and then her vision unraveled itself before her. "...and I'll make it for you. No problem at all. It will be my pleasure!"

"Oh, that's really sweet of you to offer, Rarity, but I can't let you do that. It would be so much work. This dress is fine." Twilight insisted.

"Twilight Sparkle. I insist on making you a new dress." Rarity scorned Twilight. She knew that the dress was much too plain to wear for an event so big and high-profile as the Gala.

"But-"

"Not another word! I won't take no for an answer." The seamstress said, putting her hoof down.

Twilight realized that her friend was rather persistent on making her a new dress and surrendered to Rarity. "Well, in that case... Thank you for your generosity, Rarity. Knowing your handiwork, I'm sure it will be absolutely beautiful."

Rarity turned her head to the farm pony and gave her a critical stare. "Let me guess, Applejack. You don't want a new gown either."

"Gown? Shoot. I was just gonna wear my old work duds." Applejack answered, gaining concern from the fashionista.

"You can't possibly be serious, Applejack! You absolutely must wear formal attire!"

Applejack took a moment to think as she though about wearing a dress to the Gala. "Hmmmm... Nah."

Rarity didn't have time to argue, as starting one with the stubborn-natured cowpony would result in more time wasted than anything. She settled for a compromise. "What if I just spruce up your... duds for you a little bit?"

Applejack took in a breath of air as she tried to decline, but she remembered that her duds were in a state of disrepair. So it would only make sense to have them restored a bit. "Okay, sure. Why not? Since yer up for it n'all. Just don't make them too... froufrou-y."

"Deal!"

"Look out below!" A third voice screamed from outside of the boutique. The ceiling suddenly collapsed to reveal a rainbow-maned pegasus who fell to the ground with a bounce and fell backwards, landing in a pile of mannequins. Rarity shook her head, knowing that the damage was going to take some more of her free time out of her day. The cyan pegasus rose from the pile of mannequins with a tin bucket on her head, apparently not wearing it on the way in. She chuckled as she lifted the bucket from over her eyes.

"Sorry. New trick. Didn't quite work."

"Hmm..." Rarity droned while she held a hoof on her chin. Her mind started to fill with more ideas on the dresses she could create. Her imagination flew wild with multiple colors. And what better way of accenting her athletic friend with an athletically-themed gown to wear.

"Idea! I'll make you an outfit for the Gala too, Rainbow Dash."

Rainbow looked at the other mares as she asked for a hint on what was going on. "Outfit for the what now?"

Rarity's mind ran at a blinding pace as she also imagined the dresses for not only the three mares in the room, but also for the two mares that weren't in attendance. "I'll make one for you and you and all of you. Oh! And of course Pinkie and Fluttershy too. Oh, and when I'm done, we can hold our very own fashion show!"

Twilight smiled at the idea of her fashion-inclined friend offered to make not only a gown for her but for all of the others. Though she had a bit of concern for her ability to make several different designs in a single setting. "What a great idea! If you're sure you can handle it."

"Oh, it'll be a little bit of work, but it will be a wonderful boost for my business. Plus, fun!" Rarity chimed as she started to make her way back to the table with several rolls of fabric.

"Oh, I love fun things!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

"Then it's settled. We'll have a fashion show starring us." Rarity announced, causing the room to erupt in cheer. As she revved up her sewing machine, the farm mare walked behind her and questioned her on the arduous task.

"So... all ya have ta do is make a different, stunning, original, amazing outfit for... one, two, three, four, five... plus yourself, six ponies? And lickety split?"

"Oh, Applejack. You make it sound as if it's going to be hard."

*Knock Knock Knock*

"Luna... can we talk."

"Sure... what is wrong?"

Luna opens the large blue door to her bedroom, revealing the elder sister that requested her audience. As Celestia entered into the room, Luna closed the door behind her. Celestia waited for the door to close before she spoke. After Luna closed the large door, Celesta took a seat in the opposite side of the room. "It's about the Gala."

Luna sighed as she took a seat beside her sister. "...I knew that you would ask me why I chose not to attend."

"Luna, the ponies will be wanting to see you there. Now I can make arrangements that you can go out of th-"

"Sister, may I ask you something." Luna said while looking down and away from the older sibling.

"You may."

The Princess of the Night drew in a breath of air as her lips separated, creating a tick noise. "What do you think of Blueblood?"

Celestia withheld a gasp as she tried to figure out the reason why her sister would ask her something in relation to the adopted nephew. "Blueblood!? Well... I wouldn't advise an innocent mare to make her acquaintance with him."

"Does he trouble you?" Luna inquired flatly.

"...Yes." Celestia admitted.

"Then why do you keep him around you?" The younger sister asked as she continued to interrogate her elder sibling. Luna watched as her sister turned away from her.

"Luna, it's hard giving up something that you see as your own son. And you know why I especially cannot bring myself to part with him." Celestia said as she broke her visual contact with Luna.

"You love him as more than a son, do you not?" Luna asked.

Celestia turned around and lashed back at the absurd accusation that her younger sister made. "MOTHER NO! I couldn't bring myself to date him either!"

The two sat silent after the larger alacorn's outburst. They continued to not look at each other while the younger one found the courage to speak up to her older sister. "The atrocities he has committed... he cannot be allowed to be punished so lightly."

Celestia knew were this was going and could feel herself on the brink of tears. "I know. But... he-"

"You held no reservations when you banished me to the moon for a millennium." Luna argued.

"I didn't know that the Elements of Harmony would banish you for so long. I only assumed a decade at most." Celestia rebutted as she felt the sadness within her heart overflow into her tears.

"It matters not. You didn't allow your personal feelings to decide whether or not you would fire that beam."

Celestia felt more of the crushing guilt of the one thousand years she spent without her sister. She screamed to her younger sister with tears falling from her face and a painful expression set in her voice. "LUNA, I'M SORRY!"

"I KNOW! Just... listen to me." Luna interrupted before Celestia could go on her rant on how sorry she was when it came to banishing her. She needed her to focus on the matters of the present, being the infamous prince.

"Lulu... I... didn't mean to-"

"That chapter is over. A new one is written. Though I cannot stand to see you at the mercy of a stallion you've taken in as your own."

Luna watched as Celestia stood up from her seat and walk over to the balcony. Her face held an expression that was a mix of sadness and anger. "I was lonely. I had nopony to talk to, to be with. I had nopony to hold on to and to cherish. And neither did he."

"You sound like you love him more than you treat him as your own child." Luna called out to her sister.

"I do not." Celestia denied once more.

Luna ignored the answer her sister gave, as she saw through the facade that she made. But she also knew that the facade had also affected the one who created it. "Yes you do. You've grown so attached to him that you've become blinded by the image of him. Can you not see the wrongs he has committed and the wrongs he is planning to do, even as we speak?"

"He wasn't always like this Lulu. He was kind, gentle, diligent and open-minded. If he can be brought back to that-"

Luna interrupted her sister yet again as she pressed the offensive. "He cannot be saved, sister. His years in power has corrupted him. Look at what he has become."

"I can see that! But I can still see the vulnerable foal that he used to be inside of him."

Luna walked to her sister and stood in front of her, making sure that the elder princess could see her eyes as she gave her real reason on why she chose not to go to the Gala. "...I will not attend the Gala. And my reason for not doing so is not my public speech issue, but rather his attendance sickens me."

"You don't know him, Lulu." Celestia tried to convince her sister that she was merely seeing the superficial qualities of Blueblood's character. But Luna could not be swayed.

"I know this: he has no guilt nor shame. He threw a mare out of the palace yesterday morning as she pleaded for him to love her. He slapped her, he threw stones at her and he called her degrading names. I watched her beg and grovel at his hooves soaked in her own blood and tears as he callously pushed her away. He is no prince and I will not stand in the public eye alongside him."

"Lulu, I know that he's a little mispla-"

"I've seen misplaced, dear sister! And that prince is far from it. He knows what he does. And quite frankly, I am tired of seeing you defend him."

Celestia walked away from her younger sister and made her way to the door. But she stopped short of the handle as she turned her head to look at her sister as she tried to convince her one last time. "...I defended you. For a full one-thousand years. Everypony deserves a fair chance."

Luna scoffed as she rolled her eyes at the show of sentiment to the stallion. Luna decided that she should no longer have a choice in the administration of her adopted nephew. His power and influence had grown entirely too much for her to not make an example of. And with the way she's treating him, she doubted if he had really been punished at all. It was time to play the role of the harsh detective and put her hoof down.

"...If he should do something else demeaning, I will deal with him myself."

"You mustn't."

"And without your power as well, should you forget that we rule this land on equal terms. I do not mean to be imposing, but I will provide punishment when it is deserved."

Celestia knew that Luna was in the right. Somewhere deep down, she didn't want to punish him out of fear that he would grow to resent her. She wanted him to be happy. But in reality, she ended up spoiling him past the point of no return. Yet she still had a disillusioned hope that he would come around, just as she did about Luna forgiving her and living with her.

The ivory alacorn mare silently nodded her head in approval as she opened the door. As she walked into the hallway to carry out her duties, she turned around to speak. "...Luneste, you will one day see what he could be if we can manage to reform him. Please give him one last chance."

Luna shook her head as she magically held the door for her older sister. She stared back at her older sister as she gave her a final word of warning.

"He has one chance with me. Fail, and he will suffer."

"Wow... They're..." A purple unicorn sounded out carefully, trying to speak her mind.

"Yeah, they're..." A cyan pegasus spoke slowly as she tried to not offend her friend.

"They sure are... sumthin'." An orange farm pony hesitated to say as she tried to come up with a word to use in order to appease her friend.

"I love something! Something is my favorite!" A pink pony chimed nervously.

"It's... nice." A yellow pegasus whispered quietly trying to be kind.

Rarity felt her heart sink into her stomach as she heard the lifeless expressions of the other five mares in the room. Behind the fashionista stood five elegant dresses. The first one was Twilight's; a blue gown that sparkled and shimmered in the light with stars accenting the hem of the dress. The second one was an earth-tone denim ensemble that doubled as a gown and a work outfit, which belonged to Applejack. The third one was a pink dress with lots of candy accents that lined the hem of the gown, which belonged to Pinkie Pie. The fourth dress belonged to Rainbow Dash; it had a prismatic scheme that matched her mane and gold leaf accessories that showed off a little athletic flare. The final dress belonged to Fluttershy; she had a elegant green gown with a long train, accented by blue and yellow butterflies.

"What's the matter? Don't you like them?"

Twilight was the first to answer. "They're very nice."

Applejack agreed with her friend and joined her in the compliment. "And we're plum grateful cause ya worked so hard on 'em."

"Mine's just not as cool as I was imagining." Said Rainbow Dash, earning a stern look of disapproval from the others. "What? She asked."

Twilight saw that the cyan pegasus finally managed to break the ice in the conversation. She took a deep breath as she knew that the next words she was to say would end up hurting the generous fashionista's feelings. "I guess what we're all saying is... that they're just not what we had in mind."

The others hummed and nodded in agreement. Rarity on the other hoof knew that her personal dedication of satisfying the customer would drive her to redo the dresses in the image that her friends wished to have. She knew that it would be entirely wrong to them that they would be forced to wear the dresses she made without a second thought. After all, it was their dresses.

"That's okay. Not a problem. There's plenty more where that came from. They were only a first pass. You're my friends and I want you to be 110% satisfied. Not to worry, I'll redo them."

The other mares gasped collectively in shock that Rarity responded in such a fashion. They initially thought that she was going to be completely heartbroken, but instead she was more determined than ever to see that the dresses were to their liking. Ultimately, it made them feel even more guilty than before because now she was going to make a second line of dresses for them.

"Oh, Rarity. You don't have to do that. They're fine." The timid pegasus said in a concerned whisper.

Rarity waived off the suggestion to keep the dresses as they were. "I want them to be better that just fine. I want you to think they're absolutely perfect."

"Are ya sure? Ah mean, we wouldn't wanna impose." Applejack asked as Rarity swallowed the hard fact that her friends disapproved of her hard work.

"Oh, it's no imposition. Really, I insist."

The five mares felt a bit of comfort as they saw that Rarity was so insistent on redoing the gowns in such a short period of time. Realizing that they would probably be called in one by one, they walked out of the room to the downstairs area. Twilight was the last to follow as she showed the seamstress her gratitude."Well, in that case... Thank you again, Rarity."

Rarity laughed nervously as she watched the five other mares leave the room. As soon as the door closed behind them, Rarity let out a depressed sigh as she felt like curling herself into a ball. Her hard work was not enough to please her friends and now she had to start all over. This was not going to be easy and it was going to take a lot of fabric in order to get it done. In the ended, if she pressed herself onward in terms of each individual mare, she would get the new gowns finished in time of the fashion show. But at the same time, she wouldn't have enough time to get them to look somewhat decent and orderly to present. And furthermore, she wouldn't have the time to finish off her own dress.

"What have I gotten myself into?"

The ponies gathered around the stage in front of the Carousel Boutique as Rarity and the others remained inside of the boutique. She watched as the mares eagerly trotted to the room to see the fruits of her labor. Though in the seamstress honest opinion, she saw them as rotten fruit; a fruit that she would be eager to dispose of. Rarity's cat, Opal, swiped her claws at the aesthetically-compromised dresses.

"Okay. I did exactly what each of you asked for. Now don't hold back... Let me know what you really think." Rarity said as she watched her friends open their eyes. And much to her expectation, she received praise for the second shot she took in making sure that she satisfied her friends.

"Oh my!" Said Twilight as she gasped at her gown.

"It's... perfect!" Said Fluttershy as she held a hoof over her mouth.

"It's cool!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed in seeing her design ideas come to life.

"Why they're the best duds Ah ever did see." Proclaimed Applejack.

"It's the most ponerific, party-tastic, punchiest thing that I ever seen!" Shouted Pinkie Pie as she jumped up and down.

"It's exactly what I asked for!" The five mares declared as they all thanked Rarity for the dresses.

Rarity released a sigh of relief to know that her ordeal had come to an end. She toiled and sewed all day without a moment's rest and then she had to redo the dresses in time enough for the fashion show. She was placed in a sense of comfort knowing that her friends were satisfied with their gowns, despite their questionable appearance.

Twilight walked up to the obviously tired unicorn and showed her appreciation once more. "Thank you, Rarity."

"Are you as happy with them as we are? Huh? Huh? Huh?" Pinkie asked as she jumped in between Twilight and Rarity.

Rarity took a moment to carefully word her answer as she wanted to didn't want to let them know how horrible the design choices of her friends truly were. She also didn't want to offend them in any way. "Well, I'm... happy that all of you are happy. I'm just relieved to finally be done."

The sound a door opening alarmed Rarity as she recovered from the false smile she wore for her friends. As the door opened, a young dragon stood at the door. As he tried to regain his breath from what appeared to be a long run, he delivered some more news in regards to the fashion show that would start in about an hour.

"You are never gonna believe this! You've heard of Hoity Toity?"

Twilight tilted her head as she remembered a few headlines with the name. "The bigwig fashion hotshot in Canterlot?"

"HIM!?" Rarity shouted as she instantly felt her heart skip a beat.

"Uh-huh. He heard about your fashion show. Well, maybe I happened to mention it to him... He's coming here all the way from Canterlot to see your work, Rarity!" Spike announced to the group of mares in the boutique.

"Whoa, Nelly! You could sell a ton o' dresses to this guy. Yer business will be boomin'!" Applejack said to the fashionista.

"Wow!" Twilight said as she realized that this was a monumental opportunity for Rarity.

"That's so cool!" Rainbow Dash shouted, cosigning with Twilight.

"I don't believe it!" Fluttershy whispered as she felt happy for her friend.

Meanwhile, Rarity felt her heart sink from the pit of her stomach to her intestines as she stood in complete horror of the situation. "Hoity Toity? He's coming here? To see THESE dresses?"

"Yep! Get ready for all of your dreams to come true." Spike confirmed, oblivious to what Rarity was going through.

Rarity could have sworn she heard the sound of a glass dropping to the floor as she closed her eyes to asses the situation. Hoity Toity, one of Canterlot's premier fashion icons and a phenom since his preteens, took interest in her work and would be seeing the worst of her creations to date. This was not going to be easy to deal with.

"Okay girls..." Rarity said as she drew in rapid, shallow breaths of air. "Show will be starting in the next fifteen minutes, let's get dressed... And Spike, might I have a word with you?"

As the other mares took to the upstairs rooms to start getting dressed, she ran over to the young drake and scolded him for bringing up the news.

"HOITY TOITY!? Spike, how did you even get the attention of a high-profile member of the Canterlot Elite!?"

"Oh that's easy. I've worked my way around a lot of mail and stuff when I was back at Canterlot. Not to mention that I do sometimes assist the princess in some of her tasks. If her usual assistant Inkwell wasn't around, then I'd be her fill-"

"That doesn't explain anything, Spike. HOW DID HE GET HERE!?" She asked distressed as she walked over to the front door.

"I was getting to that." Said Spike as he clarified his reason for going on like that to the worried designer. "Anyways, I do a lot of favors for the princess. And it helps that Twilight's brother is a member of the royal guard, who once escorted him to a show in Las Pegasus. So I pulled a few strings and I got him to come over."

Rarity felt a blush forming on her cheeks as she thought about the momentous favor that the young drake managed to pull, even though it was rather ill-timed. "Oh Spike... This is..."

"Well, I wanted to see you succeed. After all... beautiful mares do deserve to be successful."

Rarity was flattered by his words, but the reality of her career ending prematurely was too much of a weight to ignore. "Spike... I know that you care-"

"Wow! Looks like we already got a pretty huge turnout." Spike said as he looked at the forming crowd around the stage outside.

"What!?"

Rarity made a dash from the front door of the boutique to the large stage set up outside. Her head poked through the curtain as she thought about having the show start early. If she started the show early, then there would be a chance that she would be able to present the gowns without him being present. But even then, she would be the source of ridicule for much of the town. And it didn't help that the stallion she wanted to avoid had also made an early appearance himself.

"Okay. Relax, Rarity. Your friends like their outfits and so will he." She tried to assure herself, calming herself down so that she could focus on the show. Suddenly, the lights dimmed as the music started to play in the distance. "Aaaah! what's wrong with the lights?!" She remembered that the dimming of the lights could only mean one thing as the music continued to play. "Oh, yes. That means the show's starting. Good."

Rarity bit a hoof as she heard Spike on the sound system, announcing an introduction to her line.

"Since the beginning of time, the elite of Equestria have longed for pony fashions that truly expressed the essence of their very souls. Patiently waiting decades... no, centuries... for the perfect pony gown. Today, at long last, Equestria, your wait is over! Let's hear it for the breathtaking designs of Ponyville's own, Rarity!"

As the spotlights focused to the center of the stage, the five mares walked out to the catwalk in an orderly fashion. The first to be revealed was Twilight, who wore an indigo shall with the celestial bodies and the major constellations acting as obtrusive polka-dots and a crown made of wires and foam stars. The second to walk out was Applejack, who wore a red ten-gallon hat with a green scarf, a blue saddle with blue and orange plaid design wile donning a set of rain boots. Following her was none other than Fluttershy, who wore a green and red sunflower dress and a hat made of straw shaped into a nest that held egg-shaped foam balls. Next in line was Rainbow Dash, who wore a red cape that seemed to clash with the coat of her fur and a odd-shaped rainbow helmet-boot combo. Finally making her way to the catwalk was a duck-faced Pinkie Pie, who wore an offending shade of green and was decked out in balloons and cupcakes. As they all stood on the modeling platform, the began to receive disgusted looks.

"Why's everypony lookin' at us like that?" Applejack asked confusedly, thinking that their outfits were to be the talk of the town. Twilight was the first to carefully examine what she was wearing and how she might have looked in the silly designs that they asked for.

"Uh oh..."

"You think we overdid it?" Rainbow asked the others as she finally saw what the audience was seeing.

"Nah..." Applejack said before she remembered what choice of hoofwear she was sporting with her outfit. "Okay... Maybe a little."

Rarity continued to hide behind the curtains as she heard an outspoken voice ripping the designs from the audience. And she already had an idea on who exactly it was.

"Oh, those amateurish designs look like a piled-on mishmash of everything but the kitchen sink! It's a travesty, it's what it is. Those outfits are the ugliest things I've ever seen, oh for shame. Who is responsible for subjecting our eyes to these horrors? Not to mention wasting my valuable time."

Rarity initially thought about hiding behind her cat, but seeing that it would be more of a silly idea than the design choices she made to please her friends. She even resorted to running inside of her boutique, just to avoid all of the glaring eyes of the crowd. But before she could set herself to leave, Spike ran to the stage and announced her to come out to the stage, unaware of what was going on beyond the curtains.

"Come on out and take a bow, Rarity. You worked really hard for this. Yes! Alright, woohoo! Go, Rarity!" The young drake cheered the fashionista, oblivious to the crowd's reaction. Though it was in good intention, Rarity felt that he was mocking her further by causing her to carry out her walk of shame. As she reached the end of the catwalk, Hoity Toity stepped to the stage and started to speak his mind... in brutal honesty.

"Young lady... what were you thinking? I could have came up with better designs when inebriated and drugged! This is a mix of the bodily exorcism that would come from said drugs and alcohol; a pile of vomit. Do you even know how to color coordinate? From the designs that I see right now, that would be a resounding 'no'. These... miscarriages are nothing more of a waste of fabric, resources, and more so a waste of my time."

The five models stood on the catwalk as they watched their friend Rarity go down in flames. Glorious flames that proceeded to incinerate everything they touched and reached as high as the night sky above the town and reaching as far as to the ends of Equestria. As they watched Rarity take the brutal commentary, their faces fell into sympathetic frowns. It was they who had her redo the already magnificent designs to their poor choice of fashion sense and was now taking all of the heat for it. Not to mention that her career could be very short-lived from this night on.

"I... I'm sorry." Rarity spoke weakly as she tried her best to hold back her tears.

"There is no apology from this atrocious display. I suggest you find another source of income." Hoity said as he practically told the mare to quit her day job and find something else more suitable to her skills. As he walked off of the stage, the other ponies walked away as well. Mumbles and giggles could be heard as they left the six mares standing on the stage. Twilight spoke out to the seemingly broken mare.

"Rarity... we're so s-"

Rarity didn't even give her a chance to finish as she ran for the door and locked it shortly after. Normally she would be heard crying to all the way to the front door, but instead she held her mournful cries to herself until she slammed the door shut. Spike and the other five mares looked at the front door of the boutique as they all questioned their selfish desires and what it ultimately may have cost their friend. Now it seemed that Rarity's business days were numbered, and they were the ones to blame. Fluttershy felt the tears roll freely down her cheeks as she knew exactly what all of this meant to the young fashionista.

"What have we done?"

Three days later...

*knock knock knock*

"Rarity? You okay in there? You haven't come out for days."

"I'm never coming out! I can't show my face in Ponyville ever again! I used to be somepony. I used to be respected. I made dresses. Beautiful, beautiful dresses! But now everypony is laughing at me. I'm nothing but a laughing stock!"

As Rarity answered Pinkie's question, she continued to sob behind the closed door of her bedroom. It took her an entire two and a half days to get to the point of unlocking her front door for any clients to enter. Her five friends stood outside of her room as they all tried to make her feel better.

"You're not a laughing stock, Rarity." Twilight assured.

"She kind of is." Rainbow blurted out. Correction: most of them tried to help.

"Come on out and talk to us." Twilight requested as the others continued to jump on Rainbow Dash for her brashness.

"Leave me alone! I want to be alone! I want to wallow in... whatever it is that ponies are supposed to wallow in! Do ponies wallow in pity? Oh, listen to me, I don't even know what I'm supposed to wallow in! I'M SO PATHETIC!"

While the disgraced fashionista remained in her room to throw herself a pity party, the other five, Spike included, mares discussed their next course of action.

"Now what do we do?" Twilight asked the others.

"Panic?" Fluttershy threw out randomly.

"That's your answer for everything!" Rainbow Dash chided.

"Well we can't jus' leave Rarity like this." Applejack argued.

"She become a crazy cat lady!" Pinkie added.

"Pinkie, she has only one cat." Twilight said to disprove the pink mare's statement.

"Give her time." Pinkie said cautiously.

As the five mares stood around to think about a plan, Spike walked up to a sheet of paper on the ground. As he picked it up, he saw that it was the design blueprints for a dress, signed by Rarity no less. As the gears in his head started to turn, he formulated a plan to get Rarity out of her room and to give her an incentive to continue her work. He knew that the mistakes of the past three days had to be undone somehow, and he knew just the way to erase it all.

"Guys, I have an idea."

"Not now, Spike! We're trying to think of a way to get Rarity to talk to us outside of this room." Twilight said with earnest. Spike rolled his eyes and discounted her statement as he answered her with sarcasm.

"Well gee Twilight, I guess this blueprint for one of her dresses wouldn't be of any use. And while we're at it, let's not place Opal in a tree and have you five bait Rarity into coming outside while I go out and grab Hoity Toity and show him Rarity portfolio of works while you all talk her into doing another fashion show with him in attendance. Nope, doesn't sound like a well-founded plan after all."

Twilight scoffed as she scolded the young dragon for interrupting them once more. "Spike, for pony's sake! We don't have time for your sarca... Wait, what did you say?"

Spike facepalmed as he managed to get the attention of the five mares by the most inconvenient manner. "So now that I finally have your attention..."

Six hours later...
Ponyville Train Station

"Hoity!" Spike yelled out to the shades-donning stallion.

"Oh... Hello Spike. I suppose you'll be bringing me more news of designers that I should be convincing to keep their day jobs."

As the small dragon ran over to the platform, he held a large folder filled with pictures, forking it over to the fashion icon. "There's something that you should look into."

As he grabbed the binder, he looked at the first few pages of the dresses that was worn by various ponies in stage productions. Continuing to flip through the pages of the binder, his jaw dropped in awe over what he was seeing. Every dress and gown that was archived each had an individual flare that did nothing but grabbed his attention from the first page to the last. Finally landing on the last page, he looked to Spike with amazement. "Whose designs are these!? There... marvelous!"

"The same mare that you told to quit onstage."

Hoity Toity blinked in disbelief. Surely the mare that presented the ugly dresses from three days past was not the one who created the works of art that only continued to bless his eyes. Aghast, he flipped through the pages as he looked for the signature of the mare who was responsible. "Surely you jest."

"You wish. Rarity is a very good designer. The only setback of that night was that she allowed her friends to make the design choices for the dresses that they wanted to wear for the Gala. Unfortunately, it didn't come out as well as they had imagined."

Finally seeing that the signature of every photo was credited to her, he conceded to the dragon that it was indeed her. "Understandable. Has she ever tried convincing them that their taste in fashion was rather, well... ill-conceived?"

"Normally she would. But if I know anything about Rarity, she believes that the client is always right, even if they are wrong. Just give her a chance, a clean slate to show you what she can really do."

The fashion-savvy stallion looked at a clock on the other side of the station and noticed that his train was going to come in any moment from now. "I may not have the time at the moment. My train is set to-"

Before he could finish, a mare came on the loud speaker and made an announcement in regards to the train schedule.

"Attention passengers: There has been an incident with the inbound train. The train has been derailed and all travel to Canterlot will be postponed until further notice. Thank you for riding Equestria Rails and we appreciate your patience.

Hoity slapped a hoof to his face as he heard the news of the delay. "OH FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT'S ROYAL! How the hell did a train get derailed on the way from Appleloosa!? I can't be here all week, I have a show to attend tomorrow in honor of the Grand Galloping Gala."

Spike ran over to the stallion as he pointed out a little known fact. "Just look on the bright side: you'll get to see six outfits that will be worn by ponies in the Grand Galloping Gala, designed by none other than Rarity herself."

"...Keep talking."

"Now this is a fashion show! All of these dresses are absolutely amazing. Who is responsible? Step forward, show yourself!"

Hoity continued his applause as he watched the lights point towards the mare that was once considered the ridicule to all that was fashionable. As she stepped forward in a pink and gold gown that shimmered brightly as the pearls and jewels she accessorized with it caught the colors of the gown. As she approached the end of the runway, he shouted praises of her works.

"Brava! Brava! Magnifico! Encore!"

"Oh, thank you. Thank you! Oh, thank you so much!" Rarity said as she felt herself walking on air. A fashion designer from Canterlot, Hoity Toity no less, has expressed his approval in her designs. And he also managed to give out a standing ovation.

"Rarity, my congratulations to you on a most impressive fashion debut. Would you do me the great honor of allowing me to feature your couture in my Best of the Best Boutique in Canterlot?"

"YES! Oh thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou!" Rarity shouted as she jumped for joy. Her elation for the moment could only be reproduced by Pinkie Pie in a party.

"Now, I'll need you to make a dozen of each dress for me by next Tuesday."

"Okay a dress f- six of each? Next Tuesday?" Rarity asked as she felt her previous walk in the clouds come to a crashing halt with the ground below her. Not only did she had to do a total of thirty dresses, but she also had to balance the Grand Galloping Gala along with the time to create them.

"From the speed you were able to put together this show, I can say that you would easily be able to finish my request with the time allotted. I expect noting but the best from you, my dear."

Despite the difficulty of the task, she accepted the assignment. This was an opportunity to erase the mistakes that was three nights ago with a single fell swoop. She was more than open to the job. "Oh... I suppose I can manage. After all, it is Canterlot where my creations will be displayed."

"Indeed. Just think of the endorsements." Hoity added as he made his way to the front door.

"I will be able to complete the task, only if I am allowed to keep in contact." Rarity said as she followed him to the door, escorting him out.

"Indeed! Perhaps one day, we could collaborate our efforts and show the world what they would truly be missing out on. I can see us going places, my dear!"

"Yes! Now I don't wish to hold you up, you do have a train to catch." Rarity said as she giggled with glee, though Hoity rolled his eyes at the mere mention of the train.

"I'll be delayed a bit on the behalf of rail issues, though my carriage awaits for me outside. It will be a long journey, though it was a most memorable night in the name of fashion. Thank you, Miss Rarity. I wish you all the best"

As the fashion icon waived his goodbye to the rising-star seamstress, Rarity bid him a fond farewell. "I wish you a safe journey as well. I suppose we will meet at the Gala this Saturday."

"Meet we shall. But until then, I bid you adieu."

Author's Note

Parenting 101: If you punish a child for the wrongs they've committed, they will hate you for that moment. But as they get older, they will grow to love you for it.
Celestia, being without child, didn't really know this and it took the wisdom of her own younger sister (who was punished for disobeying orders and abandoning her duties while trying to usurp the throne) to instill that confirmation to her older sister. I thought that I should explain that little scene.

Please remember to drop a comment below on your likes, dislikes, pet-peeves ~~three types of comments=halflife 3 confirmed~~ below.

ACT 2: From Apprenticeship to Power [READER'S DISCRETION IS ADVISED]

Ages ago, I was born into a home that was never a home to begin with. In return, I ended up on the receiving end of a lot of abuse. As I grew older, my life had begun to get increasingly worse. As time passed, my mother's hatred of me had grown from a small and humble ember to that of a raging inferno that had grown nearly unquenchable. But I was suddenly freed from those flames when Princess Celestia saved me from the cruel clutches of the streets. I was fed, clothed, taught and more importantly, loved.

Months blew past in the blink of an eye and my mother was permitted access to the castle. As she came to receive me, she had managed to show me that nothing had changed in my absence. The only thing that changed was the amount of food the held in her stores, and that was shown to be a constant decrease over the years. We argued and fought about how much she needed to change if we were to get along, and the only answer she had in that was to mount me in my sleep. My own mother sought to take advantage of me as I slept.

As I awoke to the unholy horror of my mother moaning as she rode on top of me, I pushed her off and tried to release myself from the chains she placed me into. Yet while she continued to monologue on how she was going to continue to help herself to me and how the princess would be unable to stop her, my mentor did such as she set me free from my bonds. As I was freed, the princess gave me a choice between her and my mother, and upon finding out that my mother had long sought me dead, I chose to remain with the princess as her most loyal and faithful student.

Thus in that short amount of time, I became her student, her legal nephew and her own metaphorical child. For many years, I studied under her wings and took in much knowledge from my lessons and would ultimately prove to be a far better scholar than many other colts my age. I traveled with her in most of her journeys. I accompanied her in many of her assignments. I even protected her as her personal guard. The status of my apprenticeship proved to be of a great asset to my own social development.

...But my title as her student would not go unchallenged. For there were others, nobles and their sons more specifically, who sought to replace me out of spite. But I resisted their attacks and their assaults, proving to be a far better opponent than what they had originally perceived.

There was much bloodshed. And one encounter as such was with that of an extremist noble who sought to destroy the society we lived in for a ponies' republic. As I had crossed through the forest of Foal Mountain, our convoy that escorted a decoy of Princess Celestia was under attack by a renegade group. Though I fought bravely, their skill with magic combined with the sheer numbers they brought was more than enough to subdue our party. I was captured as they killed off the remaining guards. I was alone, in a wilderness that was unfamiliar to me. And as I attempted to escape...

...I was knocked unconscious.

August 6th, 903 C.D.V.
Location Unknown
97 years ago...

My eyes opened to see a red-tinted haze closed over my left eye. Apparently, it would seem as if I was knocked unconscious and my eye was covered in blood. While my mind tried it's best to piece together what was going on, my vision slowly returned to me. As I took the time to observe my surroundings, I realized that I was in a holding cell of some sort. And much to my discomfort, I had been chained to a wall.

A sharp, throbbing pain filled my head as my mind had finally registered what all had happened to me in the time of my being unconscious. The last details I remember were the sounds of my fellow guards screaming as they were silenced by the sound of a blade striking their necks. I could still trace out the blood of the guards who's heads were placed in an adjacent pile separate from that of the bodies. I remembered the horrible expressions that they still wore on their faces. Some of them were mortified that their deaths were to come so suddenly. Others wore a blank yet macarbe expression, accepting to the fact that their duties carried them as far to that day. And most unfortunately for the second-to-last one that was executed, his eyes were still blinking, giving notice that he still yet live... but not for long.

As I saw my fellow guard blinking before me as his head was toted like some makeshift morning star, I felt fear rising inside of me. I didn't want to face a fate so ill-begotten. I wanted to leave this world, under my terms. Though my body was greatly weakened by the magical performance that I managed to provide in my defense, I knew that I could still manage to escape if I gave it my best efforts to do so. I waited for the right time to strike, patiently waiting as the fear in my heart drove me to escape from my captors. My instincts told me when to make a run for it. As I waited, the madness of watching my comrades in arms getting their heads lopped off like bloodied logs of wood instilled in me a dire longing to make myself scarce.

Before my eyes, as they walked me away, I saw yet another one of my fellow guards being sentenced to death. As his pleas of mercy went unanswered, I heard the words of the executioner. He screamed 'revolution at last' before driving the blade into his victims neck. As his blade sank into the flesh of the victim, the executioner noticed a fatal flaw: the head failed to separate. As he struggled to pull the blade out of my comrade's neck, others stood around him and chortled at the effort the executioner placed in freeing his weapon. Not too long after, he released the blade and struck two more times before finally getting a partial separation. As he gave his blade a final swing into the chopping block, he kicked the blade further in with a hoof, messily separating the head from the body.

In the instant his hoof came down to separate the head from the body, my forehooves met with the faces of those who held me. Upon setting myself free, I ran off to escape the dark evergreen clutches of the forest. But before I could escape, I felt a figure trip me from behind. And as I tried to look back, a sharp blow to the back of my neck caused me to fall limp on the ground below. The world seemed to blink in a white light and suddenly go dark as all sense of time escaped me.

As of now, I remain in a craggy room in some unknown location. I cannot begin to think of where I am, let alone how to get out and return to Canterlot. And just as soon as I mentally mentioned Canterlot, a stallion enters the room. His appearance is that of a slender build, a square jaw, black mane and brown eyes. He was a pale-cream colored stallion with a cutie mark of a red quill. Almost instantly, I knew exactly who it was. One of the nobles that continued to speak against Celestia for the sake of her being of royal blood. He hated her specifically for the fact that she was one who ruled over the ponies and not the ponies becoming the governing figures. Yet his methods were extreme in nature. His accent was that of a thick Prussian dialect.

His name: Vladimir Trotovich (trō•tō•vēch)

"I see that the bourgeoisie filth has managed to set hoof on soil outside of the comfort of his ivory towers." He said in a low, crackly voice.

"I see that the parliament hasn't been so generous with your outlandish requests." I retorted.

He slowly walked over to me as he spoke. I glared at him as he continued his approach. "Indeed. They are simple demands. Allow the ignorant Celestia to abdicate the throne in exchange of a new form of government. Yet they cannot seem to get past the fact that she would have to surrender her position as princess."

"I don't blame them! For you to violently take what was never yours to begin with is an absurd idea."

He stopped short of my face, or rather as far as my bite could reach. I would normally resort to using my magic, but seeing that there's a sealing ring placed on my horn, that option is no longer available to me. "So you may think, Chief Warrant Officer Patrikios. But I can easily tell that you are in this to gain a position in power yourself. That is why you cannot seem to understand what I am fighting for, because you are so busy kissing up to that mongrel. You remain a lapdog to that 'princess' while all you're doing is sacrificing your very dignity."

"I find that my interests with the princess differs far from that of your own description, Trotovich. I am not some mutt to be summoned by it's master at will. She is-"

"Your mentor? Your mother? Your love interest? You nobles are all the same."

I could feel the anger boiling in my veins as I watched him spit on me. "I am not a noble! I earned my keep while all you do is sign paperwork."

He scoffed at my statement, making me even more enraged. "So you think... yet the other stallions that traveled with you would seem to disagree. They now know the price of what they do. To serve under her wing is to serve an entity that doesn't even exist. Or better yet, an entity who serves only itself."

"Princess Celestia is a just ruler." I defended. She truly was one who passed judgement accordingly. Though there was the mutual respect that we shared as student and mentor.

"That coming from the lapdog who chooses to soak up her so-called wisdom like water to sponge."

I lunged at him, held back by the rattling chains that prevented me from getting a good bite out of him. "You will pay for what you did to my comrades!"

"No... you will pay. And as you are paying your tribute, I will continue to set my sights on Celestia... Oh and in speaking of which, tell me why she would send somepony to take her place over herself going?"

"I advised it for concern over her safety. And you have done nothing but prove me right in my judgement."

As I explained my reasons, he threw a severed head of the mare who was assigned to be the princess' double in times of trouble. As I watched the lifeless face land before me, I could see him walking over to pick up the mare. As her empty expression seared into my mind like the others, he violently shook her as he spoke. "Then tell this lovely young lady how justified her death was. You look in her eyes as you explain to her why her life was so expendable."

"...Morning Vale." I whispered in silence. She was a beautiful mare that was very determined in her duty to serve Princess Celestia. Her resolve was a strong one that could even match up with that of her majesty's. But now she was dead, and it's all thanks to me.

"You can't even tell it to her face. She's dead and now you can't even say it to a severed head. You are pathetic."

After taking a moment of silence in her memory, I couldn't stand to look at the lifeless face any longer. I turned my head away from her and closed my eyes while I questioned the irrational stallion before me. "What will you do with me?"

"I won't do anything with you. But I do intend to use you as a bargaining chip since Celestia is so attached to you... Perhaps I will even pursue that of the sub-filth Mi Amore Cadenza."

I knew then that something erupted inside of me. Aside from Princess Celestia, she was the only mare that I took an interest in. And she was the only one that I could get close enough without any form of repercussion. I did love her, and to hear that harm would come to her set my blood aflame. I was past boiling now. "YOU WILL NOT HURT CADENZA!!!"

Trotovich laughed as he saw the anger in my eyes, the passion to protect her as well as Princess Celestia. He came as close as he could while staying outside of my reach. "Struck a nerve, I see. Very well, I will see to it that you will be granted a sight of her before her head comes off of her shoulders. I will make you witness the revolution with your own two eyes. You will watch as Celestia dies. You will weep, and then I will kill you."

"You son of a bitch!" I screamed at him, hoping that my words would cause some bodily harm. But as they were nothing but words, his body remained in one piece.

"But again, I will do nothing to you at this moment. Though my subordinates... they will hold themselves accountable for what they will do to you."

As he walked away, I called out to him as a means of him to explain what he meant by that statement. I had a general idea of what it meant, but if his orders are to torture me, then at the very least I can be prepared for what is to come. "Trotovich!"

"Sweet dreams... Olyssius Blueblood Patrikios. And remember that precious mare below you will be providing you with company."

August 8th, 903 C.D.V.

It would seem that everything that I managed to fear in a captive situation has managed to come true. I'm chained up to the wall of a cave in some Faust-forsaken land, at the mercy of three other stallions and all I can think about is the putrid smell of rotting flesh. Proceeding to kick me down, knocking me on the side of my head and taunting me on how powerless I am, the three burly stallions continued to remind me why I hated Trotovich the more. But just as soon as I thought to myself that this couldn't get any worse, they proceeded to do something that sent my lunch to the floor.

...If only I had eaten anything for the past two days, let alone lunch.

"Go on ahead mate! Give her a kiss!" One of the watchers said to me from my left as another magically held the rotting head before my face, taunting me with it.

"Look at those lips, eh? Nice and firm for ya!" Said the unicorn who held the remains of Morning Vale before my face. He stood directly in front of me.

"C'mon lad! She's good enough to look like the princess! Just pretend you're kissing her!" The final stallion mocked, screaming in my ear. He stood to my right.

I could only inch my face away from the rotting severed head that reeked of fish, fowl excrement and the everlasting tinge of death. As I moved to the left, the head would do so. As I tilted to the right, once again the head followed. I mentally imagined myself blasting these ugly, uncivilized, disrespectful, moral-deprived stallions in the face with a strong beam of concentrated energy. How dare they make a mockery to Morning Vale's memory. Their cruel taunts continued.

"Hey, since you love the princess so much, why not marry her!?" The first earth-pony watcher said as he held my head still. If I had anything left in my body, it certainly would've surely found it's escape by now.

The pegasus watcher to my right took a pose as if he was a licensed official and parodied the wedding scene as the unicorn in front of me held the remains of Morning Vale in front of me. "Not a bad idea. *ahem* Dearly beloved. Blah blah blah. Mushy stuff. Blah blah blah. More mushy stuff. Blah Blah Blah. Now I pronounce you mare and colt!"

"Kiss the bride!" Blurted out the unicorn as he pressed the rotting head against my lips.

The three stallions had a hearty laugh while I struggled to move as the earth-pony held my head still long enough for me to taste the repulsive taint of decomposed flesh. As the stallion released me from his strong grips, I coughed and gagged at the mere thought of having to remove my lips from the disgusting filth that curse me. The strong taste of death sent me reeling to evacuate what was left inside of my colon. I am truly sorry, Morning Vale.

"So how's the newly-wed couple going to spend their honeymoon?" The unicorn watcher asked as he removed the head from the clutches of his magic.

I gave my answer in the one way I knew he would truly be offended; I spat at him, making sure that it landed squarely on his face. As the glob of my saliva covered in the trace amounts of vomit, blood and rotting flesh teared down his face, he and the other three looked at him with dumbfounded expressions as he slowly reached to his face and wiped off the offending slime. He stared at me as his breaths grew deep and forceful, indicating his indignation for me.

"Did... you just... spit at me?" He asked as he held the slob-drenched hoof in my face.

"I gave you an answer. Our answer." I said proudly as I knew Morning Vale would respond the same way if she was in my position. In her memory, I would defy these brutes until the bitter end.

"You son of a BITCH!" He screamed as his hoof made contact with the side of my head, sending me to the ground. "You fucking cunt! I'll tear you to shreds."

"Easy now! We can't get our rewards if he's dead. Remember that our orders were to do what we can to see that he lives long enough to see Celestia get executed." The pegasus watcher said to the angry unicorn.

"Just that much? So we can get close to killing him?" The unicorn asked.

"Hell, we can defile the bastard further than this. Just so long as he doesn't turn over." The earth-pony said as he kicked me in the stomach.

The unicorn slowly turned his head to me as he spoke. "Right... In that case... We'll be needing to make sure he's properly fed. But in order to do that, we'll have to make sure he's willing to participate. Hey Quake, hold him down for me, will ya?"

"Will do, Warlock." The earth-pony answered. At least I know the names of two of three of the watchers here. But my comfort, or little left of it, was compromised as soon as I saw what Warlock had in store.

"Hey, Gust," Okay that makes all three. "Ya got that knife on ya?"

The pegasus pulled out a long blade and gave it to the unicorn watcher before me, as he walked over to my right hind leg. I knew this wasn't going to be good. "Always. Good for shushing the screamers. What do you want with it?"

"Making sure that the bastard can't kick me." He said as he jammed the blade into my leg and twisting it.

I let loose a painful scream as the blade pierced my leg and barely scraping the bone. He tried to avoid my bone as the marrow entering my bloodstream would cause me to get sick and eventually die. Fortunately for me, the throbbing pain of the wound grew numb in seconds as it managed to tickle a nerve. As he drew the reddened knife back from my hind leg, he proceeded to do the same thing with my other leg. Second verse, same as the first.

As he finished, Quake pulled my lower half from under me and left my stomach exposed to the stale air. Warlock levitated the dripping blade on top of my abdomen as I looked on in a daze, recovering from the pain of being wounded. Then that's where I saw it. He stood above me with a large smile on his face, making me feel as if I was a tiny insect compared to his titanic form. His teeth gleamed brightly as he revealed yet another instrument of torture down below.

"You're going to stay down there like the good little filly you are and take what we give ya!" He said to me as he adjusted himself on top of me. I tried to look away, but his magic grasped my head and forced my eyes open as he quickly lined himself to enter into me. He whispered as I felt him thrust inside of me, painfully stretching my insides while he whispered into my ears his pleasured sighs.

"Yes... Just like a little bitch."

Twenty Minutes Later...

The three stallions each had their way with me as they all took their turns violating me, while beating me senseless. With each thrust, they told how useless I was. With each punch, the showed me how weak I was. And with each passing moment, I felt myself growing weaker and weaker to their advances. Even my own body has begun to betray me. As I was forced to watch the faces of the stallions above me twist and contort in pleasure, my own stallionhood throbbed in response.

I did not want this.

"Ngh... You... Fucking... Cunt... Weak... Little... Shit..."

I watched as Quake eagerly filled my anal passage with more and more of his precum-lubricated meat. My own erection pulsed with each time he entered. His jaw fell as his body shifted upwards, crashing his hips into mine. I grunted as my unwanted pleasure started to exceed my mental resistance, my cock inched across my stomach. My disgruntled cries for them to stop were silenced by another stallion forcing his length down my throat.

"Look on the bright side. Your mouth is tighter than many of the other little mares we fucked shitless." The pegasus said as he continued to force my head to bob his hard member down my aching throat.

I cannot lie, as twenty minutes of the same song and dance would have you grow rather immune to the pain. But for some odd reason, it started to feel comfortable. Yes I hated it, but it started to feel good to me. I cursed myself for what I was feeling, as I knew that with a little more of this, the evidence of my enjoyment would start to make itself known. The pegasus that invaded my oral passages started to thrust faster, signaling his impending climax. I knew this because he was at it for a full fifteen minutes. But before he would be granted an opportunity to finish, I felt a magical aura pull my head off of the stallionhood of Gust and force me onto the dripping mast of Warlock.

I hated him the most. He knew that his friend was close and opted to give me a change in meat preferences. With a powerful grunt, he forced himself as deep as he could inside of my throat as my muzzle hit the base of him, being tickled by the fur of his underbelly. He held me there long enough for my body to register that I needed to breathe. I started to push against him, but his magic held my hooves down. I tried to arc my neck away from him, but the strength of his hooves was far too great for me to overcome. His smile grazed into my very soul as he knew that I was at the mercy of him. I looked up to him with pleading eyes, begging him to let me breathe. His response was a cruel one, as he pulled out long enough for me to catch a bit of breath but also pushing his entire length back in, not giving me a chance to get ready.

As his hips flopped against my face, I felt my consciousness fade in and out as the oxygen in by body grew too little to operate with. And as I was about to fade from reality altogether, he retreated and allowed me to breathe once more. But before I could gain a good intake of air, he forced himself into my jaws once more.

"Remember that we decide your fate, noble." Warlock said as his own erection started to show signs of his release.

As I felt him retreat from my throat, I grunted out loud as I started to feel myself shudder. As the earth-pony stallion continued to thrust inside of me, I felt my hips push into his in response. I tried to tell myself to stop, but deep inside I knew that it was far too late. As he watched my stallionhood rise and fall against my stomach, he became the first recipient of my forced climax. Thick strands of white fluid erupted from inside of me, never ending for the first three seconds. My back arched as I grind my hips into the earth-pony stallion, causing him to release in response.

I tried to silence my cries, but with little to use I tightened the muscles of my throat and threw my head against the intruder who was the first to defile me. I watched him lurch over as the tip of his cock flared in my throat, making me swallow the loads he had to offer. The pegasus then ripped me away from Warlock and pulled my head back as he unleashed a hot thick load on my face. With each strand that landed on my face, I felt a wave of relief fill the room. The stallion who once filled me from below withdrew himself as he panted, satisfied at his work as he watched the white-cream enema he gave to me filter out from my puckered hole.

Almost instantly, I was reminded of what all had happened as the salty semen started to seep into my wounds, causing a most unpleasant sting. The three stallions stood around me as I fell, neurotically jerking in off-time. The watchers giggled and smiled as they completed their 'feeding'. Turning around to make their way to the door, they complimented each other on the job well done.

Meanwhile I remained on the floor, tears streaming down my face in shame.

How could I possibly enjoy that?

August 9th, 903 C.D.V.

From the late evening of yesterday to the early morning hours of today, I have gnawed and chewed at the bolt that held my forelegs chained to the wall. The taste of copper filled my mouth as I nipped and ripped away at the bolt. Needless to say that the taste that filled my mouth was not from the metal itself, but rather from the blood of my cracked teeth. A small price to pay as I kept in mind that the medical magic back at Canterlot would be more than enough to repair any damage. With a final nip, I managed to loosen the bolt that locked my forelegs to the chains enough for me to give it a pull. And pull I did, straining silently as I tried my best not to get caught. Almost there... Got it.

Success.

With a foreleg free, that would mean that all I had to do was simply pull the bolt out of my leg. With one good tug, I was now freed from the chains that held me to the wall. As I felt for a ring latched to my horn, I pulled with all my might. Eventually I managed to free up my horn with little damage. I would have to celebrate my new-found freedom later, as I was still in the cell. So I needed a distraction to cause the watcher outside to open the door. And feigning sickness would be a logical solution, seeing that they wouldn't want me to get sick and die. I couldn't wait till the daybreak, as there would be too many to fight through. I had to take action then and there.

After about fifteen minutes of sounding like I had a large frog caught in my throat and inducing myself to vomit, I managed to get the watcher to open the door. The plan was simple really. Guard opens door, I kill guard, I find my way out of here and kill those who would see me, flee to Canterlot and inform the princess of the immediate threat to her and Cadance. Simple, easy and effective... on paper. Though the first phase was already finished by the time the guard opened the door and beheld me with a look of complete horror. And to my highest pleasure, it was Warlock who opened the door.

"What the-"

I didn't even give him the chance to finish. "Good morning."

And with a final blast that ripped through his body and through some of the rock behind him, he stood without the top half of his body for a second before falling to the ground lifeless. I ran out into the hall, still feeling some of the damage to my hind legs, and looked both ways and found that the hall was rather small. Not to mention there was already a breaking beam of moonlight that shined through the hole I made blasting Warlock into the next life.

Concentrating my magic, I let loose a powerful beam that tore through the rock and immediately switched to levitation magic before all of the rocks could hit the ground. As I silently laid the rocks down, I looked at the lifeless, half-melted body of the unicorn and scoffed before limping away. "Oh... and goodnight."

I carefully made my way past all the major checkpoints and into the heavy bushes as their patrols came by. I waited for them to move on to another area before I made my way down the forest path. As I walked, I walked by a foul smelling patch. Immediately, I knew what was the source of the putrid stench. My heart grew heavy, for I quietly bowed my head and said a quick prayer in honor of my fellow guards who were slain in duty. Looking both ways, I carried on.

Later, there was a small patrol in front of me. It was obvious that they were posted there for lookout, which meant that they weren't going anywhere. But luckily in my case, there were only two of them. That meant I had to quickly wipe them out, quickly, quietly and at the same time. Flaring up my magic, I slowly drew their blades from their sheaths. They stared at each other confused before I tugged the blades out and sliced their necks wide open, preventing them from screaming. As I ran from the cover of the bushes, I finished the job by plunging their blades into their skulls and dragging the bodies out of the forest path. Though the blood stained the ground below, it would be far too long before the others would even notice what exactly went wrong.

"Over here! The prisoner has escaped!"

Or maybe not. I can only hope that my hind legs will be able to hold out long enough for me to make my escape.

I ran through the forest and was stopped a number of times by a watcher or two. Though I made quick work of them and carried on with my escape attempt. I wasn't too far from the outside boundaries of the forest, as the vegetation started to thin out a bit. As I looked up to the sky, I could see the color that was once pitch black transition to a royal blue. The dawn was approaching and I was running out of time.

Finally making it to the outer borders of the Foal Mountain Forest, I ran across a rickety bridge that ran across a deep fjord. But as I ran, I was ambushed by three watchers that were quite magically skilled. I made my way to the bridge as the other three followed me with crossbows in hoof. I erected a shield over my body as I ran in order to prevent myself from being hit by a stray bolt. I could hear the three shouting out to possible others that I was here. But I had no time to deal with the three I had chasing me. That said, an entire army hunting me down would be the worst of my worries.

As I came close to the end of the bridge, I was stopped by yet another watcher. He held a sword as he galloped towards me. I quickly took down my shield and blasted him with a stun bolt and levitated his sword next to me and his body above me in order to take any incoming arrows. When I finally reached the end of the bridge, I used the sword to cut the ropes that held the bridge upright, causing the three unicorn watchers that tailed me to fall into the river below. I also took that time to rid myself of the body.

As I ran across the Saddle Plains, west of Matterhorn Mountain, home to Canterlot, I dashed across the open fields and ran past endless waives of grain. I looked to my left as I watched the wind blow past the amber and green waves of vegetation. My eyes darted right to see nothing but the same. The sun trailed behind me as it rose high into the sky. I knew that Princess Celestia was rather busy with her duties to come and assist me for the time being. But with the sounds of nothing but the wind brushing against my ears and the sound of the grain crashing against each other, I felt safe... for now.

The craggy mountains of the Matterhorn stood in front of me, telling me that I was so close to home now. I couldn't give up now. I had to keep running. But just as the massive mountain came into view, my hind legs that carried me from the horrors of my prison, faltered and gave under the weight of so much travel. I fell to the ground in a stumbling mess. My hooves flailed lifelessly as I tumbled in the dirt and rock, landing finally before the entrance of a cave.

I lied there for a moment. I took the time to think about what all had happened and what I had to endure. I was starving, I was wounded, my comrades and the decoy were all dead, my hind legs gave out and now I was probably being pursued by the pack of watchers that did all they could to capture me alive. But there was no way I would go back to that. But at the same time, I couldn't exactly carry on. My body was weak from lack of nourishment and fatigue. At the very least, I seemed to have lost them.

Yes... I did seem to lose them.

I haven't seen tail nor trace of them since my crossing of the fjord. I didn't have to worry about killing off any more of them. I was definitely safe now. My head fell to the ground as I panted out of exhaustion. My stomach twisted and turned, telling me that I needed something to eat. My throbbing legs insisted that I had ran for long enough. My eyelids grew heavy, telling me that I could rest. My consciousness faded to black, telling me that my journey was over. It was time for me to rest.

Rest. I suppose that sounds nice right about now.

Canterlot Royal Infirmary
August 12th, 903 C.D.V.

I awoke in a rather comfortable bed in a bright room. I saw that there were many roses and letters placed on my bedside by a number of ponies. Some from well-wishers, some from my fellow guards, some from a few nobles in order to kiss up to the princess, some from Cadenza and some from my mentor, Princess Celestia. As I raised my head to see what the letters said, I took notice of a mare who rested on top of me. She stirred as she awoke from her slumber and faced me with worried eyes.

"Oh... Blue. You're finally awake. That's good news."

"Cadenza?" I asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Princess Celestia actually asked me to check in on you from time to time. She's been worried sick over you."

I stretched out my hooves and found myself hooked to an IV. The line carried blood that was not my own.

"Who-"

"The princess ordered that there were to be knights who carried your blood type to donate. You were in pretty bad shape."

"How bad?" I asked out of curiosity.

"The guard patrol found you on the side of the mountain unconscious. You were out for a few days. And from what I was told, you had a series of lacerations, some stab wounds, some bruises and you were malnourished. I can't tell you how bad Princess Celestia been when it came to you."

"How bad was that?"

"Long story short, she was the one who never left your bedside. She had me here because she wanted somepony she could trust to watch over you while she had her meeting in the Grand Hall."

I thought to myself that there wasn't supposed to be a meeting until later in the week. It was obvious from that minor detail that I was not exactly with the time. "What day is it?"

"August twelfth."

Today was the day she was scheduled to have a meeting on behalf of the nobles in charge of the international trade. It's been three days since my escape took place. "So I haven't been out for too long."

"Thankfully no. But the princess has been waiting for you to wake up and submit your report. And judging on who all didn't come back, it doesn't sound like it's going to be a good one."

My mind went back to what all that I've seen and experienced. I couldn't tell Cadenza what all had happened. "That much is true."

"Also, for safety purposes, the princess has ordered you not to leave the palace until otherwise given orders to do so." She added.

"Okay. Well I'm awake. Get me out of here so I can submit my report."

"I can't leave either. Strict orders from the princess."

"Then I'll go."

"You can't just leave without checking you out."

"Then call a nurse. I'm pretty sure she will understand the importance of my report."

"Not over the importance of your health."

I started to get a little annoyed at Cadenza for providing a long streams of reasons on why I couldn't check out of the infirmary. "You can convince her to release me while she's here."

Cadenza sighed as she tried to keep me in bed. "Is it that important?"

"Cadenza, I have to do this for the future of the Equestria we've come to know and love. If I don't submit this report, then we could have a very bad conflict take place."

"How bad?"

I wish that she didn't ask me that. "Civil War."

And now things started to get even more tense now that the news was in the air. Cadenza stared at me with shock and disbelief. I could tell that she wanted for the words that left my mouth to be a lie, but judging from the wounds that they found me with, there was no denying it.

"...I'll call a nurse."

I entered into the Grand Hall later that afternoon. As I walked inside, many of the guests and traders had gasped openly as I made my appearance. But there was one who gasped more so than the others. At the end of the table was a more-than-surprised Princess Celestia. It was definitely obvious that she took much joy in my arrival, though some of those in attendance didn't exactly share her enthusiasm. As the silence of the room grew deafening, my mentor was the first to speak.

"Captain, please escort these ponies out. Our meeting has been called to a thirty minute recess."

The princess looked at me and held a calm expression on her face as the other ponies took their leave. The Grand Hall grew silent with nothing more than the echoes of my hooves clopping against the red carpet. Suddenly, I heard the familiar snap that resembled a pair of wings being unfolded to take flight. As I looked up to the throne, my mentor was no longer there. Instead she swooped in from above and passionately wrapped her hooves around me with tears cascading down her cheeks.

"Blueblood, my dearest child."

I had to admit that hearing her call me that was most unsettling, but the warm embrace she gave to me was more than enough to make up for it. Her hooves held me close to her body. Her wings cocooned me and her together. The heat radiated from her body and onto mine as she nuzzled me roughly, yet lovingly.

"I have worried so much about you, my dear. I saw the condition you were in and I couldn't bear to keep my composure as I saw you leave for the medical ward. I can't lose you like that, do you understand me!?"

I could hear the distress in her voice as she started to think about the way she found me. I knew that she wanted this moment, but I had some important news to discuss with her. But instead, I chose to allow her a moment with me. I didn't want her to constantly bring herself back to those moments. Hell, I didn't want to even remember what all I had to go through for the time being. I just wanted to feel at home.

Ten minutes have gone by and I was now laid the ground, with the princess gently petting me as I tried to get her attention. Though she was motherly, it tended to be a little over the top. I suppose that's what happens when you raise a foal and you perceive it to be your own child for so long.

"Princess, if I may."

"Do what, dear?"

"Give my report."

Her hoof, that once gently stroke my neck, stopped dead in it's tracks. She apparently didn't want to discuss that for the time being. But she had no other choice. This was important.

"Can it wait a little longer, my dear?"

"Princess, please." I begged.

"...Okay. What is your report?"

I cleared my throat before I made a summary of what was going on. As soon as I was ready, I started to give the account of what had happened in the time of my absence from the palace.

"We traveled to the Hollow Shades of Spargos to complete our agreement with the enchanted spices for the new school that will be opening in the city in the coming months. As we returned, we were ambushed by an anonymous party. They managed to-"

"Hold you as hostage." My mentor finished, causing me to rise from the ground.

"How did you know?" I asked, causing her to dismay.

"I received a letter of ransom. It said that I had to abdicate the throne in order for your life to be spared. I know not who exactly sent the letter-"

"Vladimir Trotovich."

Princess Celestia gives me a confused stare as she argues with herself over the name she heard me speak. "I beg your pardon?"

"Trotovich is starting some sort of resistance movement that seeks to destroy our current system of governance and in it's place, establish a socialist republic. That's not all. As soon as he gained power, he would execute everypony who stood in the way of bringing back the old regime. That means that he would kill me, Cadance and finally you." I finished.

My mentor looks to the windows nervously, more noticeably a window that had two alacorn figures combating an eldrich abomination. "I should have known. He and the other members of the parliament are so distant in opinions that he sticks out like a sore feather. I cannot believe that he would go to such extremes."

I slowly walked to her side and looked down as the face of the princess brought to me a bitter memory. "And... Morning Vale... I'm sorry."

The news of her decoy's death proved to be a painful loss as the princess took a moment of silence, tears falling to the floor. Goodness knows I hated to see her cry. "She did her duty as you did yours. Though it saddens me beyond belief that she's gone, I must carry on with my duties. Were there any others?"

Far too many to name one by one. "...The entire patrol. We were wiped out without a second thought. The only reason I remained alive was because he wanted to use me as a bargaining chip."

"I see... I will send letters to the families of those who have served bravely in their duties. They will be dearly missed."

I grabbed a hoof of hers, urgently getting her attention so that she could focus on the matter at hoof. "Your majesty, we must do something to stop him. If he carries on like this, he will continue to gain support and will eventually have a force strong enough to batter against the gates of Canterlot itself. We cannot risk a civil war."

"No... we can't. That means we will have to eliminate any threat to the peace and sanctity of all of Equestria." She said, agreeing with me. She wiped her tears and gave me a strong look of determination that said 'I will ensure that their lives were not in vain'. I knew that it was the look that meant she was going to have to do something she wasn't particularly too fond of. I wonder how many of these similar situations she had to give the order to in her lifetime.

"I agree. So what are my orders, your highness?" I asked giving her a salute.

"Your orders are to remain here."

I dropped my salute at the mere thought of being holed in the palace while others took the opportunity of taking this extremist under. It angered me that the princess would request that I would stay here, pampered while others would go and die in my stead. What did I do to deserve this punishment? "Princess! I... I cannot! I will not remain here. Allow me to do what I can to take him down."

"I can't let you get hurt again. You know how I feel when it comes to those closest to me being in harm's way." She said as she looked back to the stained glass window. What was so special about that window in particular that has her drawn to it so often? I doubt that I would find out in my lifetime. I refocused myself on current matters and argued with the princess.

"With all due respect princess, I will not stay here and allow others to do what I should have done as soon as I saw him."

She turned back to me, shifting her eyes in both directions before giving me her fullest attention. Her voice grew to a whisper. "He is a key member of the parliament. We cannot rush these things. It's not necessarily a matter of force, but of stealth. We would have to do this quietly."

"I have already came up with an operation." I quietly noted.

"So soon? You just got out of the infirmary."

"I can do this. Just give me a chance to see it through."

This was another reason why she couldn't turn me down. I was not only her subordinate, I was her student. In most cases, she would deny anypony's suggestion without a second thought and reconfirming her final thoughts. But we had a bond that surpassed the others. I was her student, and in many cases I offered to show her what I could do in a given situation. This was one situation that I could prove myself. And being that this was a test, she couldn't refuse my determination to take it. "...Okay. I trust you. But under no circumstances are you to get injured in your objective. Do I make myself clear?"

With a smirk, I bowed before her. "Crystal, your highness."

"Right... So what is this operation that you have planned?"

August 13th, 903 C.D.V.
Canterlot Keeping District
Outside the Trotovich Estate

The operation was simple: infiltrate the estate, kill all who dwelled within, kill any and all witnesses, dispose of the evidence, provide a cover story, leave alive those under the age of sixteen, take them to the palace to have their minds magically wiped, send them to the streets with a careful eye watching over them and if those who were spared showed signs of being fully aware of what all had happened this night, kill them when they become of age. A textbook estate-cleanse. Kill the family and those who were affiliated with them.

I knew that this was an order that my mentor deeply regretted signing, but it was one that I didn't mind filling out. At the very least the blood will actually be on my hooves and not hers, being that I was the one to create the order. The only changes in my prior draft was that of the 'age of sanctuary', meaning those under a specific age would be allowed to live. But nonetheless, a mission was a mission, and it had to be completed within a given time.

I made my way into position with that of Captain Morning Star. He signaled the other teams to get into position as I quietly took point. Looking both ways, I confirmed that there was no others around. Morning Star motioned to the pegasi team to start making their way into the courtyard of the estate. They were to patrol the area to see if there were any watchers on guard.

Minutes have gone by and they return saying that the courtyard was empty. Now that there was an empty courtyard, that means we could make our way onto the lawn and using the cover of darkness to make our way into the home. And just as easily we made it into the yard, we made it to the sides of the house without any problems. The captain and I start to get nervous. This was entirely too easy for a search-and-destroy mission.

Our party of about seventy-five have made our ways to the windows, sealed off the rear and front exits of the estate. We had a specialist party, apart of the entire seventy five, scouting for passageways below. The operation was almost ready to begin at this point. All we had to do was kick the door down. But if everything was this easy to begin with, then that means that a front door trap was already waiting for us. That meant that our only means of entry would have to be the windows. Our pegasi teams readied themselves to take the upper floors as the ground team got ready to take to the windows. We waited for the first signs of life before making our first strike. A light in the upstairs room shined brightly, signaling our start. With a deep breath, I blasted the nearest window and made my way inside.

It was to be expected that we would encounter some level of resistance upon entering, but for us to be caught off guard with a series of traps and an enormous amount of insurgents waiting for us inside was far too much. This was a carefully thought-out raid made entirely to catch them off their hooves and here they were, sitting down with the tea on the stove, biscuits on the table and the door wide open. There had to have been one conclusion: there was a spy among us.

The captain and I stood with disappointment weighed heavily on our hearts. It seems that the one who ratted us out was one of our very own royal guards, dressed in the uniform of the insurgents. He laid on the ground, dying from a stab wound that the captain managed to inflict. But we soon found his reason for his betrayal in his dying breaths.

"Naive... useless fools.... We can... control our... our own destiny.... The citizens... of the Lower-District... and the Slums... will benefit from... our sacrifice...."

Morning Star was the first to ask. "Why, Chauncey? Why would you betray us?"

"It's not you... I'm betraying.... I'm betraying... the future... we would suffer from...." He sputtered forth, blood escaping his lips as he struggled to breathe.

"What would that be?" I asked.

"A future with... that charlatan princess..."

I didn't even give him a chance to finish as I thrusted my own blade deep into the chest of the traitorous guard. There was no need to give him a trial for high-treason. Furthermore, he was an insurgent. His death was assured. His eyes never closed as he watch me plunge the blade deep into his chest. I was the last thing he saw as he released his final breath of air.

"That's motive enough." I grumbled, angry that he would insult my mentor so harshly.

As we rose from the body and carried on our mission, we finally ran into the stallion that would try to start a civil war. Trotovich held a long blade and a spear with the flag of his resistance movement covered in blood. He screamed as he charged for us.

"Useless fools! You are blinded by false promises of a brighter future for our brothers and sons! Why do you betray them!?"

"It is you who betray them!" I answered, levitating my sword in a defensive posture. "I do what I must to ensure that Equestria is a country ideal for those who choose to succeed. You say that you represent those who are of a lower privilege, but you only represent yourself!"

Our blades clashed as he swiped the spear back in an attempt to slash me with the smaller blade. "I will lead the citizens to a glorious future where our nation will stand proudly over the others! Can't you see what kind of power we already have!? We could easily destroy other nations and show them the true power that we have! But your ignorant ruler seeks to have a 'peace' crafted from fear of war! War is the only way that equine-kind could ever thrive!"

"Now you're contradiction your own statements!" I screamed at him, ripping the spear away with my magic. It was obvious that he was ill-prepared to fight a guard hoof-to-hoof. "You just said that our brothers and sons are promised to a brighter future, not a bitter end! Hatred and suffering is all that comes from war!"

"I never said that all of us will be strong enough to survive! There will be those who will die on the lines of duty! You should already know this! It is a necessary sacrifice!"

"SACRIFICE!? YOU DARE SPEAK TO ME ABOUT SACRIFICE!?" I shouted, angrily swinging my blade against his. His sword fell from his hooves and landed on the far side of the room. "I cannot even begin to tell you noble-filth what it means to sacrifice! My comrades from the mountains, they sacrificed their lives to protect the princess! Morning Vale, she sacrificed her life to ensure that the princess may yet live, knowing that it would be the end of her! You sacrifice the lives of others for your own twisted dreams! This is why I continue to hate you nobles! You're selfish and weak, you were raised in the comforts of high society and fed from a spoon of silver! You send the actual stallions and colts, who only wish to serve their country to their demise off of false promises and dreams founded on bars of sand!"

He backs away from my trembling blade as I lividly track him down to a wall. He speaks to me as he makes his cowardly retreat. "AND CELESTIA IS NO BETTER! YOU ONLY DEFEND HER BECAUSE YOU ARE INFATUATED WITH HER! YOUR ROMANCES END WITH NOTHING! YOU COULDN'T EVEN HAVE MI AMORE CADENZA AS A CONSOLATION PRIZE! And you speak to me about being selfish? Your vision is only clouded by yourself, the facade of a honorable guard who's only wish is to retain the life he has in order to continue his comfortable living. If I am selfish in my own persuits... then we are the same."

I inched the blade against his neck, hatred filtering my vision red with blood. I approach him while breathing heavily and offered to correct him. "Don't you call us one in the same. I know where my loyalties lie."

Trotovich chuckled as he grabbed the blade with his bare hooves. I merely stared in bewilderment of what he was doing. He was crazy. "Your loyalties lie only with yourself. Do svidaniya! (DAS•vee•DAN•ja)."

With a tug, he sank the blade into his neck and choked on the blood that spewed forth from his major arteries. He shook spasmodically for a few seconds before his body finally calmed itself into a few neurotic twitches. As me and the captain watched the light fade from his eyes, I reclaimed my sword and proceeded to clean it off with the flag before replacing it inside of my sheath.

"What was he going on about?" Morning Star asked me as he turned to the door.

"He knew that he was at his end, so why not take the easy way out? Coward." I said, spitting at the body.

"I suppose that makes sense. You know you're about to die, so why not hasten the process? And while you're at it, just start spouting some strange rhetoric about how your executioner is the same as you are."

"A foolish decision, indeed." I muttered silently as I held the spear-headed flag, looking at it and thinking about this resistance movement and how many lives it costed. The captain started to walk out the door as he spoke.

"Well... I suppose we should get started on the clean-up."

Ah yes. The clean up. Burn the home with the bodies inside. Grab our own and send them to the morgue. Those apart of the insurgence shall stay here and be cremated to ashes. The headlines will say that the home burned to the ground due to an accident with the cooks. All signs point to success. No need to tarry on about how this would work out. I nodded my head to the captain's suggestion. "I agree."

*Shlink*

"A....agk....Blue..blood... why?"

He stared at me with the eyes of a starving puppy that begged to be fed. His expression was mixed with sadness and confusion as he watched the flag soak red from his own blood. He stumbled to me and tried his best to reach for his sword, but I relieved him of his weapon using my magic to remove the blade from it's sheath. I allowed him to get close as the life started to fade from his body.

It was too bad. He was a damn good captain.

"But captain. I thought you said that it was time for the clean-up."

"You.... tra....." He didn't get a chance to finish as his body went limp in my hooves.

I couldn't let him live. He knew too much of what I was trying to do. I wanted to have the princess to myself. Often I would dream of having Celestia coo in my hooves and tell me how much I meant to her. It was comforting, it was marvelous. She was the first one I fell in love with. And she was the first one to show me love. I couldn't let her fall into the hooves of another stallion, lest he should face my wrath.

And Cadenza... well let's just say that she was a 'consolation prize', so to speak. If I couldn't woo the elder alacorn mare to my side, then it would be her that I would pursue. She would be the thing that I would use in placement of her. I knew that Celestia couldn't be replaced, but to gain the interests of the princess of love itself was to gain unlimited affection. I couldn't let this bumbling buffoon-of-an-insurgent take away my chance at life-long happiness. And I couldn't let the captain grow into suspicion. He would ruin all of my plans.

But now that those two were out of the way, I can carry on to my next phase of earning the princess' affection. I have already played the role of the honorable white-knight. Now it was my time to take the role as her prince.

Both figuratively... and literally.

I walked out of the room with the captain's body set upon my back. I tried my best to feign my grief at his loss, which didn't take much as I successfully managed to fool everypony, including the princess herself. As I made my way downstairs to the front lobby, I met up with the surviving group of guards with faux tears.

"Captain!" One of the guards screamed in seeing his lifeless body hang on my back. I held my head down and informed them of the 'terrible' news.

"Vladimir Trotovich is now dead, but alas, he took the life of the captain before he faced his end. I plunged my blade into the bastard's neck in remembrance of those who have died in this affair. Captain Morning Star shall be dearly missed. He was a fine guard."

One thing I had to hand to the regiment that was before me was that they knew how to put their duties before mourning. They shook off their sadness for later and made their reports. The family of Trotovich was with a young daughter at the age of thirteen. She was spared as the others were eliminated. Underground passages held large supply catches of weapons, ammunition for bows and slings, piles of armor, blueprints to the castle and maps of all of the caverns that hid deep below Canterlot. They also found cider and rum, to which they took for themselves. They captured those who tried to escape from underground and executed them on spot. The mission was a resounding success.

"Sir, you are in charge. What are your orders?" One of the guards asked as I stopped in front of them, placing the captain's body before them.

"Collect our dead and wounded. See to it that all of the bodies of those of the insurgence are placed here in the home. Torch the place, and start from the kitchen."

Since that night, I was heralded as a hero, the stallion who saved Equestria from imminent civil war. My plans were running quite smoothly. Even the funeral for the late captain had proved to be a stepping stone to my ascension. As time progressed, a matter of four days to be precise, the princess had officially given me a title: Prince Olysseus Blueblood Patrikios. Needless to say that I bore my new-found power with pride. As the days went by, I furthered my advances to her royal majesty.

But sadly, her stubbornness to see me as her own child and nothing further prevented me from getting close enough to become intimate. Even my most sensual touches had little to no effect on her. It was most disheartening. Though there was more to my plan, as my failure would bring up the possibility of another princess that I would be able to claim as my own.

...And yet I failed for a second time.

Years go by and I feel my anger boil to the point where I started to grow jealous of every stallion that grew close to Cadance. I even took it out on various others who served under me. I made it my sole duty to deprive her of those opportunities so that she may see what I had to offer. But now there was an additional incentive. Over the past few years, I learned of a spell that would hold back the hands of time from my image. The only setback was that I needed to engage in sexual activity in order to regress my age. Though it had a side effect on the other end, as it rapidly progressed the age of those whom I've bedded with. The first victim of my experiment was that of the young Trotovich mare that we managed to recover from the operation in the year's past. Thus brings me to the new initiative.

Cadance has managed to acquire something that I didn't have when she was crowned princess. Something called a 'full ascension', meaning that she was permitted to the attributes to all three of the pony-breeds, which included the commonly called 'alacorn' status. She would gain the use of magic and the ability to take to the sky and more importantly, the ability to retain her age.

If I was to bed with her, then I would continually be able to feed off of her and keep my current age. It wouldn't take long to obtain the 'full ascension' either. So I did what I could to center my resources so that I could make sure that this was to happen. I found ways to oust certain nobles and place others who would be loyal to me in power. I centered the very government around me, just so that I could have the unlimited resources to reinforce my operations to gain unlimited power.

Unlimited power and an undying youth... in my hooves. Nothing could be better.

It's good to be the prince.

Author's Note

Dear squeamish readers: I WARNED YOU TO SKIP THE PART THAT HAD THE REALLY NASTY STUFF.

So now that I managed to get grimdark fest out of the way for now, you can safely conclude what I meant by [reader's discretion is advised]. And as you can tell, Blue is a rather jealous soul. But if you think that he was only there for balancing the checkbook, then you were sorely mistaken. That is his current occupation, as his former was that of a guard to the crown.

Vladimir Trotovich is a shameless reference to that of Vladimir Makarov from the CoD series. I tried to make his personality line up with that of him and seem like an ultra-nationalist with the intention of starting a brand new government by overtaking Celestia.

But now you get an idea on why Blueblood is so evil.

ACT 2: The First (and Last) Dance

Friday, September 12th, 1000 C.D.V., 0 S.R.
Canterlot Palace
11:34 P.M.

hEll o'clock

Blueblood walked down the darkened halls of the palace as he made his way to his chambers. As he walked, he had the strange feeling as if he was being followed. He hurried his pace as he made his way to the room. The tall pillars of the hall cast long shadows that caused him to grow uncomfortable. The flickering candle he held was of no help in providing him a sense of security, as the shadows of the hall distorted with each gentle breeze. Looking behind him, he made sure as if he wasn't followed.

Blueblood knew that his life wasn't in danger, yet at the same time there was an unsettling air that went about came the night hours. He feared the shadows as they reminded him of the phantoms of past lives. Lives that he was responsible for. Usually in the day, he would wander the halls freely due to the abundance of guards posted at every sector. But as the night fell, the guards grew scarce, especially in his hall.

Still feeling as if he was being chased, he sped up his walk to a trot. The candle flickered as he made a left turn, to the hall his room was located. Blueblood continued his trot as he watched the shadows of the pillars stand tall above him and reach into the small globe of light. He was not much of using his magic for illumination. It only worsened his fear.

Finally reaching the end of the hall, he pulled out his keys and inserted the key to his room into the lock while he looked behind him, making sure he wasn't followed. He didn't hear hoofsteps make their way to him, but they were there. The ethereal sound of ambient hooves clopping down the halls haunted his imagination as he frantically jumbled the keys into the lock. The hoofsteps grew louder. He felt a chill run down his spine. Blueblood didn't want to be in that hall for very much longer. Before his fear completely drove him mad, the tumblers of the lock clicked, notifying him that the room was now open. He dashed inside before the sound of the hooves caught up with him.

As he slammed the door behind him, he held a hoof to his chest in relief that he finally made it back to his room. He walked over to the bed and sat the candle on the nightstand. Finally in the comfort of his own room, he released a held breath while he made his way over to his vanity. Relief soon embraced him as he sat before the large mirror. As he stared into the mirror, he noticed something that troubled him. He had a gray hair in his mane. As he looked down to the drawer to find his tweezers, a cool breeze swept his room. He looked up to see what it was, only to notice that his window was slightly cracked open. He shrugged it off and looked back to the mirror and levitated the tweezers to his mane. But before he started, something managed to catch his attention.

In his mirror, there was something amiss. Not the gray hair in his mane, but rather something in the background. He squinted his eyes and saw a strange figure on top of his bed. It appeared to be a red mare with a black mane and eerie yellow eyes, staring directly at him. Blueblood jumped at the sight and immediately turned around to see who was on his bed.

"Who goes there!?" He shouted to an empty bed. The sheets that appeared to be wrinkled from the mare sitting in his bed were not as they were in the reflection. Instead the bed was free of all discrepancies, smooth and wrinkle free. He figured it was his mind playing tricks on him and turned to the mirror. What he saw caused him to jump out of his chair and assume a position of attack. In the looking glass was the face of the same mare that laid on top of his bed, smiling a sinister grin at him.

"Oi... Look what we 'ave 'ere, me dearest son is scared of a little shadow."

"Who are you!?" Blueblood screamed at the face in the mirror.

"Why Ollie, I'm offended. How could ye forget ye own mum? The one who raised ye an' gave ye a home to stay in for fourteen years." The mare said as she held a hoof out, pointing to the cowering prince.

"You... You're dead."

"Aye. Still am. And still smelling the scent of ye urine. Don't think I 'aven't noticed due to me current... disposition." She said, whispering the final word.

"Why are you here!?" Blueblood asked, flaring his horn full of magic.

"Well why not? I haven't 'eard word from ye in like, what, ninety-nine years?" She responded with a hoof to the chin.

"Leave me, be! I am not some child for you to induce to bed-wetting. I am strong and I am successful now. Go away." The prince commanded, causing the mare in the mirror to laugh.

"But I don't wanna. I wanna feel the bulging muscles of me own flesh 'n blood. Ye are truly me child, just look at ye. Proud, strong, resilient, independent, corruptible."

As a breeze gently caressed his body, the prince shook in fear that it was indeed his mother, haunting him from beyond the grave. He denied her statement, screaming back at her. "I AM NOTHING LIKE YOU!"

"Ye say that, but the fact of the matter is... ye more like ye own mum. Ye act like me. Ye walk like me. Ye even addicted to sex like me. Ye taken in so much from me..."

"Shut up. Shut. Up. Get out of my room. Get out of my mind. Get out of my life. I am free from you. Get. Out. Get. Out. Get out."

As Blueblood chanted his words to himself and shaking his head, she shrunk her size to where she could stand behind his reflection and whisper into his ear. The cool mountain breeze swept across his ears and took the shape of actual words. "And I couldn't be any prouder, my little Ollie."

"GET! OUT!"

He screamed, firing a bolt to the mirror. The glass shattered into multiple smaller fragments as he stood in front of his vanity, panting heavily and his heart beating nearly out of his chest. He was further startled as a knock sounded from his door, followed by a voice.

"Sir, we heard screams and noise. Is everything alright?"

Blueblood sighed as he realized that it was just one of his maids checking in on him. "Yes... just a spider. Foul beast took residence on my vanity, is all."

"Do you need anything, sir?" The mare asked through the door.

"I will need a new mirror come dawn. As for now, I require some much needed rest."

"Right then. Goodnight sir." She said as the sounds of hoofprints faded into the distance. Meanwhile, the mortified prince stared at his vanity mirror, or what was left of it. Looking at the fragments he thought of the well wish of the maid that just left the area. He stood alone, in his dark room, broken glass strewn across his floor.

"...Goodnight? What a joke."

The Evening of the Next Day...

"Your royal highness, how may I service you this evening?"

"Your presence is not required for this evening."

A maid stands in shock as she watches the prince prepare himself in front of his new mirror. She is left stupefied as the prince rejects her offer. "Sir?"

Blueblood continues to look into his mirror and fixes his collar, using the reflecting glass to look at her. "I plan to seek another to add to my harem. And I couldn't possibly find another that would be an interest for me besides one of the mares who would attend the Grand Galloping Gala."

"Oh. Well I hope that you find what you are looking for, your highness." The maid says bowing before him.

"Thank you. I couldn't carry on without your support." He lied as he started to tend to his mane, checking for any more gray hairs. "I suppose an evening off is in order."

"Well your highness... An evening off?" She asks, even more confused at his suggestion. Usually she would never be given an evening off so casually. Under most circumstances, she would find herself buried in the pillows of his bed while he had his way with her. Though she never complained too much, as her main duty was to relieve the prince physically. For him to grant her a night off was almost discouraging. She hasn't had a night off in nearly two years.

"Yes. Are you hard of hearing?" He asks.

"No sir. It's just that hearing you say that is rather... unexpected."

"I would say so."

As he continued to fix his mane and collar, she remained silent for many minutes waiting for him to finish. As he summoned her to polish his horn, she finally summoned the courage to speak once more. "Sir, one question. If your attempt to add yet another to the harem fails, wouldn't you be in need of company?"

Blueblood grew tired of the conversation as she started to scrub away at his horn. By the time she started to apply the wax, he corrected her on her statement. "My dear. I never fail at what I do. There is only setbacks, and that is all there is to it."

"Forgive me. So to say if there was a setback of some sort, would there be any need for me to... relieve you?"

Blueblood rose from his seat slowly and turned to the maid. She started to back away, fearing that she may have said something wrong. He ignites his horn to stop her dead in her place as he moves within mere inches of her. His voice grew to a hissing whisper. "Your attachment to me has become an issue. Am I to assume that you have forgotten your place?"

She pleads for him to consider mercy as she clarifies her statement. "No sir! Please! I'm just saying that I am here for your use whenever you so desire."

Releasing the mare from the clutches of his magic, he waived her off, dismissing her from his presence. "Very well then. You will know if I have found another."

As she made her way to the door, she calls back to the prince. "What am I to do to prepare the newest member to your harem, your majesty?"

"Leave your belongings at the door." He says harshly. The mare stops walking as she heard the statement that she tried so hard to avoid. She was being retired from her duties.

"But...sir."

Blueblood turned his cheeks to check for any blemishes and marks, his glistening coat freshly groomed to an ivory glow that rivaled that of Princess Celestia herself. "She will be replacing you. Your services will no longer be needed. Now I suggest you seek the comfort of one of the guards or something. I am certain that your set of skills will be most pleasing to them, considering that they never had a mare so adventurous."

"...Yes sir." She said, swallowing much of her anger at his disrespectful suggestion.

"Feel free to thank me at any time."

The maid looked at him with folded ears and started to feel sadness that he would consider her to be thankful for the years she sacrificed for him. Over time she found that her anger drove her into a different direction. "...no."

"Excuse me?" Said Blueblood, tilting his head and cutting an eye back to her.

As she opened the door, she felt a courage to tell the prince off then and there. But in doing so, she would end up stooping to his levels. Instead she decided to hit him with a moral blow. "No. I won't thank you for the sex, albeit great sex to boot. I will thank you, however, for letting me go free in search of a stallion who would at least appreciate what I have to offer."

The prince waived off her blow with one of his own. Only this time, he would hit low and fail to miss. "Though I'm afraid it isn't much by now, considering how many times I've used you on a daily basis. Are you even able to please another stallion with that loose set of lips?"

Hearing the words he spat forth so crudely sent her into silence. It took seconds before she was reduced to tears. Her heart ripped to shreds as her mind tried to process the damage that his argument may have caused to her self-esteem. It was true that she was used on a daily basis; up to five times a day on occasion. But to hear him announce it so openly and to add an insult to the injury was completely disheartening. Her words gradually found their way to her lips. "You... are... absolutely disgusting."

As she ran into the hall, she slammed the door as hard as she could. Blueblood sat in his chair unmoved and taking a listen to the loud weeping that took place as the ex-maid continued to gallop down the hall. He didn't care how long a mare served under him. He had much bigger fish to fry. He scoffed off her attempt at an insult and resumed his grooming.

"Indeed, I am. On to the next."

"Guards, attention."

The guards dressed in their usual protective gear as they lined up in front of their captain, who wore the same uniform to avoid any unwanted attention. The only difference in his uniform was that there was a purple star and a blue shield at the front of his chest plate. Meanwhile, the others stood as they awaited further orders.

"Our job is to ensure that the Grand Galloping Gala is a safe and secure event, free from all sources of possible harm. If there are ponies seen disturbing that cycle, I want them arrested on the spot. Is that understood?"

"Sir, yes sir!" The small squad of twenty called out in unison.

"Very good then. Fall out!"

As the guards made their way to their assigned posts, Azure and Poindexter stayed behind to speak with Shining Armor. Longshot was unable to attend due to him already scheduling a day with his family in Ponyville. It made Shining chuckle a bit because as he would leave for his family, Shining's younger sister made her way here from the same place his friend left to. Azure tapped Shining on the shoulder and asked quietly.

"Hey Shining, tell me again on why we're on duty when it's supposed to be our night off?"

Shining turned back to the unicorn guard and spoke low. "Because Blueblood's going to be in attendance, and with that fact, we should be expecting some sort of trouble."

Poindexter gave the captain a sly smile as he thought of a different reason that the captain would summon them both on their night off. "You think so? Are you sure it isn't the fact that your little sis will be here tonight?"

"Princess Celestia has already stated that her time will be devoted to Twily. So I don't have to worry too much. Besides, it's not like he's going to try and find some poor, unfortunate mare to add to his collection."

Azure twisted his lips as he remembered a rumor that was brought to him earlier during the day. "Um, I not so sure."

"Why you say that, Azure?" Shining asked.

"He just fired another one of his maids today."

Shining arced his head back in surprise as he heard the news. Poindexter asked the informant of the rumor on more details. "Which one?"

"The one that willingly sleeps with him everyday; the one they call Sweet Relief." He answered in a quiet tone, trying not to say the mare's name out loud.

Poindexter tapped his chin as he spoke about her. "I met her once before. She's a very nice mare too. Not to mention a little on the thick side, if you know what I mean. But I don't mind no weight."

"Poindexter, now is not the time to be thinking about which maid you're going for next." Shining scolded.

"Well sor-ry. Shit."

"I swear that you and Azure traded places since you two been in the guard."

"Hey, I didn't trade jack-shit!" Azure exclaimed, letting his ego do the talking for him. "Meaning that I'm preoccupied with the princess doesn't mean that I'm not the complete mare-oholic that I was since high school."

Poindexter giggled and shook his head. "Okay then. Riddle me this: when was the last time you stuck your dick in something? Hard mode: no magic or hooves."

"Shouldn't we be getting to our positions, Captain?" Azure asked as he tried to take the conversation into a different direction.

"HA! Trying to change the subject signifies that you are still trying to get to first base." Said Poindexter as Azure still tried to change the subject.

"My, aren't the fireworks pretty tonight?"

"Still avoiding me."

"Enough you two. Let's get to our posts. And that's an order." Shining commanded, breaking up the idle debate in favor of attending to their duties.

"Aye-aye, Captain." Poindexter saluted.

"Oui, Capitaine." Said Azure, performing the same gesture.

As the two turned away from the captain, they walked off still arguing with each other about how Azure hasn't been laid in months. Meanwhile, Shining Armor looked at the dying fireworks display in the night sky and though about his little sister.

"Twily, I hope... No, I pray that you don't just so happen to run into Blueblood while you're here. He's the type of rose whose petals are made of thorns. I don't want you to get pricked or I might have to pluck him out myself."

"Well this is most disappointing. All of these mares here and none of them have yet to catch my eye. I can't believe that there is nopony here who could catch me gazing at them. And besides, most of these other mares are either the rejects from last years Gala, some prude mares who want to talk gossip or the old mares seeking a stallion for a quick tumble in the hay. Disgusting." Blueblood thought to himself as he sat on the far end of the room, near the back entrance to the royal garden.

He moaned a quiet 'ho-hum' as he scanned the room. There was no mare that seemed to pique his interest, as many of them he saw once before. He wanted a new face that wasn't so familiar with him. He needed a mare that didn't know anything about him or heard any rumors of him. If they were to hear word of his activities, then it would make the process of breaking them a lot harder. But as soon as his eyes scrolled across the room, he saw something that caught his eye. Perhaps it was the dress that she wore or maybe even the beauty of her appearance in general, he knew then that she was what he had to have.

"And there she is, my next addition to the harem. Indeed this is going to be a treat."

The unicorn walked out with a stunning pink gown with gold trim and jeweled accents. She also wore a set of glass slippers. Indeed she was a face that was pleasing to him. She was also one that he had no recollection of seeing, not even through his common tours of the city. She was magnificent, brilliant. She was, indeed, an elusive jewel. Rarity had entered the room.

"Just look at that luxurious mane, those long, flowing curls, those impeccably polished hooves, that dress, those gleaming sapphire eyes, that perfectly-toned body, that... that... that derriere. Just look at her... she'll be a fine weeping mess when I'm done with her." He thought to himself while he gained the attention of the mare he sought to add to his collection.

"Hurry, Rarity... Oh, but not too fast. But don't wanna lose him... WAIT! Have to play it cool. Oh, but don't be cold!" Rarity whispered to herself as she pursued the grinning prince.

As she made her way across the room, he walked outside to the garden where none could see the interactions between the two of them. He knew that he had lured her from the beginning. In his mind, this was going to be easier than he thought. "Look at her carry herself like she has some sort of class. How amusing. She thinks that she's going to be all that. Well, fortunately I have ways of breaking her into realizing that she is nothing more than a filthy whorse. Come, my dear. Follow me into my web, allow me to feast upon you for this night, your night with the prince."

"I can't lose him, I can't! He's everything I imagined!" She scolded herself as she gave chase to the prince. As she made here way out to the garden, he stood before a rose bush that held some of the most beautiful roses in all of the land. He smiled as he watched the mare become lured by his charms.

"And now for my next trick, I will sweep this unicorn mare off of her hooves with my rather dashing good looks." He tossed his head as a gentle breeze swept his mane and looked at the beautiful young mare. "Well that random breeze was a nice touch. Now bite the rose." He said as he levitated a rose to his mouth and sank his teeth into the stem. Fortunately, the roses in the garden were already clipped of all of their thorns, making them easier to access. "Quirk the eyebrows a bit with a seductive smile..."

Rarity gasped at the stallion before her. She felt a rising heat come over her, nearly causing her to fall to the ground. But she kept in mind that her pursuit could be easily considered as a failure if she were to fall before him, risking an opportunity for another mare to have a chance at him. The stallion of her dreams stood before her, and she was not willing to risk what exceeded her expectations.
With a calmed demeanor, she made her way to the rose bush. "Even better than I imagined."

As he watch the mare walk over and sniff a rose, he praised himself for his success for the completion of the first phase of his plan. "Hooked, lined and sunk. Works every time. Now onto phase two; it's time for her to see who's really the one whom should be served. Once she gets that out of the way, we can move on to phase three: break her into a sex-crazed slut for my use only. But this can't be done in a single hour, oh no. Breaking mares into the harem is a tedious process that has to be done in small increments. Baby steps, Blueblood. Baby steps."

"Well, hello. I am Prince Blueblood." He said with a wide smile as he thought to himself. "But you may call me 'master'."

"I am... Rarity. Oh my, what a lovely rose." She responded as she eyed the rose, causing Blueblood to scoff at her subtle yet obvious gesture.

"She intends for me to give this rose to her? Pushing it already. But, of course it is high time for me to demonstrate who this rose truly belongs to."

"You mean... this rose?"He asked as he picked the rose and showed it to her. But soon after, he tore the leaves off and set it upon his collar, leaving the mare somewhat confused. "Thank you. It goes with my eyes."

"Oh...my. I...suppose it does." She mutters as she felt a little rejected from his actions. But she still remained optimistic that her stallion was still going to prove himself to be the one she long-since dreamed of. Meanwhile, Blueblood had different ideas for her in mind.

"That's right. You're in my camp now."

"Come get yer apple pies! Apple fritters fer sale! Ah'm certain that y'all would love sum of these here candied apples, straight from the sweet, sweet produce of Sweet Apple Acres!" As a salesmare stood in the center of the courtyard, the other patrons of the Gala made their way to the inside as a means to avoid talking with the solicitor. Applejack dipped her head and folded ears as she felt discouraged that nopony was buying anything. "Oh horseradish. They wouldn't take an interest in sumthin' that was sold by sum farmer filly."

"I beg to differ." A young male voice called out to her.

"Pardon?" The salesmare asked as she looked up to find a royal guard standing before her. An armor-clad, cream-colored earth-pony stallion with brown eyes stared directly at her with a bright smile set upon his face.

"I would like six apple fritters, please." Poindexter requested as he started to reach for his sack of bits.

"Well most certainly. That'll be twelve bits." Applejack said, feeling herself become uplifted by the sale. But she soon found herself wearing a scowl as she watched the stallion before her look for his source of payment.

"Uhh... I... Kinda don't have my sack on me."

Applejack raised an eyebrow and tapped her hoof behind the concession stand as she watched Poindexter give a weak smile. "...Uh-huh. And Ah'm supposed ta let ya hold on to these until ya get yer sack, right?"

Poindexter continued to smile as he tried to cover the damage of his embarrassing situation. "No! Not at all... But I did manage to get your attention."

"Not interested." Applejack said flatly, shooting down the stallion immediately in his poor attempt to woo her.

"What?"

"Ah'm gonna be honest with ya. Though Ah've dated colts before, Ah don't take a strong preference to stallions." She admitted, causing the guard to retreat.

"Oh. Sorry. Well do you mind holding my order while I go get my sack from the barracks? I promised my friend that I would treat him on the account of a bet." He asked while he turned around to make a quick dash to the other side of the palace grounds.

"Well hurry on up. Ah ain't got all night and these here fritters won't get any warmer."

"Thanks!"

Applejack kissed her teeth and rolled her eyes as she watch the stallion run off. "The nerve of some stallions, thinking that they could just walk up to a mare and seduce 'em into gettin' what the want. That's why Ah made a decision to swing my door both ways. At least Ah can still try to get her attention. But Ah can't seem to shake the feeling that she might not see me... Oh the hell with it. Ah ain't got time to be thinking about that now. Ah gotta make sum sales."

"...And I been making dresses ever since."

"Interesting." Blueblood lied, bored that Rarity would continue to be so long-winded on her story of how she became a fashionista. At the very least, he knew what else he could assign her to do. "Would you care to sit with me?"

"Why, I would be delighted!" Rarity exclaimed, jumping at the opportunity to speak with the prince in a more relaxed setting. Blueblood summons a waiter to send him a cushion while the young, elegant mare waited along side him. As the waiter arrived with a pillow, the prince took the pillow from him.

"Allow me." Blueblood spoke as he laid it across the ground.

As Rarity watched him place the pillow on the ground, she smiled as she thought that he was being chivalrous. Instead, the resulting play of 'chivalry' was done for him as he sat on the comfortable pillow. Rarity felt disheartened by the fact that he didn't cater to her before himself.

"This isn't at all what I imagined." Rarity mumbled to herself. Thought she chose to see this as a sort of test. Her optimism, though considerably reduced, held fast as she dismissed any means of foul play. "No! I've waited all of my life for this moment. And I'm not going to let it slip by. If it's the last thing I do, I'm going to make this the best night ever."

Blueblood chuckled as he overheard the words that left her. "Sure, you keep saying that. If you pass my little test, then you could consider it the best night ever or the worst night of your life. Either way, it doesn't matter to me at all. You are just an addition to my harem and nothing more. I hope you like fishnet stockings, because I can see you wearing that a whole lot more often."

"So Miss Rarity, is this your first time in Canterlot?" The prince asks.

"Goodness no. My father used to play hoofball for the Canterlot Chevaliers. He played up until the following season after his injury."

"Injury? What kind?"

"I know that he suffered from a broken leg from a rather rowdy player. I think his name was Southgale, Southwind or something."

The name Southwind rang a bell to the prince. Blueblood kept his outward composure calm and collected while his mind exploded with possibilites as he thought about the group of assassins he sent out to Shining Armor eight years back. "Wait a minute. This is MAGNUS' DAUGHTER? The legend of hoofball hall of fame? And if I'm to assume that she is a Belle, from Ponyville, her name being Rarity Belle, carrying resemblance to one of the mentioned names in one of our Harmony Meetings, then that means that her middle name should be Andalusia. Then connecting the dots would lead me to deduce... SHE'S A BEARER OF THE ELEMENT OF HARMONY, GENEROSITY TO BE SPECIFIC! Blueblood, you sly dog. You've landed one of the closest things to the grand prize. Oh, she will be a fine addition to the harem and an even more suitable mare to bed. Glad I got rid of the one I did earlier. This is a much better payoff. That means I have to make this quick. This is one reward I have to reap this instant."

"So my dear, do you wish to take a walk with me?"

"Of course."

Blueblood rose from his seat and ushered beautiful Rarity to the direction of the door to the inside of the ballroom. "Right this way, if you will."

"Yes."

As she started to make her way to the door, Blueblood walked beside her, whispering into her ear. "Can I tell you my most cherished desires?"

Rarity felt a blush grace her cheeks as the warm vapors of his breath fell upon her, becoming somewhat erotic to her. "If it isn't a problem."

"My desire from a mare is to serve me as I perform my royal duties. And as I perform them, I find myself in a peculiar mood to be generous to the mare whom assists me on a daily basis."

The beautiful, young mare felt a very small yet evident hint of her arousal work it's way to her lower body as her stomach filled with butterflies. "Well, sir prince, what would be your means of 'being generous'?"

"What I meant was to... *ahem* ...be of service to you."

Rarity secretly shifted her hind legs, not wanting herself to become enticed by the prince's words. She laughed nervously as she spoke. "Oh my dear. Um... do you mea-"

"Oh you know exactly what I mean." Blueblood whispered in her ear once more.

"Okay! Next subject!" Rarity interjected, trying to distract herself.

As the time went forward, she felt the small growth of her arousal become none-existent. She also grew uncomfortable with how he was acting. To her, this wasn't how he acted around eight years ago. Though she was discouraged, she still held hope for what was to be. "Just give him a chance, Rarity. His princely side is sure to come out if you're just patient."

"Miss Rarity, stop!" The prince yelled, holding her back from stepping into a puddle of muddy water.

"Oh Prince Blueblood, how chivalrous!" The unicorn mare said as she thought to herself. "I knew that he would pull through."

"One would hate to slip." Blueblood said in a low voice.

"Yes. One certainly would." Rarity agreed.

"One's cloak should take care of the problem." The prince added as he eyed the cloak on Rarity's dress.

"Oh of course it will." Rarity cosigned, unaware that the prince had actually meant her cloak.

The two stood still for what appeared to be hours as a gentle breeze blew by the two. Seconds later, Blueblood felt himself grow angry as he rolled his eyes and flared his horn with his magic. "Get a clue, you indigo-maned dunce!"

"What in the-" Rarity thought as the cloak she wore became enveloped in a golden aura and placed on the puddle. Blueblood finally walked past the puddle as he spoke to the now-angered mare.

"Thank you, Miss Rarity. Your assistance is greatly appreciated. Let us carry on, shall we?"

As Rarity picked up the soaked cloak and placed it back to her ensemble, she held her temper as started to realize that this wasn't the prince that she longed for. "And my optimism is now circling the drain. This couldn't the prince that I imagined, could he?"

As they finally made their way across the yard, they came across the door that lead to another part of the courtyard. Blueblood stood beside the door and looked to Rarity, who also stood next to the door opposite of him. Blueblood eyed her and the door, trying to give her a hint on what she was supposed to do. "Okay, open the door."

Rarity looked back at the prince and tilted her head to the door. "Ladies first? Why thank you. I am sure that you can open this door for me and we both can be on our way."

Blueblood returned her expression as a frown formed on his face. "Did you just... No... You open the door for me. I am the royal figure here."

Rarity started forcefully nodding her had to the door, emphasizing that he had to be the one to open the door. "Of for the love of Faust, CAN YOU NOT CATCH A CLUE? I am a lady and should be first. That is how my prince would treat me."

Blueblood felt offended that she would be so stubborned as he mentally cursed at her. "You... YOU POMPOUS BITCH! Fine Blueblood... Just give her a pout and watch her open the door for you. She'll be more than willing if she sees you're unwilling to carry on throughout the night with her."

While the prince shook his head and pouted, Rarity grew infuriated with the intolerable prince. "YOU ARE WORKING MY PATIENCE, PRINCE!!! And my optimism has circled further into the drain. I will oblige you one last time, but after this I will expect to be treated in a more respectable manner."

Rarity opened the door and allowed the arrogant prince to walk through before her. As she stood in the doorway, she felt the door push her forward as it slammed back on her flank. Blueblood watched her through the corner of his eye and wore a light smile as he saw the mare hit the ground with a grunt.

"It's good to be the prince."

"It's been a whole hour since mah first sale and it's been more than thirty minutes since that freeloader tried to talk me out of somethin'. Somethin' must be gettin' their interest for them not to see the appeal in mah home-baked goods."

Applejack stood at her kiosk, frustrated that she wasn't making any sells. She tapped at her kiosk seeming bored with the night so far when a voice called out to her.

"Hey!"

"Oh. You again." She said as a familiar guard trotted back to her.

"Couldn't find my sack in time, but I managed to scrape up some bits. So will two apple fritters do?"

"Ya got four bits on ya?"

"Yeah." The stallion said dumping the bits on the counter.

"Okay, then it's a sale." Applejack said as she gave the stallion two fritters.

"Thanks. I'm starved."

"Figures."

Before he took a bite out of one of the fritters, he asked the salespony a question. "So... what's a mare like you doing in a place like this?"

"Oh ya know... The Grand Galloping Gala." Applejack said as she tried to take inventory.

"You don't sound like you're from around here with that accent. Where are you from?"

"Little ol' town south of here. Ponyville. Pretty sure ya heard of it?"

The answer caught Poindexter by surprise as he answered the farm mare. "Oh! So you're one of the one Shining sent the tickets to."

"Beg pardon?" Applejack asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Me, Longshot, and the stallion I mentioned earlier chose not to go. So we sent in our tickets to see if Shining could get his little sister and five of her friends to come out tonight." Poindexter finished.

Applejack held a slight blush as she thought about the possibility of the stallion in front of her giving her his ticket to the Gala. "Oh... Well that's mighty thoughtful of y'all. Thanks fer the tickets. But I would like to ask somethin'."

"Ask away." Poindexter said as he bit into the fritter.

"SINCE WHEN DID TWILIGHT HAVE AN OLDER BROTHER!?" Applejack yelled, surprised that her friend had a brother and didn't bother telling her.

"Oh she didn't tell you that? I figure she would've. But if you want to know, his name is Shining Armor. He's not only a member of the Royal Guard, but he's also... oh shit."

Applejack felt offended that the guard cursed in front of her. She never was much to profanity, ever since her grandmother washed her mouth out with soap for a week. "Well ain't that rude. Mind fillin' me in on yer colorful language there?"

"BlueDouche is coming. I gotta go. You didn't see me here."

"But... Hey!" As the prince started to arrive at the kiosk, the guard ran to the opposite direction. As he ran, Applejack took notice that he paid her five bits rather than four. "Ya gave me one bit too many!"

Dismissing the colt, Applejack turned her attention to the mare and her date that stood in front of her.

"Two apple fritters, please." Rarity asked.

"Two apple fritters comin' right up. That'll be four bits." Applejack responded as Rarity turned to the prince.

"Ahem."

"Ahem." The prince verbated, trying to get Rarity to do it.

"A-hem!" Rarity emphasized as she tried to have her date do something chivalrous for the first time for the night.

"Ahem-ahem!" Blueblood said loudly as he threw her suggestion back at her.

"I'm going to have to pay, aren't I?" Rarity deadpanned with a frown on her face.

Blueblood smiled to himself as he watched the mare beside him try to take out her bit sack. "Look at that. We're learning. There may be hope for you yet."

Applejack denied her fried as she took out a tray of two fritters. "It's okay Rarity, Ah got ya covered."

While Blueblood blindly placed the food item in his mouth, Rarity whispered to her friend. "Thank you, Applejack. At least somepony here has good manners."

Just as Rarity finished her statement, Blueblood spat in disgust over what he was eating. "Fritters, dumplings caramel apples? My royal lips have touched common carnival fare!"

Applejack and Rarity looked at each other as the prince rudely walked off. "I'm going to the buffet for some... hors d'oeuvres."

As the annoyed mare took after her date for the evening, Applejack stood at her kiosk finally realizing that the ponies had no interest in what she had to offer. "Well, no wonder nopony wants mah food. They're fillin' up on those fancy-schmancy vittles. Well, mah down-home apples are plenty good enough fer this crowd. Ah'll just dress 'em up a bit and prove it to 'em."

Applejack started to move her kiosk when something got caught in the wheel. As she looked down, she saw a brown sack caught on her wheel with a note attached to it. When she pulled the note off, she accidentally knocked over the sack and saw that there were a bunch of bits lying across the grass. "What in tarnation?"

Applejack opened the letter and started to read to herself.

Don't quite know your name, but I noticed that you were soliciting food where they have snacks in the main hall. Don't get me wrong because your stuff is damn good, but I think ponies would prefer free over buy. I'm sorry you're not selling well, but to at least make it up I left this for you. It may not be that much, but just know that there as at least something to show for your time here in Canterlot. I hope your business will do well in the future.

~Poindexter

P.S.: Keep the change.

Applejack smiled warmly at the letter, seeing that the guard had no intentions to take advantage of her, but rather help her. She muttered to herself as she thought about the guard that left her the generous tip.

"Darn guard."

"Captain, the ball is secure. There are no interruptions aside from a pink mare trying to make everypony dance."

Shining sat at a table in a closed off room. He played a game of solitaire to himself as he spoke. "Is the mare hurting anyone?"

"No sir, just annoying them."

"Riiiiiight. Just another drunkard going all in. Let her have her fun. There's no need for concern."

"Copy that."

Five minutes later...

"Um sir, there seems to be a patron that refuses to leave Princess Celestia undisturbed." The guard said as he walked in to give his report.

Shining was now playing fifty-two pick-up after he seemingly flipped the table and brought the cards fluttering to the floor. "My little sister. Student of princess. Mentor-pupil stuff."

"So, old news?"

"Yup."

Five more minutes later...

"Sir, there's some unknown mare in the V.I.P. booth."

Shining once again sat at the reset table, this time magically holding a card as he tried to place it gently against another, building a house of cards. "Are there any complaints from the booked party?"

"No. According to them, she was invited."

"Groupie hanging with her idols. Next report." Shining said, annoyed that his concentration was being broken by the pegasus guard.

"Sir, are you alright?"

"Yes!" Shouted the captain, unintentionally sending the finished house tumbling into a pile of rubble. He sighed deeply and admitted to what was bothering him. "No. I'm bored out of my mind."

"Understandable, being in charge of security can be a boring job when there isn't much of a need for it."

Shining levitated the sloppy deck into the air and started to shuffle the cards. Shortly after, he placed a neat deck at the center of the table and invited the pegasus guard to sit. The guard obliged and sat in front of the captain and drew five cards. Shining pulled five as he answered his opponent. "Yes, but the princess is in attendance. So the security is very much appreciated. It is in our job description after all. Three's?"

The guard knock on the table, sending the captain to pull another card out of the deck. "Sir, something seems to bother you. Five's?"

Shining shot over the card he just drew and sighed. "Just bordom, Silverleaf. I could only wish that something would happen. Something interesting."

"But sir, I thought that simplicity and peace is what you strive for. Jack's?"

Shining knocked on the table, sending Silverleaf a signal to draw a card from the deck. "Yes, but it's a party. An over-glorified, over-financed, dress-up, no-fun-allowed party. It's disappointing to not find someone dancing with a lampshade on their head or some random colt dropping a really expensive vase in the process. Whatever happened to the parties we used to have? The ones where we had to lie to our parents and say that we were going over someone's house for a game night. The ones where we had to run from the police if they came to bust the party. The parties you didn't want your siblings to go to but they would find their way to anyways. Those are the parties that we had, not this fru-fru bullshit. Queen's?"

Silverleaf pulled a card out of his hoof and placed it on the table, leaving Shining to pick it up as he spoke. "Well it's fun to the older mares, to say the least."

"So being dragged in by some mare who's twenty-plus years older than you and fucking you into the drywall is fun? Ace's?"

Silverleaf gave his answer as he tapped the table. "Well... speaking from personal experience, it does have it's advantages."

Shining pulled a card but not before looking at the guard with a sickened expression. "...Ew."

"Too much?" Silverleaf asked as he watch the captain pull another card out of his possession and coupling it with the one he just drew.

"That should have been level-five classified material. Way too much."

Silverleaf looked at his hoof and thought about what suit to ask for next. "Sorry sir. I just thought-"

The door opened wide to reveal a third guard who seem to have something important to say. "SIR! We have a report of various wild animals filling the dance room. Apparently they were all chased in by some yellow pegasus mare wearing a green dress."

"Anything else?" Shining asked, finally feeling relieved that there was something worth his attention.

"Blueblood is covered in cake, thanks to a mare who... really let him have it."

The captain held his enthusiastic cheers as he gave his order. "And the party just got started for us. Let's move!"

As the captain walked into the hall, a group of guards walked beside him as he continued to issue out his orders. "Team one, take the ballroom and see that those animals are cleared out. Team two, your orders are to extract the princess from the fray. Team three, take the garden and make sure that all of the patrons have evacuated from outside so that the animals can relax. I'll take the main hall."

"YES, SIR!"

Three minutes earlier...

"You, sir, are the most uncharming prince I have ever met! In fact, the only thing royal about you is that you are a royal pain!"

Rarity angrily stared down a disgusted Blueblood after he used her as a shield from a flying cake that was the result of a particular pink pony performing a stage-dive into a desert cart. Meanwhile, the prince tried to avoid all contact with the enraged mare.

"Ewww! Stay back! I just had myself groomed!"

At that moment, Rarity felt everything in the world around her grow into a rumbling volcano and unleashed everything at the prince with just the sound of her voice. "AFRAID TO GET DIRTY!?"

The dirtied mare shook some of the cake residue off of her and onto the intolerable prince before her. Blueblood backed away as he received the frosting-fueled assault. Multiple chunks of the cake landed on him as he backed away from her, only to stumble on a large statue and causing to tilt.

A rainbow-maned pegasus flew over to prevent the large alacorn statue to land on the ground, but the weight proved too much for her to handle as she was sent wobbling into the decorative pillars. The ponies around the room watched as they all fell like dominoes and landing in a large pile of rubble. Soon after the dust cloud cleared, the statue that was on the cyan pegasus' back broke into multiple pieces.

Twilight and Princess Celestia entered the room and gasped as they saw the damaged that was caused. Twilight cringed as she whispered to herself. "Well... it can't get any worse."

And it got worse.

Suddenly, the doors to the garden busted wide open to a flood of fleeing wild animals, followed by a rather angry pegasus.

"You're... going to LOVE ME!!!"

As a disgruntled yellow pegasus with a tattered green dress and a disheveled mane broke through the doors, the animals she followed throughout the majority of the night fled to various areas of the ballroom, trying to take shelter from her. Twilight Sparkle, who stood next to her mentor, was even more confused as to what she should do for the time being.

"Run." Celestia whispered to her student.

As Twilight whistled for her friends, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash immediately ran over. Fluttershy had to drop a squirrel off before she could depart after her friends. As they made their way out of the ballroom and down the stairs, Rarity dropped a slipper on the ground. Pinkie paused at the slipper and shouted out to her friend.

"Ooh! Rarity, your glass slipper! Now your prince is sure to find you."

The captain ran down the hall as he tried to secure the area. But as he ran, something caught his attention. As he ran past the entrance hall, he saw a mare run up the stairs to crush a glass slipper.

"No! Let's go!" The mare shouted loudly as she tugged at her pink friend.

Shining watched the mare as she ran. Something inside of him started to ache as he saw the long flowing curls of her disheveled, frosting-coated, indigo mane. The large luxurious curls, the beautifully flawless snow-white coat, the eyes that glowed sapphire. She resembled the very mare that haunted his thoughts. His heart started to beat loudly in his ears as he was stuck in stare. Her running motion started to gradually snap him out of his trance as he realized one crucial detail: she was getting away.

"STOP!" Shining shouted to the top of his lungs.

He ran after the mare with a heavy beating in his ears that sounded like a war drum. His chest ached as he watched her escape from him. The weight of his armor drug him down greatly as the mare looked back to him. As the pools of gleaming blue stared back at him, he could only run towards her.

"I ORDER YOU TO STOP!" He shouted.

"This way, Rarity!" A voice with a twangy accent shouted back to her, causing the mare to take flight.

"NO! COME BACK!!!"

Shining ran after her as she shut the door behind her. He flared his magic, readying himself to teleport. With a blinding flash of light, he ran through the door and suddenly appeared before the door, causing the mare to look back at him.

Rarity was speechless at the familiar flash of light, immediately recognizing what spell it was. "How... did you... know that spell? I thought that only Twilight could-"

"No time for questions! Let's go!" Rainbow Dash shouted as she flew over and grabbed the mare's hoof and took her to the carriage that awaited for them.

Shining ran down the long flight of stairs and tried his best to keep up with the pegasus. He tossed his helmet to the ground as he tried to lighten the weight. But as soon as he found himself free of the helmet, the carriage had already started to take off at breakneck speed.

"STOP, PLEASE!"

Shining arrived at the bottom of the stairs and started to gallop after the cart. But he found himself unable to catch up as the cart was being pulled by two stallions over his lonesome self. He panted hard as a head poked out of the carriage and looked back at him. Rarity looked at the shrinking stallion guard with bewilderment, realizing that the stallion had actually performed the same teleportation spell that Twilight would cast on occasion.

"Who was that stallion?" She asked herself as the figure seemed to reach out for her.

"I... didn't even get your name." Shining moped as he felt himself grow into sadness. His chest burned as he tried to recover his breath, but the pain was also because of his heart, that longed for her to return to him. Deep in his mind, he knew that it was her. She wore everything as the mare in his dreams. But he felt the cold embrace of the ground below him as he sunk his head. His ears folded onto his head as he still tried to reach for the carriage.

The mare of his dreams, the mare that plagued his dreams for over three years now, had managed to escape from his hooves.

"Who... are you? I have to know."

Author's Note

Ah... hell o'clock. You would think it would be 666, but sadly clocks don't go that high. Now if you don't know what I mean, look back to the time at the top of the chapter. Now if you have a basic calculator, type 189 (1 prince in 89 years of rule from the start of the story) multiplied by 6 (the number that is considered as the number of corruption, incompletion, or laboring) would equal to 1134.

Now flip the calculator upside down.
4=h
3=E
1=l

So literally, it is spelled hEll or Hell for those concerned spelling/grammar nazis ~~seig spell~~ Remember when I said that I would try to throw in some random easter eggs? This would be one of them.

Remember to leave a comment ~~or a sacrificial first-born child~~ in the section below. Thanks for reading.

ACT 2: Nirvana

"ENOUGH!!!"

Celestia screamed to the top of her lungs as she commanded the crowd of party-goers to silence themselves. Not a single voice sounded back to her, though she grew impatient with the sound of her nephew constantly screaming at two guards posted by the doors to the guarded. Blueblood stood before them, covered in green and pink frosting as he tried to order them to pursue the mare that publicly humiliated him.

"Find her! FIND HER! I don't give a damn where all you have to go, find that mare this instant! She has accosted me and defiled my good looks with... WITH CARNIVAL CUISINE! Find her and send her to me no-"

Celestia interrupted her indignant nephew and demanded respect. "Blueblood, I am speaking! And when I speak, you are to be silent."

"...My apologies, your majesty. I will take my leave." Blueblood said lividly as he exited the room with a frosted-covered scowl on his face. Not only did he fail to obtain the mare he tried to bed for the evening, but he was also rejected in the eyes of many of the attendants. With a tout of his nose, he stormed out of the ballroom. Celestia breathed deeply as she turned her focus to the crowd in front of her.

"I am most disappointed in all of you, subjects. I have thrown this engagement in hopes that all of you would learn to unwind from the daily nuance of your lives by coming here to socialize and to embrace one another, despite your differences. I know that many years you all have decided that this was going to be a formal engagement, but to constantly cast down others who have learned to unwind in a different fashion, which was actually in terms of why I host this ball, saddens me deeply."

A lavender mare in a disheveled powdered wig stepped forward to question Celestia. "But princess, that pink mare-"

"The Element of Laughter, one of the six who graciously saved Equestria from a night eternal, only wanted all of you to truly embrace the happiness that she offered to share. Yet you all callously dismissed her and bashed her for being different. This is not what I came here to see."

A blue stallion in a damaged suit stepped forward to question the princess as well. "But that orange mare was soliciti-"

"As all of you do. At least she was more forward with her business in comparison to the shadiness of your deals, signing off others for profit where she was using that profit to help her business and her family. Again I say, one of the six element bearers who wanted to show what she had to offer in terms of business and you all blatantly shrug her off, solely because she was different."

A yellow mare in a towering wig and a lacy dress, ruined by rips and tatters from the animal invasion, stepped forward to challenge the princess on another issue. "But that purple mare that continued to throw herself at you. She was taking our time to speak with you away from us! Do not defend he-"

"YOU DARE TELL ME NOT TO DEFEND MY OWN PERSONAL STUDENT!?" Celestia screamed, causing the mare to stumble and fall backwards. "I asked her here to spend time with me, and I offered this night solely to her and her alone. She has done more to warrant my time than any of you surely would, not that you even cared. And to judge a mare that you haven't even met is most disrespectful."

The lavender mare tried to argue with the princess, seemingly with the support of the crowd. "...But princess, those six mares were-"

"Showing you all to a good time, as they have shown me. You all have ruined this night, as you have many others." The princess said in a low tone.

The blue stallion along with others called out to her ad-nauseam. "Princess-"

"I am most disappointed in all of you. You all may choose to carry on this engagement or take your leave. In the meantime, my presence will be suited to a more care-free environment."

Many of the party-goers called back to her, trying to reason with her. The yellow mare's voice was the most prominent. "But-"

"Good day to you all."

Celestia left the ballroom full of the self-entitled elitists and called for her assistant that waited inside of the ballroom. "Inkwell."

"Yes your highness." Said the light grey mare, running after her ruler. As they made their way down the hall, Celestia tried to see where she could find the six mares that took an early exit.

"Are there any leads on where Twilight and the others might have gone to?"

"Well, I know that Spike had planned for them to go to the doughnut shop at this hour."

"I will be taking my leave to them. And I will be going alone."

"But princess, what about your guards? Shouldn't they-"

"My night will not be plagued by formalities. I will enjoy my night and I will do it without any reminder to the protocol that causes me discomfort."

"Understood."

The six mares sat in the carriage as they exchanged their nights with each other. Most of them were giggling and laughing about how bad their nights truly were and started to crack jokes on how it could have been worse. As their stories came to a close, the reminisced on their escape.

"Whew! That was a close one!" Rainbow Dash said.

"Y'all said it!" Applejack agreed as she counted the bits in a small brown sack.

"I'm so embarrassed. I can't believe I started to act like that." Fluttershy mumbled, blushing from the knowledge that she acted so out of character.

"Sheesh, that party wasn't any fun at all. Everypony there was a bunch of sticks in the mud." Pinkie added.

"..." Rarity remained silent as she stared out of the window, watching the buildings pass by. The lights and the signs that would normally brighten her mood failed to do so. Her mind was more focused on the disaster of a date she managed to escape from. Her Prince Charming was more of a disgusting brute who only cared for himself. She let loose a deep sigh as the tears streamed down her frosting-covered face.

Twilight made her way over to her sulking friend and placed a hoof on her shoulder. "Rarity, I'm sorry about how your date went."

"No. I'm sorry that I wasted my time with that lousy, undignified, poor excuse of a prince." Complained Rarity as the anger started to seep into her voice.

"That bad, huh?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Bad? Why it was the most awful time I ever had. To think that the stallion of my dreams is nothing more than a figment of my imagination. Oh cruel reality, why could you not make one exception and allow me this night?"

Twilight tapped Rarity, causing her to turn around. Then the purple mare held the hooves of her saddened friend and gave her words of comfort. "I know that it may seem bad, but at least it's in the past. There's nothing that could be brought up to change that. And besides, he will never know what kind of mare he passed on. You are wonderful, Rarity. And if he couldn't see that over his own self, then he just wasn't the right one for you."

Applejack nodded in agreement. "If he ain't treat ya good, then he ain't good enough fer ya. Jus' let 'em go."

Rarity looked at her friends and turned back to the window, realizing that this night was a total bust. "Sorry girls, but it will be a moment before I can recover from this... travesty of a night."

Fluttershy approached Rarity from behind and rubbed her back with a gentle hoof, caressing her friend. "We understand. Just take your time."

"In speakin' of time," Applejack intervened, changing the subject. "Ah think it 'bout time Twilight told us about her older brother."

"WHAT!?" The other five shouted as they stared back at the purple unicorn, who blinked confusedly at the orange mare.

"But... how did yo-"

"One of mah customers was a guard that told me about yer older brother and his friends givin' up their tickets fer us. Seem like a pretty swell feller to be doin' somethin' so nice. So would ya care to explain to us 'bout yer big brother."

"You know," Rainbow Dash said, recalling a stallion that chased them on the way out. "I remember a guard using the same teleportation spell that you use. Rarity froze like a statue when she saw it. Mind explaining that?"

Twilight dismissed Rainbow Dash's theory, explaining that the teleportation spell was a lot more common than what was previously thought. "A lot of the higher ranked guards are capable of being able to cast that spell. It just takes practice. Other than that, there's no certain possibility of the guard you're speaking of to be my older brother."

"Well, at least she don' fessed up 'bout him. So why were ya hidin' that fer?"

Twilight fiddled with her hooves as she tried to justify her reason of not telling them about her older brother. "I just never thought bringing him up was something that I needed to do. I try to keep my family life and my studies separate."

"Twilight, we're not ya classmates. We're ya friends. You can share whatever ya want with us." Applejack emphasized, causing a frustrated groan to erupt from the purple mare.

"...His name is Shining Armor and he's a royal guard. That's all I can say for now."

The other mares groaned in disapproval as Rainbow spoke. "Oh come on! You act like he has some secrets that you don't want us to know about."

Twilight felt a blush coming up and laughed nervously as she thought back to a certain event that happened when they were younger. "Heh heh... Can we change the subject, girls?"

Before the other mare could try to coax the secretive mare into speaking, a voice chimed from outside of the carriage. "We're here, ladies! Doughnut Joe's Doughnut Emporium."

The cart came to a stop in front of a diner-like eatery with a large neon light that shaped into a doughnut. Twilight sighed in relief as she ushered the girls out of the carriage and into the shop. "Great! Come on girls, this place has some of the best sweets in Canterlot! I'll assure you that a cup of hot chocolate along with some doughnuts with extra sprinkles will lighten up our night. It helps me after a long night of studying and Spike is probably already inside."

The upper halls of the palace were darker than the lower halls that hosted the Grand Galloping Gala. As a patrol of guards made their way through the halls, Azure walked in the opposite direction, down the halls of the two sisters. He continued to make his way down the elegantly designed hall before a whisper came from what appeared to be a crack in one of the doors. "Azure."

As the blue unicorn turned around to see who called out to him, he noticed that his princess was dressed in a simple white gown covered in lace that crisscrossed into intricate floral patterns. The guard joked with the princess as she stepped out of her room. "Princess Luna. I didn't expect you to make an appearance."

"I am not here to make one. I came to ask you a question." She said quietly as her eyes shifted from one side of the hall to the other.

"Okay. Go for it." Azure whispered.

"What do you think about Blueblood?"

The blue unicorn gave a light chuckle as he remembered what he saw and heard about on the way there. "As of the moment, I am quite amused of him. He's walking around the castle covered in cake, thanks to an unknown mare that managed to tell him off."

"I see... Well, between you and I, I have managed to come up with a way to probably get him ousted by tomorrow."

"BULLSHIT!" Azure shouted, completely caught off guard by the princess' suggestion. But he suddenly remembered who he was speaking to and that she was speaking softly for a reason. He lowered his voice back to a quiet tone. "I mean... *ahem* ...you don't say?"

"Yes. Though it will require a tactic that is one of his own."

"Um... If I can ask, what is your motive?" The guard asked curiously.

"My sister is blinded by her own personal feelings towards him and insists to reform him, where in truth he is needed to be shown the front door."

"Okay." Azure nodded in agreement. He is also surprised that Celestia would actually harbor feelings for him.

Luna went on to explain. "And also, as the Gala was carrying on, a maid by the name of Sweet Relief had committed suicide, leaving a note on how her life was wasted as Blueblood's personal maid. She even went as far as to call herself 'useless and unattractive, as he said I was' since she was relieved of her duties earlier this evening."

Azure felt disgust swim across his body as soon as he took in the news that the mare who was recently relieved of her duties was found dead somewhere in the palace while a party took place downstairs. While he was busy cleaning himself up, she was busy trying to clean herself out of existence. And her success to do so only made the guard boil inside.

"Okay. That son of a..." While he was on the verge of swearing, he had to remind himself of who he was speaking in front of before he continued his statement. "That guy has gone too far this time. I'm with you all the way, princess."

"You have my sincerest gratitude. Now I will need you to maintain this order for me."

Azure teleported a blank scroll and a quill next to him as he started to jot down notes. "Just tell me the materials you need to get and I will make it happen."

"I am the only thing that is needed. There is no concern for that." Luna says as she dismisses the objects from his possession.

"Okay, then what shall I do to assist you?"

"I will need you to remain calm." Luna said softly, her words having no more weight than a feather.

"I will d-wait a minute. Princess means what?" Azure asked trying to understand what she was going on about.

"You may be angry as time will reveal what is to come, but I will need you to remain calm. I know that this will hurt and I apologize in advance, but I will be dismissing you from your duties for this evening."

Azure stood in shock, not knowing how to feel. "What? But you said that I could help you."

"I never said that you could help me." The lunar princess clarified. "And even if I did, your dismissal would prove to be of great assistance if my plan was to unfold without consequence."

"But princ-" Azure was silenced with a soft blue hoof to his lips followed by a kiss on the cheek. He blushed lightly as she removed her hoof from his lips.

"My most trusted guard, I understand that you seek to protect me from all harm. But I also need you to trust me. This is something that I can do and I alone can get away with. Involving you would cause too much controversy. It needs to be quietly done."

Luna stood in front of him with large pools of teal staring directly up into his. Her eyes reached deep into him and said words that couldn't hope to convince him to refuse. He wanted to trust her but he felt as if this was a big mistake. Before he could respond, her eyes grew, as she closed the distance between him and her. Her lips reached the tip of his muzzle as she held him with a comforting smile. Azure's guard finally fell.

"I trust you, princess."

"Azure, I could never thank you enough." Said Luna in a saddened tone. She released the guard and made her way back into her room as she dismissed her guard for the evening. "Now go. Blueblood will be here in an hour."

The large door closed with a soft boom and a click. Azure held his breath for a second and exhaled while he began to make his way back down the hall. As he walked, concern started to grow within his mind. "Princess... what are you planning?"

Meanwhile, Luna stood at her door holding herself tightly as she knew what she was going to do would hurt the guard she cherished the most. She wanted to be with him, but the sight of another body with a similar suicide note plagued her mind. She couldn't let Blueblood carry on like this and she wouldn't allow her sister to get in the way this time. It was a personal matter, yet she couldn't shake the pain that started to grow in her heart.

"Azure. Please forgive me."

Blueblood sat in front of his new mirror and stared at himself angrily. The more he looked into the mirror, the more he could see that his age had started to progress. Though they were barely noticeable, wrinkles formed on his cheeks and forehead. His mane sprouted more gray hairs as well. With his current appearance, he would be perceived to be somewhere in his early thirties in contrast to the mid-late teen appearance that he would normally sport. The effects of his spell was wearing off and now his natural age was starting to catch up with him. With a snort of disgust he turned away from the mirror and cursed the mare that he failed to persuade into his bed.

"I cannot believe the nerve of that conceited, stuck-up bitch! To think that she would embarrass me so badly in front of the dozens of guests. She will pay dearly for this, DEARLY I SAY!"

"Aww... what's wrong Ollie?" Spoke a voice from behind the prince.

As Blueblood turned around, he saw the familiar face of a carmine-colored mare. Her yellow eyes remained half lidded as the prince screamed to her. "YOU! AGAIN!?"

"Oh but seriously, ye honestly think that a broken mirror is what's keeping me 'ere?" The mare asked while she pointed to the top of the looking glass.

Blueblood grumbled in a low voice and turned around to avoid looking at her. "I would've preferred it."

"I just thought to see me son and cheer 'im up a bit. Though to see me own stallion come out of the shower so frustrated and tense, with... carefully toned muscles, a dripping wet mane and a lovely view of the rear end-"

Blueblood looked down to see that she was eyeing his round, plump sack and instantly turned around. "Stop that! I am not your tease."

"Oh, but you are mine." She playfully said as she shrank her appearance and jumped on top of the bed.

"What are you doing?" He asked as he noticed what the phantom mare was doing in his bed.

The mare looked back to him and started to rub herself sensually, her hooves slowly making their way to her undercarriage. She bit her lip and stared at the hind quarters of her son. "Helping me self to a show. I wonder if fiddling me self now would feel as good as it did when I was still bringing the colts to the yard. Bout time I found out."

As soon as her hooves reached her destination, she cooed softly as Blueblood started to shift the covers on the empty bed behind him. "Not on my bed, you won't!"

"Ollie dear, just sit back, relax, and feel free to enjoy me show. At least get a sample of what I'm gonna give ye." She mocked as she turned herself around and shook her plot at her son, flicking her tail in the process so he could catch a glimpse.

Blueblood turned away from the mirror and looked back to the empty bed. "Argh! You have always been so intolerable. Go on! Get!"

As the prince turned around, he noticed a small scroll with a seal that was different from the normal ones that enclosed official documents. Normally they would be red with the seal of the sun. This one in particular was sealed with blue wax and had an engraved shape of a crescent moon.

"I wouldn't open that, if I were ye." The mare in the mirror said to the prince.

Blueblood instantly identified the source of the letter as he broke the seal. "It's from Princess Luna. I wonder why she would dare message me."

"Oi, just leave it alone!"

"Shut up, you!" Demanded the prince as he started to read the letter.

Dear Blueblood,

I know that our conversations have been scarce since my arrival, but I do wish to exchange ideals with you. As to why I am sending you this letter, it can be simply summarized in the following words.

I want you.

To see a stallion so strong and intelligent that he would be capable of both astounding physical feats and phenomenal magical abilities stand untested upsets me.

Though my sister craves for you and will not admit it, I will prove to be of a more rewarding pursuit. Your years of trying to seduce my sister, only to fail upsets me so. So much that I sought to take you for myself. Pursue my elder sister no longer, as she can be as frigid as the northern winter nights. She keeps herself under lock and key so much that she dares not even think of the act of procreation.

I, however, have been in deprivation of a thousand years of burning passion. A millennium without the strong presence of a stallion thrusting into me have drove me into a madness to which my guard could never fulfill. And he could never replace who I have saved myself for: you.

I await within my personal chambers this night, the night of the Gala. Come alone.

I await with ruinous arousal.

~Luneste Seline Valkyrie

Blueblood smiled a smile that he hadn't wore in many years. It was a smile of an assured milestone victory, a victory that he hadn't experienced in almost ninety-six years. For the first time in his life, his dreams would be realized. "It would appear that the younger sister of Celestia has a liking to me."

"It's a trap." She advised, breezing by his ear.

"Shut it! This is an opportunity that I been conjuring since the days prior to my crown. I will not pass on such an occasion."

"It's... a trap, Ollie." She argued once more, trying to inform him that there was something wrong.

"Oh what do you know? Besides, this is my chance to refresh myself." While he continued to speak, his horn lit with a gold magic and finally enveloped him in a warm, white light. "And not only that, but if I am to bed her, I will ultimately gain the access to some of her vitality, thus making me young once more and feeding me with some of her power. Everything I have planned with Celestia and Cadance could... no... shall be fulfilled this very night. And It couldn't be any easier. Why didn't I think of this?"

"Because it's a trap." She spoke up, answering his question.

"SILENCE, YOU SUCCUBUS BITCH!" Blueblood screamed back to his mirror. "I will not listen to you! You, who wished my death from the moment of my birth, who abandoned me to the streets after I was raped and defiled by an employer whom you've laid with countless times, who gave me life out of your own selfishness, who gave me a bitter name and an equally bitter life, have no right to speak to me. I cast you out to the winds of the world as I did ninety-nine years ago. Now go rest in your piss-soiled grave! I've got an alacorn princess to satisfy."

Without any further argument and with the rejuvenation spell cast upon himself, he joyfully exited the room. As the door closed behind him, the mare stood beside his bed with a tongue angrily swirling in her cheek and lips puckered. She shook her head and whispered back to the closed door.

"I sought to do good by ye, Ollie. But since I am nothing more than the mother ye urinated on, I shall take me leave... for now. But mark me words..."

Her form in the mirror vanished into the thin air and the sheets of the bed started to crumple on their own as she took her otherworldly leave. The wind blew into the room and whispered her final words.

"...When I go, you too shall follow."

*knock knock knock*

"Coming." Luna shouted to the door.

She stood in front of her vanity, looking at the crestfallen mare that was herself in the mirror. The night princess took deep breaths as she tried to convince herself that this was for the better of Canterlot, for her older sister. Though her heart sank as she remembered the stallion that she would end up hurting. The only thing that prevented her from backing out of her plan was the fact that he agreed to trust and believe in her.

"But how could he trust me?" Luna thought to herself. "Why does he trust me?"

*knock knock knock*

Luna made her way to the door as she continued to plague herself with more guilty thoughts. "I wanted him to question me. At least then I would know that he wouldn't approve. Now I am going to break his heart more than I am his trust. Azure why didn't you question me? I would've told you if you had pressured me into telling. I would've thought of something else had you objected. I... I wanted you to at least be concerned over what I was doing."

Luna stopped at the door and reached out to open, but her thoughts still continued to batter away at her. "Why do you have to plague me with your blind obsession to obey my every order? Am I nothing more than a royal figure to you?"

As she opened the door, she thought about the time she was sent to the moon and how relevant the situation was for her. "Celestia cried tears as she banished me. Is it truly that painful to put one's duties and responsibilities before your own heart? Dear mother... forgive me of this sin."

The door opened to reveal a smug-faced Blueblood, standing against her door frame and giving her looks of a false charm. "Princess Luna, I do believe that you have summoned me here."

"Yes." Luna said as she swallowed her guilt, allowing the first phase of her plan to take place. "Come in."

"At once." Blueblood whispered as she moved aside, allowing him into the large room. "You know, I could never understand why this room had to be so large for a mare so small framed. But now that I see you in this setting, it's quite obvious that you are a mare that is deserving of the finest that life has to offer."

"Enough." Luna said as she cast her magic to close the door and the lips of the prince. She took a deep breath and faced the prince once more. "You know why I have summoned you here."

"Not one for casual conversation, are you?" Blueblood mocked as he started to close in on the midnight princess. "Business as usual. I like that."

Blueblood started to press into her body and let his hooves touch all over her small frame. His mind was sharpened to the sense of touch as he rubbed his hooves into the satin-like dress she wore. He always loved the thrill of leaving things to the imagination. Her dress covered much of her body, even her hind legs weren't visible. Yet the cloth was so thin that he would feel her every elevation and depression of her body. He wanted to savor the moment as it was. Luna just wanted to get it all over with.

Blueblood quickly turned her around and pressed his body into hers. Luna remained quiet as she felt the hooves of the younger royal worship her every feature. She already didn't want to surrender herself to him, but concerning what she had planned, she had no other choice. Blueblood staggered as he held a forceful hoof against her neck, rough enough to keep her in position but tender enough not to harm her. The prince took a deep breath as he buried his muzzle into her powder blue mane.

"You smell of sweet aroma of jasmines. What are you using to produce that wonderful mix?" He asks hastily as his eagerness grows beneath him.

"It is a special bath that I partake in. I bathe in warm water with the finest soaps. The waters are usually filled with the petals of the jasmine flower." She answers, feeling the prince grow against her. "But enough talk. I demand service."

"I know how hungry you are, princess." The prince responds as he lifts the back end of the princess' night gown above her small supple flanks. With a gentle rub, he massaged the soft blue cheeks with a smile growing on his face. "But is it possible that I may indulge you in a little foreplay?"

Luna sighed at his ministrations. She didn't want to give any indication that she was enjoying the attention, though it did please her to a certain extent that she was being treated to after a thousand of years. Fearing that the foreplay would give him a chance to gain the high ground, she quickly spun around and turned to him, catching the prince off his guard.

"Is something wrong, princess?" Blueblood asked as the small alacorn mare looked at him with determined eyes.

Her answer was a push towards her bed. He stumbled as he lost his balance and fell to the comfortable dark blue mattress. He tried to sit up but found himself pinned beneath the small-framed princess. He struggled to move her off as he tried to take the more dominant role, but she wouldn't allow him. Despite her figure being smaller than his, she outweighed him and muscled herself to take the top as he remained on bottom. She bent down to whisper into his ear.

"I am the one who stays on top. You have no say unless you can prove to me otherwise."

"Dominatrix, I see. Well, show me what you've got." Blueblood snapped back as he eagerly thrusted his hips into her body.

Luna tapped her hoof at the throbbing erection, somewhat disgusted that she would be doing such a thing, but at the same time pleased that he was a suitable size. Her blue foreleg ran down his shaft and back up to his head, touching the tiny bead of precum. As she removed herself from the fleshy knob, a thin trail of liquid bridged itself from her hoof to the opening from whence it came.

"Disgusting little boy. You are as impatient as I am. Have you no stamina?" Luna teased.

"You drive me to places I've only dreamed of, princess."

Luna slowly made her way down to him, raising her flanks and placing his stallionhood against the warm lips of her folds. "Are you that eager to fill me?"

"I am eager enough to show you what I am made of." He said softly as he felt his trembling cock rub against the marehood of the lunar princess.

Luna allowed his pulsing meat to stand on its own as she straddled her hips above him. She closed her eyes and drew a deep breath as she made her way down.

"I'm sorry, Azure. But this was not meant for you."

Blueblood grimaced in pleasure as her folds ate away at his sex, taking in inch by inch of his erection. He cursed the mare as she slowly descended upon him, yet he praised her for her tightness as it nearly broke him upon his initial entry. Luna made it about halfway down before she withdrew herself, causing the prince to cry out in protest. And before words could leave his lips, she sank herself onto him yet again. This time she went even slower, making sure that he could feel every last muscle clench against him as she painfully slowed to the hilt.

Finally bottoming out, he could still feel the muscles of his mare of the evening push and pull against him. As the massage continued he instinctively rose to collect a tribute of her tongue as his own fell from his mouth. The moment he rose, Luna pushed him back down, denying his plea for a lustful kiss.

"Haa~ princess-"

"No... You will suffer as I have. I will make you suffer. I will make you beg. You will squeal for me and you will know nothing of mercy." Luna whispered defiantly as her hips raised from him and sank at a sluggish pace.

Blueblood has tamed and broken many mares in his long life, some of them simultaneously. But the feeling he experienced at that moment was enough to ruin even him. He panted greedily as his eyes looked up to the blue alacorn above him. He abandoned all of his usual perceptions of his appearance and groveled before her. His hooves reached for the one that continued to anchor him to the bed as she kept her pace steady and slow.

Luna was no stranger to the art of pleasing a stallion. Though her acts with Azure were limited to mere child's play, she could bring a stallion to his knees. She rode with the expertise of a cowmare to a bucking bull. The more he bucked, the more she retreated. The more he relaxed, the faster she would go. As the prince below her felt comfortable at her current pace, she instantly pounded her hips into his with great haste. He awoken from his daze as he started to feel himself get close to his undesired climax. He was utterly helpless as she pressed him closer to the point of no return.

"Princess!"

Luna slowed down at his scream, realizing that she was going to send him off far too soon. This upset Blueblood because he was denied his finish as she stayed locked on him. He looked down to where they joined only for Luna's magic to lift his head to her.

"You do not need to see what we are doing. Just experience it. Close your eyes." She whispered in a motherly yet sexual tone.

The prince obeyed her orders and closed his eyes, allowing his sense of touch to become enhanced. As the princess decided that it was long enough for the prince to calm down, she resumed her snail-like pace. And as she rode, she eyed the next tool of his destruction: his own horn.

"Tell me, do you know of Nirvana?" Luna spoke softly.

"Please tell me princess. Show me your secrets." Said Blueblood, lost in lust while the princess started to increase her pace a bit.

"Nirvana is a state where you know neither pain nor pleasure. You wouldn't even have a sense of self. It is a stage that leads from your current life to the next. It is like a death and rebirth of you very life essence. To know it is to know euphoria."

"Show me, princess." Blueblood pleaded as he felt himself sink further into his lust.

Luna lit her horn and touched his, causing his to light up in response. As her hips slammed into his pelvis with loud clopping noises filling the room, she felt him drawing closer to his release once more. "Oh poor little soul, come and release yourself. I am the guide to your heaven."

"Luna, harder." The prince pleaded as the magic of his horn connected into a thin string of arcane energy, Luna's doing the same.

As she sank into him in a feverish pace, she could feel her own climax approaching. The night princess sighed as she tried to control herself at least until she could finish. Her inner walls continued to milk the cock that she rode on. Her hoof that was once anchored loosened it's hold on her partner and curled to her chest as she started to stifle her moans and squeaks. "You must abandon... all of the trials... and tribulations of this world. Only then... shall you become free... of all of your transgressions. Only then, shall your truth... be revealed before you."

"Yes! Yes!" Blueblood screamed at her, praising her for her performance as he felt his climax build to insurmountable heights. Luna's own climax started to make it's appearance as she heaved heavy breaths and pummeled her sex into his.

"Give everything to me." She said as her horn started to burn with energy. As the magic between them shared their approaching orgasms, her mind went ablaze with lust. She could no longer control herself. She let herself go.

"It's all yours! Take it! Take all of me!" Blueblood shouted to the top of his lungs, so loud that others in the palace may have heard him. With a final descent of her hips, he filled her passage with as much seed as his body could produce. Thick strands of white-hot cum poured into the princess and sent her mind afloat. The lunar princess felled her head as she breathed heavily, her heart beating at a rapid pace. She rose her hips and out came his limp stallionhood with an audible pop. As he retraced from within her, his seed poured like a waterfall onto his lap. Luna stood above his twitching body as the magic continued to pour from his horn to hers.

"As you wish." She said, only this time her tone was far darker than usual. She watched with careful eyes as the prince started to fall asleep underneath her. As his eyes closed, he whispered praises for his princess.

"Oh... Luna... yes... you are... a goddess..."

Blueblood awoke in a garden of roses as a distant, yet familiar voice called out to him. As he stood on his hooves he saw that there wasn't a pony for miles. As the world around him glowed white, the roses remained a crimson red. Suddenly the voice called back out to him. Only the source of the voice stood directly behind him. "Good evening, Ollie me dear."

Blueblood jumped as the words of his mother startled him. Holding a hoof to his chest, he stood relieved that it was only his annoying mother. "What do you want? I'm busy living in my state of victorious release."

"Ye released alright, ye went to sleep." The mare asked as she walked up to him, giving him a soft kiss on the cheek.

Blueblood brushed the mare off of him and wiped his cheek as he spoke. "Well, that works for now. At least I have nothing to worry about."

"Ollie me dear, I've always wanted to sing to ye a little lullaby." She whispers in a soft and gentle voice.

Blueblood scoffs in disgust as he starts to walk off. "I'll pass."

"Oi, but I've been saving me beautiful voice for something like this." She protests as she suddenly appears in front of him, startling him even more.

"No." Blueblood says as he regains his breath.

"Oh, give me a chance, will ye? Ye may find something that pertains to ye in me little message." She said as she cleared her throat, preparing herself to sing.

"There is no way that I'm going to let you si-"

Before Blueblood could finish, she started to sing in a beautiful yet eerie ethereal. She sang it not as how it would normally go, but rather as a different melody. She sang all twelve notes, yet it sounded melodic rather than harsh and dissonant.

Mary had a little lamb,
little lamb, little lamb,
Mary had a little lamb
who fleece was white as snow.

Blueblood nodded as he complimented his mother's voice. "Okay. That's... not bad."

As he admitted that his mother's singing voice had surprised him, saw yet another mare that rose from the endless bed of roses. She wore a familiar face that he recognized prior to his rule. A mare by the name of Morning Vale had started to join with his mother, singing in harmony with her.

And everywhere that Mary went,
Mary went, Mary went,
E-ve-ry where that Mary went,
her lamb was sure to go.

Yes ev-ery, e-ve-ry where that Mary went,
Mary went, her lamb was sure to go.

"Morning Vale! But I thought that you were-"

Before Blueblood could finish, the mare's neck started to bleed as she pointed to an area beside Blueblood. Out of the bed of roses, rose a mare who recently committed suicide. She was once the maid of Blueblood, her name was Sweet Relief. As the three started to close in on him, he saw that Sweet Relief still had had a knife in her chest. As she sang in harmony, blood trickled from her mouth as the clouds started to cover the white sky. The three mares produced a harmony that grew most... disturbing.

Then someone burned down Mary's house,
Mary's house, Mary's house,
Some-one burned down Mary's house...
But she was dead, before.

"GET ME THE HELL OUT OF HERE!!!" The prince screamed to the top of his lungs as he tried to make his way out of the triangle of mares. Each one of them rushed in and grabbed him and bound his limbs to his body, or rather disabled his entire body except for his head and neck. As they looked to a hill in the distance, Blueblood saw a tombstone on the hilltop. And leading the funeral procession was a fourth mare that rose from the bed of roses, one far younger than the others. He remembered her as Maria Trotovich. As they continued the processional, they all sang in a harmony that continued to send chills down the prince's spine.

Yes she's been dead a hundred years,
hundred years, hundred years...

Sleeping...

"STOP THIS!" He screamed as they reached the hilltop. He watched as the young Trotovich gave him his last rights. The mares still sang as they waited.

Dead...

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" He pleaded as the other mares passed him over the seemingly empty and unmarked grave. A hole opened in the rose bed below. The mares continued to sing.

A hundred years...

"NO! NOOOOOO!!!" He screamed as the mares lowered him into the grave. His mother dropped a final rose on top of him as she gave a tearful goodbye. As the ground closed around him, they finished their medley on a harmonious cadence.

Her lamb's... been dead... for more...

Blueblood stood silent in the grave as he heard the final sounds of breathing. He held his breath, only to find that the breath wasn't his own. He turned to his left side to see what it was. What he found was mortifying to him, as his mother's decomposed corpse lied next to him, smiling.

"H͈̠̫̦̮͖̫̱̼͖̺̼̱͍͕͕̋ͦ̔͑ͭ͊̂ͫ̿̇͆ͬ̈́̒ͥ̒͒e͙̜̦̼̞̱̹̩͍̟̘̯̙͈͎̻̪̖̠ͦ͌̾̆ͥ̿̑͂̏̊̄l͉̣͔̖͉̩̯̹͙̠͍̮͚͙͚̤͌͑̾ͦ̾͋ͧ͆̽͛͋̏̓͒̈́̈́ͣ̓̍l̦̦̗͎̙̦̞͍ͦ̈́ͤ̂́̔͒ͮ̊̽͗̒̌̔͊̓͌͂o̤̦̹͓͖̜̖̝̤̞̭̓̾͆̽̐̌̅,̩͕̰̭̫̣͕̮̤̬͖̦͉̬̜̙̻̂͋̅̃ͥ̽͐̎ ͓͖̻̝̳ͭ̿̒͗ͬ͊ͮ̔̒͋O̮̺̝̪̹͕̬̍ͤͧ̍͌͛͗̀̈͒̓̍̚̚l̟̱̖͊ͫͨ̋̚l͖̗̲̥̯̣̫̼̜̺̞̗̳̝̈ͤ̽̃̿̅̇ͤ̎̌ͮͥ͌ͭ̚ị͇̥͎̗͔̄ͣ͗ͮͥͭͩͯͤͨ̄͂ͩͫ̉̂e̪̞̖̪͙͇̙̼̲̮̖̺͇̤̽̊̋̈́ͦ͌ͭ͛̃ͨͮͮ̾̅ͬͭ̾.̮̦͉͓̒ͥ̐ͮͭ"

Blueblood awoke from his nightmare in the comfort of his own bed. Breathing and panting, he checked on his surroundings. He grew afraid of what was to his left, and jumped out of his bed to see that there was nothing there. He looked back to his mirror and found nothing unusual. Nothing except a pale-ish looking ghoul staring back at him. Blueblood screamed in response.

He charged at his mirror with magic at the ready. But as he ran in front of the mirror, he assumed that his mother was still playing tricks on his mind. He grew annoyed at his mother's antics and tried to get her to stop.

"Ha ha! Very funny. Now stop this illusion at once."

The mirror failed to respond.

"Mother? I'm serious. Stop this trickery at once."

Nothing had changed as he stared at the pale ghoul in the mirror. Placing a hoof to his face, he called back to the mirror in front of him.

"For the last time mother, stop this... mess?"

His hooves felt everything he saw in the mirror. His once smooth face had grown prunish and wrinkly. His mane was now a dull silver in contrast to the gleaming blonde that he used to have. He even realized that his voice had sank in it's usual strength. His once white coat was now light beige from the age. His appearance was that of a pony in their early sixties, which was a polar opposite to his recent appearance of thirty.

For the first time in a long time, Blueblood screamed in total horror.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

Author's Note

For those brave enough to wanna listen to the lullaby, this is it.

I originally didn't want to write the clop scene in here, but I realized that would prove to be a rather large plothole. ~~One more than this story already has at this moment, which is probably too many to count.~~

So did anyone notice how the Mary had a little lamb sequence unfolded with Blueblood's humanity (so to speak) being Mary and the lamb being his mother? Welp have fun sleeping. Hooray for weak creepy pasta writing.

ACT 2: From Power to Exile

"I... lost her."

Shining Armor remained in a guest room inside of the palace. His head remained buried underneath one of the pillows as he prevented himself from seeing the sunny rays of the morning light. He didn't want to get out of bed, not because of exhaustion, but out of spite that he failed to obtain the mare that haunted his dreams for the past three years. Sadness filled his heart as he heard a voice call out through the door.

"Shining!"

"Dammit, I should have tried harder. I should have stopped them." He mumbled to himself, condemning his failure. He removed his head from the pillow and rose to speak.

"Shining, you okay?" Said the voice that sounded similar to Poindexter.

"Yeah... I'm fine." Shining answered as he continued to stretch.

"No you're not. You've been locked in your room since the commotion died down last night. What's going on?"

"I saw her, Poindexter. She slipped right past me."

"Wait a minute. Saw who?"

"The white mare with the indigo curls. The mare that continued to plague my dreams, even last night as I slept."

Shining made his way to the nightstand in front to the bed. As he looked at himself in the mirror, Poindexter spoke through the door. "Oh, well come on out. Princess Celestia has asked you to guard the entrance to the Grand Hall today while she conducts her meeting with the palace officials."

"On my way." Shining grumbled.

"And also, Cadance has really been concerned over your absence last night."

"What happened last night?" Shining asks, cutting an eye back to the door for an answer.

"She waited for you. I informed her that you were sleeping elsewhere for the evening."

Shining grimaced at the fact that he left Cadance alone. He knew that he was probably going to be punished for it when he returned. He even thought as far as taking another night in the guest room. "Oh. How did she take that?"

"She took exception to it. She demanded that you sleep with her... and furthered her point by royal decree saying 'Shining Armor shall spend a night in no other's company aside from mine. He shall also be barred from sleeping in places where he has not informed me of nor shall he sleep with another mare without my supervision'."

Shining rolled his eyes at his fiance's antics. That was definitely like her to make provisions to reserve his dick in a glass display case. Though he didn't want to admit it, he had a bad case of same-pussy heaven. And no one else could have, not even he could have it unless she said he could. Though he always convinced her one way or another.

"Yeesh! A little possessive, isn't she?"

"Mares tend to be like that when they've managed to get a lock on the stallion they choose as their mate. Likewise for stallions. Also I think that she is somewhat jealous that you would request a threesome in the first place."

"She said no anyhow. So what's the matter?" Shining argued, knowing that Cadance didn't have much to worry about in terms of infidelity. The only exception to that was the mare that he probably wouldn't see again.

"I think that she's just fighting to keep you. And personally sir, I think that you should remain attached to her and dump this dream mare. Cadance has been more than good to you and she has been consistently faithful to you. Don't ruin what you already have."

Shining ultimately realized that at the moment, he was being rather selfish. She had sacrificed so much to meet him as it was and she still loved him despite the taboos of royal-protector relations. He could easily be punished for breaking protocol, but then again, if she desired it and he desired it, then Celestia wouldn't mind. He cursed himself for his actions from last night and made his way out the door, meeting with Poindexter for the first time. "...What time should I report to my post?"

"By eleven thirty." The other stallion said as both he and Shining made their way to the barracks.

"Okay. Let me suit up."

"Good morning, dear sister."

"Good morning, Luna. Have you slept well?"

"I've had better, though it wasn't too bad."

"Well that's good news. Come on in."

Celestia opened her door to her younger sister as Luna stood in the doorway. The night princess entered into the room and immediately blinked twice and rubbed her eyes to make sure if everything was as she was seeing it. She stood by her sister and found herself staring at her muzzle rather than her being eye level with the base of her regalia. Celestia held the door with closed eyes and a warm smile.

"Um... sister, have you... shrunk in size?"

"Why of course I- LUNA, DEAR ME WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO YOU!?" Celestia shouted as she looked at her sister and remained shocked over what she saw.

"What? Do I look hideous?" Luna asked as she gulped in dismay that her night with Blueblood had managed to completely ruin her image.

"No... You look... marvelous." Celestia said as her eyes started to brim with tears.

Luna remained confused as to why her older sibling had started to cry. "Come again?"

"Have you seen yourself in a mirror?" Celestia asked as she held a hoof to her mouth and tried to suppress her emotions the best she could.

"No. I didn't think that I would need to being that we are sisters. We've shared so-"

Celestia interrupted her little sister's argument and pointed to a large body mirror that held the reflection of her and her sister. "Then I believe you should look over there."

Luna turned her head out of obedience and looked to her sister's reflection. But as Celestia stood, she noticed that there was a royal-blue alacorn mare that stood by her. Her mane and tail was of the night sky itself and her body was almost as high as the elder ivory alacorn beside her. Her wings were larger and both her mane and tail swayed in a wind that didn't blow. Her horn was longer and wider. Her shape, robust and filled with elegant curves. Luna had immediately knew who the strange mare was in the mirror.

It was her.

"Sister... I'm-"

Celestia didn't allow her younger sibling to finish as she coiled her hooves around her. "Restored. Oh Luna, I'm so happy now that you're back to normal."

"Indeed. As am I." Luna agreed as she returned the hug. Celestia then released her and held her in front of her.

"Oh! I have to have you come with me today."

Luna tried to back away with everything she had as her sister suggested that she would spend time in the public eye for the day. It was something that she wasn't used to. "But sister, I do not fare well in the art of public etiquette. Perhaps some other time, yes?"

Celestia pushed her younger and newly rejuvenated sister out to the hall and ushered her to her own room as she argued that she could make an appearance. "Nonsense. All you have to do is let me do all of the talking. Now get ready, we have a meeting come noon in the Grand Hall. Azure will be awaiting you there."

Luna's demeanor sank as she heard the name of the guard she had feelings for. "Oh... right."

As the door closed behind her, she could still hear the gleeful humming of her older sister. Though it was true that she was now back to her usual appearance, the fact of how it came to be weighted heavily on her heart. But at the same time, she knew that her first with the guard would invoke the same results as Blueblood. He was bound to lose either way, but she felt as if she made the better choice.

"Azure... please remain calm."

"That bitch. That bitch... THAT BITCH, THAT BITCH, THAT BITCH!!!"

Blueblood tore everything in his room to shreds as he stood in the middle of the battle-worn bedroom. He trotted back and forth as he thought to himself on how he could have been reduced to a prunish old stallion.

"How did she reverse my spell?"

Blueblood looked back at the remains of the nightstand and saw the letter with the broken seal from last night. As he sat on the floor, he read the words over and over again. He thought about what the phantom in the now-broken mirror warned him about.

"Perhaps it was a trap."

His mind flashed back to the moment that Princess Luna opened the door to let him in.

"Perhaps last night was a set up for this."

His mind reeled back to the scene when she pushed him on the bed and rode him.

"Perhaps she cast the same spell."

Blueblood remembered the moments she pressed him against the bed and talked him into his so-called Nirvana.

"Perhaps she cast one on me as she told me to close my eyes."

He closed his eyes and looked back to the nightmare that started in a field of roses.

"Perhaps my dream is what lead me to look like this."

He opened his eyes as the haunting image of his mother's decaying corpse smiled at him and spoke to him. The maggots on her face digging into her decomposed lips.

"Perhaps those mares, in postmortem, cursed me as they placed me in the ground with their song."

He stood in the middle of his war-torn room and paced back and forth slowly. He stopped as he finally came to a conclusion as to what was going to happen to her now.

"I demand action."

He visualized his plan in his mind and barged into the hall where she stood.

"I demand retribution."

He imagined the blade that he would draw as it made it's metallic scream throughout the room.

"I DEMAND JUSTICE!"

He closed his eyes to see a barely breathing blue alacorn mare standing below him as she bled out all over the floor.

"Luna... I thought that you sought me for a night of passion. But you used me instead."

He would hold the sword in his magic as he started to stab into the body with a furious drive to her lungs.

"You will pay dearly for this."

The livid prince would start to cut into her in every form, shape and fashion. His eyes remained fixated to hers as he would show her his definition of enlightenment.

"You will rue the day you messed with Olyssius Blueblood Patrikios; the Prince of Magic!"

He could already feel the bloodstained blue hoof grabbing him by the neck as she pleaded for mercy, to which he would offer none.

"I will ensure that your death will be a slow and painful one."

He could hear the symphony of screams that would accompany his blows. Each time the blade would sink into her body, the shrieks of the witnesses would drive him further into achieving his bloodied climax.

"And all shall watch as I sink my blade into your body."

He nearly got off to the moment where he visualized the sword hacking into the lifeless body of the lunar princess. Her blood would continue to rain on him.

"Again. And again. And again. And again."

He could already taste the salty copper taste of her blood being licked off of the sides of his mouth. His teeth gritted and his hoof shook as he made his way to the door. Stepping outside, he relieved a guard of his sword and walked slowly to his destination.

"I will use your blood as a masturbatory aid. And I will use your intestines as a condom to which I will wear as I eviscerate your skull!"

Meanwhile, Shining and Poindexter made their way back into the barracks. As they entered, they found that two others would be joining them. Longshot who just made it back in earlier in the morning from spending time with his family and Azure who sparked the curiosity of the other three. Normally Azure would never sleep in the barracks because he would be with Luna for the night. So to see him there started to spark some controversy.

"Hey Azure! What are you doing here so early?" Poindexter asked.

"Slept here, that's why." Longshot answered for Azure as he brushed his teeth.

"What?" Shining asked amazed that his friend would actually spend a night in a room full of stallions over a bed with a princess.

Poindexter scratched his head and tried to rationalize a reason on why the guard would spend the night there. It was out of his character. "Okay, this is wrong. What happened?"

Azure spat in the sink and spoke to them while looking in the mirror. "Princess Luna dismissed me last night for personal reasons. As to what those reasons were, I cannot disclose."

Shining chuckled as he thought about a series of performance jokes he could use in the situation. But the others managed to beat him to the punch, Longshot being first. "Five bits to say he couldn't get it up."

"I'll raise you to ten for him blowing his wad before she could even finish." Poindexter wagered.

"My money is on him not satisfying the princess despite his long-winded efforts to please her." Shining joked.

Azure groaned while his friends continued to make bets. "Well since you're all betting on a sucker bet, I might as well throw my lot in. If all of you are wrong, each of you have to cough up fifty bits. To me."

"A piece?" The three stallions asked simultaneously.

"I do take personal checks, by the way." The guard commented as he and the others made their way to the armory.

When they walked into the armory, they suited up in their regular suits of armor and readied themselves for anything that could possibly happen as the meeting went on. Shining nodded his head as he thought about the wager.

"Okay, I'll be the sucker for that one. Seeing that you would need all fifty to take the princess out on a makeup date." He joked as he wore his gold and purple armor.

The four stallions departed from their barracks at a late time and made their ways to the halls of the palace in a short amount of time, short enough for them to have a spare half-hour before the meeting started. As they stood in front of the door, they waited for the princesses to make their arrival. Not too long after, Celestia made her way through the hall and she was accompanied by Cadance and a large-framed blue alacorn mare that walked beside them.

"Who the hell is that?" Longshot asked quietly as the others turned their attention to the blue mare, wearing onyx regalia on her.

"Another relative of the princess that she failed to mention of until this very moment?" Poindexter asked the others.

"How many fucking relatives does this mare have? Well, too late to ask." Shining spoke in a low voice as he watched the three royals, sans one Blueblood, approach the doors. "GUARDS, ATTENTION!"

All of the guards in the hall stopped whatever they were doing and made their way to the side of the halls and stood facing forward as the three mares slowed their approach at the front door. Cadance was the first to speak.

"Good morning, captain. I missed you on duty last night."

"My apologies princess. I was taken by exhaustion. So I thought that I could at least catch a quick nap in one of the guest rooms and before I had noticed, it was suddenly morning." Shining lied.

"Well then. I see that your performance is severely lacking. I will perform an evaluation of your current performance come later tonight. Do not expect rest."

Shining knew exactly what she meant. He gulped deeply and kept a straight face as he hid his dismay. "Yes princess."

The blue alacorn was the next to speak. "Sir Azure, I trust that your post will be within the grand hall?"

The four stallions looked at each other and Azure answered the large mare. "Um... pardon me, but who would be requesting my presence in the hall?"

"As I would figure that you would forget my dreamy appearance. Surely another trip into your dreams would be more than useful."

The guards stared and gawked at who the mare in front of him was. Her shape, her form, her voice was far different from the princess he had come to know and serve. "P..pr...Princess Luna!?"

"Indeed. Now where would you be posted at?"

Azure answered her, still slack-jawed at the mare who was his princess. "I'm posted here by the door, ma'am."

"Who's posted inside that will be standing behind me?" Luna then turned her attention to Shining Armor and made her request. "Captain, I would like you make that change effective immediately."

"Yes, your highness." Shining answered while bowing.

"And while we're at it," Cadance added in. "I want you to be posted by my side for the remainder of the day, unless otherwise ordered to do so."

Shining playfully grumbled at her request. "Yes, princess."

Cadance tilted her ear to the captain and taunted him back. "I can't seem to hear you too well. What was that captain?"

"Yes princess."

"Hmmm... Verbal clarity and enunciation will also need to be evaluated. I will see to it that the issue shall be corrected."

Shining sighed as he realized that she was going to make this an extremely kinky night for him, one that he might not take as much enjoyment as she would. "Yes, your highness."

"Alright, enough you two." Celestia interjected as she made her way into the hall. "We don't need to change the entire order of the guard as it is. We have a meeting to conduct."

The party of Princess Luna, Princess Cadance, Azure and Shining Armor made their way into the room as two others made their way out. While they trotted to their positions, Celestia sat at the head of the table on her throne.

"I hereby call this meeting to order."

About an hour later, the meeting had drawn to a close with successful dealings all around. It seemed that Blueblood's absence had proved to be a benefit for the flow of the meeting. In most cases, the meeting would take a full three hours to get through, thanks to Blueblood's long list of recommendations that were seen as either counterproductive or fairly useless. Sometimes, he would even try to drag a maid in and have her feed him mid sentence, thus dragging out more time. And despite his brilliant handling on international finances and internal conflicts within the country, he would often be more hindrance than help.

The only thing that kept him around was the fact that Celestia wanted to see him do well and reform. It was her personal desire that he would return to the diligent student and honorable guard that he once was. Though the elder princess was satisfied that the meeting would take far less time, she almost missed the disturbances that the stallion would cause.

"LUNA!"

And in speaking of disturbances, Blueblood entered into the hall, via teleportation, with an extremely sour scowl set upon his face as he approached the table.

"Blueblood, is that... you?" Celestia asked as she squinted, identifying key traits of the elderly prince.

"Whoa there old timer, how did you get yourself in here?" Shining asks, not recognizing who the stallion was.

Blueblood ran up the captain and screamed in his face. "YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHO I AM, SHINING ARMOR!"

"Wow... That's Blueblood alright. What happened to you?"

Blueblood turned his attention to the dark blue princess who sat across from Cadance. "Oh, I pretty sure that you would love to know that, wouldn't you? You would love to know what has become of my dashing good looks. Well, ask her!"

Azure, who stood behind the princess, walked around to protect her from anything that the angry prince might throw her way. Just as he stood in front of her, she stood up and placed a hoof on his back, rubbing him to calm him down. "Azure, please remain calm. I need you to keep a cool head, no matter what he says."

"Oh whisper to your guard." The older Blueblood spoke bitterly. "Why don't you tell him about how you threw yourself at me last night."

The guard that protected Luna stepped forward as Luna tried her best to keep him calm. Azure still defended the princess."Blueblood, you don't even know what you're talking about. At this moment, you could easily be as senile as the next pony."

"Oh is that so? Then why don't you ask her why she dismissed you last night then." Attacked the old prince.

"She merely informed me that my presence was not needed. And I know my princess, she would have no interest in a stallion like you." Azure rebutted, still defending Luna. Though he knew that she dismissed him for reasons to rid the palace of the prince in front of him, he still didn't want to sound as if he was in on it.

Blueblood continued to attack the blue princess. "Tell him, Luna. Tell him about the note that you sent to me. Tell him how you said that you waited with 'ruinous arousal'. Tell him about the white satin dress you wore."

Azure felt his heart sink into his stomach as soon as he mentioned what she wore the previous night. He saw her wearing that same dress before he continued his nightly patrol. There was little to deny at this point. "Princess... Is that-"

"Please remain calm, my guard. I will explain everything to you in due time." Luna whispered as she rubbed his back.

Azure removed her hoof with his magic and turned himself to face her. "Well princess, I believe the time is long overdue. You dismissed me for a reason, so tell me what was it?"

"Azure... I... I had to do what had to be done." She said in a low voice, apologetic in tone.

"That is not an excuse. Now tell me the truth, princess." The guard pleaded.

Luna couldn't bear to look him in the eyes out of fear that she would see the heartbreak through them. Even her eyes started to brim with tears. "This is far too quick, Azure. Please allow me to tell you behind closed do-"

"Tell him, Luna!" Blueblood interrupted. "Tell him about how you eagerly rode on top of me. Tell him about the night we shared. Tell him about why you managed to get that form. In fact, tell him with a straight face that you intended to do the same to him at first."

"Princess Luna... is this true?" Azure asked as he stared directly at her.

Luna looked crestfallen as she shied away from the guard, feeling like she hurt him worse than any weapon could. "I wanted to at first, but I saw what kind of pony you truly were. You made me laugh and smile when I felt insecure about everything. The words you say to me, they touch me. The things you do, they bring me great jo-"

"So I wasn't anything to you?" Azure asked with distress filling his voice.

Luna pleaded with him, not wanting him to get the impression that he was nothing more than a tool for her rejuvenation. Though he was initially, it was his actions and his words that persuaded her to reconsider. "It is not like that now, I assure you! Now... I want you for who you are and just the way you are."

"If he was anything to you, then tell him why you surrendered your body to me, you depraved whorse." Blueblood said, slamming the princess.

Azure turned his head back to the prince and scolded him for his insult. "You will be quiet."

"I am a prince and shall never be silenced, especially by the likes of a lowly dog!" Retaliated the old prince.

"Oh for- Shut. The fuck. Up!" Azure stressed as he turned to face the prince head on. Luna tried all that she could to prevent a conflict between him and the prince.

"Azure, please. This ha-"

"Like you could ever tell me what to do!" Blueblood shouted, interrupting Luna. "Now stand aside, Luna will be punished for her traitorous actions against me! Her blood shall be her atonement!"

Azure drew his sword and took an offensive position, holding the sword in his magical grip. "You DARE threaten my princess!?"

Blueblood drew his own blade and eyed his target, who stood behind the angry guard. He decided that he was going to kill Luna no matter what the costs were. With a sword carried in a golden aura, Blueblood stepped forward. "I dare it. Now move asi-"

The court was silenced as Azure stood beside Blueblood with a deadly spark in his eye. The room remained silent as Azure recovered his stance. As he did, the clanging sound of a sword hitting the ground was the only thing that permeated the silence of the room. Blueblood stood with blood on his forehead, trailing down across his eye and further down his face. What the prince saw before him was a nightmare all in itself. Before him on the ground laid a bloodied stub of white bone, caught under Azure's hoof. Blueblood looked up to confirm his worst fear had come to pass.

Blueblood's horn was now under Azure's hoof on the marble floor.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!! MY HORN! YOU CUT OFF MY HORN!!!"

With a strong stomp, the horn produced a sickening crack as splinters of blood, bone and marrow littered the floor. Azure screamed at the defamed prince. "Fuck your horn! Fuck you! Now go fuck a rock, you shitfaced son of a cunt!"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!!! Azure you are dismissed." Celestia commanded. The angered guard bowed to her and made his exit while Shining Armor and Cadance looked at the developing scene of Blueblood trying to piece his horn back together.

"Auntie, look at what he did! He cut off my horn! Do something!"

Though Celestia started to cauterize the wound, she stared at the prince and asked in a flat tone. "Blueblood... why did you threaten my little sister?"

Blueblood snarled as he looked at his broken horn and saw that it could not be fixed. His words leaked with poison as he accused the princess of her crime. "She deserved it for doing this to me! She needs to be punished for what she has done!"

"You threatened... to kill my little sister." Celestia whispered in denial of what was happening before her. She finished sealing up the wound so that the old prince wouldn't bleed to death. She still wanted an explanation for what he was doing.

"You banished her to the moon for a thousand years, so what's the difference?" Blueblood asked, trying to justify his request.

Celestia was taken aback from what she was hearing from her former student. She flew from her throne and stepped in front of her sister. "The difference... The difference is that I still love her and she still loves me. The difference is that she is my own blood, my own sister. Luna knows that her wrong was directed at me and would have a consequence that would damage that of the entire world. You accuse her of a spell that could easily be reversed and threaten to take her life in turn. My sister shall not be maimed or harmed in any way. And for it to happen, they would have to go through me."

"Then give Azure the death penalty! He deserves it too." Blueblood demanded, trying to exact his revenge on the stallion who took away the one source of his own power.

Celestia shook her head and expressed her disappointment in the wounded stallion. "I see now that you are far from redemption."

"Redemption?" Blueblood said as he started to become blinded by his anger and no longer thinking of what to say before speaking. "I was born this way. When I came to you, I wanted you for myself."

"And I rejected you. Yet you respond by pursuing Cadance, fornicating with my sister and wishing for her untimely demise?" Celestia asked as she was on the verge of crying.

"Well does it matter?"

His response caused the others to gasp in the room. The princess backed away as she finally saw the heartlessness that he exhibited to many others. The stallion she imagined him to be a long time ago had clearly made his exit and in it's place was a shadow who only spewed lies and calls for blood. Her heart poured from her eyes with every tear she shed. Her love, the love she gave to him through the years was crumbled and thrown back in her face. With a trembling voice, she tried to reach out to the bitter prince.

"You hurt me deeply... too deeply. Blueblood... I gave you everything. I sacrificed for you and gave you everything that you could have ever hoped for. I gave you a mother's love, a home, food, an education, a title and all of this was to show how much I loved you. I willed to go to the ends of Equestria for you. And your thanks... is to take what I've have left... and dispose of it."

"But you still have power and immortality. That's more than anything." The prince argued with the princess, still trying to validate his reasons for wanting Luna dead. But as of that moment, his argument fell on deaf ears.

"You're right... I do have some power..."

Blueblood smirked that she finally saw things his way. "That proves my p-"

"While you have none." Celestia said softly, while the words shook the core of every individual in the room. Blueblood was the most mortified of her statement.

"What?"

With a snap, Celestia's wings opened and stood straight out, signifying her royal decree. "By royal decree by none other than I, Celeste Delanise Valkyrie, I hereby STRIP Olyssius Blueblood Patrikios of all powers, responsibilities, privileges, and titles."

"YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME!" Blueblood screamed.

Her decree plowed through his scream as she shouted in response. "FURTHERMORE HE IS TO BE BANISHED FROM CANTERLOT AND ALL TOWNS AND CITIES OF EQUESTRIA!"

"BUT I AM A PRINCE!" He tried to debate with her.

"Under penalty of death." Celestia finished sternly.

Blueblood shook weakly as he backed away from the table, realizing that his rule was now over. In denial, he screamed back to his former mentor. "You can't just simply toss me like this! I am Prince Blueblood, the Prince of Magic!"

Celestia turned to Shining Armor and gave him his order. "Captain."

"Yes princess?"

And then the sun scorched the pride of the former prince. "Toss him on his ass."

"Solid copy, your regalness." Shining answered as he grabbed the exiled prince and bound him with his magic, something else that Blueblood was also stripped of.

Blueblood squirmed and wormed in protest to being thrown out of the palace. "Release me! I am your Prince and hereby order you to release me, this instant."

Shining pushed the prince to the door, ignoring his order. "Sorry Blueblood, but you're stripped. No power means no command."

"Let me go!"

"Sorry, but I think that this is for the best. For all of Equestria."

As the doors opened, Blueblood called back out to the pink princess, who stood by watching. "Cadenza, help me!"

"You brought this on yourself, Blue. I'm sorry, but it's time for you to leave." She said sympathetically, yet at the same time commanding in her tone. Blueblood let loose a loud scream as he was drug out of the room.

"NnnnnnnAAAAAARRRGH!!!!!"

"Heave, ho! Away we go!"

The guards alongside Shining Armor tossed the disgraced Blueblood into the grass and mud of the outside gates. Other citizens stood on the walls and watched as Blueblood screamed back at them. Some of them laughed and celebrated, others just watched out of curiosity.

"How dare you treat me like this! Me, a prince!"

"Nice knowin' ya!" Poindexter shouted.

"At least allow me to collect my things." Blueblood asked.

"Your things? Last I checked, everything that you had was in the princess' name." Longshot called back to him.

"But my finances."

"Again, in the princess' name." Shining answered as Celestia walked beside him.

"But my assets-"

"Captain, allow me. And in the meantime, please clear this crowd." Celestia asked her captain as she made her way to the muddied elder pony formerly known as Prince Blueblood.

"Yes, your highness." Shining answered as he turned his attention to the gathered crowd. "Alright move along. Nothing to see here. I know it looks nice, but this is not for your personal enjoyment."

Blueblood crawled to the hooves of his former mentor and begged her for forgiveness. "Celestia, give me another chance. Please. I promise to do better."

"You plead for a second chance, while I gave you far too many to count."

"But... I repent for my actions."

"The tongue that utters repentance is the very same that spawned rhetoric of vengeance and judgement."

"Celestia... just let me in."

As she looked around to see if there was anyone looking, she lowered herself and gave her former student a soft kiss on the cheek. Looking surprised, Blueblood watched as his mentor walked away. "You know... I actually loved you. Had you proven yourself to be more patient with me, I would have easily fallen in love with you. I would. But I'm glad I made myself wait."

"Auntie. Please... I can't live on my own. Show me your love by letting me back in." He pleaded to her, trying to convince her to allow him back into the city.

"I love you, Olyssius. And I always will."

"So yo-"

"But to truly love you is to show you that there will be consequences from your actions. I loved Luna when I banished her, and I will love you as I send you to exile. It was my fault for not being so stern with you out of fear that I would lose you. But now, I see that the choices I've made only made matters worse."

"Please. NO! PLEASE!!!" He said crawling to her before her magic sealed him in place, leaving him to watch her departure. His pleas fell only on the rocks as Celestia walked back into the city.

Realizing that this was for the best, she waived to Blueblood one last time before she signaled for the gates to close. "I love you as a mother bird sends it's young to the world. And just as the bird sends it's young to fly, so shall I send you."

"CELESTIA!!!" He shouted as the gates to the city closed to him. As his view to the inside of the city narrowed, she still spoke to him.

"I love you, Olyssius Blueblood Patrikios. May your remaining years be fruitful to you."

Author's Note

It's good to be the prince.

It's been a long time coming. And I know that all of you feel as if that this was a cathartic experience. It was one for me as well. Hope you are enjoying the story thus far.

ACT 2: Seeds of Dissonance

"Azure? Please open up."

"Leave me alone, princess. I don't feel like talking to you."

Luna stood by a door that led into one of the many guestrooms in the palace. She continued to knock at his door in hopes of seeing him face to face. But the pony she sought to speak with was being uncooperative and decided that it would be best not to see her at all. Luna called out to the stallion on the other side of the door. "Azure... I told you that you had to remain calm."

Azure, inside of the room, answered her through the wooden barrier that prevented the visual contact. "Why? So when that bastard starts making threats on your life, you expect me to just stand still?"

"I'm sorry." Luna whispered, leaning her head against the door.

Azure was furious over the fact that she was reluctant in his advances but bedded with Blueblood on a whim. He understood that her plan was to rid the palace of the white unicorn menace, but at the same time it was unfair that she would do something to hurt him emotionally. Azure screamed back to the princess. "For what!? Sleeping with the stallion that wanted your head on a pike? Or maybe you felt like that you just wanted to keep me around until you wanted to use me like you did him?"

Luna argued the previous statement she made in the Grand Hall earlier. "I told you that my feelings for you are much deeper than that."

"They weren't that deep when you invited him to your room. Now he's gonna be out for your head and there isn't much I can do to stop him."

Luna stood in silence over what the upset guard had said to her. Perhaps as he was dismissed, he made his way straight to here rather than stay around for the aftermath. "You don't have to."

"And why not!?" He yelled.

"Because Celestia banished him." She answered.

Azure, on the other side of the door, sighed deeply and sat himself on the bed. After a few seconds of silence, he fell on the matress and called back out to the door. "So... he's gone."

"Devoid of all power and titles. But you know what I did was for the betterment of all of Equestria."

Azure looked at the door and let his voice grow no louder than a murmur as the pain in his chest swelled. "Is the weight of my heart so light that you would carelessly throw it away in exchange of a few smiles from a nation?"

The princess in the hall cried through the door while she tried to inform him why she couldn't go as far with him as she had initially wanted. "No! I had to convince myself that this was going to work for us. I couldn't share that first time with you, otherwise... you saw what happened to Blueblood."

"And does it look like I give a damn? Hell, let me grow old and let me believe that you truly had something for me rather than this."

Luna bowed her head to the door, placing her hoof on her chest. "I understand that you are in pai-"

"Pain? I'm fucking dying in here! I need a fucking medic and there's not a single goddamn one for miles. My heart is barely beating and right now it's under a heavy-ass cinderblock. BECAUSE OF YOU!" Azure released all of his anger towards the Princess of the Night, disregarding her title and treating her as he would another mare.

"Please open up the door." She pleaded.

"No. You stay out there and you stay the hell away from me! I don't need anymore hurt than what I've already got."

"Open the door."

Azure tossed a pillow at the door. "Go away!"

"I'm not leaving until I see you."

Azure placed another pillow on his head while he screamed back to her. "I'll give you a picture, now fuck off!"

Luna knocked on the door again, this time not stopping as she spoke. "I need you. Please, open the door. I-"

Azure jumped out of the bed and banged as hard as he could, cracking the wood of the door. "Don't you fucking dare say that shit to me. I don't wanna hear that word come from your mouth."

Luna realized that being gentle was not working and decided to strengthen her resolve. Giving herself some space, she yelled at the shut-in stallion. "I order you to open this door and speak to me!"

"Fuck the order. I'm going AWOL." He shouted back to her.

"Azure."

"You can't make me open this door."

Luna turned her back to the door and pouted as she sat in front of it, leaving him no way out except through her. "Then you can't make me leave."

"Don't you have a moon to raise or something?"

"I am abandoning my duties as well." She said in response to Azure's abandonment of his orders.

Azure grew even more angry at the fact that she was using his excuse to miss out on her own duties. "You can't fucking do that!"

"I am the princess and will do what I please. And if I want to stay here until you open this door, then I will order food from here, I will sleep here, I will cleanse myself here."

The guard facehoofed and walked over to the door. "You're not making any sense."

"Love doesn't have to make sense."

Azure took a series of deep breaths and sat at the door, preventing any means of entry beside the lock, which was busted from his earlier assault on the door. With closed eyes, he calmed his to and gently asked. "Go away."

"No." She answers flatly, causing Azure to rise and face the door with tempers flared.

"WHY THE FUCK NOT!?"

"BECAUSE YOU WON'T LISTEN!" Luna screamed in her Canterlot royal voice. She remained seated as the halls still echoed with her voice, shaking much of the items placed in the halls. Once the clattering of glass and rattling of picture frames ceased, the stallion answered back to her.

"You are so stubborn. Must run in the family."

"I am. That's why I was banished for a thousand years."

"Luna." Azure sat with his back to the door as Luna remained in the same position.

"And I will stay a thousand more if it means that you would open this door for me, just for one moment."

Azure shook his head and bumped his head against the door and stared to the ceiling. "I'm gonna be in her for a while."

Luna giggled at the guard. It made her somewhat comfortable to know that he didn't treat her any differently because of what she represented. Instead, he treated her as if they were in a relationship with each other. She closed her eyes and saw that he actually had feelings for her so deep that he would abandon her if she was to do wrong to him. It signaled that he actually have an unconditional affection towards her.

"Take your time. I can wait."

The sun started to set in the little town of Ponyville. As the sky flooded with the orange and red gradient, six mares stepped off of the train and expressed their relief of being done with their long journey.

"Phew, home at last." The orange farm mare said as she and six others made their way onto the platform.

Rainbow Dash flew above, expressing her own comfort. "You can say that again. I can finally stretch my wings without anypony caring about an obscene amount of personal space."

Pinkie Pie pranced off of the train and wore a large smile on her face. "While the Gala was the worst party ever, we managed to make it the best night ever with Princess Celestia!"

Fluttershy nodded quietly as she walked along side the others. "I thought it was awfully nice of her to spend some time with us."

"Yeah. It was fun." Twilight chimed out happily.

Meanwhile, Rarity still had her mind on the stallion that she thought was the stallion of her dreams, instead turning out to be a selfish prick. Her voice remained low and settled in melancholy. "Quite the evening, I would agree."

The other mares stopped trotting and looked over to their depressed friend. Rarity distanced herself away from the others verbally as she walked through the small gathering. Spike followed her from behind, trying to make sure that nothing was bothering her.

"Rarity, you okay?"

While the fashionista looked away from her friends, Applejack knew what plagued her. "Argh! Don't tell me that ya still thinkin' bout that rude feller. Ah thought ya might have dropped 'em by now."

"It's not that simple Applejack. What I had in mind for my evening was to be swept away by the stallion I longed for, not to be some sort of doormat to be trampled on." Rarity answered without even looking to the mare that addressed her.

"You really gotta let that guy go. He was way too dumb for you!" Rainbow Dash cosigned as she hovered above the ground.

Rarity turned her eyes to the cyan pegasus and pointed at her. "Yes... But how would you feel if the Wonderbolts took you in and decided that you weren't able to fly?"

"Well that wouldn't happen because of how awesome I am." She answered cockily, wearing a smug expression on her face.

"And Twilight, what would you say if Princess Celestia decided that you were a fine student and only treated you as a pawn for whatever plan she hatches?"

The purple unicorn shook her head. "The princess doesn't act like that at all, so I wouldn't know."

"Pinkie, how would you feel if you had to stop partying because of a stallion or a family member forbade you from doing it?"

The overly-excited mare took a moment to think. "Well... I'd throw a party just to show them how fun it could be. After all, no better way to cure a grump than to give them something to smile about!"

"Applejack, how would you feel if somepony took over your business and didn't treat it as well as you and your family would?"

The cowpony rolled her eyes as she walked in front of Rarity, trying to be the voice of reason. "Ain't gonna happen cuz the Apple family business stays with the Apple family. Now Ah think ya might just wanna leave that funny business back in Canterlot, sugarcube."

Rarity looked at the five mares and shook with anger. "Doh... None of you understand what it means to be in love anyhow!"

"Ah think you're jus' overreactin'. And ya already know my story, considerin' what happened in the past."

Rarity gasped as soon as their past was brought to the present. "I thought we were over that!"

"Jus like you should be over him!" Applejack countered.

"Oh... I see now. You're asking me to forget what happened just last night. Well it would do you good to remember that our little incident took years for the both of us to get over." Rarity argued.

"That may be true, but it took me to stop bein' so stubborn and for you to stop bein' so uptight for us to forget that. We let a little somethin' like a colt get in the way of our friendship. And for years, we didn't even bother talking it out. Now we managed to talk about it and it only took us a single night to fix it. My point is that ya can't let small stuff eat away at ya."

Rarity turned her attention to the road in front of her. As she watched the sun set over the horizon, her head dropped low and her ears folded. "I've had my heart on him since I was ten years old, Applejack. I tried to work my way to Canterlot so I could see him again. He wasn't the same colt that I fell in love with eight years ago. For something that you've had your heart set on for almost half your entire life, I don't think it would be considered as 'small stuff'."

Twilight walked up to the crestfallen mare and tapped her gently. "Rarity, I think I realize what was wrong."

"You do?" She asks, looking up to the lavender mare.

Twilight nodded solemnly. "You've had a crush on a pony that you haven't seen in eight years. You've allowed yourself to become so attached to him that he found his way into your subconscious and he became your obsession. But what you haven't realized that what it was, was a love unrequited. You loved him, but maybe his heart was somewhere else."

Fluttershy stood beside Rarity and whispered to her. "I've had a crush a long time ago. But he turned out to be a big bully."

"I had a crush that I sent tons of chocolate to, but he only sent me a card." Pinkie said loudly.

"I didn't have one." Cracked Rainbow Dash, causing the others to look at her with disapproval.

"Not helpin' RD. But ya get how mine worked out." Applejack added.

"What we're all trying to say is that your crush isn't often the one that should be your choice on who you might want to spend the rest of your life with. He's just there for a season." Twilight concluded.

Applejack placed a hoof on the saddened unicorn's chin and raised it so that she could see eye-to-eye. "An' there's a reason they call 'em crushes; ya get crushed in the end."

Feeling a little better, Rarity turned her attention to the mares around her and wore a light smile. "I suppose that may be the case."

Pinkie suddenly wrapped her forelegs around the fashionista and pointed her to the direction of the town. "Come on. I know exactly what will cheer you up. Chocolate cake and French vanilla ice cream is one way to put away all your problems. My treat."

Rarity felt a bit of hope in hearing the words her friends had to say to her. "Thanks Pinkie. To all of you."

"Don't sweat it! Besides, I could use some ice cream right about now." Rainbow Dash blurted out.

"That sounds wonderful!" Fluttershy agreed.

"Count me in!" Cheered Twilight.

Pinkie took to the front of the pack and broke into a gallop as she screamed out to the others. "To Sugarcube Corner, away!"

"Now wait up, y'all!" Applejack shouted as she and the others made their way down the road.

Rarity produced a warm smile as the sun continued to set over the horizon. She came to the conclusion that this 'prince of my dreams' business was now well behind her. There was no time to wallow in the past. Her future looked as bright as the golden road before her. With a quick inhale, she eagerly pursued her friends in a dash. She took a mental note to herself as she rejoined her friends.

"I suppose it is time for me to leave this mess in the past. After all Rarity, you're a grown mare now. And grown mares do not deal in crushes."

"Azure?"

"What?"

"Princess Celestia has summoned you to her chambers for a brief discussion."

Azure lied in the bed of the room he locked himself inside of. Meanwhile, Shining Armor stood on the other side of the door instead of Luna. Though Azure couldn't help but to be suspicious of the fact that Celestia would summon him on her own accord. There had to be another reason why she would call him up. There were only two reason in mind.

"On who's behalf?"

"Her own." Shining answered quickly.

"That's bullshit." Azure quipped.

"Well it's an order, not a request. Now start moving."

"...Fine." Azure said before he rose from his bed. Following his rise, he placed on the chainmail shirt and the suit of armor and made his way to the exit. As he opened the door, Shining stood with a subtle smile on his face. That smile could only mean one thing. Being that one of his original assumptions were shot down, being that Celestia summoned him on the behalf of her little sister, it meant that this would be his final day as a guard in the palace. The two made their way down the hall, walking in silence for most of the way.

"Hey, Az."

"What?" The guard asked.

Shining chortled a bit as he thought back to the events of earlier. "I kinda had to hold my mouth closed when you cut Blueblood's horn off. I wanted to cheer so bad. You are awesome, and I hope that you'll remember that."

"Thanks. But seriously, why is Luna using her sister to get to me?" Azure asked, wanting to make sure that it was for the reason of him possibly being fired.

"Actually, Princess Celestia called you on her own. She wanted to talk to you about what you did earlier. And from her tone, it didn't sound too good."

"Oh..." Azure sighed while he looked at the captain next to him. His fear was now realized. "So... I'm getting my pink slip today. Well at least I go out with style."

"Well, were here." Shining said, as the two managed to reach the end of their walk unexpectedly.

"Yup... I guess this is it."

Shining gave his friend a hoofbump and made his way down the hall. "Stay strong and keep your head up, Az."

"Sure." The blue unicorn muttered as he faced the large white door with the sun sigil set in the center. He gulped loudly as his hoof made contact with the large wooden portal to his dismissal.

*knock knock knock*

"Enter." A mature female voice called out to him.

As he walked through the door, he noticed that there was a table set on the far end of the room. On it sat a pile of scrolls and a inked quill. It seemed that it was the paperwork for his discharge. The princess pointed him to the table as she closed the door behind him. In silence, they took their seats while the princess levitated the quill and one of the scroll before herself. The scribbling of the quill drove him to break the discomforting noise.

"Princess."

"Azure. As you know, your reckless behavior has been much to the topic of discussion around the palace." Celestia began.

"I guess I went a little too far?" He asked as she continued to scribble away at one of her scrolls.

"You just about sent yourself to the moon on this one."

"Oh boy." Said the guard in a cringe, fearing that his punishment was far worse than a dismissal.

"Though I have not called you here to relieve you."

At that moment, Azure could have sworn he heard a record scratch somewhere in his mind. "Uh... mare say what?"

Celestia dropped the scrolls and the quill, giving him her full attention. "Your decision to stand up for my sister, despite her hurting you, was one that was to be admired. I surely admired it."

"Uh... thanks?" Said the guard, uncertain as to what was going on.

"You mostly followed through on the order I have given to you. Do you remember what I said?"

Azure thought back to the night of the summer banquet, celebrating Luna's return from her banishment. "If I recall, you told me to follow Lu- I mean, Princess Luna's orders, even if they were against you."

"Correct, but I cannot help that you have failed to do one thing as you locked yourself in one of the guest rooms."

Instantly, he realized what she summoned him for. "Oh boy, here we go."

"You failed to make her happy. She stood by your room for hours on end and I ultimately had to send her to her room by force. I cannot allow my sister to remain in a hallway."

"So by summoning me, you would have me talk to her."

Celestia left her seat and made her way over to her mirror, removing her crown and the rest of her regalia. "The choice of speaking with her is solely up to you. I instructed her to stay in her room. And I made it clear that you would come speak to her when you were ready."

Ease fell on Azure's mind as he took on the knowledge that he wasn't going to be forced to speak with her. "Thanks for understanding, princess."

"Call me Celestia." She said as she placed her crown on her nightstand, next to her large bed.

Azure stuttered as he thought about addressing her on a first-name basis. "Oh... um... As you-"

"And please don't address me or my sister so formally when we are alone. You have shown that you have a personal desire to see that we are happy. So we can trust you enough to speak freely in our presence."

"We?" Azure asked with a tilt of his head.

"My sister and I. I say we because you have cheered me up when I felt down. You gave me words of wisdom and a show of comfort, something that I haven't experienced in many centuries. As for my sister, well you know what you do to her."

"But what about-"

"Blueblood was different." The ivory mare corrected. "I loved him as a mother would her own child. But don't think that he didn't try. Every moment we used to have alone, he would touch me and rub me in ways that made me... uncomfortable."

The guard could feel a bit of anger swell deep within himself, but he held it to himself as he asked the princess on her reaction to the situation. "So what did you do?"

"I distanced myself from him so that I wouldn't succumb to his advances. Though had he waited for my move, I think I may have given him a chance. Think being the key word here."

The guard gave a nod. "Gotcha."

"But when it comes to you, you make my little sister feel like a filly all over again; blind to the horrors of this world and ever smiling."

Azure stuck his chest out as he spoke proudly. "It is my personal duty, as a friend, to see everyone around me happy, but it doesn't mean I won't put my hoof up your ass if you do wrong."

"I see." Giggled the princess at the guard's profane expression.

"Sorry for the language."

"Quite alright actually. I love to hear my guards unwind in my presence. It makes me want to do the same."

"Really? Guess I shouldn't hold back as much." Azure joked.

"Yes. But I do want to ask you something."

He shook his head with a deep breath, knowing well enough what was coming. "Okay, go for it."

"Would you consider talking with Luna?"

Azure stood in silence as he thought about what to say. He was still angry over what Luna did, but he decided to be fair about it considering that she did warn him before she did anything. And more importantly, he did give her his trust. "It will take some time, but I think I could manage."

Celestia hummed to herself as the blue unicorn gave his answer. "...I always envied my little sister."

Startled from the statement, the stallion questioned his princess. "Where did that come from?"

"Personal experience." She said softly.

"Care to share?" He inquired.

"Luna, and of course Cadance, have always had guards that sought to know them on a personal level. I only had the guards that were so caught up in protocol that only one even dared to ask me for some of my time."

"But why guards? Why not a pony that was-"

"Status."

Thinking back to the fact that commoners would abuse the system through their relationship with her, he understood her reason to restrict herself to those she could see working. "Oh."

"But even he was unsatisfied with me in the end. I want to ask you something else."

Azure immediately interjected his thoughts. "I've already made it clear that you are a mare no different than others. Sure you can't have foals but that doesn't stop you from giving your love to somepony."

"Not what I was going to ask." She said, correcting him. "What I wanted to ask was this... If you and I had a relationship similar to you and Luna and I did what she was accused of, would you still be angry with me for what I did?"

"Yeah. No question." He said with a shrug.

"So you would treat me like I was somepony else? No titles, no formalities, just equine interaction."

"You know it."

"So if I asked you to look at me?"

"Ignore the hell out of you." He joked.

"If I knocked on your door?"

"I'd tell you to shut the hell up."

The princess stifled a laugh at the guard's crude sense of humor. "If I was sincere about my apology and wanted a hug."

"Then I would hug you back. Is this going somewhere?" He asked, still playing around.

"No. I was just curious as to how you could disregard status and let your personal feelings take over. I guess you could say that I've missed that kind of interaction."

"So Blueblood didn't do any of that for you?" He asked, to which the princess responded with solid no.

"Blueblood wasn't sincere in his dealings, as I have now come to realize. You are... different."

Azure continued to laugh as he made fun of the princess. "If I wasn't dumb, then I would say that you're starting to like me."

Celestia quietly walked over to him and stood, not saying anything. He blinked as she seemingly towered above him. He started to back away but she held him in place using her magic. Letting her hooves close in around him, she kisses him on the forehead. His cheeks flooded with red as the princess cupped his face close to hers. Finally, she admitted her truth.

"As a companion, yes. Romantic interest... I may not know. But you belong to Luna, so I cannot pursue you unless you seek me first."

For the most part, Azure was rendered speechless. His legs shook at the revelation of what she told him. Princess Celestia, the ruler of all of Equestria, the one who moves the sun, had feelings for him. He didn't think that it was possible. He may have joked about it once or twice back in high school, but now it was for real. She was interested and there he was, sitting in her hooves. He didn't know what to say.

"Oh... wow... I didn't... know."

Realizing that she may have been in the wrong, she released the guard and made her way to the opposite side of the room, distancing herself from him. "Forget I said that. I was misplaced and started to speak without consulting to rational thought."

"No. You're... fine." He said, trying to comfort the rejected princess. "I just didn't expect you to have an interest."

Celestia quickly made her way to the door and ushered him into the hall. "Then let us leave our conversation here. Now go... Luna awaits you next door."

Azure, still in shock, bids his superior farewell. "Okay... See you later, princess."

"Celestia." She reiterated, wanting him to address her in a personal manner. "As my friend, I wish you to call me by that over my title."

"Sure. I'll go speak with Luna now."

As the guard made his way outside to the other door, she tugged against him with her magic. "Azure-"

"I won't tell her anything. That's up to you." He said, returning the favor of him speaking to Luna. He didn't want to disclose what she had said to him, as it was a personal matter between just the two of them. There was no need to bring dissonance into their relationship.

As the door closed behind him, Celestia stood at the doorway. She quietly hoped that he would come back to speak with her. Just for a minute. It was all she wanted. "I wonder what it would be if you were my guard instead. Would you look after me like you did my younger sister?"

She walked over to her nightstand, collecting her regalia and wearing them once more.

"Of course not. You're not my guard. Why should it matter?"

Her eyes fell to the floor as she thought about what she really wanted to do. Her reason for summoning him was originally to show him gratitude for revealing that Blueblood was more or less interested in his own pursuits over those of others around him. But instead of thanking him, she ended up confessing something that could cause a disruption in her sister's relationship with him. She felt even more guilty than before.

"Why should I worry about a stallion who doesn't want me?"

"Luna... it's me."

"So you've come to talk?"

"Yeah. I caved."

The door clicked and moaned like a mighty giant as the Princess of the Night stood in her doorway, welcoming the stallion inside. When he entered, he noticed that much of the room was in disarray. Sheets lied in piles and pillows were thrown all over the room. Some of the pillows even had their stuffing beat out of them. It was obvious something had made her angry or something was getting to her. He stared in silence while Luna was the first to speak.

"I am to assume that my sister spoke with you, yes?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

Luna sat on her disorganized bed as she signaled for him to come over. "So do you want to talk about how you feel?"

He was still upset, though not as much as he was in shock over what Celestia spoke with him just across the wall. And that was something he already had a growing discomfort with. "Honestly, I don't want to. Can we talk about something else?"

"You know I didn't mean to hurt you."

"I know. You warned me. A vague warning, but it was a warning nonetheless."

Luna still didn't have the courage to look him in the eyes as she sat next to him. She shuffled her hooves as her question left her lips. "Should I have told you about it before I did what I did?"

"Why? I'd be more pissed at you than I am now." Azure states, looking away from her as well.

"You could have talked me out of it."

"Yeah, but you asked me to trust you. So I did. I just didn't expect trust to hurt."

Luna knew that his anger with her was something fierce for him to express it in the form of a violent act against the ousted prince. She felt like there was no way he could see her the same as he did before. "I don't expect you to forgive me for what I did."

Azure sighed as he remembered his promise to make her smile. He was still her guardian after all, and if his princess wanted to be forgiven, then he would. But there was no way that he would be able to move on like nothing had happened. He swallowed his pride and placed himself on the high road. "It's hard to forget, but forgiving is a little easier. I think I could pull it off."

Luna felt a painful impact hit her heart as he told her that he would forgive her. She anticipated anger, but in the end she got peace. She prepared herself for conflict, yet there was none to be had. She stood from her bed and screamed at the stallion with all of her strength. "WHY!?"

"What's wrong?" Asked a startled and mortified Azure, confused as to why she would be so angry.

Her guilt became too much for her to bear. She started to take to her pillows and toss them across the room as she tried to avoid eye contact with the guard. "I betrayed you. You had every right to disobey my request earlier. I deserve to be shunned and to be called out for what I did to you!"

"You sound like you want me to punish you."

"I DO!"

"Why?" He questions her, trying to walk up to her. She refuses him with a shove, not allowing him to get close.

"Because I hurt you. I betrayed your trust and I betrayed my own heart for what I did."

The guard waived off her logic as he continued to pursue her. "You're getting punished enough on your own. I don't need to do anything at this point."

"I deserve it. Why can't you see that?"

"You're letting your guilt drive you insane. I forgive you."

"No you don't."

"Luna. Just listen to me."

"Lies."

Azure walks in front of Luna, causing her to turn her head away from him. "Look at me."

"I can't." She answered, clenching her eyes shut so that she would be able to see his face.

"Then I'll make you." He says, closing in on her.

"You won't."

Luna felt a force turn her head forward and soon after, she felt the foreign sensation of a pair of lips assaulting hers. Her eyes spring open as she looks at the smaller stallion who dared to violate her without her consent. She shook with fear over the madness that was him. He opened his eyes and stood, facing her with his large green eyes.

"Looks like I just did."

Luna blushed and broke the eye contact that they briefly established between one another. "You're intolerable."

"But you love it." He whispered playfully.

Luna couldn't take him not punishing her any longer. She couldn't accept that he refused to scream and yell at her like he did earlier. At the very least, it made her feel happy that he was angry at her. A conundrum of emotions boiled and stirred in her mind while she tried to process everything she put in. Eventually everything inside of her grew as hot as molten steel. Her bearings that held the constructs of her mind together started to give way. It all creaked and groaned until something inside of her snapped.

"Take it off, Azure."

"What are you-" Azure was cut off by the familiar feeling of her magic surrounding his body, only this time he was violently slammed into the bed, so hard that he heard something crack under the pressure of his descent. He lied with an exposed belly as she leapt on top of him, pulling madly at the latch that held his armor together. He finally caught the hint on what she was pertaining to as she screamed to the top of her lungs, unleashing her Canterlot royal voice.

"TAKE IT OFF!"

"Trying." He said, hastily trying to undo the latchings of the breastplate and his armor.

"You have until the count of three before I take you as you are." She stressed as she panted like a wild chimera, affixed to it's prey.

He unlatched the belt that held him to the armor, setting himself free of the clumsy attire.

"One... two..."

He felt her hooves press into him painfully as he did his best to remove his chain-link shirt. But as she applied more pressure on him, he found that it was to be a daunting challenge. "Arrrgh... Damn chainmail."

Luna lit her horn and held his forelegs to his chest as she roared like a savage lion. He laid helpless as she climbed further up his body, lustfully drooling at the muscular stallion below her. Her breath shook as she spoke. "Time's up."

"Not even giving me a chance to get this shirt off of me, are you?" He asked.

"I gave you enough time to disrobe on the way here." She said as she straddled his muzzle, showing him her winking sex. Her marehood glistened before him as his tongue slithered out of his mouth. As she was still out of reach, he mocked her some more before she would force him to feast on her folds.

"So I guess my game is sloppy seconds?"

Luna squeaked as her body ran cold with the icy desire to plunge her haunches onto his face. "I would prefer the term 'purification'. Now clean me."

Azure could say nothing else as he found himself silenced by the aroma of her dripping arousal telling him to engorge upon her. Her eyes shined with a spark as his tongue tasted the winking mound of her sex. She sank herself on him, forcing him to use his entire mouth to please her.

As he continued to French-kiss her lower lips, she moaned with a sudden electric jolt running across her body. His tongue continued to go deeper while her wings started to unfurl on their own accord. She held the soldier to his battle with a strong hoof, guiding him to where his next assault would take place.

To perform the same act, expecting a different result was often called insanity. Luna was clearly going headlong into that territory as she relentlessly forced her stallion to clean her every muscle. Luna bent over him as the sensation of his tongue battering against her drove to the brink of madness. Yet in all, she has clearly passed the breaking point. Her madness began as soon as his lips met with hers for the first time.

Being careful to not break his neck, she rode him as she would a carousel. Her wings pulsed with the need to be attended to. She pulled her left wing to her mouth and started to tease herself by licking her wing tip. Greedily sucking on the feathers, she moaned into the curtain of her own body while she started to shake with pleasure.

Her teasings and his ministrations became too much for her to bear in a single setting. Her much needed orgasm soon washed over her as well as the face of the stallion below her. Her juices drenched his face and her hips fell into spasm while he savored the taste of his princess.

"Do I taste good?" She asked shakily, recovering from her intense orgasm.

"Since you wanna know..."

With a spark of his horn, he levitated the princess off of him and rose to meet her. His tongue still dampened by his saliva and her own fluids crashed through her lips and assaulting her tongue. His organ assaulted her mouth, causing her to shudder in fear of the monster she has encountered.

Once his and her lips separated, she threw him off of the bed using her own physical strength. He wrestled her for dominance and succeeded to mount her. His breaths grew needy and pleading as the princess' wing spread wide open and she uttered her very first royal decree to her guard in over a thousand years.

"Fuck me!" She screamed in a painful voice.

"NOW WE'RE TALKING!" He shouted as his throbbing stallionhood pressed against her moist folds, teasing her.

"No words. Talk is counterproductive in this process." She whispered as their breaths started to fall in sync. He aligned himself to enter into her clingy passage and prodded her gently, eliciting a powerful cry that many in the castle could hear. Azure pressed himself into her with a single plunge, bottoming out into her slick inner-walls.

"Then shut up and let me work."

"Ahhh~ Azure..."

Meanwhile in the room next door, another princess had begun to receive her fill of pleasure. She pressed her head into her pillows as her ivory hoof rubbed softly against her moist, winking mound. Celestia bit into her sheets as she tried to keep quiet. Her enjoyment of the performance next door was too much for her to merely sit through, considering the stallion who her sister was with.

"I envy you, Luna. *gasp* You have his attention... and here I am... suffering to the sounds of your activities with him."

Luna's moans pierce the walls of the room, causing Celestia to further imagine herself being the beneficiary of his advances. Her hoof softly rubs the outer edges of her lips, the lips that no stallion has dared himself to touch or see for over eight centuries. Her lack of attention, her unused skill, the fiery desire to be filled by a stallion's cock, now rekindled and burned as her lust carried her towards the thought of committing the ultimate sin; sin of stealing what was not hers and what belonged to her younger sister.

"Azure..."

Luna's cries have now been reduced to actual calls of distress. Not out of spite, but of desire. Her hips push back into his incoming thrusts. She squeezes him for everything he as as he exits, but allows him to enter with ease. Her control is precise as his aim is true, kissing the very inner depths of the fleshy halls. He kisses her inside as she cries tears of long-endured pain on the outside.

A thousand years without the touch of a stallion, and now she allowed this stallion to know her cries. She wants him to see how bad her drought has been for her. Her breath, in conjunction with his, begins to fog the mirrors and windows of the room. His grunts are primal as her squeaks are delicate. His strength grows enough to break her as his thrusts batter against her.

Luna takes appreciation to his endowment, though he has not enough to reach her with a simple entry, his increased force had managed to drive himself into her deepest parts. He has become so forceful that the bed she leaned against has now slid a considerable two meters in distance.

There were no words between them. They allowed their actions to become their words. Luna could no longer support her own weight and faltered to the ground below. But as soon as she fell, Azure expressed his displeasure by giving her a firm smack on her voluptuous cheeks of her flanks. A slight ripple formed across as the shockwave of the impact caused it to spread throughout her body. And like an obedient servant, her ass was raised for him to take once more. A primordial affair that the two have begun to master.

"Azure, surely I am worthy of your taste. Will you not taste what I have to offer?"

Celestia spread her hind legs in front of her mirror as lied in her bed. Her wings pulled apart her tender folds, abused from the denied orgasms she inflicted upon herself out of fear that she would finish before him. Her pink walls showed her versatility to please, yet her loneliness caused her to settle with the comfort of her own hooves. As her wings continued to pry away at her lower lips, the lewd display she gave to herself fueled her desire to continue.

Her ivory hoof, now soaked beyond comprehension, was her only source of pleasure while her fantasy took place next door. She knew what she was imagining was wrong to her little sister, but the pain of being alone had caused her to toss all care to the wind. Her moment was now and at that moment, she wanted a meaty stallion cock to fill her until she could no longer breathe. Screaming into her pillow, she called out to the instrument of her destruction.

"AZURE!"

If there was a such thing as madness beyond the bounds of equine capability, Luna has ascended past it. Her cries had now made way for noisy laughter. Her mind was broken as she felt the sensation of her stallion's tongue running up and down the length of her horn. His additional punishments started to become too much of a burden. So much that she transcended into a laughing fit while her guardian continued to fuck her brains out.

"Aaaagaaaaha haa haaangh"

Her words were reduced to unintelligent banter. The only words that she could speak out clearly was the words 'fuck' and 'cum'. Her body since long shut off any registry of fatigue and pain. Their session now lasted a full fourty-five minutes. The sun had already set beyond the horizon and it was far past her time to raise the moon.

But she couldn't focus, as her attention was more placed into obtaining her seventh orgasm for the night. Azure grunted harshly as he felt his climax approach him. He entered and exited her with a slimy coat of her cum and his secretions. She laid on the ground laughing with her face buried into the carpet as his thrusts grew erratic and without rhythm or form. He wouldn't last long.

Luna had become like a dog. She whimpered when she wanted him inside, she barked when she wanted him out. But now she started to howl. Her time was close.

Celestia ground her hips into her hoof as she felt the final time she could reach her peak. She cried out for her guard to finish. Celestia started to scream past her pillow now.

"Azure... Azure... AZURE!!!"

Luna felt her entire body go numb as she howled to the balcony. The night sky filled with an assortment of colors as her final orgasm crushed every last fiber of her being. Her horn glowed warmly with a blue light building from the base of her horn to the tip. Eventually it peaked to the point where she released herself in a explosion of her magical residue.

Azure gave a powerful thrust and topped her off as his hot streams of cum gushed into her weary body. He panted harshly, trying to regain some oxygen that he lost. In the meantime, he saw the beautiful yet exotic night that the two of them have managed to create. Luna fell with a loud thud to the ground.

"Ah... ha... ahhh..... shit... Luna, you okay?" The proud stallion asked to his princess.

"Haaaon hwo hweeez." She howls out, asking for a second round.

"Damn! Didn't we... just finish!?" The guard pants out while the princess moves an eye to him.

Luna responded by raising her body off of the ground and greedily leaching herself to the retreating stallionhood of Azure, hoping to get a second round going. The soreness of his previous session had started to set in as her services started to become a mix of pain and pleasure. She removed her lips from the refilled shaft and looked up to him as she whispered to him three words.

"Serve your princess."

"Sister... What am I doing? What is going on? I haven't done anything like this in over eight hundred years and now I'm visualizing myself taking what is yours."

Celestia lied in her bed as she looked at the marecum drenched hoof before her. Her creamy aftermath slowly drooled off of her as she recovered from the intense orgasm that was induced by the action next door. The ivory colored alacorn mare stared at the mirror and started to feel shame for what she had become. She knew that she couldn't take away what belonged to her younger sister. There had to be only one solution.

"I have to distance myself from Azure. If I don't... Then I'll really regret what transpires next."

Meanwhile outside, a third party had managed to pay witness to the little show that the elder princess had managed to put on in the comfort of her own room. An odd creature stared as he floated on a cloud in the distance. As he watched the mare, he picked off a piece of the cloud and ate it.

"Well, it looks like poor, little Celestia has a bit of a relationship issue."

The strange creature started to think of a plan that would at least be somewhat similar to a soap opera. He wanted drama, he wanted suspense, he wanted betrayal. More than anything, he wanted these seeds of dissonance between the two sisters to cause a rift between them.

After all... What was the fun of being orderly when you could turn the world on it's head and continue ice skating on a dirt road?

"I suppose that won't be too bad if I... give her a push."

Author's Note

DUM DUM DUM! You all know who that is.

Behold, a new challenger comes. And this time, he likes his glass warm and his chocolate combustible.

ACT 2: 1ɔnpuÓ̇̓̑̅ͨͧ̓͒ͦ̒̽̚͜͏̨͎̯̞̦͙̦͉͎̬̰̲̖̰͉ͅƆ ʎlɹ3pɹ05ᴉD

A disgruntled Celestia sat at her throne as she thought about the events of the previous night. Her time in her room hearing her younger sister and her guardian going to town throughout the night was problematic for her sleep as well as for other reasons. Celestia stared at the list her assistant provided and groaned in frustration. Numerous items and tasks were listed, telling her that this was going to be a very long day.

Inkwell's voice drowned out to the alacorn princess, sounding like a low voice in a large pipe. Celestia's eyes remained reddened yet her determination to make it through the day failed to falter. The princess, feeling lazy, scans the list for any simple tasks that she could knock out in a minute's time frame.

Then suddenly, a thunderous boom accompanied by a lightning flash filled the space of the Grand Hall. Celestia looked at the stained glass windows and noticed that the light was fairly darker than this morning. From what she remembered when she raised the sun, it was expected to be a beautiful day. Inkwell was the first to speak.

"Princess, was there a storm scheduled for today?"

Celestia yawned and rolled her neck, mainly to get a discomforting creak out. With her recovery, she answered her assistant. "I don't recall a weather patrol calling in a storm. Why?"

"Another question, did something get into the cloud maker in Cloudsdale?"

"Why do you ask?"

"The clouds seem rather different today. They're a little more pink than usual."

Celestia swore saw everything as pink earlier this morning when she walked down the halls and looking out of her window. She initially persuaded herself that her eyes were so bloodshot that she couldn't help to see everything through a light red filter. It concerned her that it wasn't just her that saw the abnormality. "Pink?"

"Yes, princess."

The princess flicked her ears and rubbed her eyes to make sure that she was properly awake. With a few blinks, she descended her throne. "Well send in a unit from the weather patrol and have them clear the storm if it's not scheduled."

"At once." Said the assistant, taking off in a gallop. Celestia looked at the stained glass windows and shook her head as she started to hear the pitter-patter of raindrops falling against the rooftop. She closed her eyes while she took a moment to think.

"Pink clouds? Why does that seem familiar?"

Before she could come up with an answer, a guard stormed into the room and ran before the authoritative mare. "Uh princess... You won't believe our reports on the clouds."

"Speak." Celestia commanded, opening her eyes to reveal their normal, bloodless state.

"Our flight team has confirmed that the clouds are made from... *ahem* ...cotton candy."

"WHAT!" Exclaimed the princess as she towered over the guard making his report.

"And that the rain is also chocolate milk." The guard added.

"This doesn't make sense. How could there be a..." While she added up the premise of a most unusual situation, her mind reeled back to a time before her and Celestia's rule started. She could recognize the world being covered in banana peels, roads made of soapy water, homes tilted on their axis and moving inanimate objects. There could only be one thing. "CAPTAIN!"

Shining Armor, fully suited, ran into the room and made his way to the princess. "Yes, your highness?"

Celestia breezed by him and started to make her way outside. "To the garden, now!"

"Yes princess." Said her captain as he ran to her side. As they trotted the down the halls and past the outside door that would lead to the barracks, the party of Cadance, Poindexter, Longshot and Azure accompanied them. Shining growled as he saw that one of his friends were ill-prepared, carrying their chainmail shirt on hoof rather than their body. Azure spoke before Shining started to chew him out.

"Hey, what the hell is going on? We have houses flying in the sky, walking mailboxes and my chainmail won't stop singing about shit that it shouldn't be singing about."

Just as it was mentioned, the chainmail developed a mouth and two smaller depressions that made up for it's eyes. With a boastful, nasally, fast-talking voice with a Manehattan accent, the shirt started to sing while pointing to Poindexter, Longshot and Azure in that order.

♪He burps a lot, he passed some gas
He fucked the princess right in the a-♫

Giving the singing shirt a mouth-full of hoof, Azure turned his attention to his captain. "See what I mean?"

"Get another shirt." Shining advised as he winced in concern.

"I can't. All the quiet ones are taken." Azure complains as the shirt tries to fight for his vocal freedom.

Shining shrugged as they all made their way into the garden. "Then lock him in a closet."

"I tried, but he managed to get out somehow. One minute he-"

The shirt managed to set itself free and climb over the hoof of it's owner. Azure groaned as the shirt started to tell jokes. "Oh boy, lemme tell you about this guy. I mean he has the nerve to gag me! Can't he see that I already chained up?"

{insert rim-shot here}

"And yeah, he has a bad taste of stand-up comedy." Longshot said in a deadpan while the shirt continued to tell jokes as they made their way to the central display area.

"Listen here, you see. I's got a pretty spicy joke to tell to all of you's. See, there was a circus family that walked into a talent agent's office looking for a job. The family of a mother, a father, a young filly, a teen colt, a dog and a tarantula walked into the office and asked the guy if he could sign them for his next show. The agent said that he had other things to do with his time and the father pleaded that they had a particular act that he thought that was to be really peculiar. So then the agent asked the stallion: 'Okay, so what's the act?' So the fathe-mmmmhmmphmmm."

A zipper surrounded in a golden aura conveniently zipped the mouth of the shirt closed. Celestia has obviously grown impatient with the banter. "This is not the time for jokes! We have to search the area!"

"Will all due respect princess, what would we be looking for?"

"A statue of a creature that once tossed the world into a prolonged period of chaos and tyranny."

"A statue?" Shining slowly worded out, confused that a statue would be the cause of all of this nonsense.

"There is no time for explanations. We have to see if he has been set free!"

"Who's this... he?" Azure asked. As the princess offered her explanation, another voice called out to her.

"Sister!"

The party took after the sound of the voice. As they turned a corner, it was revealed to be none other than Luna standing in front of a stone podium. Celestia ran after her younger sibling. "Luna, thank goodness. Are you safe?"

"My safety would prove to be the least of our issues. Behold."

Luna pointed to the stone podium to reveal that there was nothing present besides a few rocks and pebbles where the statue once stood. Celestia gasp in horror as the realization hit her. The other guards just looked at her with raised eyebrows.

"Okay, why are we shocked that a statue made of stone is missing?" Azure spoke up.

Celestia walked over to the podium and surveyed the area. "It wasn't just a statue... It was a draconequus with a cloven hoof, a dragon's leg, a lion's paw, a griffon's claw, a lizard's tail, one bat wing, one pegasus wing, the horn of both a goat and a deer, a body of a bear's fur shaped like a snake and a head of a pony."

"And a snag tooth." Luna added to her sister's description.

"Damn, this guy sound like six varying degrees of the ugly, the ugly, and Blueblood's mother." Poindexter mumbled to the others, Celestia overhearing the comment.

"I fear that he is much worse than that. Blueblood may have been a nuisance, but I fear that he is but poultry to what we are dealing with as of now."

"That bad?" The captain asked.

Luna spoke first as her elder sister shook in fury. "The God of Chaos himself."

Celestia felt a mighty rage fill her as she looked at the cracked display covered with stone pebbles, rocks and a strong scent reminiscent of a carnival stand. With a powerful slam of her hoof, she barked his name.

"Discord."

"Yes my dear. At last I have been freed. But I can't help but to experiment with a little town that's down the way from here. I must say that this little place is vaguely different in it's design yet it is seemingly familiar in terms of appearance. Could this be a new town that sprang up in my absence?"

The draconequus floated in mid air on one of the clouds made from cotton candy while a vending box of tourist info spat in his face like an alpaca. He wiped the slimy map off of his face and shook his fist at the floating box, giving it an angry snarl. He let it get away with the offensive gesture and read the map. His eyes finally landed on his answer.

"Why it is! According to this map, it seems to be called Ponyville. Well... I suppose it could be a little fun to shift my attention southward for a bit."

With a snap of his fingers, he teleported to the outskirts of a small town with a large contingent of clouds following him from the north.

"I wonder what they've got going on here. Well there's no need to keep the fun to myself. C'mon over boys, the water's fine!"

With a smile, he snapped up a brown throne made of a variety of items, more prominently wood made from chocolate. He curled his digits together in anticipation as he watched the storm clouds go by.

"It tickles me on how these ponies will respond."

Canterlot Palace Grounds
Canterlot Royal Palace
Grand Hall

"Attention all guards!"

MA'AM, YES MA'AM!

The army of guards stood before their princesses, awaiting orders. Many of them were a little perplexed as to what all was going on, while others were shaking in their suits of armor, thinking on how the laws of physics could be so broken.

Celestia stood beside her younger sister as she debriefed the guards on what was going on. "As you may know, there is a creature by the name of Discord running amok in this region. And as some of you are thinking now, he is trying to spread his influence to many others across the land."

"So how do we take him down?" One of the guards ask.

Luna stepped forward to give an answer that shocked much of the regiment. "You don't."

Shining Armor was the first to challenge that order. "But princess, he's far too dangerous to be left alone."

"And he is far too powerful for you to encounter on your own. And though it troubles me to say, Luna and I will be of little to no assistance to you even if we were to combine our might with that of your own." Celestia called out to him.

"Surely he cannot be that powerful." The captain said to himself as he removed himself from the floor.

Celestia silently nodded. "Sadly... he is. Even I cannot hope to defend myself from his antics. As I am now brought to the subject of defense, I will ask all of you to go into the town and try to minimize the damages that he has already caused."

"Is there anyone who can beat this guy?" Longshot asks in his captain's place.

"Yes. Six of them. And they will be on their way from Ponyville very shortly. They will be the ones to stop Discord and to bring an end of his second ceiling." Celestia stated as she turned to her sister to give orders on where the guards could take their posts.

"Your positions are as followed: Shadow Star, you and your company shall take the Slums. Silverleaf, your company will take the Keeping District. Poindexter, your company will take the Lower District. Longshot, your guards shall take up the Central District. Captain Shining Armor, you shall take the Inner District. Azure, you shall take the palace."

Azure slowly walked to the speaking floor with concern that he wasn't sent out with his friends. "With all due respect, Princess Luna. But why am I not being sent to th-"

And then the moon exploded.

"DO NOT QUESTION THE MOTIVES OF THINE PRINCESS! YOU SHALL ADHERE TO MY DECISIONS AND WILL DO SO WITH FAIR COUNTENANCE! DOST WE MAKE OURSELVES CLEAR!?"

After the room finished shaking and the other guards were left with hooves covering their ears. Azure jumped back into ranks as he whimpered his response. "Yes ma'am."

"Very good then." Luna said as she turned it over to the elder sister who stood beside her.

"My sister is more acquainted with combat situations whereas I am not. I am not one to turn to fighting, but I will do what needs to be done if it means that the safety of the citizens are at stake. And in this case, it would seem that I too may have to draw my weapon. But once again, we are not to engage with Discord under any circumstances. Leave him to me, Luna or the element bearers. Am I understood?"

The guards gave the princess a salute, sending a loud snapping noise into the air. "Yes, your majesty!"

"Very well then. To your posts!"

Canterlot Palace Grounds
Canterlot Tower
Hall of ~~Heroes~~ Zeroes
I swear Celestia, you could at least come up with a better name than that.

Sometime after the meeting, the two sisters managed to collect themselves and tried to think of a plan to deal with Discord for the time being. They walked a long hall filled with stained glass murals depicting past events that altered the course of Equestria. They found themselves stopping before one notable window.

"Sister, I do not understand how he was able to escape." Luna quietly stated, looking at the stained glass display.

The window they stood in front of was a depiction of when they bested him in battle over a thousand years ago. Celestia answered her younger sister. "It has been well over a thousand years since the day we defeated him last. I expected him to be freed far sooner than this, but fortune found favor in us, especially since we've last used the elements."

"If fortune was truly on our side, then we would not have to deal with him at all."

"I agree with your sentiment, though it was only a matter of time when he would free himself since your banishment."

They continued to walked over to another window, depicting six mares putting an end to Nightmare Moon and her eternal night. Luna looked at her elder sister, who's eyes lined to the elements that they each wore. "Can we not wield the elements ourselves?"

Celestia shook her head. "It has been a thousand years since I've called on their power, a thousand years since we used them last."

"Then we are out of sync." Said Luna in defeat, letting her head sink.

"Precisely. We couldn't use the elements because our connection to them have vastly faded and found shelter in vessels that harbor a trait of each element."

"Then what are we to do?"

Celestia placed a hoof on her younger sister's chin and gave a comforting smile. "You will patrol the palace while I brief the girls on what their dealing with and their objective to stop him." Her smile then turned into a frown. "I have a feeling that he would want to toy with us in a moment."

Luna looked at her sister with a look of determination. "And if we find him?"

"We will continue to entertain him long enough for the girls to take him down." Celestia answered while she looked at the mural of her student and her friends. Luna doing the same with a worried breath of air.

"Why do I have a feeling that his 'entertainment' is going to be problematic for the both of us?"

Canterlot Palace Grounds
Canterlot Royal Palace
The Grand Foyer
(Just like Celestia's plot)

"If anyone is reading this, then you will know that this is the author speaking. Please help me. I'm locked in my room and trying to hide from this bastard that constantly tried to rewrite my fanfics! If you wish to help- No... NO DON'T TIE ME TO THE IRONING BOARD! HEEEEELP!
"I pray that they make it here safely. I probably should have sent an escort team to retrieve the girls."

Celestia stood atop of the stairs and paced back and forth while she looked at the closed doors of the entrance. She expected her student to walk through those doors soon but couldn't help but to feel the concern weighing heavily on her mind. "No. Twilight is more than capable in a situation that requires aggressive negotiations."

She looked back at the door again, seeing that the door was still closed. She started to panic as fear of Discord getting to them first ran visions in her head. She tried to assure herself that they were only visions. "She'll be fine, Celestia. She is your student. She is not as strong as Blueblood but neither is she weak. Twilight can handle anything that is set before her."

Another half hour passes and Celestia continues to trot back and forth. Her pacing sped up as her heartbeat did the same. Suddenly a slamming sound filled the hall. As she looked to the door, there stood her student as well as her friends. Twilight and the others ran to her.

"Princess Celestia, we came as fast as we could!"

Celestia felt relief in seeing that her and her friends came out mostly unscathed. "Thank you, Twilight. Thank you, all."

"Is this about the weather? And the animals' weird behavior? What's happening out there? Why isn't my magic working? Is there-"

Celestia raised a hoof to silence her student so that she could explain what was going on. "Follow me. There is much to discuss and there is little time to do so."

Celestia knew that there was no time for the usual formalities. She had to quickly explain her student what was going on and what she was facing. As she guided them into the hall of the glass murals that her and her sister once walked, she started to tell the story. "I've called you here for a matter of great importance. It seems an old foe of mine, someone I thought I had defeated long ago, has returned. His name... is Discord."

A shriek filled the air as Fluttershy ran away from a glass picture of the aforementioned figure.

"Discord is the mischievious spirit of disharmony. Before my sister and I stood up to him, he ruled Equestria in an eternal state of unrest and unhappiness. Luna and I saw how miserable life was for Earth ponies, Pegasi, and unicorns alike, so after discovering the Elements of Harmony, we combined our powers and rose up against him, turning him to stone."

"All right, Princess!" Exclaimed the riled-up Rainbow Dash.

"I thought the spell we cast would keep him contained forever, but since Luna and I are no longer connected to the Elements, the spell has been broken." Celestia finished.

Twilight looked at her mentor with concern as the words fell on her ears. "No longer connected?"

"This is Canterlot Tower, where the Elements are kept inside since all of you recovered them. I need you to wield the Elements of Harmony once again and stop Discord before he thrusts all of Equestria into eternal chaos." Said Celestia, assigning her student her newest objective.

Twilight was still stuck on the princess' previous statement. "But why us? Why don't you-"

"Hey, look! We're famous!" Interrupted Pinkie Pie, pointing to a mural that had a picture of the six of them.

Celestia stood before the six as she made her decree. "You six showed the full potential of the Elements by harnessing the magic of your friendship to beat a mighty foe. Although Luna and I once wielded the Elements, it is you who now control their power, and it is you who must defeat Discord!"

Twilight took a deep breath and accepted her mentor's request. "Princess Celestia, you can count on-"

"Hold on a second!" Interrupted Pinkie Pie. "Eternal chaos comes with chocolate rain, you guys. Chocolate. Rain!"

Twilight trotted to the princess and gave her a smile. "Don't listen to her, Princess. We'd be honored to use the Elements of Harmony again."

The princess nodded and walked over to a vault on the other side of the hall. Celestia lowered her head to place her horn in a hole that seemed to be a similar composition to that of a keyhole. With a flare of alacorn magic, the princess cast the spell to unlock the vault. She removed herself as the six seals lit up the room and shone brightly in the hall, nearly blinding the other six ponies behind her. Standing the least-bit phased, she levitated a elegant case that contained the elements inside.

"Ooh. You can keep the Elements. I'll take that case!" Said an excitable Rarity as she saw the chest sparkle and shine before her very eyes.

"Have no fear, ponies. I have total confidence that you will be able to defeat Discord with these!"

The princess opened the box to reveal the elements inside, but instead the case opened and brought a collective gasp on behalf of all the mares in attendance. They all stood in shock over what they saw.

"Princess, the elements! They're gone!" Twilight shouted, causing the princess to drop the box in surprise. It was revealed to her as well that the box was indeed barren. Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie started to trot off.

"Oh, well. If anyone needs me, I'll be outside in the chocolate puddles with a giant swizzle straw."

Twilight flared her magic, teleporting the pink pony next to her. "Pinkie. Down."

"Awww! But Twilight-"

"Ah! I don't want to hear it! We are in the middle of a crisis and you're too busy thinking about chocolate-filled cotton candy clouds and popcorn. We need to focus!"

Pinkie gave a frown as she looked up to her friend. "You didn't have to yell."

Princess Celestia paced back and forth as she started to panic. "That chamber is protected by a powerful spell that only I can break! This doesn't make sense!"

An ominous laugh echoed throughout the halls and caused the six mares, sans one angry princess, to look around in fear over what was going on.

"Make sense? Oh, what fun is there in making sense?"

Celestia felt a rage so deep that she started to heat the air around her body. She screamed out to the voice. "Discord... Show yourself!"

Meanwhile, the mural depicting him playing with the ponies as if they were puppets, came alive. He spoke from the stained glass window. "Did you miss me, Celestia? I missed you. It's quite lonely being encased in stone, but you wouldn't know that, would you, because I don't turn ponies into stone."

Celestia started to prepare herself to charge at him. Her hatred for him started to permeate deep into her composure, revealing a very bitter side that was rarely seen by any other who served under her. "Enough! What have you done with the Elements of Harmony?"

"Oh, I just borrowed them for a teensy little while."

"You will never get away with this, Discord!"

The draconequus appeared on the window directly in front of the princess and teased her on her anger. "Oh, I'd forgotten how grim you can be, Celestia. It's really quite boring."

"Hey! Nopony insults the Princess!" Said Rainbow Dash, who flew at the window. She barreled at the figure full speed, only to crash face first into the glass while Discord looked at the the mare who's face was plastered to the surface.

"Oh, you must be Rainbow Dash, famed for her loyalty, the Element of Harmony you represent."

"That's right! I'll always be loyal to the Princess!" Rainbow proclaimed.

Discord gave off a chuckle as he watch the mare remove herself. "We'll see about that."

Rarity rolled her eyes as she insulted the creature. "I can't believe we're wasting our time talking to a tacky window."

"The beautiful Rarity, representing the element of generosity, if I'm not mistaken?"

Applejack stepped forward to speak next. "So ya know who we are, big deal."

"Oh, I know much more than that, honest Applejack."

"You seem to know our strengths too." Twilight deduced while Discord moved to a window depicting the six mares taking on Nightmare Moon.

"Yes, Twilight Sparkle, and yours is the most powerful and elusive element, magic. Fluttershy's is kindness and Pinkie Pie's is a personal favorite of mine: laughter."

Twilight grew angry that her friend had started to laugh while their enemy stood there and mocked her. "Pinkie!"

"He's standing on your head!" She pointed out as the creature danced and shuffled on top of her head.

Celestia broke up the small laugh fest and confronted the unusual abomination. "Stop stalling, Discord! What have you done with the Elements of Harmony?"

Discord stopped dancing and teleported to the other windows, growing in size. "Oh, so boring, Celestia. Really? Fine, I'll tell you, but I'll only tell you my way."

As he swam across the windows, he gave his answer in the form of a riddle.

"To retrieve your missing Elements, just make sense of this change of events. Twists and turns are my master plan. Then find the Elements back where you began."

As Discord disappeared with a laugh that echoed through the halls, Fluttershy was more certain that she was scared to face whatever it was that they were facing, and for good reason. "Can we go home now?"

"What do ya reckon he meant? Twists an' turns an' ending back where we started?" Applejack asked to Twilight, who stared to come up with an answer.

"Twists and turns... twists and turns... twists and turns! That's it! I bet Discord hid the Elements in the palace labyrinth!"

Celestia nodded and commended her student on her deduction. "Good luck, my little ponies. The fate of Equestria is in your hooves."

"Thanks, Princess. We won't let you down." Twilight said as her and her six friends made their way out to the labyrinth outside. The sounds of the doors closing at the end of the hall only drove the princess to worry even more.

"I hope, for all of our sake, that you don't."

~~Canterlot P-~~
Did you really expect me to let the author of this little fanfic to keep writing in the main storyline?
How naive of you. I am sorry to report that he's a little tied up at the moment.
From here on, I am commandeering this little ship. And if you want to read on, then I suggest that you flip your screen upside down and start reading.

˙ɐɥɐɥɐɥɐɥɐɥɐʍW ˙unɟ ǝʌɐH

[if you're reading from this end, then you're reading the wrong way]

¡ʎqɐq 'ɐʇsᴉʌ ɐl ɐʇsɐH!

˙ƃuᴉpᴉʌoɹd ǝq llᴉʍ ɐᴉʇsǝlǝƆ ʇɐɥʇ ǝɹnsuǝ llᴉʍ I pu∀

˙ɹnoɥ ǝɥʇ uᴉɥʇᴉʍ sʇᴉq ǝɹɐɯ ɟo ǝɹɐɥs ɹᴉɐɟ ɹnoʎ ƃuᴉʇʇǝƃ ǝq ll,no⅄ ˙ǝɯ puᴉɯ ʇ,uop ʇnq ˙ǝsᴉɐuuoʎɐɯ ɟo ǝsn ʇuɐpunqɐ ɹǝʌǝ ǝɥʇ puɐ ɥɔʇɐɯ ƃuᴉɔuǝɟ pǝllᴉɟ-ʇɐǝɯ snoᴉɹolƃ ɐ uᴉ ɹǝɥʇouɐ ǝuo ʇsuᴉɐƃɐ ʇno ʇᴉ ƃuᴉʞnp sɹǝuǝᴉʍ ƃop ʇoɥ oʍʇ 'q-ʇols oʇuᴉ sǝoƃ ∀-ʇols ʍoɥ ɟo sǝᴉɔɐɹnɔɔɐ lɐɔᴉɯoʇɐuɐ 'ɹǝɥʇǝƃoʇ ɥsnɯ soɔɐʇ ǝɥʇ ʍoɥ uo slᴉɐʇǝp ˙ʎɹoʇs ɐ ɟo ǝpᴉs ɐ ɥʇᴉʍ ʇold snoʇᴉnʇɐɹפ ˙ʇuɐʍ sʎnƃ noʎ llɐ s,ʇɐɥʇ 'ǝsɹnoɔ ɟO

˙ʇold ǝɥʇ oʇ ʞɔɐq ʇǝƃ oʇ ƃuᴉʇuɐʍ ǝq ll,noʎ ǝsoddns I 'ʎɹoʇs ǝlʇʇᴉl ɹnoʎ ƃuᴉnuᴉʇuoɔ ɯoɹɟ ǝɯ doʇs ʇ,uop ɥƃnoɥ┴ ˙dɐǝɹ oʇ soɐɥɔ ǝʌɐɥ I 'ʍou ɟo s∀ ˙ʇsɐd ǝɥʇ uᴉ ɹǝƃuol ou sᴉ uoᴉʇuǝʇʇɐ ʎɯ ʍou ʇnq

˙ɯǝɥʇ ɟo ǝuo ʇsɐl ʎɹǝʌǝ ɟo ʇɹɐd ʎllɐɔᴉʇɔɐɹd sɐʍ I ʇɐɥʇ ƃuᴉǝq ƃuᴉɥʇʎuɐ uɐɥʇ ǝɹoɯ ɯǝɥʇ ƃuᴉɥɔʇɐʍ pǝʎoɾuǝ I 'ƃuᴉɥʇʎuɐ ɟI ˙ǝsᴉɹdɹns ʎɯ ʇɐ ʎɐʍɐ ʇɐǝ ɯǝɥʇ ƃuᴉǝǝs sɯǝlqoɹd ou pɐɥ I ˙ssǝɯ ǝɥʇ pǝɥsᴉuᴉɟ puɐ uᴉ ǝɯɐɔ pǝɥdɹoɯ I slɐɯᴉuɐ ǝɥʇ uǝɥ┴ ˙ʇɐǝɹʇ ɐ sɐʍ ǝɥs 'pǝǝpuI

˙ǝlzznɯ ɹǝɥ ɟo ɟɟo ƃuᴉddᴉɹp ʎlʍols ooƃ uʍoɹq ǝɥʇ ǝǝs llᴉʇs plnoɔ I ˙pǝɹǝɥʇɐƃ spuǝᴉɹɟ ɹǝɥ spnolɔ ǝɥʇ ɟo ʇᴉq ʇsɐl ʎɹǝʌǝ ʇɐǝ oʇ pǝᴉɹʇ ǝɥs ɹǝʇɟɐ pᴉp ǝɥs ƃuᴉɥɔunɯ ǝɥʇ ɟo llɐ sɐʍ ɹǝʇʇǝq uǝʌǝ ʇᴉ ǝpɐɯ ʇɐɥM ˙ǝɯǝɹɔ ǝʇɐloɔoɥɔ ʇǝǝʍs 'ʇoɥ ʎɯ ɟo lood ɐ uᴉ pǝʌᴉp ǝɥs sɐ ǝɯ oʇ ɹǝʇɐɔ ɹǝɥ ǝʌɐɥ plnoʍ I uǝɥʇ 'ʎʇɹɐd ʎɯ ʞɔᴉd oʇ pɐɥ I ɟI ˙ǝuɐɯ ɹǝɥ uᴉ ɯɹǝds ǝʇɐloɔoɥɔ snoᴉɔᴉlǝp ʎɯ ɟo llɐ ƃuᴉɹǝɥʇɐƃ 'spnolɔ ǝɥʇ ɥʇɐǝuɹǝpun ǝɯᴉʇ ɹǝɥ ɟo ʇsoɯ ƃuᴉpuǝds ɹǝɥ llɐɔǝɹ plnoɔ I ˙ʎʇɥƃnɐu ʎɹǝʌ sɐʍ ǝɥS ˙pǝǝpuI

˙ɹǝɟɟo oʇ pɐɥ I ʇɐɥʍ uᴉ ʎoɾ ʇsoɯ ǝɥʇ ʞooʇ ʇɐɥʇ ǝɹɐɯ ǝɥʇ oʇ uosᴉɹɐdɯoɔ uᴉ pǝlɐd ǝɥs ʇnq ˙ǝɹoʇs ʎpuɐɔ ɐ uᴉ sʇᴉq ɟo ƃɐq ƃᴉq ɐ ɥʇᴉʍ ʎllᴉɟ ɐ uɐɥʇ ʎppᴉƃ ǝɹoɯ ʇlǝɟ I 'ǝsɐǝlǝɹ ʎɯ ɟo ǝɹnʇxǝʇ ʞuᴉd 'ʇɟos ǝɥʇ ssoɹɔɐ pᴉls ǝnƃuoʇ ɹǝɥ s∀ ˙ʇɟᴉƃ ǝlʇʇᴉl ʎɯ oʇuᴉ ʎlʇɔǝɹᴉp ʍǝlɟ ʇɐɥʇ ʎuod pǝuɐɯ-ʍoquᴉɐɹ ǝɥʇ sɐʍ ǝuo ʇsɹᴉℲ ˙ʇuᴉoddɐsᴉp ʇ,upᴉp ǝllᴉʌʎuoԀ 'ʎlǝɹns pu∀

˙ǝq plnoʍ ƃuᴉɥʇʎɹǝʌǝ oʇ uoᴉʇɔɐǝɹ ǝɥʇ sɐʍ ʇɐɥʍ ǝǝs oʇ ɥʇnos suoᴉʇuǝʇʇɐ ʎɯ ʞooʇ I oS ˙ʇɟᴉƃ ƃuᴉɯoɔǝɯoɥ ǝlʇʇᴉl ʎɯ uᴉ ǝʞɐʇɹɐd uǝʌǝ oʇ pǝxǝldɹǝd ooʇ ǝɹǝʍ ɯǝɥʇ ɟo ʎuɐɯ 'sɯǝǝs ʇᴉ s∀ ˙ɹǝɟɟo oʇ pɐɥ I ʇɟᴉƃ snoɹǝuǝƃ ǝɥʇ uo uʍop ʍoɥɔ oʇ ʇsɹᴉɟ ǝɥʇ ǝq plnoʍ ʎuod pǝlsᴉɯ-ʎlɹood ɥɔᴉɥʍ ǝǝs oʇ ʇsnɾ 'ʎʇᴉɔ ǝɥʇ ɟo sʇɹɐd snoᴉɹɐʌ oʇ ɯǝɥʇ ʇuǝs puɐ spnolɔ ʎɯ pǝssɐɯ I 'oɥʍʎuɐ ʇnq

¿noʎ pᴉp 'ǝʇsɐʍ oʇ oƃ uǝɯǝs ʎɯ ɟo llɐ ʇǝl oʇ ƃuᴉoƃ sɐʍ I ʞuᴉɥʇ ʇ,upᴉp no⅄ ˙uo ʇᴉs ʎlʇuǝɹɹnɔ I ʇɐɥʇ spnolɔ ǝɥʇ oʇuᴉ pǝǝs ʎɯ ɟo spuɐɹʇs ʞuᴉd ʞɔᴉɥʇ ǝɥʇ ƃuᴉʌɐǝʍ ʎllnɟǝɹɐɔ ʎq ssǝɯ ʎɯ pǝuɐǝlɔ I 'uoᴉʇɐɹʇsnɹɟ dn ʇuǝd ɟo sɹɐǝʎ pǝɹpunɥ ǝǝɹɥʇ uᴉ ɟlǝsʎɯ ƃuᴉʌǝᴉlǝɹ puɐ ƃuᴉɥɔʇɐʍ ɟo sɹnoɥ ɹnoɟ ʇnoqɐ ɹǝʇɟ∀

˙ǝnssᴉ ƃuᴉɹǝʍoʇ ɐ llᴉʇs sɐʍ ʇɐɥʍ uo ɥsᴉuᴉɟ oʇ pǝpǝǝu I 'ƃuᴉuuɐld ʇɹɐʇs plnoɔ I ǝɹoɟǝq ʇnq ˙pɹɐnƃ ɹɐlnɔᴉʇɹɐd ʇɐɥʇ ɥʇᴉʍ dᴉɥsuoᴉʇɐlǝɹ ɹǝɥ ɹǝɥʇɹnɟ plnoɔ I ʍoɥ puɐ ɹǝɥ ɥʇᴉʍ op oʇ ɯɐ I ʇɐɥʍ ɟo sɹǝʇʇɐɯ uo ʞuᴉɥʇ oʇ pǝʇɹɐʇs I 'ɟlǝsʎɯ ǝʌǝᴉlǝɹ ʎlɥƃnoɹoɥʇ oʇ pǝƃɐuɐɯ I ɹǝʇɟ∀

˙ƃuᴉsnoɹɐ ʇsoɯ sɐʍ ǝʌɐƃ ǝɥs ʍoɥs ǝɥʇ ʇɐɥʇ uoᴉʇuǝɯ oʇ ʇou pu∀

˙ǝdɐɔsǝ oʇ ǝɯ pǝlqɐuǝ ʇɐɥʇ ǝɯ uᴉ ʇᴉɹᴉds lnɟʎoɾ ɐ ɟɟo ʇǝs sǝlqɹɐɯ oʇuᴉ ǝʇɐɯ oʇ pǝpǝǝɔoɹd ɹǝʇsᴉs ɹǝɥ pɹɐnƃ ǝɥʇ ɹoɟ pǝɹoɯɐlɔ puɐ pǝᴉɹɔ ǝɥs ʎɐʍ ǝɥ┴ ˙ǝlɔɐʇɔǝds ǝɥʇ ǝʇᴉnQ ˙snɹʇsǝ ʇsɹᴉɟ ɹǝɥ uᴉ ʎllᴉɟ ɐ uɐɥʇ ǝɹoɯ ƃuᴉɥʇou oʇ pǝɔnpǝɹ sɐʍ ɐᴉʇsǝlǝƆ ssǝɔuᴉɹԀ pǝᴉɟᴉɹolƃ puɐ pǝᴉɟᴉuƃᴉp ǝɥʇ ʇɐɥʇ ʞuᴉɥʇ o┴ ¡ɥɔᴉɹ ʎlǝʇnlosqɐ s,ʇI

˙ɹǝʇsᴉs ǝlʇʇᴉl ɹǝɥ oʇ pǝƃuolǝq ʇɐɥʇ uoᴉllɐʇs ɐ ǝʞɐʇ oʇ ƃuᴉƃuol ɹǝɥ ʍou puɐ sǝʌloʍ ǝɥʇ oʇ ʇno pǝssoʇ ƃuᴉʇʇǝƃ ʍǝɥdǝu pǝʇdopɐ ɹǝɥ ʇsɹᴉℲ ˙ǝɟᴉl s,ɐᴉʇsǝlǝƆ uᴉ ʎldǝǝp uʍǝs ǝq oʇ pǝɯǝǝs ʎuoɯɹɐɥsᴉp ɟo spǝǝs ǝɥ┴ ˙ǝdɐɔsǝ ʎɯ oʇ ǝɯ ǝʌoɹp ʇɐɥʇ sʇɔᴉlɟuoɔ ɟo sǝᴉɹǝs ɹǝɥʇouɐ ɹǝɥʇɐɹ ʇnq ˙ǝǝɹɟ ǝɯ ʇǝs oʇ ɥƃnouǝ ʎlɹɐǝu ʇou sɐʍ ǝƃɐsᴉʌ ʎɯ ɟo ʇuoɹɟ uᴉ ƃuᴉnƃɹɐ slɐoɟ ǝɥʇ ʇɐɥʇ pooʇsɹǝpun I ˙ʇɥƃᴉu ʇsɐl ʇsnɾ ǝɯ ǝɹoɟǝq ʇǝs sɐʍ ʇɐɥʍ ʍɐs I sɐ sǝʎǝ ʎɯ ǝʌǝᴉlǝq ʇ,uplnoɔ ʎlʇsǝuoɥ I

˙ɐᴉʇsǝlǝƆ ssǝɔuᴉɹԀ ʎʇsƃuɐ ǝɥʇ oʇ uosᴉɹɐdɯoɔ uᴉ ǝɹoq ɐ ɟo ʇᴉq ɐ ǝq oʇ ɯǝǝs plnoʍ slɹᴉƃ ǝɥʇ ɥʇᴉʍ ƃuᴉʎɐld ʇɐɥʇ ʍǝuʞ I sɐ ɟlǝsʎɯ uᴉɐʇɹǝʇuǝ oslɐ oʇ pǝpǝǝu I 'pᴉɐs ƃuᴉǝq ʇɐɥʇ ɥʇᴉM ˙sɹǝɹɐǝq ʇuǝɯǝlǝ ʇuǝɹɹnɔ ǝɥʇ ǝɹǝʍ ʎǝɥʇ ʇɐɥʇ ƃuᴉǝq 'slɹᴉƃ ǝɥʇ ɥʇᴉʍ ʎɐld oʇ pǝpǝǝu I ˙ǝɔuo ʇɐ sǝɔɐld oʍʇ uᴉ ǝq oʇ pǝpǝǝu I 'os op oʇ ɹǝpɹo uᴉ ʇnq ˙ǝloɥʍ ɐ sɐ ɐᴉɹʇsǝnbƎ oʇ pǝuɹnʇ suoᴉʇuǝʇʇɐ ʎW ˙ʇolɹǝʇuɐƆ ɟo ɥɔnɯ ɹǝʌo ǝʞɐʇ oʇ pǝpᴉɔǝp 'sʞool pooƃ 'ƃuᴉɯɹɐɥɔ ʎɯ ɥʇᴉʍ 'I

Well I had my share of fun with this story. I suppose you could just go on ahead and give this writer ALL THE DOWNVOTES! It would be most fun to see him squirm.

But now I'm bored. You may continue with your masturbatory aid story which is already in progress.

I believe it was called Inner-District, or something.

Celestia needs to come up with some better names.

"Captain, area is secure."

"Great, now all we have to do is check in on victims."

"What do we do about the barking mailbox, sir?"

"Tie it to a leash and make sure that it can't get free. If my assumptions are correct, then it would act as a normal dog would. Can't be that hard."

As a group of guards made their way across the streets of Canterlot, Shining Armor stood in the center of the action and organized their efforts to minimize the chaos in the district. But as he was ready to give out further orders, an angry voice called out to the captain from above.

"SHINING ARMOR!!!"

The guards looked to the sky and saw a small shadow homing in for his position.

"That... doesn't sound good, sir." One of the guards whispers.

Shining immediately recognized who's voice it was. "That sounded like-"

Before he could finish his sentence, a pink alacorn mare landed before him. It was Cadance, but she seemed different. Her once bright pink coat was now dull and devoid of most of it's color. She wore an angry scowl on her face as she quickly made her way to the captain. "Shining... Armor!"

"Cadance, what's wrong? Why are you so-"

His question was silenced with the familiar sensation of a hoof striking his jaw. The hit caused him to stumble and fall to the ground as she glared at him with a look that could only be pleased by blood. Shining knew that being hit by a mare was no fun experience, but if there was one thing that he knew, it was that Cadance was far stronger than the average guard. She screamed at him while he recovered from the assault. "I HATE YOU!"

"Wait, what? Why the hell did you punch me out of nowhere like that?" He asked, still rubbing his cheek.

"Because you ruined everything for me!"

Even one of the guards knew that she was far from herself. He quietly walked to the captain, to which he responded with an extended hoof saying that he was not to interfere. "Sir, I have a feeling that-"

"This isn't the Cadance I know." He finished as his fiance continued to shout at him.

"It all your fault! I was just fine when the nobles used me like a doll. I was just fine when they threatened me, when they pushed me, when they shoved me, when they turned me around and violated my privacy. I was fine... till you came along!"

Shining advanced towards the estranged mare, careful on not getting too close too quick. "Cadance, this isn't you."

"And my name isn't Cadance. It is Princess Mi Amore Cadenza to you, you lowly guard dog." The princess scolded her guard.

"Something's not right. What happened to you?"

"YOU HAPPENED! And now my life is ruined. I just wanted to be the royal slut, to have my holes filled by every stallion in the halls. But I'll tell you what, as soon as I'm done with you, he can get first." She says as she pointed to a guard next to him.

Shining blinked as he halted his advance. "What do you mean by 'as soon as you're done with me'?"

"I mean that you're going to die. And I will be the one to end your miserable, pathetic exis-augh!"

She wasn't given a chance to finish as a magenta bolt of magical energy struck her side, causing her to fly into an adjacent wall upon the impact. The other guards stared at the downed mare and looked over to the direction of the captain. Shining looked at the motionless body of the princess and turned around to see who exactly fired the shot. His eyes expanded upon seeing who it was that spared him the painful conflict.

"Mom!? What are you doing here?"

Twilight Velvet walked towards her son with a calm demeanor and a mocking tone. "We live down the street sweetie. Don't tell me that you've been gone long enough to forget your way around."

"No, that's... Okay. Where's dad? He's usually with you."

Velvet sighed as she gestured to the other guards to keep working. "I went shopping today while your father stayed at home. When I returned, I had to tie him up, seal off his magic and lock him in the closet."

Shining nodded at them to confirm his mother's order before turning his attention back to her. "For what?"

"It seems that Discord's influence had manage to get to your father. As of right now, he's planning terroristic plots while screaming the famous vulgarity that you kids spout out. Something on the lines of 'fuck the police'."

Shining found it hard to imagine his father being the rebellious type. If anything, Orion was more of a stallion based on order and peace. "Oh. Well what's his status?"

Velvet pointed to the unconscious princess before making her way off. "The same as her's. Now pick her up so I can take her to the house and seal her off."

Shining made his way over to the body and readied himself to remove her, but found a question of intrigue pestering him. "Uhhh..."

"You don't expect me, your own mother, to pick up something so heavy. I could've sworn that I've raised you better than that." Velvet said, giving her son a crossly expression.

"Not where I was getting to. I was going to ask about Discord."

Velvet deadpanned throughout her answer. "The Ministry of Magical Research and Development have already established a contingency plan to deal with any events in relation to Discord. Meaning that I am retired, doesn't mean that I have forgotten."

"Right. So how do we reverse the spell?" He asked as he picked up the body and started to make his way down the street with Cadance on his back.

"If my knowledge serves me right, you have to instill a memory of a past endeavor. If the memory is brought to life, then and only then can the pony be restored to their harmonized self."

"Harmonized?" Shining asked confusedly, unfamiliar with the term.

"They've suffered what we would normally call discordation, the process of being discorded. Symptoms are as you see them now, discoloring of the coat, personality alterations, et cetera."

"Wow. How come you guys know everything where the royal guard don't even know that much?" The captain asked to his knowledgeable mother.

"You and Orion both asked me that. You're forgetting that I was head chair for four years prior to my leave in last March."

And she was a damn good one. She even taught Shining mostly everything when it came to offensive and defensive magic. Shining nodded his head in understanding. "Right."

"Now come along, Cadance will be waking very soon."

Canterlot Palace Grounds
Canterlot Tower
Hall of Heroes

(Honestly, I'm more amused over what will happen soon to be defacing sequence signs.)

Celestia walked up and down the halls of the palace, concerned that Discord was still running throughout the city. She turned her attention to the depiction of him manipulating ponies and grew deeply saddened. It made her upset that ponies in this current age were suffering through most of the tribulations that were brought by his appearance.

"Take a picture, Celestia. I'm sure that it will last longer."

Celestia turned her head behind her to see that the menace stood behind her, in flesh and blood. She readied her horn for combat as she shouted at the draconequus. "Discord! You will pay dearly for what you've done."

"Oh Celestia," mocked Discord. "You shouldn't put that much stress on your vocal chords. You could lose your voice that way."

"What does it matter to you?"

A devious smirk formed on the creature's snout as he coiled his body around the ivory alacorn princess, whispering in her ear. "More of what it will matter to the stallion that you desire."

Celestia felt a light blush come along as the mention of the guard drove her to think about the previous night. "I don't know what you are talking about."

"Oh there's no need to lie about it. I know everything there is about you and your secret lusts for one of your guards. I believe that he was assigned to your sister."

Celestia gave no time to think as her instinct caused her to lunge at him with everything she had. She fired a bolt in his direction, only for her to hit a wall. "Enough! I have no time for your games."

Discord showed up on another one of the windows and started to speak to her through the glass. "You seemed to have all the time in the world when you were masturbating to your sister and him having intimate relations for hours on end. Did you get enough sleep?"

Celestia teleported to the outside garden and made her way to the statue area. Her only problem with her escape attempt was that Discord stood as he did when he was turned to stone. "What do you want with me!?"

Discord chuckled as he stepped off of his platform. "It's not what I want from your as much as it is what you want from me."

"I am not interested." Whispers the princess.

"Oh poo. You didn't even give me a chance to finish."

Celestia turned herself around, facing away from the draconequus. "I know of what you cook up in your mind. You're an open book, Discord. And you are one that I would rather see burned."

"Fine... But let's just say that he's going to be seeing you very soon. And last I checked, you are more of an open book than I am."

"What?" Celestia interjects as the Entity of Chaos rubs her shoulders, touching the pits of her wings, softly kneading her back as he whispered in her ears.

"You being deprived of equine interaction based on a more intimate nature. Your heart beats for him. Your breath staggers at the mention of his name. You can't even seem to go on with your day without saying hello to him at least one. You watch him from afar and you fail to say anything more than a greeting and a farewell. You've always had been like that when it came to stallions. Even when you two were still subjects and I was the god of this world, you couldn't seem to gain the attention of a stallion who seemed to love you for who you were and as you were."

Celestia felt his every touch. It disturbed her that his advances proved to be a formidable obstacle. As his digits traversed her every curve, his added words provided to her imagination the vision of Azure teasing her and touching her with tender words of his affection. It was everything she wanted. "Stop this... Please."

Discord removed himself from the mare, leaving her desperately searching for him. He smiled as he left the princess to fantasize about the stallion some more. "Fine. Suit yourself. Just remember that it is your own heart that sows the seeds of disharmony and not I."

Discord disappeared to carry out more of his chaotic pursuits. Meanwhile, Celestia panted with lusts abandon. Her face flushed with red as her wings unfurled on their own. Her nethers grew warm with anticipation while the object of her desire danced around in her head. It was what she wanted, but what she also accepted that she couldn't have.

"Azure... Stay away from me. Please."

Canterlot Palace Grounds
Canterlot Royal Palace

"Patrol the palace? Patrol the palace!? What kind of a bullshit assignment is that?"

Azure paced up and down the hallway as he angrily recalled his confrontation with Luna. But hearing her go off like that immediately instilled fear into him, causing him to back down. He still held contempt for the princess' decision. "I could be out with my friends because, oh I don't know, THEY NEED ME MORE THAN I NEED TO BE LOCKED IN HERE!"

He halted his pacing to sit on a couch on the far end of the hall. Though he didn't question where it came from, he only knew that it was more comfortable than walking around an empty hall all day. He took his seat and reflected on what was going on.

"Discord is outside causing all sorts of problems and I'm stuck in the palace, because Luna would prefer that I was safe. I understand that you care for my well being, but I'm concerned for my best friends too. I hate being chained up and I hate being sheltered. She's almost like my mom in that aspect."

"Oh. Tell me about it." A voice called out to him.

"Who are you?" Said Azure as he jumped at the sound of the voice and looked to the creature behind him, who was sitting in a psychologist's chair and holding a clipboard.

"Oh I'm pretty sure you've gotten wind of me. Though I'm not here to bother you nor am I here to judge you. I am only here to listen to whatever problems you may have."

"Well that sounds reassuring." Azure says, letting himself relax in the cozy couch.

"Life is like a box of chocolates; you'll never know know what you're going to get. Would you care for some?" Said the counselor who offered a variety of chocolates in a white box.

"Sure thanks. I could really go for... Wait a minute." Azure paused and took the time to take in the creature's appearance. He mentally noted some of the things that he was to look out for and lined them up with the creature's appearance. "Cloven hoof, griffon's claw, horns of a goat and a deer... The ugly, the ugly and Blueblood's mother... Draw weapon."

In a single motion, Azure raised himself off of the couch and drew his sword, eyeing the draconequus he was to slay. Discord backed away from the blade with his upper appendages raised to the air.

"Woah there! You should be careful where you point that thing. You'll poke your eye out."

"FUCK YOU!" Screamed the guard as he swiped at the deceptive creature.

"And here I thought the princess said that there was to be no confrontation." Discord joked.

"You came to me first! I can confront whatever the fuck comes up to me!"

Discord rolled his eyes and walked towards the guard. "Well I would accept your little invitation on the account of one, teensy little issue."

*Slink*

Azure stood in shock over what just happened before his eyes. His sword was well placed to where his heart would be, but he found that there was no blood. There was no signs of struggle. The draconequus looked at him with a bored expression as the blade remained fixed in his ribs.

"What... the... fu..."

"Yes, I seem to get that a lot from the other guards. The thing is that it feels like it tickles and then it really starts to feel funny after. Ha-ha funny of course. But I digress. Many guards have already tried their hoof in a combat situation and I gave them one, only for every last one to fail. I even bested a princess or two on the way here."

"A princess or two?" Asked Azure while he looked at the creature in front of him. Luna was the first princess that came to mind as he pulled his sword from Discord's body. "Where's Luna!?"

"Luna? She's safe." Discord says in a condescending tone. "But of course that's not the princess I speak of."

"Then who are you talking about?"

Discord places a digit from his griffon arm on the nose of the guard, causing Azure's eyes to swirl with colors. His mind swayed back and forth, losing it's equilibrium. His body stood locked in place as the colors faded from his coat. Discord smiled as he started the second phase of his plan.

"Your princess. I don't speak of the one that only seeks to take from you and keep you locked like a sheltered animal, but one who would see you as more as... a companion, so to speak."

The guard's visions that consisted of Luna blew away like sand in the desert breeze. Suddenly, her image was replaced by that of an ivory alacorn mare who stood before him with a gentle smile and open hooves. She reached out to him, seeking to comfort him and to love him. "My princess..."

Discords voice echoes in his head. "Yes. She's waiting for you outside in the garden. She remains there after I've managed to have my way with her."

Azure snapped out of his daze and started to fill with anger over speculation of what Discord might have done to the mare of his desire. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO HURT MY PRINCESS!?"

Discord wore a smug expression as he spoke. "Let's just say that she's been wanting you for a while. Ever since I placed my hands on her, she's been screaming out for you, her precious knight."

"Princess! I'm coming! Hang on!" Azure shouted as he broke into a run. In mere seconds, he left the hall in pursuit of the mare that awaited him in the garden, while Discord congratulated himself.

"Hmmm... Well that was easier than expected. I suppose that the only thing I need to do now is to find an audience for this truly riveting performance. But first, a little lighting change is in order."

*snap*

Canterlot Palace Grounds
Canterlot Royal Garden
(COME ONE, COME ALL FOR THE PLAY OF THE SEASON!)

Darkness settles across the sky as the moon launches into view. Though it was not the time for night, Discord made it so. Meanwhile, Celestia stood in the renewed labyrinth of the Canterlot Royal Garden. She hides in a dead end, trying to avoid any attention to herself as she tried to calm herself from her erotic thoughts. But her attempts proved to be futile as she heard the voice of her desire calling out to her. "Princess!"

"Please don't find me." She whispered as she struggled to hide her arousal. She knew what Discord was planning, but she knew that it was exactly what she wanted. Her mind and body were torn with the conflict of submitting to her heart's desire and choosing to deny her heart for the betterment of an entire nation.

"I'm here for you! Tell me where you are hiding!" Azure screams to her across the vast green walls of the labyrinth.

She shuffled her hind legs, feeling her juices trickle down her inner thighs and pool around her plump flanks. Clenching her eyes as well as her hind cheeks, she whispered to herself. "I beg of you. Please don't find me... Not like this."

"Princess!" He called out to her, his voice growing closer. It wasn't long now before he would find her.

Celestia shouted to the guard. "Azure, go away!"

It wouldn't even take seconds for the guard to find his beloved princess in the dead end. "Princess, I was so worried!"

"Azure... Please." She quietly spoke to him, not wanting him to get closer to her out of fear of how her body would react next. Azure saw the liquids that pooled around her lower half and grew enraged.

"What did he do to you!?" He question, assuming that Discord had violated her.

Celestia could see how he was. She saw his once dark blue coat, now completely gray. He addressed her as a superior, yet he was ambitious in his approach. She backed away from him. "You're not yourself. Leave me."

His eyes trailed to her lower portion. He saw that she rested on her moistened lips and his rage was soon replaced with want. He wanted to please his princess. He wanted to serve her. "I see that he has violated you. Come. Allow me to cleanse you of your iniquity."

Celestia's eyes widened as he started to get closer, her irises shrank to the size of pins as his muzzle closed in between her towering forelegs she used to hide herself from him. "AZURE STAY AWAY!"

Her scent carried him closer. She shuddered as his breaths grew closer to her. "I can't. I must..."

He parted her legs and rolled her to her back. He cared not as of how dirty she became in her attempt to hide her arousal from his eyes. He could only bring himself to feast upon her soaking wet folds. Celestia panted harshly, letting her chest rise and fall in rhythm of his tongue probing her folds. "Ooooh~ Azure, stop this."

Raising his head to look at her from across the snowy plain of her underbelly, he denied her pleas. "He has wronged you. That is unforgivable."

"Please..." She asks while he sinks his head under her horizon and regains his focus on her needy marehood.

She tasted of a fine rich vanilla cream. Her hooves trail to his neck, hugging him despite her best efforts to resist. Her body resisted every mental process she had for stopping him. She was fighting a losing battle. "Your majesty, I am yours to command. Use me to relieve you of your woes, to cleanse you of your sickness."

Celestia started to arch her back as her wings stretched out far and wide. Her heartbeat pulsed through every feather. The princess knew that if he continued to cleanse her, she would not last very long. "Azure... Stop. I couldn't control myself if you kept doing this."

"Loose yourself, princess. I am what you desire, am I not?" He whispers from below. His lips kiss the hot mound above her lips, causing her to shake in response. She cursed Discord for instilling these thoughts into her before she would see him again.

"Leave me." She begs while the guard below her continues to show her no signs of mercy.

"I can't." He sighs out as he kisses her clit, his lips encircling her. His tongue flicked away at the small area, causing the princess to build to her release.

"That is an order!" She commands while inadvertently clinching his head closer to her.

"Princess... I love you." His words finally sent the princess over the edge.

"Aaaaugh!" She screams loudly as her orgasm takes over her body. She launches her head back while taking in a deep breath. Her body quakes with the overbearing bliss of release. Her forelegs lock her guard in his place, allowing him to taste her even more.

Moments later, she removed her hooves from around the back of his head. He rose above her and stood before her. Celestia's eyes gaped as she saw, for the first time in over eight-hundred years, the stallionhood of her guard. She panted as he aligned himself to enter into her. She looked away from his face as he prodded her lips with just the tip of his throbbing erection.

"Shall I continue?" He asks.

Celestia blushes as she tries her best to avoid direct eye contact with the stallion who brought her to ruin. "You... you shouldn't be doing this."

He carried on with a slow entry. Her forelegs press into his chest as he unhurriedly places himself deeper into her dampened passage. "You're so warm, so moist."

He starts to enter and exit slowly. Her eyes closes as her wings throb in tempo with his thrusts. She grew embarrassed from his words. "Stop saying these things."

Azure's face grows into a frown and he halts his movements. "You seem unsatisfied with my efforts. Shall I remove myse-"

"NO!" She exclaims, using her magic to press him back inside.

"Princess?"

She turns her head to the stallion on top of her and drives his head towards her with powerful hooves. Her lips greet his in a series of pecks. Her eyes lustfully half lidded, her pecks evolved into tender presses and finally into ravenous assaults. Her kisses were unstructured and sloppy as her tongue entered into his mouth, battering against his in an attempt to dance with him. He obliges and his pink organ joins her dance.

For what seemed like an eternity, they ate away at each other while she took him head on. Her lustful gaze only drove him to sink further into her with a crazed passion. She took quick breaths before letting her tongue bathe his muzzle. Her ears folded back as she surrendered to her own selfish desires.

"You... you must take responsibility for your actions, my dear subject."

"Your majesty."

She pushes him off of her body so that she could readjust herself for him. She kissed him even more as she kept him away, wanting him to chase after her. His pursuits prove futile to the princess, as she held him to his place. She sat before him, teasing him with a sex-crazed smile. Her tail lifted enough for him to see how aroused she truly was. Streaks of green, blue, purple and pink cascaded down her neck and half of her face as she looked to him. Her entire body seemed to blush in the light.

"Behold... Your princess needs your attention. She longs for your affection. Surely you can sedate her."

"Tis an honor! Allow me, my dear princess!"

She raises her body for him to see, he mounts her in rapid succession. She gasps in relief now that he was fully encased inside of her. His thrusts start off slow, but she loses all control of herself as she becomes nothing more than a lust-driven, sex-crazed filly in her first mating.

"Faster."

"Yes princess."

His hips gently kisses hers as he sinks his lubed cock into her clenching depths. Her breaths grow from small to massive as she creaked and moaned under his ministrations. Over time, she grew impatient with his force.

"Harder!" She commands.

"As you will it, princess."

Her flanks ripple with the impact of his hips ramming her. His cock is hugged snugly by the greedy depths of a deprived and experienced princess. There was no purity to her. She was no different from a mare who was just as eagerly turned on. Celestia was more than appreciative of his pace and his strength, but she wanted more. She wanted more of him, deep inside of her. She wanted to feel him, all the way down.

"Deeper!"

"Your desires are mine to fulfill."

He pushes her to the ground and flips her to her side. Lifting one of her hind legs, he continues to pound himself into her. His reach grows deep enough to kiss her from within. His tip kissed against her cervix as she laid in submission to him. She finally started to build on a second, yet intense climax that could ultimately knock her senseless. Soon, she feels an additional girth build inside of her, signaling his inevitable release. Her admiration of her guard leaves her lips.

"AZURE, I LOVE YOU!"

Azure gritted his teeth as he rushed to his climax. "AS DO I, PRINCESS!!!"

Suddenly as the two were to finish their climb, the sun launched up over the horizon revealing a draconequus with a full set of movie equipment set up around the couple. Also standing beside him as the green walls fell, was another pony, one who was deeply saddened over what she heard and saw.

"Annnd cut! Print! That's a wrap everypony!"

"DISCORD! Si... sister!?" Celestia said as she removed herself from the sex of the guard. She blushed in embarrassment and shame.

Seeing the face of the night princess, color returned to Azure as he came back to his senses. "LUNA!?"

Discord laughed at the success of his plan, as well as the fruits that it bore. "Oh this is rich! To think that she would actually say it! Isn't this a show, my dear Luna?"

Luna sobbed profusely as she watched the guard hide his shame and approach her. Her heart broke in two as she was forced to watch the illicit act to which they performed together, in it's entirety.

"Oh... Luna...I'm so sor-"

She turned away while pressing him away with her magic. She didn't even want to touch him after she heard the misled confession leave his lips. "Your words mean nothing to me."

"Luna, wait!" Azure screams apologetically. This wasn't what he wanted. He didn't love Celestia, he loved Luna. And now he was misled to believe that his princess was someone else. Guilt hit him like a freight train as the elder sister came to his defense.

"Sister! He was not himself. And I didn't mean to-"

"You love him. He loves you. He's yours now." Luna quietly whispers to her older sister, conceding to her the guard she once loved.

Azure still tried to clear his case. "Luna, I didn't mean-" To which Luna ignored.

"SILENCE!"

"Luna..." He felt the pain of his sin weighing heavily on his heart, just as hers with Blueblood weighed on hers. Though he declared that he would forgive her, in her eyes it seemed to be an act of revenge. With a snap of her wings, she made only her second decree since her banishment.

"You are hereby relieved of your duties to serve me. You are a guard of your own accord."

"Princess." He begged.

Her voice trembled in pitch as she sobbed. "And I gave myself to you, only for you to take my sister instead."

Azure felt the same amount of pain she did, despite there being a difference in reason. He felt like he made a terrible mistake whil she felt betrayed in the worst way possible; her own sister had relations with her own guardian and love interest. He tried to persuade her to reason. "Luna, it wasn't me! I swear!"

But she was far too hurt to listen. "Go to hell!"

She ran off to the palace, leaving her saddened elder sister and the abandoned guard with a jubilant and triumphant Discord.

"Oh what fun this was. I tell you that being stuck in a rock for over a thousand years can really be a bit of a bore. I missed all the best soap operas because of you and now I managed to direct one that even I couldn't anticipate the end results. Oh what a glorious day! First I rid those element bearers of their power, I disabled the Element of Magic and now I've successfully drove a wedge into what was to be a beautiful relationship! Ha ha! You should see the looks on your faces! Priceless!"

Azure took up his sword once more and glared down to the conniving creature, ready to strike. "Discord... DISCORD, I'LL KILL YOU FOR THIS!"

Azure ran to him, only for his target to disappear into thin air. Azure turned around to see that he stood by a defeated Celestia. "Oh? Well you can't bear an element and neither can Celestia nor Luna. By driving this conflict between them, I disabled any chance of them taking up the elements themselves. I can't be stopped!"

The young guard called out to his superior. "Princess Celestia?"

She shook her head. "It's too late. The damage has already been done."

She teleported out of the garden, leaving behind a guilt-ridden guard who was the cause of their despair. "Prin-"

Before he could attempt to make a step forward, he found that his hoof was stuck in place. As he looked down, he soon realized what Discord was doing to him. He was now turning to stone. Discord started to make his way to the exit.

"Now as for you. I want you to stand perfectly still until I get back. I'm pretty sure you'll need someone to talk to after this eye-opening experience." He said mockingly.

Azure growled as he could only watch the creature walk away. "You'll never get away with-"

"Oh baugh! I've gotten away with everything I possibly could. Now if you excuse me, I have a new town south of here to rule over. Ta!"

Inch by inch, the stone took more parts of his body. Soon it took everything except his neck and the head attached. Azure could only scream as he was to be silenced by the transformation.

"Dis... COOOOOOO-"

And there he stood in the garden, reduced to nothing more than a lawn ornament as the stone took him. Not even his final word could escape without interruption. His face froze in an angry scowl while his sword laid plunged into the ground before him while Discord made his way off to Ponyville.

His victory was more than assured.

Canterlot Palace Grounds
Celestia's Private Chambers

"He defeated me."

Celestia stood in her mirror as she cried, watching the colors fade from her body.

"He... humiliated me."

She could barely look at herself after what she had done to her sister and her guard.

"He made me... and Azure..."

She lowered her head in guilt.

"He made Luna... No. I made Luna upset."

She walked away from the mirror and made her way to the large bed on the other side of the room, hoping to lie down and forget about the day.

"I was who I was, not him. It's all my fault. I've should have been more responsible for my actions. And now I can't even help Twilight in this current state. Some mentor I am."

She laid on her bed, thinking about all of the ponies she managed to fail when she let herself surrender to the desires of her own heart.

"Some ruler I turned out to be. Some sister I was."

She closed her eyes and thought back to the days prior to Discord's reemergence. They were more peaceful and simplistic. Though there was Blueblood, he didn't nearly cause as much havoc for her. Discord could alter the fabric of reality itself while Blueblood could only manipulate everyone around him. At least when he was around, things were much simpler.

"Oh Luna, please forgive me."

A vision came to her mind. One of her and her sister when they discovered the elements. Celestia and Luna looked at the six gems and let the elements decide who was to wield which. Three gravitated towards her while the other three moved towards Luna. It was then that they had the power to defeat Discord all those years ago. She could even remember the day he stood victorious over the two alacorn siblings. She also remembered the moment where they both summoned their collective powers and turned the foul creature into stone. She even remembered the reason why she and her sister underwent that massive ordeal to take the throne from Discord in the first place.

"...No."

She recalled how all the ponies as of now were suffering from his evil plight. Everything he did back then was what he was doing as of now. He was just as manipulative and prideful now as he was then. She remembered that it was also Discord who managed to see to it that Azure would go out and find her.

"This isn't my fault. I tried to distance myself, and Discord was the one who made him seek me. He was the one who caused me to weaken to my primal demands. Why am I to blame?"

She rose from her bed and walked over to her night stand, her colors returned to her as she angrily stood in front of her desk.

"Sure, I may have allowed him to continue, but the damage was done when Discord sought to make a mockery of me, of my sister. He toyed with the personal affairs of my sister and my friendship."

She opened the drawer, coming up with a plan to turn the tide on her old nemesis. The battle was far from over and it was more certain that she had the upper-hoof since he started to celebrate his achievements.

"Discord, there will be hell to pay. And you will pay in full. Twilight may be discouraged for now, but all she has to do is remember who she is and what she means to her friends."

Removing every letter her student sent to her, she pulled out an empty scroll of parchment and started to write to her student. Twilight needed to be reminded that she and her friends still had the power to stop this menace once and for all.

"This battle is not over, Discord. You have not won yet!"

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

My most faithful student, I know how you feel when there is a time when your friendships are tested. And even though you may feel as if those tests are too hard to overcome, I encourage you to remember the things that made your friendships special.

I know that throughout the months, you have sent to me many reports on your findings of friendship. I can only hope that Spike will endure what I have to say long enough to see to it that you get this message.

As of now, I feel as if you need to see what you have shown to me. Everything that you have learned should serve as a reminder of all the tests and trials that you and your friends stood against together. You must remember that all of your friends are worth fighting for. They are the ones who helped you get to where you are now and they will continue to get you past many future obstacles.

Remember who you are and don't lose your way.

Your mentor and friend,

~Celeste Delanise Valkyrie

P.S.: My sincerest apologies, Spike.

The next day...
Ponyville, the Chaos Capital of the World
Ponyville Town Square

Discord sat upon a tall throne upon a pronounced hill as he watched a swarm of long-legged rabbits trample everything in their path, a trio of buffalo ballet dancing in pink tutus and apple pies falling from the sky. He sat while sounding a mighty laugh as the town was built to his pleasing. As he recovered from his laughing fit, he turned his attention to a cotton candy cloud next to him. The God of Chaos summoned a glass and placed it under the cloud to collect the chocolate rain from underneath.

As in usual chaotic fashion, the glass filled from top to bottom. He swirled his glass of chocolate milk and looked at his work, almost even more proud then the last fifty times he looked. With a boisterous voice, he announced to the world his declaration.

"Chaos... is a wonderful, wonderful thing."

"Not as wonderful as friendship!" A voice called back to him.

As he turned his attention to the source of the voice, he noticed that there were six mares standing in front of him, each with an element within their possession. Discord groaned and rolled his eyes in response.

"Oh. This again?" He said before he drank his glass of chocolate milk. Or rather the glass itself, leaving a cone of chocolate milk. Eyeing the cone, he decided that it was of no use and tossed it away. As it landed somewhere else, the entire area darkened as the explosion took place, a polar opposite to what a normal explosion would produce.

"That's right. You couldn't break apart our friendship fer long!" Applejack said as she stepped forward.

Discord raised a finger and started to tug at the element on the farm mare's neck. She was instantly pulled in as he mocked her. "Oh, Applejack, don't lie to me. I'm the one who made you a liar."

Soon after, he summoned the other elements before him, dragging their respective wielders along for the ride. Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash joined Applejack as discord turned his attention to the elusive Element of Magic. "Will you ever learn?"

Quickly thinking, Twilight teleported herself to her friends and cast a bubble around her and her five friends, sealing off Discord's connection to the elements. They floated away from the ground that he stood on and landed on the checkered ground. As they landed, the ground returned to it's original grassy state. Twilight stepped forward against the hellish creature. "I'll tell you what we've learned Discord. We've learned that friendship isn't always easy. But there's no doubt it's worth fighting for."

Discord denounced the absurdity that was Twilight's speech. "Ugh, gag. Fine, go ahead, try and use your little Elements, 'frenemies'. Just make it quick. I'm missing some excellent chaos here."

"All right, ladies, let's show him what friendship can do!" Twilight sounded as they readied themselves for their attack, which was interrupted by another one of Pinkie Pie's shenanigans.

"Wait-wait-wait!" Pinkie called out as she took the final liberty to sit under another one of the cotton candy clouds, collecting the chocolate rain.

Discord bit his lower lip as he watched the pink mare revel in the messiness of the chocolate. Her coco-dripping mane sagged almost seductively as she licked her lips slowly. Her shudders making him smile in response. She returned to the lineup alongside her friends and gave a growl as the elements started to glow.

As he yawned, he failed to realize that the elements launched beams of energy past him. When he finally opened his eyes, he grew surprised over what he was seeing. "Hmm... What's this?"

As their glow grew brighter, fear had started to set in over what was happening. The elements were reactivated and the ponies were well on their way to sending him packing. "No..."

In a single flash, the elements unleashed a prismatic, powerful beam that surged high into the air. As it made it's way down, it barreled towards Discord at a blinding speed. Discord in a futile attempt to shield himself from the blow, raised his arms to repel it. "NOOO!"

The beam of harmonic energy hit it's mark, turning the eldrich abomination into stone from the bottom on upwards. As he screamed in agony, he thought to himself as the stone worked his way to his neck.

"If I had any single regret for the callous, horrific events that have transpired in my wake... It's that I being turned to stone for the second time."

The beam of light bridged across the town of Ponyville and encircled the entire town, covering it in a dome of luminescent energy. A bright flash similar to the initial release of energy, signified the completion of the reharmonization of not only the town, but also the land of Equestria.

The light faded to reveal a renewed town and it's rejuvenated citizens. What also stood in the center of the town was the six heroes who saved the lands a second time as well as that of a fallen statue.

Discord was finally defeated.

Canterlot Inner-District
Sparkle Family Residence.

A hurried knock sounded on the door of the Sparkle residence. As he made his way to the door, Shining stood prepared for anything that could possibly happen. As he opened the door, he just about realized the only thing he wasn't prepared for was a cadet's voice screaming at him in his face. "HEY CAPTAIN! IT'S ALL OVER NOW!"

Shining's ears rang for a brief moment as he shook his head to stop the ringing. "What? How do we know that for certain?"

"Because the mailbox we tied up yesterday stopped barking."

Shining sighed in relief now that the worst of it was now over with. The only thing that remained was the cleanup duty, which he dreaded the most. At the very least, things couldn't get any worse from here on. "Well that's good to know."

Behind him, a voice rang out from behind a closed door. "Velvet, dear. GET ME OUT OF THIS CLOSET!"

Shining's mother walked from within the kitchen as an exhausted Cadance made her way from upstairs. "On my way dearest."

"Uhhh... My aching head. Shining, hey babe. What's going on?" Cadance droned as she finally ended her descent downstairs.

"You mean you didn't know?" The cadet asked the pink princess.

"Well I remember being angry for some odd reason. For the life of me just can't seem to remember what it was." Cadance said before she noticed a large bruise on her fiance's right cheek. "Oh my goodness! Shining your cheek! Who did this to you!?"

Shining knew that the long explanation would be a little awkward for her to hear about so he settled for an abridged option. "Oooookayyy. Well, long story short, you were mad at me and you gave me a good slug to the schnoz."

"Ohhh. Baby I'm so sorry! I'll do whatever it takes to make it up to you." She offered, while Shining waved his hooves in dismissal.

"Nah. You're good."

"No I'm not! I punched you in the face!" She emphasized.

Shining only laughed for what he was going to do next. "Meh. I had it coming."

"For what?" Cadance asked angrily.

Shining pressed his hoof against Cadance's nose and ran to the street, leaving a disgruntled princess to seethe in anger. "Boop."

"You asshole! I'm gonna boop you back!" Shouted the pink alacorn princess as she took after her fiance.

"Gonna have to be a lot faster than that, babe!"

Author's Note

I'm alive? I'M ALIVE!!!

Man. This was a really fun ~~(and exhausting)~~ chapter to write. I wanted to really put myself into the mind of a chaotic thinker. So I decided to get weird and have something that was going to throw a wrench in your reading pattern.

Now if you excuse me, I am going to grab a particular blunt object and hit it against something solid in celebration.

ACT 2: Public Speaking 101

In the halls of the Canterlot Royal Palace, few guards remained as the others were either on cleanup duty throughout various locations in the city, in the infirmary being checked for after-effects from Discord's activity and there were those who were released from the infirmary to patrol the halls. Mostly maids and butlers did most of the preparations for the coming coronation later in the day.

Meanwhile upstairs, Celestia sat in her room, preparing herself for the engagement. And next door, a recently-released guard, healed from the effects of his rather rocky encounter with the entity of chaos, tapped against the door of Celestia's younger sister.

"Luna?"

"GO AWAY!" She yelled through the door, in similar fashion to what occurred two nights ago.

"Talk to me Luna."

Using her Canterlot voice, she screamed to the persistent guard.

"GO AWAY!"

"I managed to talk to you when I was angry." Azure recalled, offended that she would be so unfair to him.

"Yes. Now look at how that turned out." Mumbled the princess, holding a grudge.

"Luna please just listen to me."

Luna refused to let him explain himself as she reminded him of her decree. "I have dismissed you from my service. Now go fulfill the wishes of my older sister since what I had for you was not enough."

"I wasn't myself! Discord did that to me!" He argued while banging on the door.

"How so? How do I know that your confession isn't truly what's in your heart?"

"Did you see how I was acting? Did you hear how I was speaking? I don't use ye-olde-Equish and neither am I formal with the both of you."

Luna walked back over to the door and confronted the guard's statement, seeing that his argument was with a crucial flaw. "If you can recall such details, then why could you not stop yourself!?"

The guard grew frustrated with her criticism and banged on the door one final time. "Dammit I tried! But Discord was too strong."

"CELESTIA!!!" Luna called out to the mare next door.

"Why are you calling her here?" He asked, wondering why her older sister needed to be in this conversation. Luna drew a breath and called for the elder sibling once more.

"CELESTE, COME HITHER! POST HASTE!"

"Luna, this makes no sense. Why are you being so stubborn?"

Celestia walked out of her room to see Azure knocking on her door. Reality soon found her as she was reminded of what had occurred in the garden yesterday. Despite her willing to forget the event, she often discovered herself being crushed by the immense amount of guilt. She walks beside the guard and softly knocks on the door herself. "Sister... Luna... Please forgive me."

Luna gritted her teeth as she heard her sister beside the guard once again. "So I take it that you were under Discord's influence as well."

Celestia sank her head as she admitted to her sister that Discord had no means of corrupting her to do so. "No... I was myself."

The door briskly swung open, revealing an infuriated and tear stricken Luna. She dragged the guard into her room and slammed him violently against the wall. She looked at him with an eerie flame set in her eyes as her magic held him, suspended in the air. "SO YOU WOULD LIE TO ME YET AGAIN, AZURE!?"

Celestia rushed inside of the room, closing the door so that no others would be drawn to the area. She pleaded with her little sister to listen. "Luna! He is innocent. If there is anypony that was truly there of their own accord, it was me. Azure was turned."

Luna dismissed her sister's comment. She remembered when Discord hid her behind one of the labyrinth walls. While she watched through the filming camera that the draconiquus had set up, she recalled him being as he was. "He had his colors, sister. He was of himself."

"He did not! I know of it, I was there." Celestia rebutted.

Luna released the guard from her arcane grip and turned her attention to the larger mare behind her. "You were there because you succumbed to your feral desires. He confessed his love for you as you did to him!"

"Luna..." Celestia struggled to swallow the truth that she wanted to deny, but in order to clear his name, she would have to sacrifice her own desire. "He did not confess to me truthfully."

Luna turned away from her sister as she took deep, silent breaths, calming herself down. She looked to the guard she had feelings for and asked in a calm, soothing voice.

"Azure, do you have any feelings toward my elder sister?"

Celestia wanted to tell her the truth, but found herself interrupted by her younger sister. "My confession was-"

"Not another word from you. I ask only him."

Azure's view shifted from one mare to the other. He looked at the emotionless face of the younger alacorn sister and wanted to admit that he had no feelings. But he started to reconsider his approach to the situation as his attention turned to a more painful expression of sadness burdened by the elder sister, who quietly held herself together. He didn't want to hurt one or the other, but there was no way he could please both. "Luna, I can't do this right now."

"Speak." She commands to him, still wearing no emotion on her face.

Azure tried to look away as he started to explain, but Luna forced his head to look directly at her. She wanted his full attention as he gave his answer. "Celestia is my dear friend. She's charismatic, she spunky, she's kind and considerate. What I also know is that she's a wonderful and lovely mare. And I will give her love, just in the platonic form."

"So you do love her?" She said releasing her magic.

He placed a gentle hoof on her chin, looking directly into her eyes. "Yes. Though not enough to choose her. I've made my decision on who I want. I've made it on the night of the Summer Sun Celebration."

She turned to her older sister, hoping to get an answer from her. "Now, sister. Do you love him?"

Celestia gradually broke down as she spoke. "I... I do. He is a magnificent stallion. A wonderful friend. He made me laugh and smile when I felt sad and hopeless. He has given me hope that there may be one who would seek me as who I was on the inside and not for what they would see on the outside. He made me realize that no matter what I may not be able to provide, that love is blind to imperfections whether visually... or physically. I love him so much... I want him... but I know that you need him more than I do."

"Celestia." Azure calls out to her quietly, seeing that she was willing to sacrifice her personal desire to see that her younger sister would have a chance at happiness. The ivory princess continued her confession.

"Azure doesn't need to tell you that my confession was real, that I wanted him to do the things he did. He would not want to say it. So I will in his place. I love him, but he does not love me nearly as much."

Luna walked beside her sister, allowing him to make his choice to which he would walk to. "Then it is time this conflict came to it's conclusion. Azure, do you love me or Celestia?"

Celestia watched as he stepped towards the both of them. Her face glistened with joy as she watched the stallion approach her and smile. Her heart pounded out of her chest as she watched him stop in front of her. He stood before her with half-lidded eyes and whispered in a soft voice. "You."

That is what she imagined as she watched the guard standing before her younger sister. Luna's stern expression broke into a smile while Celestia's smile became a mask that she wore to hide her feelings. With a sigh, she walked back to her room.

Celestia thought to herself as she closed the door behind her.

"Then my presence is no longer needed. I wish the two of you the best. Luna, you take care of him. Azure, you make sure that my little sister is happy. As of now, I believe I have a coronation to conduct."

One month later...
October 31st, 1000 C.D.V., 0 S.R.

The bells that hung over Rarity's door rang as a set of fillies and their parents left the Carousel Boutique. Rarity waived back to her customers as they made their departure. Spike, who helped her with much of her work, stood beside her as they took their leave.

"Enjoy your costumes. Oh, and do be careful, darlings!"

The doors to the shop closed shut, leaving the young drake and the temporarily-relieved fashionista back to her work. Spike praised her for a job well done.

"Wow Rarity, I didn't think that you were actually going to make all those costumes!"

"Well, I mainly had you to help, Spike. I couldn't have done it all without your help." Rarity said as she tossed the dragon a large blue sapphire gem to feast on.

Spike eagerly munched on the gem and licked his lips of the sparkly crumbs that littered his face.

"In speaking of help..."

Rarity patted the dragon on the head, letting him know that his assistance was no longer needed. "That will be all I would ask you to do for tonight. You need your night to get all the treats you could possibly find."

"Well, I wanted to see if you could... you know... maybe spend the night with me and Twilight?" He asked, fiddling with his digits and turning his ankle nervously.

Rarity gasped in response to the suggestion. She had much more work to do for the evening in terms of last minute customers who wanted to get into the Haunted Hooplah Bash that Pinkie was throwing after the foals went to bed. "Goodness no! I'm afraid that I'll have to decline that little offer."

"Oh... okay." Spike said with a glum tone.

Rarity nuzzled the young drake and started to make her way to her linen cabinet to get ready for the new clients that would come by later that night. "Aww, Spiky-wikey. I'm afraid that my night is far too busy for me to come with you. I can't even spend the evening with Sweetie Belle. Granny Smith will be here to take her later on."

"Oh. Then... maybe some other time?" Asked Spike with a raised digit.

Rarity hurried as she placed the large rolls of cloth on the cutting table on the other side of the room. "Some other time for what?"

"Well... I was kind of hoping that one day... I would get to spend some time with you."

Rarity approached the dragon and patted him on the head again, this time petting his most prominent spike that he was known for. "You already do, Spike. And you are much more than a help to me when you do drop by."

Spike sighed as he hinted on other intentions. "That's... not what I was going for."

Rarity's ears fell as she thought about what he was asking for. To think that someone so young as him would request something so mature had concerned her. She liked him, but she only saw him as a friend. "Oh. Well I suppose I could think about it when I find the time."

"Well, when you do decide when you want to spend some time with me outside of shopping, digging for jewels, being your draconian mannequin, sweeping the floor, cleaning the house, helping you make your deliveries, holding your supplies, running some errands across town and looking after Sweetie Belle, just let me know." Spike added just as the door bells jingled, notifying the two that there was someone entering the boutique.

"Spike, you're all finished here?" Twilight asked with a smile, happy to see that he was of help to her friend Rarity.

"In a moment, Twilight." He said as he looked at the fashionista with eyes that could practically transform into large red hearts if it was physically possible.

"So Twilight, did anything become of those fabrics I lent you?" Rarity asked to the purple mare.

"Yes! In fact, I will show you when I come back over from getting changed. And in speaking of change..." Twilight turned her attention to her assistant. "Spike, you get your costume yet?"

Rarity's attention shot through the roof as she realized that she missed an opportunity to grant a huge favor to the young dragon. "Oh dear heavens! I forgot to make an outfit for Spike!"

While she ran across the room to gather supplies, Spike called out to her. "It's okay Rarity. You don't have to worry about me. I'll just wear what I wore from last year."

Rarity turned back to the dragon and ran over to him. She stopped inches in front of his face, causing him to back away in surprise. "Oh no! Not this again! I've told Twilight about her dress to the gala, and I will not watch as you go about in the same costume that you've worn the previous Nightmare Night Festival! I won't allow it!"

Twilight defended her assistant. "But Rarity, we weren't here in Ponyville last year. So wouldn't that make it easier to get away with?"

"Not at all! Spike, what did you wear last year?"

"A dragon costume."

Rarity stared at the dragon with a bewildered expression. "A...dragon costume?"

"There weren't very many costumes available for dragons in Canterlot." Spike argued.

Rarity stepped forward and started another one of her speeches on how it was unacceptable to wear x choice of clothing. With her chest stuck out and her nose proudly in the air, she started her speech. "Well, this is Ponyville! And Ponyville is home of one of the greatest fashion-forward, trend-setting fashionistas to ever grace the catwalks of chic coiture! And thus I shall not stand idly by while a baby dragon is deprived of his choices in attire! Why, it is my sovereign duty to ensure that you, Spike, are well dressed and presentable-"

As she broke her attention to her surroundings, she noticed that both Twilight and Spike had already took their leave.

"Where did they go?"

Nightmare Night preparations were underway at the Royal Palace of Canterlot. Many of the servants and maids were hard at work to serve the children who were present. Of course, it was an exclusive affair offered to the foals of those who served on the senate or in high positions in the guard. Celestia attended the affair with Cadance by her side. Meanwhile, Luna was preparing to leave to another celebration elsewhere with her guard in tow.

"Princess, I don't understand. What is the purpose of me wearing this armor?" Asked Azure holding a dark-blue helmet with webbed spikes affixed to the crown.

"It is enchanted to a special magic that I cast upon it to give you a similar image to another who will wear the same... As well as some other things."

"Uhhhhh-what other things?" Azure asked as his princess urged him to wear the helmet.

"That would be a surprise. That aside, I want to be able to take you with me when I make my trip to Ponyville."

"Why wouldn't you want to take me to Ponyville just as is?"

"Because of the meddlers that my sister has warned me of. I believe they were called something, the 'pepperoni'?" She asked to her guard, trying to make sure that her terminology was correct.

"Paparazzi." Azure deadpanned.

"Yes. What did I say?"

"A pizza topping." He hummed as he walked over to a mirror.

Luna remembered the night he ordered some from a restaurant down in the Inner District, close to where Shining stayed. She couldn't recall the last time she lost sight of her table manners by becoming a ravenous beast and engulfing entire pizzas whole. Azure lost a lot of money that night and Luna had to open a royal account to where it would be charged directly to her. "Oh that reminds me, would you be sending for more of those delicious saucers of baked bread topped with an assortment of vegetables?"

"Pizza? I don't know. We're already on a strict schedule, Luna."

Luna pouted and turned her head to the guard. "You're not allowing me to enjoy myself, are you?"

"I am. That's why I'm heading out with you." He answered with a smirk.

She smiles back and motions her hoof in a circular motion, telling him to hurry up. "Good. Now put on that helmet."

Azure flopped the helmet to where he would be able to place it on his head but as soon as he raised the headgear, he noticed one key feature that would be a hindrance to him wearing it. "Sure... but one problem."

"That is?"

He flipped the helmet to the princess, revealing that inside there was no hole for his horn to enter through. "I think we're missing a little something that would allow this to work."

Luna chuckled at him. "That has been arranged. Put on the helmet and see what I mean."

He shrugged his shoulders and closed his eyes, knowing that this was going to be awkward. But surprisingly enough, he didn't feel anything as the helmet fell to protect his skull. In fact, he was praising the fact that it felt as natural as having one with a horn hole built into it, even more so. He looked at his reflection and grew startled over what he saw next. In his place stood a smokey-gray pony with yellow eyes, bat-like wings, and his tail fashioned into the same form of the fins atop his helmet. Even his tail changed color to a dual-shaded indigo.

"WOAH! What the hell happened to me!?"

Luna walked behind him and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "You're in costume. I would entrust you to keep that appearance for the remainder of the night."

Azure, who was still trying to get used to his new body, circled in front of the mirror. "Okay. So two questions. How do I use wings and where's my horn?"

"Your horn is safe. As for you wings, the spell enables you to maintain your air similar to what skill a novice pegasus guard would contain."

"Okay. But am I going to be able to use magic?"

"No."

Azure dropped his head in response to him not being able to use his magic for the remainder of the night. "Well fuck."

"Come, there is no time to lose. You informed me that this 'Nightmare Night' is when the foals truly enjoy my night. Is that not true?"

"Of course they do." Azure assured to his princess, making her smile.

"Then let us carry on.

The two left Luna's private chambers and made their way to the hanger. As they arrived, they noticed that the security was rather low and that there was another pony, similar to Azure's current appearance, standing in front of a Gothic chariot. It was eerie in it's appearance and it was also the same color as the two 'Lunar Guards' that would guide it.

"Hey there!" Azure shouted to the other guard as the princess stood behind him.

"Shadow Star, I am sure that you know of Azure Sword?" She asked the other guard.

Shadow Star was a pegasus pony by birth and was much more experienced in handling situations of an aerial matter. "A unicorn taking to the air, huh? Royalty aside, I'd thought I'd never see the day."

"ATTENTION!"

The two Lunar Guards snapped into position and awaited their captain's orders. Shining stepped forward, in formal uniform attire.

"You both know the drill. Business as usual. Protect the princess and make sure that she returns unharmed. Do I make myself cle-"

"They know their job, captain. Allow them to perform it. Protocol aside, I wish to make my leave for the south as of now." Luna interrupted, wanting to get a move on. While the two chariot drivers readied for takeoff, Celestia appeared before them and addressed her sister.

"Uh... Luna?"

"Yes sister?"

Celestia sighed calmly as she tried to give her advice. "Please remember to keep your voice at a-"

"LOUD AND BOISTEROUS VOLUME SO THAT OUR SUBJECTS MAY HEAR WHAT WE HAVE TO SAY WITH CLARITY AND UNDERSTANDING! UNDERSTOOD SISTER!"

Celestia offered to correct her little sister and tried to tell her that she needed a calmer approach to the masses. "Luna that's not-"

"TO THE SOUTH! ONWARD!!!"

As Luna's voice boomed throughout the castle, Celestia brought a hoof to her face as she watched her sister take into the night sky. The chariot flew high into the air, rising far above the clouds. Shadow Star shook his head, trying to alleviate the ringing in his ears.

"I think she melted the wax out of my ears! How do you deal with her?" He asked to Azure, who only looked at him.

"WHAT!? CAN'T HEAR YOU! WEARING EARPLUGS!!!" Azure shouted, much to the other's guard discomfort. He shook his head once again, but in disbelief over what his solution was. He chuckled as they made their way across the sky.

"These two were made for each other."

A little later, Celestia, Cadance and Shining Armor watched as the guests attended the gathering at the palace. Many of the foals were there to ask the maids or servants for specially hoof-crafted candies filled with special centers, glazed in special coatings, and each intricately crafted by the finest sweeteries in all of the Keeping District. Cadance and Celestia did their portion to make sure that the young fillies and foals were taken care of.

But Shining stood in a distant corner, watching as all the fillies and colts made their way to the two princesses, asking for their sweets and receiving the occasional nuzzle. He remembered when his father did this with him. It brought back fond memories of a time where he wasn't as concerned with the matters of diplomacy, protecting royals and worried about the world around him. But it also brought to him a deepening sadness that ate away at his heart.

A sadness that continued to plague him for the past eight years.

Cadance turned to look to her fiance, only to find that he had moved to the empty balcony on the other side of the room. She ran after him while she told the guests that tried to ask for her attention to excuse her. In a few seconds, she found herself reaching out to the depressed stallion. Shining Armor looked at the garden below as the foals ran across and laughed along the way. He was the first to speak.

"You know, a long time ago my dad used to take me to these kinds of things. For the first few years, I enjoyed it on my own. And then Twily came along and we used to share this moment together. I loved it when we used to come over and see mom talking with the princess. Dad talked to some of his other guard buddies."

Cadance wrapped her forelegs around the neck of her beloved as he continued.

"I grew out of that, and I could only bid Twily farewell whenever this night came by again. I remembered the first year I was home alone, I threw a tantrum and mom had to stay behind to look after me."

She nuzzles him, identifying where he was going with his story. "Shining-"

"I grew older to see that Twily could still go. She often cheered as she and dad left while me and mom would wave to them goodbye. But... now I just can't seem to shake the feeling that somepony else should be here."

Her forelegs clench against his body tightly and with care as she tried to stave him off. "Shiny, don't do this."

"It's been eight years, Cadie. I've had to live with this night and not being able to bring... He, or she should be right down there with them. But they aren't. And it's all my fault."

Shining broke before her as she hugged him tightly. She held him closely as she recalled that fateful night where she saw him cry for the first time. She wanted to cry enough for the both of them as she got the news, but it was his pain that bore more grief to her than anything. She tried her best to comfort him. "It wasn't your fault."

"I brought my foal into the world. Out of some stupid affair with a mare who was already with a daughter and a husband. I made that child. I gave my seed to that child... And now my own child is not even here to see me."

As she heard the cracked and broken words fall from his lips, she rushed to meet him face-to-face. She held him in her hooves and kissed him softly on his brow and wiped his tears away. "Look at me. I may not be able to replace what you have lost... and I never will, but I promise you that I will do my best. As soon as we get married, I, Mi Amore Cadenza, promise to you that we will have a family. We will be able to come to these formals, and we will have a foal for us to look after. They will have a mother and a father who will love them as much as they would love us."

"Okay." He said, trying to recollect his composure.

"Take your time, dear. We've got all night."

"Would you two like to take the remaining evening off?" A voice from behind called out to them. They turned around to see that it was none other than Celestia herself.

"Princess-"

She held a hoof to halt Cadance's words. "Things are starting to wind down. You know that many of them will have an early morning and will be sent to bed at an even earlier time."

"But-"

She silences the captain with a similar gesture. "My sister will be in capable hooves, captain. There is no need for you to fear. Good night to the both of you."

"Oh, Auntie!" Cadance rang out as she lunged towards Celestia, gripping her with a tight hug of gratitude. Celestia returned her affection and pulled away, urging the two to take their leave.

"I know. Now go, we can't have this public display of affection in front of the little ones."

"CITIZENS OF PONYVILLE!" WE HAVE GRACED YOUR TINY VILLAGE WITH OUR PRESENCE, SO THAT YOU MIGHT BEHOLD THE REAL PRINCESS OF THE NIIIIGHT!!! A CREATURE OF NIGHTMARES NO LONGER, BUT INSTEAD A PONY WHO DESIRES YOUR LOVE AND ADMIRATION! TOGETHER WE SHALL CHANGE THIS DREADFUL CELEBRATION INTO A BRIGHT AND GLORIOUS FEEEAST!!!

"Did you hear that, everypony? Nightmare Moon says she's gonna feast on us all!"

As the young foals flee from the scene that Luna created, the two escorts await above in the sky.

"That's... nnnnot what she said."

Shadow Star looked at the guard with confusion, not knowing what the princess did say exactly. "Uhhh, translation?"

Azure placed a hoof on his chin as he tried his best to translate. "If my ye-olde-equish is correct, then it goes along the lines of: Citizens of Ponyville, I'm here so you can see what your night princess looks like. I'm not as selfish as I once was but now I'm only wanting to have some fun. Now let's turn this bitch up."

"Wow. You've been around the way, haven't you?" Commends Shadow Star, also doubling as a double entendre.

Azure chuckled a little. "A gentlecolt does not kiss and tell... But who the fuck am I kidding!"

Meanwhile below, Luna was trying her best at receiving a sympathetic audience. She was far from success. "What? No, children, no! You no longer have reason to fear us! Screams of delight is what your princess desires, not screams of terror!"

As Luna inadvertently stomps her hoof in frustration, some of the ground cracks below her impact, causing nearby ponies to cower in fear. Luna looked around and saw a pony wearing a rainbow wig, a cutie mark depicting a scroll with a ribbon. She remembered that her cutie mark was indeed the seal of the Ponyville office. There was no denying that she was the mayor.

"Madame Mayor, thy Princess of the Night hath arrived!"

Mayor Mare cowered in fear of the princess reaching her hoof to her, appearing that she was to strike her instead. As she pointed her hoof to other ponies, she received the same result.

"What is the matter with you? Very well, then. Be that way. We won't even bother with the traditional royal farewell."

Back above, Azure and Shadow Star both watch as the princess walks away from the town square. As she takes her leave, they both watch as a purple unicorn mare takes her leave after the princess. Shadow Star feels that the princess' life could be in danger.

"Hey... Look. That mare could be an assassin! You! Halt! Step away-"

Azure halted his partner and waived him off. "Nah. You're good."

Pushing away the hoof of the other guard, Shadow Star tries to justify his suspicion. "Azure, that mare could be a hitmare sent to eliminate the princess!"

"I know her. That's Shining's little sis."

"Captain Shining Armor has a younger sister!?"

"And she's Princess Celestia's student to boot. Trust me, if there's anypony who could reason with Princess Luna, it's her."

Shadow Star looks at the princess being pursued by the purple unicorn and grows uneasy. "I don't easily pass trust to anypony."

"She's not just any pony either."

Light was scares in the darkness of the Everfree forest. The only source of light there was to light the path that Twilight Sparkle walked on was that of the full moon. She eventually found a clearing in the forest that had a statue set in the center. And below the statue of an evil Nightmare Moon was the mare that once became her. Twlilght called out to her. "Princess Luna? Hi, my name is-"

The princess rose from her place of rest and complimented the ensemble the purple unicorn wore. "Star Swirl the Bearded. Commendable costume! Thou even got the bells right."

Twilight, wearing a blue cloak and hat ensemble adorned with stars and bells, sighed in relief. "Thank you! Finally! Somepony who gets my costume!" Twilight cut her celebration short, realizing that she came for a different reason. "Uh, I just came to welcome you to our celebration! My actual name is-"

"Twilight Sparkle." Luna finished for the lavender unicorn. She drew a breath and excitedly shouted about her recent encounter with her. Her voice boomed but not as loud as before.

"It was thou who unleashed the powers of harmony upon us and took away our dark powers!"

"And that was a good thing, right?" Twilight asked backing away a little bit.

"But of course. We could not be happier. Is that not clear!?" Luna pronounced loudly in the smaller pony's face.

Twilight cringed as she explained what was going through her mind. "Well, you kinda sound like you're yelling at me."

Luna offered her reason on her approach. "But this is the traditional Royal Canterlot Voice! It is tradition to speak using the royal 'we', and to use"

Seamlessly, Luna's voice cranked up to the loudest volume possible.

"THIS MUCH VOLUME WHEN ADDRESSING OUR SUBJECTS!!!"

Twilight found herself further away from the princess just from the sheer force of her voice pushing her back. She fixed her outfit from the distorted, wind-damaged appearance and approached the princess a second time.

"You know, that might explain why your appearance was met with... mixed results. I think if you just changed your approach a bit, you might be met with a warmer reception."

"CHANGE OUR APPROACH!?"

"Lower the volume."

"Ohhh." Luna said nervously, not sure how to commune with the citizens without resorting to her old habits of using her Royal Canterlot Voice. "We have been locked away for a thousand years. We are... not sure we can."

Around fifteen minutes later, the princess as well as Twilight walked side by side to meet with a pony that could assist her in her nervousness around public crowds and how to lower her volume. Twilight soon took point in their journey as they approached a cottage at the end of the road.

"Don't worry, Princess. Fluttershy can give you some great pointers. She's delicate and demure with the sweetest little voice."

With a quiet knock, Twilight summoned her friend to the door. Though it was somewhat different from what she was advertising to Luna.

"Go away! No candy here! Visitors not welcome on Nightmare Night!"

Twilight laughed nervously as she walked back to the door. "Fluttershy, it's me, Twilight!"

"It is you." Said the nervous yellow pegasus as she opened the door wide to see another guest. "Oh, and Nightmare Moon... Nightmare Moon?" Fluttershy yelped as she slammed her door shut upon seeing Luna for the first time in her current state.

Twilight laughed nervously as Luna looked at her unamused. She instructed the princess to wait a moment.

Thirty seconds later...

"Fluttershy... you remember Princess Luna?" She asked her scared friend as she tried to push her outside. Luna walked over to the frightened pegasus and extended a hoof to her in greeting.

"CHARMED!!!"

Fluttershy immediately took off to her doorway, but was stopped short of her escape when Twilight levitated her towards the princess. She timidly gave her response. "Likewise."

Luna approached the shy pony and began to speak. "Twilight Sparkle hath spoken of the sweetness of thy voice. We ask thou teachest to us to speak as thou speakest."

"Okay." Fluttershy squeaked.

"SHALL OUR LESSONS BEGIN!?"

"Okay."

"SHALL WE MIMIC THY VOICE!?"

"Okay."

"HOW'S THIS!?!"

"Perfect!Lessonover!"

Fluttershy bolted to the door, only for it to slam in her face before she would get a chance to enter. Twilight started to take over the lesson since Fluttershy appeared to be too frightened to do so. "A little quieter, princess."

"HOW'S this?"

"Better. Right, Fluttershy?" Twilight said as she turned to her friend, who's face was still plastered to the door.

"Yes." She quietly agrees as she starts to pry herself off the wooden surface.

"How... about... now!?

"Now you're getting it." Twilight cheered.

"And... how about now?"

"Yes. Well done."

Luna grabs Fluttershy, who was trying to make her escape into the house, and hugged her tightly as she wore a frightened daze upon her face. "I thank thee, dear Fluttershy! Our normal speaking voice shall surely win us the hearts of thy fellow villagers."

And in an inconvenient timing to address her friends, Pinkie Pie, wearing a chicken costume, called out. "Fluttershy! You've gotta hide us! Nightmare Moon is here and..."

Pinkie screamed as she looked at the limp body of the yellow pegasus. "Ah! She stole Fluttershy's voice so she can't scream when she gobbles her up!"

Instantly, a group of foals that followed the older mare ran after her, trying to escape their ill-fates of being eaten alive. Luna placed the pony in her hooves onto the ground and leapt after the group of foals.

"NAY, CHILDREN! WAIT!!!" She exclaimed, almost forgetting her previous lesson. She offered to correct herself. "Nay children... Wait."

Twilight walks beside her and guides her into the town.

"Come on, princess. Time for plan B."

The bells of the Carousel Boutique jingled as the door opened to reveal some clients. Rarity quickly trotted down the stairs and made her way to the main foyer. "Come in, darlings! If you're looking for sales on tonight's little party, then I assure y-OOWAAAHAHAAA!!! TWILIGHT, WHY IS NIGHTMARE MOON HERE!?"

Twilight shook her head as another response to the princess' appearance sets off another scream fest. "Rarity, you remember Princess Luna, don't you?"

Rarity stuttered as she tried to see if her ears heard her friend correctly. "P-p-p-p... princess... HERE!?"

Luna approached the fashionista slowly as she spoke. "Twilight Sparkle has informed me of thy workings on attire! We- I mean... I wish to be presentable for the festivities of tonight."

Rarity laughed nervously as she whispered to her friend. "Oh! Well... Twilight, can we speak for a moment... in the kitchen."

"Uhhh sure."

The two mares left the princess to browse some of the selections that was on display while Rarity and Twilight stepped into the kitchen, closing the door off.

"Twilight, why is a princess here!?"

"Princess Luna is in need of socializing with the other ponies here. She needs to learn how to mingle with the citizens."

Rarity rolled her eyes at Twilight's answer. "I understand that, but why is she here now?"

Twilight offered to ease the frantic dressmaker. "I told her about the party that was going on later tonight and thought that she would find some enjoyment of seeing how there would be others who enjoy the night life alongside her."

"A princess, IN A COSTUME PARTY!?" Rarity couldn't wrap her head around the idea of the princess attending the party later on.

"Well... yeah!"

Rarity bit her hoof as she looked all over the room. "Oh Twilight, I never designed for royalty before. Don't you think that this would be a bit much to throw something like this at me last minute?"

"I'll make it up to you later." Twilight pleaded. Rarity took a moment to consider the offer. The upside was that she was unofficially going to make a costume for the princess. If she liked it, she would tell others of her talents. The downside to it was if she didn't like it too well, then she would probably seek another to do it for her. But all in all, it was a risk worth taking.

"Fine... But you owe me."

"Gotcha."

Rarity poked her head out of the kitchen to a curious Luna, looking at one of the outfits on display.

"Princess, shall we head upstairs for your... *ahem* measurements?"

"Dost thou know of another way to do this? I am most uncomfortable in this current predicament."

"Forgive me princess, but in order for me to get this right, I will need your full participation."

"Very well then."

Luna stood on a podium as Rarity took various measurements of her body so that her dress would fit properly. Though she has done designs for larger ponies, the princess was by far the largest client she had to deal with. After Rarity took a measurement of Luna's long legs, she jotted down the measurements and made her way to the next item on her list.

"Now could you open your wings for a bit?"

Luna unfurled her wings and allowed them to spread as far as she could. "Like this?"

"Yes! Perfect."

Luna hummed as she watched the mare move quickly in her measurements. "For one so young, you seem to know a lot on how to properly fit a mare."

Rarity held her smile when she heard the compliment. "I've been doing it my entire life, princess. It would only make sense that I would do my best to ensure quality services."

Luna turned an eye to the mare. "To earn a living?"

"That and to satisfy the customer. After all the customer is always right."

Luna turned her attention back to the seamstress. She blushed as she saw the pencil scribble in notes on her measurements. The princess started to blush.

"My measurements will not be disclosed to the public?" She asks, trying to make sure that she wouldn't sell any personal information to the paparazzi.

"All measurements are confidential and will be kept that way. It's to insure trust between me and the client." Rarity assured.

"Trust? Trust..." Luna started to ponder at the word on her mind. Her mind drifted back to the guard she adored and how much trust she had for him... or lack thereof.

"Is there something the matter, princess?" Asks the busy seamstress, noticing the discerning expression that the princess wore.

"No. I'm just thinking."

Rarity accepted the answer, realizing that she had no grounds to ask a royal on her personal matters. "Well, I won't ask you to disclose unless you feel comfortable with it."

A long silence ensues, causing the princess to feel uncomfortable. But she couldn't help but to shake the concept of trust out of her mind. Especially when it came to her special somepony. With closed eyes, she allowed her question to spill forth.

"...Have you ever been in love?"

Rarity froze over the princess' question. She could've dismissed the question being that she was now finished with anything that pertained to measurements, but she couldn't let a question with a princess go unanswered. It would be rude. "I... can't say that I have. There was a time where I thought I was, but it turned out to be a crush."

Luna's cheeks warmed as she thought about the guard she loved. "I have chosen one, and he says that he has chosen me. But how do I know that I could trust him?"

Rarity was in shock that she would disclose a personal matter with her. She tried to remain calm as she spoke. "Does he ever reveal any of your biggest secrets?"

"No."

"Does he ever tell you what's on his mind?"

"Mostly, yes."

"Has he ever hurt you?"

Luna paused at her question, but gave her an answer. "...Once. But it was Discord's doing."

Rarity groaned at the name. "Ugh! Don't even remind me of him. He actually made me fall in love with a giant rock that I happened to name Tom."

Luna tried her best not to laugh at her circumstances, but the reoccurring thought of what happened in the labyrinth. "I understand that you were a victim as I was. But what he did to me-"

Rarity dared to do what she thought she could never do. She placed a firm hoof on the princess' chin as she spoke to her. "It's in the past. Does this guy you like... did he ever try to make amends?"

Luna started to blush, causing the seamstress to retreat out of worry. "Repeatedly. Every single night, he would stay up with me and count the stars, or at least he would try to before drifting off to sleep."

Rarity felt a painful sadness as she heard the ongoing list of qualities he had. "...I wish I had somepony like that."

"Like who?"

Rarity sighed deeply as she made her own confession. "I once thought Blueblood was the stallion of my dreams. But it turns out that my pursuit was nothing more than a fleeting dream."

"How did that go?" Luna asked plainly, knowing what to expect.

"He was the worst! To think that a pony such as him would have no manners and call himself royalty."

"He is royal no longer." Luna quickly answered, causing Rarity to gasp.

"No..."

"Yes. My sister stripped him of his power. As to why, I cannot disclose."

Rarity felt her heart beat at an incredible pace as she heard the information given to her. "Well that's good news."

The two shared a brief laugh before Luna's mind wandered back to the stallion she loved. "But still... should I trust him?"

"If I may, I believe a stallion who tries in earnest to enjoy the things you do, spend time with you, count the stars with you and put his life on the line for you, is one that's worth keeping."

"Even to possibly wed?"

"I do wedding dresses too, darling." Rarity said proudly.

Luna's frown grew into a lighthearted smile. "That is good to know. Then I keep you in mind when the time comes."

Rarity bowed before the larger pony before her. "I would be honored, your highness."

"Please, call me Luna."

"Hear me, villagers! All of you! Call me Luna!"

The citizens of the small town nodded and muttered in agreement. The now chatty village of ponies had started to open up to their princess, a stark contrast to when she was often seen as a sort of tyrannical, cannibalistic sociopath. Luna was more than pleased in the activities that they took part of.

Twilight and Applejack stood next to each other and smiled in seeing the princess take part of a modern festivity. For many years, it seemed that Luna had forgotten what was the concept of enjoying one's self. Despite Azure being a window to that experience, she could never grow out of her shell when it came to her and the social engagement between her and her subjects. Everything was more than enjoyable to her and it was a much easier thing to get used to when everyone clearly enjoyed her night. It may have been a festivity that just so happen to take place at the night, but it was a start.

"Show me to the bobbing apples." She asked happily to an optimistic Applejack.

"Why sure thing, princ-erm... Luna."

Applejack and Twilight took the time to escort the princess over to the end of the town square, where the activity took place. As they approached the area, Luna's smile transformed into a shocked expression that reflected the horror of what was to come. As they stopped in front of the large tub of apples, they saw a young foal by the name of Pipsqueak stumble and fall into the water. Luna wasted no time as she bolted after the young foal. And just as she did, Pinkie and the group of foals came from another street to talk to Applejack.

"Hey, gals. Anypony seen Pip? We lost him the last time we had to run-"

Pinkie clucked as she saw the royal blue alacorn mare dipping her head into the vat and pulling out the colt she previously mentioned.

"Aaah! Nightmare Moon is gobbling Pipsqueak! Everypony run!"

All of the fillies that accompanied the screaming mare followed her in suit and took to the opposite direction. Meanwhile, the colt that the princess rescued started to panic. He wiggled and writhed until the princess placed him to the ground below. The moment his hooves hit the ground, he scampered after the group screaming.

"Help! My backside has been gobbled!"

Luna took offense to the colt after she saw that her efforts to save him were unappreciated, still seeing her as a monster. With a stomping hoof, she screamed back to the foal. "Tis a lie! Thy backside is whole and ungobbled, thou ungrateful whelp!"

Somewhere off in the distance, a cloud shoots off a lightning bolt, giving the princess an ominous appearance. The citizens of the town, once filled with excitable optimism, was once again filled with the sight of cowering ponies. Luna didn't like it when they feared her. If anything, she was informed that ponies liked her night and would take a liking to her as well. Clearly this was not the case.

"Fair villagers, please do not back away." Luna pleaded as she tried her best to regain the momentum she had as she started mingling with the crowd. "Let us join together in... fun!

She looked around to find a velcro spider to toss into one of the spider webs, a game that was introduced to her that managed to get her and the citizens warmed up to each other. She found one beneath her hoof and tossed it to the center of the web, hitting a bullseye. The townsponies were not swayed.

"Not enough fun for you? What say you to this!?"

Luna, now frustrated that her initial tactic was fruitless in it's success a second time, cast a spell at the spiders in a bowl nearby, giving them life. As they all crawled from the bowl, some landed on a nearby pony while the others crawled onto the net, stopping at the center.

Luna smiled as she cheered at how much fun she was having. "Huzzah! How many points do I receive?"

As the assaulted pony stood up, she ran frantically for help. The other ponies in the town square followed suit as they tried to take cover and hide from the spiders that crawled up and down town square.

"Do not run away!" Luna shouted, becoming more frustrated than before.

The citizens continued to ignore her command and proceeded to do so anyways.

"As your princess, we command you!" She tried to enforce her power through her title, but found that the ponies still feared her just as much as they did over a thousand years ago. It was obvious that they did enjoy her night, but they didn't seem to enjoy her. She grew furious and took a deep breath to call out to the citizens in a loud, booming voice.

BE STILL!!!

Her voice continued to echo throughout the entire town as the ponies cowered in fear and held their place. Twilight, with concern over what was happening, stood up to the princess.

"Princess, remember. Watch the screaming."

Luna turned to the smaller pony. "No, Twilight Sparkle! We must use the traditional royal Canterlot voice for what we are about to say."

The purple pony in costume watched as the Princess of the Night took to the sky, shouting her decree.

"Since you choose to fear your princess rather than love her, and dishonor her with this insulting celebration, we decree that Nightmare Night shall be canceled! FOREVER!"

Twilight could easily feel the hearts of every pony in the town square sink as they heard the decree echo throughout the night sky. And seconds after, she flew off to the edge of town, leaving the crowd of ponies to clean up the festival. Applejack walked up to Twilight and sighed.

"Shoot. We had everything goin' our way. Luna was happy, everypony in town was happy, now look at 'em."

The ponies throughout the town had already started to clean up the mess. Foals were saddened now that one of their favorite holidays was no longer. Some of the younger fillies and colts started to cry. Twilight looked around and stepped on something, noticing that it was the emblem of nightmare night. She remembered that the princess was still in town as well. It would be some time before she would take her leave, permanently condemning the holiday.

"It's not over yet."

"What are you gonna do?" Applejack asked.

"I'm going to do what I do best. Lecture her!"

Landing at the town's edge, Luna stared back to the town with a maddening glare that soon turned to a frown of despair. Sulking, she made her way to the town's outer boarders, where she instructed her guards to await her orders. She needed to confront Azure on what had happened tonight. It would seem that he was the only one who could console her and he was all she wanted at the moment. But as she made her way over the bridge, a voice called out to her.

"Princess?"

"Leave me be, Twilight Sparkle." She sounded off sadly, not wanting to see her.

Twilight walked behind the princess, trying to console her. "Princess, I'm sorry it hasn't worked out how we wanted. But you have to believe me when I tell you that Nightmare Night is one of the most popular celebrations we have."

Luna's experience surely didn't seem like a popular celebration to show appreciation for what she became out of a jealousy-induced rage that caused her to turn against her own sister. It was not only demeaning, it was also disheartening. "Yes. I can tell. By all the adoring shrieks of the children as they run away." She responded with sarcasm.

"Princess..." Twilight whimpered as she watched Luna walk off into the darkness of the city limits. She knew in her heart that Luna was more than offended by what occurred tonight, but she also knew that she couldn't let the princess condemn this holiday so that the foals wouldn't get a chance to celebrate. With a deep breath, she charged after the princess, took her hoof and dragged her back into town.

"Twilight Sparkle, what is the meaning of this!?"

"No time for questions. I'm gonna show you that ponies can warm up to you if the circumstances are a little more tame." Twilight argued.

The princess took a moment to reflect back to the conversation she had with Rarity back at the boutique. The talk they had initially started off a little unsteady, but after the introduction of a more personal matter, they had started to connect. Twilight had a point in what she was doing and what she was trying to prove.

"...Fine. But this will be the last time."

The rambunctious, ridiculously random, poultry-dressed Pinkie Pie walked up and down a street, looking for stay pieces of candy. She always made it her duty to clean up after foals who dropped some candy all over the town. As she walked, she came across a stray piece, followed by another, and another. In seconds, she worked herself into a back alleyway, chomping down on more of the candy. As she came in contact with another, Twilight tackled her and held her mouth shut.

"No! No shrieking. No screaming or squealing either. Okay?"

"Mmmphmmm (Okay)!" Pinkie squeaked out as her friend started to ease off of her.

Twilight removed herself slowly as she spoke. "There's something I want you to see. And I promise that it's safe, but you really, really, really can't shriek. Do you promise not to shriek?"

Pinkie nodded, causing Twilight to remove her hoof from Pinkie's snout. As Twilight backed away, Princess Luna slowly walked towards her, causing the mare to force her own hooves against her mouth to fulfill her promise.

"Pinkie Pie, you remember Princess Luna, right?"

Luna slowly made her way over to the pink pony, extending a hoof in friendship. "Ah. The ringleader of the frightened children. Hast thou come to make peace?"

As Pinkie reached out for the princess, a cloud came in from above, striking lightning behind the larger-framed mare.

"Nightmare Moon!" Pinkie screamed out as she fled the scene, literally laying an egg as she ran the other way. Twilight heard a familiar laugh from above and realized who was behind the ill-timed prank.

"RAINBOW!" She called out to the rainbow-maned pegasus, who hid above the storm cloud and scared ponies throughout the night.

Twilight teleported herself in front of the retreating Pinkie, taking her to the ground below. While the chicken-dressed pink pony squirmed below her, Twilight offered to set her straight. "She's changed, Pinkie! She's not evil or scary anymore! And she definitely doesn't want to gobble you up!"

"Well, duh." Pinkie responded.

Twilight was confused at her friend's sudden change in alignment, seeing that she was calm and collected rather than scared and frantically causing a panic. "Huh?"

"I know that. Sheesh, Twilight. I'm almost as big as her. How's she gonna gobble me up?"

"So why do you keep running away and screaming?"

"Sometimes it's just really fun to be scared!"

Twilight took a moment to think about Pinkie's response. She knew that her and the other foals were running away because they were scared, but not once has she ever considered it to be fun to be afraid of something. That's when one of the earlier concepts she and Applejack introduced to her came into play. "Fun? Pinkie Pie, you're a genius!"

"No I'm not. I'm a chicken. Bacawk!"

Twilight turned her attention to a pouting Luna. "Princess Luna! I've finally figured out why you're having so much trouble being liked!"

"Forgive me if I withhold my enthusiasm." She responded in deadpan.

"Come with me. I'll explain everything on the way."

Deep in the clearing of the Everfree Forest, Twilight and Luna awaited the group of foals to approach the statue. Luna remained silent, waiting for the moment to pounce out at the foals. She didn't have to wait too long as the next group came over and placed their candy at the alter. Pipsqueak was the last to place his offering before the statue, all while giving his farewell to his most favorite holiday.

"Goodbye, Nightmare Night. Forever."

Suddenly, a voice boomed out to the foals. "Citizens of Ponyville! You were wise to bring this candy to me. I am pleased with your offering. So pleased that I may just eat it..."

And before the foals, on the top of the alter, stood the very likeness of Nightmare Moon herself.

"...INSTEAD OF EATING YOU!!!"

The foals screamed and ran back to the bushes as the opening was cleared of any others. Luna transformed back from the evil manifestation of her hatred back into her normal form. She also spat out a set of plastic fangs used to sell her appearance to the young fillies and colts.

"I am not certain that did what you meant for it to do, Twilight Sparkle."

"Just wait." Twilight said with a smile.

"For what? For... for them to scream some more?"

As she finished her question, the night princess felt a tug at her mane. "Um... Princess Luna. I know there's not gonna be any more Nightmare Night, but do you suppose maybe you could come back next year and scare us again anyway?"

Luna stared at the colt, perplexed at what she was hearing. She even looked over to see that not all of the foals have left the clearing, more than they were hiding from view. "Child. Art thou saying that thou... likest me to scare you?"

"It's really fun! Scary, but fun!"

"It... is?" Luna asked, finally realizing what was going on.

"Yeah! Nightmare Night is my favorite night of the year."

Luna felt a cheerfulness erupt in her body as she renounced her misled decree. "Well then. We shall have to bring Nightmare Night back!

The force of her voice pushed back the foal a distance, but it only gave thrill to the young colt. "Whoa! You're my favorite princess ever!" The young Pipsqueak ran over to hug the princess in gratitude before turning back to his friends. "She said yes, guys!

A symphony of juvenile cheers graced her ears, bringing great joy into her heart as she felt appreciated, not just for her night but for who she was.

"See? They really do like you, princess." Twilight said as she walked beside the princess.

"Can it be true?" Luna asked herself, nearly brought to tears. It had turned out that everything that Azure spoke of prior to her arrival was spot on. Though it initially seemed like she was being feared like in the millennium's past, but instead it turned out to be something different.

"Oh, most wonderful of- I mean... Oh, most wonderful of nights."

Luna made her way back to the outskirts of town to meet with her two escorts. The only difference was that earlier she had set out to meet them on her own, this time she was accompanied by six other mares and a young dragon. They all laughed and shared their experiences of the night with each other as the chariot came into view.

"Well, it was a blast to have you here, princess." Rainbow Dash signed off.

"It's been nice to see that you came out to visit us." Fluttershy added, no longer scared of the princess.

"Oh, I do believe that it is too bad that you have to take your leave. I've already have your masquerade outfit ready for you if you were to attend the party later on tonight." Rarity said as she levitated a black bag beside her.

Luna stopped for a moment and turned around for a second. "Rarity, would you come here for a second?"

"Me? Oh but of course!" She answered, trotting up to the princess without a moment's hesitation. As she stood side-by-side with Luna, she whispered into the smaller unicorn's ear.

"The one to the left. That's him."

Rarity gasped but found herself dumbfounded over what she was seeing. "Um... not to be rude, but I... can't tell the difference."

Luna nodded as she told her of a lesson she managed to learn recently. "Not everything is as you see it. Meaning that they would appear to be one in likeness does not make them the same in who they are when the armor comes off."

Rarity giggled at the sentiment as one of the guards called out to her.

"Princess, are you ready to go?" Azure asked.

Luna walked over to the guards and made it appear that she was ready to take her leave. Without setting hoof on the chariot, she gave her answer. "No. In fact, I came her to notify you that you are invited to a party, filled with streamers, and cupcakes, and confetti and fun!"

"I taught her everything I know." Pinkie stated pridefully.

"I..but...Princess, your sister will worry! I cannot allow her to be left in concern for what you are doing and your whereabouts." Shadow Star answered.

"She's a grown-ass mare. Let her do what she wants." Azure replied, causing the group, minus Luna, to gasp at the brashness of his words.

"Definitely not as what they seem, at all." Rarity mumbles to herself.

"Indeed," Luna says in agreement with her special somepony. "The night is young and there is plenty of time to make our return to Canterlot. And besides, if you're so worried about a bedtime, then you are excused to take your leave, while I and Azure will take to the town this evening."

"Meh, close enough." Azure said in tandem to Pinkie's prior statement. "Shall we leave, princess?"

"Indubitably."

Azure takes the hoof of Luna and starts to walk alongside her with the other group of mares, leaving a mortified Shadow Star to wait in the darkness alone.

"Princess! I can't take this chariot back to the palace all by myself... Wait for me!!!"

ACT 2: Carols at Eveningtide

It was a late night in the halls of the Canterlot Palace. Normally, one would expect the sounds of a few mares trotting down the halls from one of Blueblood's nights with the harem. But for the past month, peace and quiet ruled these halls, or at least it would have considering that two ponies walked side by side in the shadowed halls of the royal palace. Luna and Azure manage to make their arrival from the party in Ponyville. The two were, needless to say, enthusiastic.

"What fun that was!"

"You're tellin' me! Who'd thought that a little backwater town like Ponyville could be so turned up? That party was oh so nice!"

Luna giggled as she heard the guard's own interpretation of her statement. "I agree... Perhaps I was wrong to doubt you when you said that ponies loved my night and loved the mare behind it."

"Well, I could see why." The guardspony said quietly. "You've been cooped up in the castle since you came back and not once have you set hoof outside of palace grounds.

Luna rolled her eyes and sighed lazily. "Blame my elder sister. She is a little-"

"Overprotective?" He guessed.

"One could say that, but I would prefer the term cautious."

Azure shrugged his shoulders as he dismissed the alternative term Luna chose. "They're the same. Besides, what else could happen?"

As Azure finished is question, a loud voice rang throughout the halls of the darkened palace. "LUNESTE SELENE VALKYRIE!!!"

"Did you need to ask?" She deadpanned as her older sister came from hiding within the shadows of a nearby pillar. Celestia ran to her younger sibling with worry wrought in her appearance.

"Luna! Where have you been!?"

"I was away in-"

Celestia interrupted Luna's explanation, giving her a tight hug. "You know that you were to come back to the palace after your visit. Why are you home so late!?"

"I mingled with the citizens in the town. I've played with foals in the early night and as the time grew late, we stayed up all night and partied with many ponies. Then after we made our farewells, we departed for the palace. I've never had so much fun."

The larger princess gasped at her words. She knew that Luna was not as comfortable in the public eye as she was. And considering a thousand years of being in solitary confinement on a satellite body orbiting around the planet, being around a large group of ponies can be frightening. Celestia turned her attention to the guard that escorted her for much of the way. "Is this true?"

"Is it? Just look at that face, it's clear that she didn't enjoyed herself." Azure said sarcastically.

The elder princess smiled warmly at the guards humoring response. It was indeed obvious that they enjoyed themselves for the evening. Celestia gave a yawn as her stress-wracked body started to tell her that it was time for rest. "Very well then. It is obvious that I can see how you are able to overcome your greatest obstacle yet. I suppose that a privilege of leave is in order."

Luna grinned widely, showing all her teeth as she squeed and ran to her sister, giving her a tight hug of appreciation. For the first time since her return, Celestia finally saw that she was able to take care of herself and gave her full-rights to leave the palace when she chose to. Luna nuzzled her older sister. "Thank you, dear sister!"

"Your most welcome. And thank you Azure." Celestia said, smiling at the guard.

"Don't mention it." Azure said.

"Great. Now you have to fill out your report." Called a voice from behind another pillar. As the shadow came to light, it was revealed to be none other than Shining Armor, accompanying the princess for her watch.

"B...but... now?" Asked the guard, dreading that he might have to fill a report on his evening with the princess at this very moment.

Shining pondered the possibility of punishing his friend for his tardiness, wearing a snarky grin. "Hmmm.... nah. It can wait until the morning."

"Well then gentlecolts, I do believe that the time for rest has come. Luna, let us be off." Said the elder sister as she and Luna made their way to their respective quarters.

"Goodnight, good sirs." The younger sibling wished to the two guards before walking off.

Shining bowed before them. "Goodnight, princesses!"

"Nighty night!" Said Azure, following suit.

The two stallions rose from their position and made their way in the opposite direction. There was nothing to concern themselves over the leave of the two princess, being that their room was just the equivalent of three doors down the hall. So they walked side by side and conversed as they made their way to the barracks. "So, how's Twily doing?"

The blue stallion shook his head rapidly as he thought about Shining's younger sister. "Augh! No! Never again!"

Shining laughed at his friend's displeasure. "What happened?"

"Luna disclosed that I was actually a unicorn and your little sister just went to town."

"Formulas in arcane science and alterations of the reality's distortion when one can teleport any given mass from one location to another?" Shining asked, knowing from experience that her talks on the matter can prove to be taxing on the mind.

"SHUT UP! You sound just like her. Only she wouldn't stop talking!"

Shining summoned a bottle and tossed it to the other unicorn. "Ibuprofen?"

"Way to be prepared."

"When Twily starts going off about her love for science and magic, it helps to have some of these on hoof."

Azure chuckled a little as he opened the small vial of the drug. "That bad, huh?"

"You got off easy. Just wait until the holidays. She's really a chatterbox then about how much she's learned."

Two months later...

It was a cold day in the city of Canterlot. Snow covered much of ground and everything in the town was blanketed in a thin sheet of frost. Winter had came in full-force as the festive lights shone brightly in the night sky. Ponies happily trotted along, dressed in scarves, hats, coats and even boots as they shared gifts with one another. Foals played happily in the snow, lobbing snowballs at each other and building snow figures. Laughter as abundant in the night streets as the ponies all celebrated the Holiday of Hearth's Warming Eve. And making their way down the street were six ponies and their dragon, who helped finish one of the nights premier events, the History of Hearth's Warming Day.

"That. Play. Was. Awesome!" Shouted Rainbow Dash excitedly as she flew through the air.

Rarity walked with her nose in the air, proud of the performance they put on. "I'd say. To think that our amateurish skills in the art of thespian conveyance would actually translate into a standing ovation... or perhaps the audience was being generous?"

Pinkie jumped into the fashionista's face, causing Rarity to nearly fall back in response. "NO WAY! WE TOTALLY ROCKED THAT HOUSE! I CAN'T WAIT UNTIL WE DO THE PLAY FOR NEXT YEAR!"

"If we do the play next year. But I have to admit that it was really nice to share the stage with all of you. If you girls weren't there, I would have ran off." Fluttershy said as she smiled.

"Awww shucks! Ain't nothin', Fluttershy. Ah was a bit on the nervous side mahself." Applejack answered back as she looked over to the side, feeling bashful that she would feel nervous in front of a group of ponies.

Twilight praised her friends for their hard work with an excited expression. "I'm pretty sure that the audience appreciated the bravery. And I'm more than certain that they appreciated the performance as well. Great work girls."

"Yeah. You totally sold your performance Rarity!" Spike added, causing the other mares to feel a little jealous. Rainbow Dash was the first to speak.

"Um... What about us?"

"Meh, you guys were okay." Spike said as he waived a claw and batted down their performances, causing all six of the mares to become offended.

"SPIKE!"

Spike chuckled nervously and placed a claw on the back of his head. "I was just kidding! You all did great."

The six mares laughed in response to his joke. Twilight was the first to recover from her laughter as she eyed a clock on the street corner, reading that it was 9:34. "Oh Spike. Well, come along. We've got someplace else to go."

"We do?" Pinkie interjected as she pranced over to the purple mare.

"No, not you girls, Pinkie. Me and Spike are headed home."

Rainbow quirked an eyebrow as she remained suspended in the air. "But aren't we all headed home?"

Applejack reminded her friends that she did live in Canterlot prior to Ponyville. "Ah think what she meant was that those two have kin here in the city. They'll be spendin' the holiday with them, jus' like we will be come tomorrow."

Pinkie almost deflated in hearing the news of Twilight's early dismissal. "Aww. But I wanted to spend some time with everypony before we all set out."

"True enough Pinkie, but why spend the extra bits on visitation when they could head home now since they're in town?" Rarity argued, making a solid point.

"I'll spend a few more bits to spend some time with you, Rarity." Spike said, wanting to have some time with the beautiful, snow-white unicorn, causing her to blush.

"Oh, well that's so sweet of you Spike, but I'm afraid that your home is with Twilight. We'll spend some time together come the end of the holidays."

"I guess." Spike said in a defeated tone.

"Thanks for understanding, Spikey-poo." Rarity said as she nuzzled the young dragon, causing his frown to grow into a smile.

"Heh heh, sure thing."

"You girls did absolutely magnificent!" A voice cheered to the six mares. Wondering who it was, they all turned to the source of the voice to find that it was none other than a mare who stood with her two sons. Her name was Elaina Mash, who also came from Ponyville to see the play as well as paying a visit to her husband.

"Why hello, Mrs. Mash. How are you doing this evening?" Rarity asked, being the first to speak.

"I was in town to spend time with the husband. Though I'm pretty sure you've met up with Button." The beige mare said as she pointed to her youngest son.

"Uh-huh." He hummed out as he tuned out the world and continued playing with his electronic toy, bleeps and blips sounding as he grunted and struggled to get the high score.

"Button." She repeated herself, trying to get her son's attention.

"In a sec, mom." He mumbled as he tried to focus on the boss he was fighting.

"BUTTON!"

Her shout caused him to juggle the small device, landing him with a game-over screen. "Gah! Hello."

"You've been on your Joy-Boy for long enough. Let this be my last time telling you to be more attentive."

Button's ears fell back as he looked at the game-over screen on his joy-boy. A six-hour run through with no saves, wasted in the blink of an eye. "Sorry mom."

"Yeah, step it up, bro. Now fork it over, it's my turn." The older brother said as he picked it up off of the ground. Button tried his best to grab the device from his big brother, swinging at the air as he kept it out of reach.

"No way Trigger! I called dibs."

The device soon found itself in the company of a well-built, light gray earth-pony stallion with a charcoal mane. "Now I call dibs."

"Awww. But dad-" Trigger tried to argue, but was instantly shut down by his dad.

"No buts. Hello to all of you, ladies."

Elaina smiled as she hugged her husband and introduced him to the six element bearers. "Ladies, this is my husband, Longshot. Longshot, this is Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy and-"

"Twily! Shine's baby sister. How's it been?" He finished, surprised that Twilight was in town.

"Fine. But please don't call me that. I only gave my older brother permission to call me that name."

"Sorry. I didn't know that the name was so special. I just thought it was a nickname."

The purple unicorn blushed as she looked back to all of her friends, embarrassed that they heard the nickname her brother gave her. "Twilight will do for now. In speaking of names, how's my older brother doing?"

"He's doing just fine. Shining's got the holiday off this season so he's gonna be able to spend some time with the family."

Stars shined brightly in Twilight's eyes as soon as she heard the news of her older brother being home for the first time in a long time. "My brother's off? For how long!?"

"I'm pretty sure you've got this evening, tomorrow and the day after if nothing is set in stone."

"That's fantastic! I can't wait to share with him about everything I've learned in Ponyville."

"I'm pretty sure he can't wait either. Hey Spike!" He interjected, seeing the young drake for the first time in months.

"How's it hanging?" Spike answered back.

"Still the champ."

"Nice. So are the guys doing anything this evening?"

Twilight's magic pulled at one of the dragon's ears, tugging him along side her. "No Spike. We will be going home to visit mom, dad and Shining."

Longshot laughed at Spike's expense as he sank his head, realizing that his escape attempt proved futile. "Well you tried."

"And don't forget that we have family time to spend as well." Elaina chimed as she nudged her husband.

"Oh I'm pretty sure you would love to spend some 'quality time' with me." He joked, causing her to laugh and blush lightly.

"Stop it. The foals are here."

"How do you think they got here?" He whispered in a low voice.

"Ewww! Dad!" Trigger said disgustingly as he realized what his parents were going on about.

"Mom, where do foals come from?" Button asked, completely clueless as to what was being discussed.

"Well, would you look at the time! I suppose it's that time we should be off." She stated, embarrassed that her son would ask such a private question in a public setting.

"In a rush to get there, aren't you?" Longshot said coyly, gaining a menacing glare from his wife.

"Push me and I'll punish you for it."

Longshot smiled deviously as an idea came to his mind. "Spanking, sounds fun."

Deciding that she had enough of her husband's showing out, she pushed him along as she bid the six mares and the dragon farewell. Her sons followed behind her closely. "Later girls. Mommy needs to take care of some things."

"Come on, Spike. We should be going too." Twilight said as she and her assistant took their leave to the Inner-District. The remaining party of five waived goodbye as the distance between them grew further apart.

"See you guys later!" Rainbow shouted.

"I miss them already." Pinkie said, mourning their departure.

"They jus left, Pinkie." Applejack tried to emphasize to her.

Fluttershy's cheeks grew into a light red tint as she thought about the exchange of Elaina and her husband. "Spanking? Oh dear."

Meanwhile, Rarity's mind was more focused on the name that was recently tossed around. She pondered the possibilities as she walked. "Shining... There's something about that name that seems vaguely familiar. Oh well, there are plenty of Shining's in the world. Shining Star, Shining Silver, Shining Sea, Shining Moon, Shining Light..."

There was much to cheer about in the home of the Sparkle family. The fireplace lit the home and gave warmth to the stallion who sat in the chair beside it. Velvet was busy in the kitchen, cooking up meals and deserts for the night that both her and her husband as they shared their evening with their son, Shining Armor. It has been quite some time since he was home for this particular holiday, especially since he was often assigned to the palace. Twilight, on the other hoof, was even more scarce in her appearances. The only appearances she could make was in the form of a photo or a letter. So as it was, the two parents took much excitement when they heard that their son was coming home.

"So dear, I take it that you will be spending the time with us for the holiday, but why is Cadance unable to come by?" Velvet asked as she continued to work alongside her son in the kitchen.

"She's going on a trip to the Griffon Kingdom. Olive branch stuff." He answered as he continued to chop away at some carrots, helping his mother prepare a stew.

Velvet was busy scrubbing potatoes, peeling them and cutting them into pieces via magical assembly line. "A peace offering? But if that's the case, then-"

"I asked her the same thing. Her answer to me was that she was tired of taking me away from home each holiday."

"But she could still come over for a visit? I wouldn't mind the company." Velvet asked worriedly.

"I know. But matters of diplomacy never takes a day off. Or at least that what she tells me."

"In speaking of days off, how many will you be receiving?" Asked Orion, who entered the kitchen to fix himself a sandwich, earning a stern glare from his wife.

"I'd say until she manages to get back to the palace." Shining answered as Velvet slapped the hoof of her husband, who was reaching into the fridge for a quick snack.

"I see." Said a frustrated Orion, rubbing his hoof from the impact as he brought up some interesting news. "You know, I heard that Twilight was coming to town."

"I know that her first place of visit would be the castle." Shining answered back, placing the chopped carrots into a bowl, earning a smile from his mother.

"To think that we've only seen glimpses of her as she grew through the years. It's almost saddening to see that she doesn't visit us that often." Velvet seemed to sulk in the reminder of their daughter not being able to see them. She took in a breath of air and exhaled in a long, melancholy sigh. "But at least she still loves us enough to write."

"Don't say it like that." Said Shining, who tried to comfort his mother. "I'm pretty sure that Twily loves you enough to visit you two. It's just hard to do so when you've got the fate of Equestria on your back."

"Funny that you should say that. The only thing that feels heavy is the dragon on my back." Chimed out the unexpected visitor, announcing her arrival.

"Hey!" Sounded out an offended young dragon, who was receiving the implication that he was fat.

"Sorry, Spike."

Velvet nearly ran over her husband and past her son as she made her way to her daughter. "Violet, my dearest child!"

"Hey!" Shining shouted, feeling somewhat brushed aside.

"Oh hush up, Shining. We usually see you pay a visit when you get a chance, but with Violet, she's constantly running across the place just to keep things in order." The mature mare said as she took in the features of her grown-up daughter.

"I'm fine, mom." Twilight answered, trying to keep her from being concerned over her duties as an element bearer.

Velvet took in the sight of her daughter. What once was a little filly with aspirations to learn magic and kept her head in the books had blossomed into a full-grown, richly-shapened mare who stood two inches taller than her, was almost as skilled as her in magic and was no doubt as stuck-in-the-books as she ever was. "Just look how you've grown! I never thought you would take after me so much. How were your lessons?"

"And here we go." Shining said as he summoned an orange vial of ibuprofen for the inevitable headache he was going to receive.

Twilight rolled her eyes as she motioned to Spike to help her mother cook. "You know I've moved to Ponyville to carry out my lessons, right?"

"Of course. I could only wish that you all lived here so you could say hello more often." Said Velvet, still saddened that her daughter had blossomed so richly outside of her vision.

"Sorry for my lack of communication. It's just that with the craziness of moving to a new place and knowing five friends who constantly get into all kinds of trouble can be taxing on my schedule."

"Twilight, if you can manage to send a letter at least once a month, then that will make us happy." Said Orion as he tried to sneak into the fridge a second time, to which Velvet swatted away with a wooden spoon.

"I tried to do one once a week, but I guess I tend to get caught up in all of the commotion."

"But enough of that, dear. Tell us, what all did you learn from your time away? Oh I could never be so proud of you! The moment you graduate from your studies, I'm going to be dancing on tables screaming out 'that's my daughter'." Velvet sang out as she started to shake her plot away from her children, who groaned with embarrassment.

"Mom... please don't." Shining said, covering his eyes with with a foreleg.

"What? I can tell you that Velvet is a very skilled dancer. And I bet that Violet would be more than willing to join her." Said Orion as he made a third attempt for the fridge, which was thwarted by the sight of a rolling pin waived in front of his face. With a nervous and toothy smile, he retreated from the area.

"Have you even seen Twily dance? It's awkward." Said Shining, breaking into a laugh.

"SHINY!" Twilight screamed, feeling offended that he would judge her dancing skills.

"I'm just telling it like it is."

"Oh, and you're one to talk. So what is that 'raise the hoof' nonsense!?"

"Unlike you, I actually practice my dance moves.

"Enough about dancing." Velvet interrupted the argument between Twilight and Shining. "Oh I'm so exited. Both my foals are here back at home, together for the first time in eight years. What a gift to receive on Hearth's Warming Eve. I'm going to make us a big banquet in celebration of this wondrous occasion."

As the two siblings turned to each other, Twilight gave her older brother a devious smirk. "So what's up, snugaboo bear?"

Shining could feel the hoof impact the center of his face as he heard the familiar sentiment that caused him so much embarrassment over the years. It was the nickname his mother gave to him and Twilight refused to let it die. She smiled in seeing her older brother writhe in agony over the name, fulfilling her revenge on him saying her dancing was terrible.

"Oh gawd. Twily, never... call me that. Ever again."

"So... Twily's home."

Shining Armor stared at the mirror as he magically folded up his winter wear and placed it on the closet shelf.

"I guess I never thought that her lessons from this year would be so heavily based on social interaction. It's a relaxing change from the heavily mathematical-and-scientific-laced explanation of the applications of magic and the breaking down of the Caster's Sphere of Influence."

His thought wandered to the sound of carolers out in the streets below singing songs of celebration of the holiday. It wasn't unusual to hear a song or two resonate throughout the house when his mother opened the door and allowed the traveling group to perform at the doorstep.

"I guess I didn't need to summon these after all."

He took the vial of pills and started to make his way to the bathroom, to replace them in the medicine cabinet behind the facial mirror.

"Cadance would be so proud to see that Twilight's gone from socially-isolated to quirky and outgoing."

Twilight's habit of staying to herself was always an ongoing concern in both Cadance's and Shining's mind. They wanted to see her do well, but they also wanted her to live her life rather than focus on studying all the time. To hear that she has a group of friends that really makes her comfortable warmed his heart.

"She's gonna be fine. I don't need to worry about anything that happens to her. She's capable of defending herself and she's more capable of holding her own in a discussion. I believe she's finally growing out of her shell. Only thing she needs to do is find a special somepony and we can call it a done thing."

He opens the door to the bathroom and started to walk in, but soon found that his arrival was ill-timed. He caught a glimpse of his younger sister standing in the shower, not cleansing herself but pleasuring herself. Her forelegs anchored on the wall as her supple purple cheeks of her plot bounced up and down on a blue toy. Her tail remained lifted over her body, allowing no censorship of what she was doing to herself. She stopped for a moment and looked back to her toy, only to see her older brother standing behind her.

"AAAH!"

"SORRY!" He screamed as he shut the door in rapid succession of his entry. He turned around and tried to shake the image of his little sister impaling herself with the toy.

"Shining." She muttered past the door.

"I guess her special somepony is a blue toy. Nothing to see here." He said nervously while walking towards his room. But before he could make a third step, the bathroom door swung open and Twilight called out to him, sticking her soaked head out of the door.

"Shining Armor!"

"Sorry Twi. Gotta go-"

"NO!" She forced out in staccato, firing up her magic to drag her older brother into the bathroom and locking the door behind them.

"I didn't mean to walk in. I just came to put something back. I swear."

"What did you see?"

"I didn't see anything. I didn't hear anything. Agreed? Agreed."

"LIES!" She shouted, slamming her hoof against the floor.

"Bu-"

Shining was interrupted with a wet hoof placed against his muzzle. Twilight inches closer to her brother as she slowly takes anxious breaths. "What... did you see?"

Shining struggled to speak as his younger sister stood before him. His eyes then trailed back to the blue phallic device on the floor. "Well I didn't see a toy lying around, if that's what you're asking."

Twilight blushed as she levitated the sex toy in front of her brother. "Oh. This? It's from my personal collection. Would you care to see it in action?"

"Nope. I'm outta here." Shining pushed against his younger sister, only for her to press him against the ground with all of her strength. Caught off guard by the force she exerted, he fell to the wall behind him and she pinned him in place as she shouted out loud.

"STAY!"

"Okay. You're a lot stronger than I remember."

Twilight only giggled at her brother's reaction as she lifted the toy to her brother's horn. "Running around the town doing errands and fighting all kinds of monsters on your way to visit a potion-brewing zebra can be very taxing if you're not in shape. But that aside, this is my special little friend I would like to call Mister Shiny."

The older brother's eyes grew as he remembered that name coming from his sister's mouth. It was spoken by only one filly he knew, and his heart started to beat even faster as his sister waived the toy in his face. "Mister Shiny? You mean like-"

"But what he does to me pales in comparison to what you do to me." Twilight said as she turned on the toy, edging against her brother's horn to stimulate him. Even worse, he felt himself growing out of his sheath as a response to her tease.

"Twilight, I don't think that this is a good thing to do."

"Why not? We've already done it once before, and nothing bad came from it." She said as she drew her head closer to his and pressed her tongue at the base of his horn, lapping at it like an animal to it's water.

"First: I was tied to a bed. Second: You were in heat. Third: I had a fracture in my ribs from where you kept pounding on my chest. Fourth: You were in heat. Fifth: You cast a series of contraception spells in order to prevent any unwanted circumstances. And sixth: You were in heat."

Removing herself for a brief second, she argued her brother's points. "I believe that was four reasons."

"And I can name another twelve reasons."

Twilight removed her vibrating toy and continued to use her tongue as a rag to wax the horn of her older brother. "Go."

As her tongue flicked against the tip of his spire, Shining felt a jolt of energy that caused him to stutter. "BadBadBadBadBadBadBadBadBadBadBadBad."

"That's just you repeating a single word twelve times. And yes, it's bad. That's what makes it so kinky." She said in a lustful tone, continuing to suck against her brother's horn. Her head bobbed up and down causing him to gasp and moan at her effort. There was no doubt in his mind that he was being turned on by this level of attention, but he did remember that this was his sister who was driving him crazy.

"I need to leave."

Her lips made a wet pop as his horn became free from the demonic grip of her tongue and her lip's combined attack. "Nnnnf. I can already feel your hot cock throbbing deep inside my tight little pussy."

"WHOA THERE!" He shouted as he felt his own excitement cause his stallionhood to thump against his underbelly. Twilight smiled as she inched the toy around her wet slit, teasing herself as the electric impulse to skewer herself on the standing tower of meat traveled throughout her body.

"There is another lesson that I've learned over the time I spent in Ponyville. It's called the magic of sexual frustration. You see, it's hard enough to fit masturbation on an already established schedule. So I kinda have to make time for it. But as the first month went by, I realized that I couldn't just clop myself silly when there's a baby dragon on the other side of the room, whose snoring is a complete turn-off. I can't do it when Spike is away because I'm usually busy helping out with somepony else. And when I think I can get a five minute session in the tub, I usually don't get off in enough time."

"And that translates to me how?" He asked.

"You were the very thing that I would use to cross over." She sank the blue toy into her needy folds and tightened her grip on her brother as the surge of energy from the intrusion caused her body to tense up.

"Oh no."

She pulls out the toy begrudgingly and brings it between them. "So as you see, I'm already soaked. Just look at my little friend, he's been inside of me for only three seconds and he's already smothered in my pussy juice."

Hearing his sister talk so dirty brought him pleasure, but it also brought him great shame. "Please stop talking like that."

Twilight gave him a smirk with a half-lidded stare. "I find that the taste of oral sex to be unusual and it is to be an acquired taste. But I'm sure you're more than familiar with it."

"Twilight, I don't th-mmmph!" His words were cut short as the vibrator covered in her secretions was fixed between his lips. His tongue could taste everything that was, is, and always will be his little sister.

"Do I taste good, big brother? Is my pussy to your liking?" She asked as she gyrated her lips against his shaft, smothering his length with the combination of her marehood, tail and her plentiful juices.

"Mmmmph!"

"I thought that's what you would say. So instead of a sampler," She removed the toy from his mouth and threw it to the side, all while simultaneously turning around and presenting her swollen marehood to her brother. "Let's try the main course."

"Twilight-"

Her lower lips come into contact with his, causing his muffled voice to send vibrations to travel throughout her body. She let loose a high pitched moan as she started to feel herself rise to the clouds. She looks down to the enormous log of flesh and kisses it on the tip. "I haven't seen you in a while. Has Shining been good to you?"

"This is embarrassing." He muffled out, barely getting his words through.

Twilight encircled his erection with her magic and giggled as the ring jerked him up and down. "Just sit back and let me work, big brother. Your little sister's been really studious in the art of fellatio."

"Twilight-"

"The quicker you lick, the quicker I leave you alone." She scolded him for not servicing her as she was to him.

The pungent scent of her nethers filled his nostrils, causing him to almost become inebriated with the scent alone. And it was of no help to him as her magic continued to tug and jerk at his sex. With a sigh, he accepted what was given to him. "Just... this... once."

"Good boy." The purple mare whispered as she wrapped her lips around her brother for the first time in many years. The first time she did it, she was lacking in experience, even biting him some of the time. Her movements were hesitant and awkward at first. But now her maturity settled in. Her tongue swirled around him with the intensity of a whirlpool, drawing him in with each time she descended. After a moment, her mane fell in the way of her sight and her brother. Igniting her horn, she jerked him once more as she retreated to fix her mane.

"You're absolutely amazing, Shining. How do you even manage to hide something like this?" She asked, worshipping his length with kisses and soft blows of air.

"Sto-aahhh... Twi." Shining could no longer resist, he was already pushing it with just her mouth hugging him with it's wet warm embrace, but to fell her applying her magic to jerk him and to gently cradle his sack was too much for him to bear. She pulled off of him, greedily staring him in the eyes.

"I bet it must feel pretty nice."

Looking at his sisters eyes was the one thing that caused him a mix of emotions. The intimate notion of her looking at him with those large orbs of purple made him scream for her. But the moral standing of the current situation burdened him with a heavy discomfort. His eyes rolled to the back of his head as he placed a hoof to the back of his sister's head. "Oh, oh yes-NO."

He started to fight against her, but found that his pleasure far outweighed his willpower to escape. Her ministrations drove him too far down into sin for him to be redeemed. Twilight teased her older sibling. "You're getting too tense, B.B.B.F.F. You gotta learn how to let go."

"I'll be letting go if you don't stop." He rebutted, signaling his inevitable release if she were to continue.

"Ohhh. Okay."

Without hesitation, the purple mare stuck out her tongue and took her brother in her maw, swallowing inch after inch of stallion meat. Shining couldn't bare to hold on much longer as his sister's snout landed softly against his body, devouring every last bit of his length and girth. His body seized as his tip flared wide in her throat. "TWILIGHT!"

With a powerful grunt, his hips started to jolt against Twilight. The greedy mare soon realized that she was biting off way more than she could chew as she tried to push herself off of her brother. Finally, they separated with an audible pop as well as the gagging sounds of Twilight coughing for air as her brother's seed splashed against her face and tongue. Breathing heavily, she retracted her tongue to savor the taste of Shining's seed. She took pleasure in the taste of his semen, even going as far as milking his cock for more. "Mmm. I can tell your diet is heavily fruit based."

"Twilight... no." Shining said as he still held on to her.

"Just keep going. You're lucky I let you finish before me." She said as she shook her flank in his face, demanding that he would finish her off as she did to him.

"No tha-mmmph." Just as Shining offered to reject her, she pressed herself against him, this time magically pressing his head into her marehood. He stuck out his tongue to accommodate her and instantly found himself lapping at her clit.

"YES! RIGHT THERE!"

"Mmmphmmm!" He mumbled as his tongue violently abused her slit, causing her painful bliss. She moaned into her foreleg, still trying not to make too much noise than what they already were making. Shining knew that his air would run out if he didn't try his best to please her and lit his horn to gently massage the pink nub of her marehood as his tongue continued to penetrate her depths. Twilight humped her brother's face as he continued to work his tongue in and out of her. Without warning, her climax collided into her like a freight train.

"Big brother!"

He braced himself for what was to come, and for good reason. A torrent of her juices splashed and sprayed all over his face as her hind legs shook along with her quivering pussy. Her walls contracted and released against his tongue as she rode her climax back down to where she stood. Falling limp, she laid on top of her older brother with a dazed smile on her face.

"Wow! Where and when did you learn how to use your tongue like that? Last time, you weren't nearly as skilled as you are now."

"I'm done. Can I leave now?" He asked angrily.

"Yes. We're finished. Ohhh, you have noooo idea how pent-up I've been since moving to Ponyville. This was a great Hearth's Warming gift."

"Never... Again..." Shining spat at her, trying to emphasize that this was a one-time thing.

"I know. But I can at least have my fun before somepony else scoops you away from me." Twilight joked.

"Don't you think that it's a little too late for that?" Shining thought to himself as he remembered that he was already beyond 'scooped up'. "Well-"

Interrupting Shining was the familiar voice of their mother. "Twilight! Shining! Dinner's ready!"

Twilight rose from her brother as she felt a wave of relief wash over her body. Feeling like a brand new mare, she happily trotted out of the bathroom. "Well, I guess some desert in the form of a full-course supper wouldn't be that bad."

Shining stared at his happy little sister as she pranced and leapt out of the room. It was obvious that he didn't exactly share the same sentiment that Twilight had. In fact he was a little mortified over what she had made him do to her to be concerned about what his mother cooked up in the kitchen.

"I think I've lost my appetite."

The hours grew late as the activities in the city grew to a silent whisper. Those who were out drinking were already indoors, sheltered from the cold of winter. Families have taken to their beds as they rested up for the morning. Luna's night shined brightly as the stars became bright beacons that polluted the darkened sky.

Meanwhile, in the Sparkle household, Velvet and Orion took to their beds as well. Spike remained rested on the couch downstairs, appreciative of the spatial upgrade. Shining stayed up thinking about everything that happened that night, especially concerning his younger sister.

It troubled him deeply that his sister was so fixed to him. He loved her deeply, but in terms of being in love with her, he could not identify with what she was longing for. His eyes remained focused to the ceiling above as his vision retraced everything that he saw and everything he did. But his visions were interrupted by a knocking on the door.

*Knock Knock Knock*

Shining tried to play as if he was sleeping, but after a few more knocks, he realized that his visitor was not so easily fooled. Losing the battle of attrition, he rose from his bed to answer the door. The door creaked open to reveal none other than his younger sister.

"Shining, can I come in?"

He didn't want to be rude to her, but he realized that letting her in would be a grave mistake. Keeping the door cracked, he denied her entrance. "What's wrong?"

"I just need to speak to you."

"What do you want to talk about?"

"Please, just let me in."

"Why should I? We can just talk here."

"Please stop being so difficult and just let me in."

"Twilight-"

"Please?"

Shining lost yet another battle: the battle of ignoring his sister's cries for help. Giving in, he opened the door wide open to allow her access to his room. She looked at him and pointed to the bed.

"Can we sit down?"

"Sure." He said dryly, expecting that her visit was going to be something familiar to his run-in with her in the bathroom just earlier that evening.

The two sibling sat on Shining's bed, side-by-side with one another. Twilight remained silent for many minutes, only hearing the breathing of her older brother. As they sat, Shining started to get a little frustrated over his sister's desire to talk and her failure to do so when she entered. But he was not disappointed for long.

"I love you."

"I know."

"No. You don't."

"Yeah, I do."

For the first time in what seemed to be forever, Twilight looked directly to her brother. "Look, I know that you think that I'm saying this as a younger sister. But... I'm not."

Shining gulped as he prepared himself the what he was about to hear. "Then what are you saying it as?"

"...Myself. I know that we're... related, but I just can't seem to shake what I've already had for you since foalhood."

Shining looked back to the window, watching the snow fall onto the window pane. "We all make stupid choices in romance when we're kids. It's normal."

"Yeah, well I didn't think it was anywhere near stupid when I wanted you to take me for my first season." Admitted Twilight as she toyed with her hooves.

"So you actually planned that one out, huh?"

"Please forgive me." Twilight said as she hid her head in one of Shining's pillows, to which he responded by taking the pillow away from her.

"Okay. I forgive you, but why me? Why not anypony else?"

Twilight grabbed the hoof of her older brother and dared not to look at him out of fear. "Because you were my first true friend. You were there when I needed you for whatever. And if I was hurt, you would do anything to protect me and see me smile."

"I'm your big brother. That's my job."

"But you didn't have to follow through on it."

Shining remembered the night of the incident eight years past. He noted that his reason for treating Twilight so comfortably was because of his loss and that she was a means of helping him cope with the loss. "Yeah, but sometimes... When you lose something, you end up taking inventory over what you already have."

Twilight turned away from her brother altogether as she thought about what he was going on about. "I still haven't apologized for that. I feel so... inadequate."

"Why?" He questioned, knowing that she had nothing to apologize for.

"Because you lost a foal and I was too blind to see what you were going through."

Shining couldn't believe the words that fell from her mouth. He didn't remember telling her about that night, let alone a mention of it. His mood grew interrogative. "Who told you about the foal?"

"...Cadance might have mentioned it to me once or twice." She quietly whispered.

"Well that figures." He said, releasing his discomfort.

"But still... That doesn't answer what I wanted to say to you."

Shining couldn't bear to watch her face as he told her his answer. He turned away from her and spoke in a low voice. "I can't, Twily."

"Any reason why besides me being your sister?"

"That... and that I can only see you as my friend. You're my little sis, but you're also my best friend. And I don't want to risk our friendship over something that's forbidden in modern society."

"...I don't care what society thinks."

"What?" Shining asked, completely caught off guard.

"I'm a bad dancer, who cares? I'm an egghead, who cares? I'm awkward to talk to when it comes to dating, who cares? I don't, because society doesn't define who I want to be nor does it define who I am. I will be the one to decide who I am and what I can become."

Shining took a deep breath as he felt his heart drop into the pit of his stomach as he realized that he had to be truthful with his sister, no matter how sad it would make her. But it was his love for her that pressed him onward. He rose from the bed and faced his little sister, holding her hooves in his.

"Twily... I'm setting aside 'big brother' and placing myself in the position of a stallion. You are a grown mare and I feel that you should be strong enough to handle this."

"Okay." She whispered, scared of what his answer would be.

"I love you. I love everything about you and I want to see you happy. But for me to give you something that's half-hearted, would only hurt the two of us. If I was another stallion out in the world and we still knew each other, and if we weren't related by blood, then I would still say the same thing. It's not a matter of blood... It's just that my heart has a special place for you already and that I can't change where you rest. I can only accept where you are in my heart, and if my heart is saying that I want to stay friends, then I can't force myself to enter into something that my heart would have no place for."

"O-okay." She stuttered as her eyes fell to the floor, accompanied by the numerous tears that trickled down her face. Twilight felt her heart rip in two as she could no longer find solace in her brother's eyes. She suddenly felt the familiar sensation of her brother's hooves caressing her softly and securing her.

"Come here, kiddo." He whispered in a soothing tone.

"Big brother..." Twilight finally released what she held inside, allowing herself to break in her brother's hooves. He rocked her gently as she sobbed quietly against his fur. Her tears soaked his coat and her gasps were muffled by his warm body holding hers. In that instant, he became the very individual to hurt his little sister, but he knew that agreeing out of pity or rejecting out of the matter of blood would be more harmful in the long-run. It was tough, but it was love at it's purest: true and unconditional.

"I love you, Twily."

"I love you too."

ACT 2: Well It's About Time

The next morning, Celestia's sun shone brightly against the winter snow, causing the very streets of Canterlot to glow a blinding white as many homes grew noisy with the sounds of fillies running down to their respective dens, excited over their gifts under the Hearth's Warming tree. Parents watched as their kids hurriedly opened their gifts with zeal. However, there were two ponies that weren't exactly in a rush to wake up for the morning's festivities.

Shining's eyes fluttered open to see the sunlight beaming from his window. With a yawn, he offered to stretch his body. But his hoof had managed to find something interrupting it's free space. He looked beside him and saw the sleeping form of his younger sister, who also stirred awake.

Twilight yawned and turned over to face the stallion that was her older brother. As she looked up to appreciate that he was full of life, she smiled in knowing that her brother was still with her.

"Good morning, B.B.B.F.F."

"Morning Twi." He answered groggily.

The purple mare placed her hoof on the shoulder of her older brother and rubbed him gently. "You know, you always sound like dad when you wake up in the mornings."

"How so?"

"You gain that dark, bass-rich voice that I'm so used to hearing from him."

"I suppose. Though I have a question."

Twilight leaned against her brother as she felt the warmth of his body radiate onto her. "Okay, ask."

"When did you get back in here?" He questioned, remembering that he sent her back to her old room. Twilight looked at the clock to check the time.

"Sometime around two. I couldn't sleep."

"Oh... did you-"

Twilight stifled a laugh as she pushed against her brother. "No, none of that. I promise."

"Good." Shining said as he rolled his neck, creating a loud crackling sound that caused Twilight to wince in response.

"That sounds painful... and a bit disgusting."

"Feels great to me."

As she laid on his back, she could hear the sound of his heart beating within him. The sound soothed her as she wrapped her hooves around him. "Hey, Shining."

"What's up, kiddo?"

"I just want to say how much I love you. I may not get to spend a lot of time with you, but I am very much thankful that you wake up in the mornings. Some ponies don't exactly make it this far, let alone being able to wake up in their beds. To know that I have a big brother who wants to take care of me and protect me, makes me feel special. And that's one of the greatest gifts of all."

"Sounds like another one of your friendship reports."

"Could be. But I prefer to keep this lesson to myself." She said quietly as she held on to her older brother.

"Yeah. I guess some lessons in life aren't always meant to be put on paper."

Shining started to rise, but felt his younger sister pull him back down. She looked back up to him with pleading eyes. "Don't you wanna wait until later to get up?"

*Aooouuuunnnn*

Twilight blushed as her stomach growled loudly in the silence of the room. Shining laughed for a little bit at his sister's expense. "Well from the sounds of your stomach, I guess you can kiss that idea goodbye."

But she was insistent on spending more time with him. "I can wait a little longe-"

"Shining! Violet! Time to come on down, breakfast is ready!"

Hearing their mother's voice announcing breakfast made her reconsider her choice. She couldn't deny that she was hungry and plus the smell of hay bacon started to find it's way into her nostrils. "You know... breakfast sounds great right about now, wouldn't you agree?"

"Who are you telling?" He answered back, equally as excited that breakfast was ready.

Twilight pushed him back onto the bed and started to make a run for the door. "Race ya!"

"Oh no you wo-"

As Shining rose from the bed and ran to the open door, he saw Twilight instantly turn around and run into him. Planting her lips on his, she provided a distraction that would cause him to be the last one to the table. She smirked as she remembered one of the other times she raced him and he threw her Smarty Pants doll to the floor so he would win. And just like Shining's lips, revenge was more than sweet.

"Sorry B.B.B.F.F., but old habits die hard."

Shining was left fuming at his sister's unfair tactic, but he remembered that it was all in good fun, despite her kissing him full on. He brushed it off and chased after her.

"I guess they're slow to break too."

Four months later...
Sweet Apple Acres, Ponyville
March 28th, 1 S.R.

The spring air smelled crisp and clear on a sunny day as Applejack continued to buck the apples off of the trees. Thought she was more of an individual worker, she knew that there was way too much for her to do when it came to bucking all the apples in the western fields and carting them all to the barn by the end of the day. Luckily, she had the company of one of her friends; the least likely to do any sort of hard labor.

"Ugh! Ahh! My goodness darling, I never knew that apple bucking could be so exhausting."

"Yeah, a lil sweat an' hard work will do that to ya. But at least the help is greatly appreciated." Applejack said to the white unicorn mare beside her as they finished hauling all of the apples they managed to harvest.

"Not a problem at all, Applejack. Just so long as you keep me out of the muddy affairs."

"Right. But ya know, y'all can take a break when ya wantin' to."

"Well I greatly appreciate the offer." Rarity responded as she looked made her way into the barn. As she entered, Applejack took a moment to think. She closed her eyes and took a breath and cheered herself forward.

"Buck up, Jacqueline. Can't get no other time like this. You can do it."

Inside of the barn, Applejack and Rarity shared a mug of cider and some apple fritters as they took their break from the long day of work. The air was clean and the temperatures were comfortable to work in, but they were in no hurry to get back to work as they discussed various topics.

"So Applejack, how is Big Mac feeling after the fiasco from Hearts and Hooves day?"

"Better than expected. Big Mac an' Cherilee actually started talkin' to each other n'all. They seem really happy when they're together, but Ah can't shake the sense that Fluttershy's been actin' a little... down since those two started talkin'."

Rarity immediately knew what Fluttershy was feeling. Often, she would come out to one of the spa outings that they shared and she would discuss her thoughts on the large, bulky red stallion. Fluttershy wasn't often the one to openly admit her feelings when it came to colts but she was more than willing to share with Rarity her thoughts. But since Big Mac started dating Cherilee, her conversations about him turned from endearing to depressing. There was no doubt that she was heartbroken over the situation.

"Oh dear. I can understand why."

"Why what? Why Fluttershy's bein' so glum? Out with it girl!" Applejack demanded, wanting to know what was wrong with her friend.

"Applejack, you know that I can't disclose that kind of information. After all, a lady doesn't speak of her friends secrets."

"So judgin' from yer reaction, I'd say that she was interested?"

Rarity paused for a moment. She knew that her promise was limited to not telling anypony, but she also knew that she wasn't limited to confirming whether it was true or not. However, she held her tongue out of respect for Fluttershy's privacy. "It's not my place to say."

"I see." Applejack said as she watched Rarity take a swig of the cider. As her lips parted from the wooden mug, the foam from the beverage stuck to the muzzle of the fashionista, creating an amber-colored beard and mustache combo. Applejack giggled as Rarity cleared the froth from her face.

"Well I suppose we need to get back to work. Those apples won't just start falli-"

"Hold that pose, cowgirl." Applejack said as she pointed out a bit of the froth still on her nose. She moved in to clean the mess.

"Applejack, wha-"

What eventually started as a simple gesture, turned into something passionate. Applejack instantly ran in and sank her lips into Rarity's and pressed herself against the white unicorn's body. Rarity cried out as she stared at her friend wide-eyed and tried to back away. But with each step she took back, the farm mare took a step forward, keeping their lips glued together. Though her advances were strong, Rarity's willpower to separate herself was stronger. With a outward thrust of her forehooves, Rarity pushed back the work mare and panted as she stood before her, victimized from the event.

"JACQUELINE SAMANTHA APPLE, WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!?"

The orange pony walked closer to her with heaving breaths and blushed cheeks. "Ah love ya, Rarity. Ah'm sorry Ah've been so quiet about it, but Ah just didn't like bein' turned down beforen Ah make a move."

Rarity wiped her lips in disgust and scolded her friend. "Applejack, this is now how you confess your feelings to a pony."

"Ah don't care! Ah wanted that since the day we first met."

Rarity stood in confusion as she heard Applejack's confession. Ultimately, she was speechless. "Applejack, that... this... I... What is this?"

Applejack quickly closed the distance between her and the uneasy unicorn mare, placing a hoof beside her head and a hind leg in between hers. "Since that day y'all came and taught those bullies a lesson, Ah've been head over hooves for ya. The days ya been at my side since mah parents left me on up to now, Ah wanted to be with ya. An' Ah couldn't risk hearing ya say no if Ah didn't get to kiss ya."

Applejack leaned in to connect but Rarity held her back with her magic, struggling to keep her away. "Samantha, I can't do this."

The orange mare backed away from Rarity and stomped her hooves in anger. "Why not!? Ya crush turned out ta be a big flop, Spike's too young fer ya, and ya haven't been seekin' out no colts for a date in months."

"Because I chose to be alone. I don't need a stallion at the moment."

"Then maybe a mare could be a better answer! Rarity, let's talk about this!" Applejack urged as she quickly approached the white mare on the wall. Rarity took a side-step to find some freedom in her movements. Now it was her who was in the open space.

"But Rainbow Dash?"

"What about her? We tried once in high school an' it didn't work. Ah know we can make it work if ya can look past dirty, sweaty ol' AJ."

Rarity backed away into the doors, inadvertently closing them both inside. "That's not the point."

"THEN WHAT IS!?" Applejack screamed as she held herself back from pouncing on the mare before her.

"I don't want to ruin our friendship."

"We can become more than friends!" Applejack argued with frustration set in her voice.

"I DON'T WANT TO!" Rarity quickly shot back, causing the other mare to back away in silence. Applejack stumbled a bit as she allowed the words to resonate in her mind. Rarity was not interested in her.

"...o-oh."

"Darling, I'm terribly sorry, but first things first, I am not into mares nor am I mare curious. Secondly, if I was, then I still wouldn't want to ruin our friendship. And lastly, I... just don't see you that way."

"Isn't there some sort of way where y'all can reconsider?" Applejack felt, for the first time in years, the familiar pain of heartbreak.

She didn't want to cry in front of Rarity because it would show that she was still the weak little filly that she was a long time ago. She felt herself revert to the age where she was often bullied and called names. It didn't take much for her to cry in front of ponies then. But over the years, her persistence to not let anyone see her cry made her hardened and stubborn. And it was all because she didn't want to seem like she was weak, but the disappointment in her voice was far more revealing than the poker face she wore.

Rarity walked up the her friend slowly and maintained her distance. "Applejack, you should know better than to force something to go where you want it. Have you learned nothing from the sleepover?"

Applejack looked away in shame over what she and her both took away from the experience. The shame didn't come from her kiss, but rather the forceful nature of her throwing herself at one of her best friends without consent to do so. "Sometimes it's best to give it a little nudge an' not to be over the top."

"Correct."

Applejack clenched her eyes closed as she spoke, holding back her tears. "But... Ah gave you my first kiss. Shouldn't that mean somethin'?"

Rarity felt guilt shower on her. There was nothing she could do to return that milestone, that sacred event, to her. She did, however come up with a solution. "Hmmm... Hold that pose, darling."

Applejack felt a warm glow caress her cheek as the arcane force turned her head to Rarity. "Okay."

Rarity sighed deeply and closed her eyes. With a forward lean, her soft lips touched against the moistened flesh of Applejack's. With a hoof, Rarity held her friend in place as she deepened the kiss, opening her mouth and giving her temporary passage to her tongue. Before Applejack could make a move, she closed her jaw and disallowed her from entering. Pulling back from her friend, Rarity smiled tenderly as she softly drug a hoof up her cheek.

"I'm sorry dear, but that doesn't belong to me. Save that kiss for somepony who would love you as much as you would love them."

Applejack stood in shock over what happened between them. She was not only shocked at the return of her gesture but also the reason to which it was done. "You kissed me."

"I only returned what you gave to me. I don't want you giving out gifts to those who wouldn't return the same sentiment."

Applejack clenched onto the hoof of her friend as it rested against her cheek. "But... you kissed me."

"Yes. I did. But I already explained why I did it."

Applejack felt her cheeks warm and playfully pushed the unicorn. "Ya know, y'all can be as bull-headed as ya wanna be."

"Coming from who now?" Rarity snapped back.

"Heh, got me on that one."

Rarity opened the door behind her and made her way out to the outside air. "Come along. We still have some work to do."

"Okay, I'll be out there in a sec." The orange farm pony said as she walked back over to the table to grab her stetson. Rarity knew what was to come as soon as she took some time to separate herself and grab that hat.

"Take your time dear."

Rarity closed the large doors of the barn and breathed heavily as she recovered from what Applejack did to her. Though it was completely uncalled for, she forgave her. As she started to walk away, she heard a soft squeak come from within the barn. Taking a moment to listen, she stood still to hear more of the high-pitched squeaks. They soon turned into sounds of soft broken wails. Rarity felt sad for her as Applejack stayed inside of the barn and cried.

"I'm terribly sorry dear, but I can only say how much I love you through our friendship for now. But who knows... I may just think about a relationship with a mare."

April 2nd, 1 S.R.
Inner-District, Canterlot

In the Royal Palace of Canterlot, Shining Armor sat at his desk as he filled out a large stack of paperwork. He grumbled as he signed a sheet, placed it in the corresponding tray and moved on to the next page. Being stuck at a desk was his least favorite activity. But thankfully, a group of three stallions busting into his office brightened up his mood a bit.

"Hey, Shining!" Azure called out.

"Yes?" He sighed, relieved that he was finally distracted from all the signatures he had to make and reading all of the fine print.

"Cadie told us that you finally sealed the deal with the ring. Congrats dude." Longshot said as Poindexter walked over and gave the white unicorn stallion a nuggie with his hoof.

"Aw. Thanks guys." He said warmly.

After separating himself from the captain's head, Poindexter sat in a chair on the other side of the room. "So now that you're gonna be out of the running in terms of bachelorhood, what's next for you?"

"Well, I have to sign a large amount of paperwork." Shining answered begrudgingly, looking back at the stack of papers on his desk.

"For what? Marriage license?" Longshot asked as she looked at some of the papers.

"That, plus insurance plans, protection plans, surrender of current power-"

"Woah woah woah, wait a minute. They're signing you out of the guard!?" Azure asked as he stood over the captain's desk.

"No. I just won't be captain anymore."

"Why the hell not!?" Longshot asked as he placed the papers back on the desk.

"Because, from what Cadance was telling me, all the paperwork she filed prior to my giving her the ring will transition Blueblood's old position of power to me. The only thing that won't be mine is the title of Prince of Magic."

The group stared at Shining with jaws that if dropped any lower, they would find themselves in orbit. Azure scratched his head as he summarized what was said. "So... YOU'RE GOING TO BE FUCKING ROYALTY!?"

"Yeah, how's that for a wedding gift?" Shining answered as he continued to sign the papers.

"Can I say how jealous I am of you?" Azure asked, folding his forelegs.

"You're next Azure." Shining said as he continued to sign his paperwork.

"How so?"

"Well, given your performance record and your current standing as the current guardian to Princess Luna, you're placed in the front running for Captain after me. The day before my wedding will be the abdication of my position to you."

Azure stared at the captain in a daze before shaking his head, coming back to reality. "Wait, what?"

"In other words, in the next coming weeks... she's all yours, Captain." Longshot joked as he gave the blue unicorn a slap on the back.

"But why me?"

Shining placed the papers down as he looked at his friend. "Because Luna trusts you and Celestia has already nominated you for the position herself."

Azure didn't think that Princess Celestia would actually nominate him for such a prestigious position so early in his career. The favoritism showed onto him made him uncomfortable. "Can you say 'underqualified'?"

"Have some faith in yourself. You're already up for the position, and as soon as Princess Luna openly declares your relationship with her, then your road to royalty is pretty much waiting for a ribbon cut." Poindexter added as he folded a stray piece of paper into an airplane and tossed it at the soon-to-be Captain of the Royal Guard..

"Me, a prince? I'll pass." He said as he dislodged the air-worthy parchment from his mane.

"I thought you were jealous?" Shining mocked as he took the paper from the stallion and unfolded it.

"Guess he can't handle the pressure of being in a committed relationship, let alone royalty." Poindexter said, causing the others to laugh in response.

"That coming from the only single guy in the group. Can you at least find a date before you start cracking jokes?" Azure shot back.

"I always find dates."

"Anything past third?" Asked Longshot with a coy smile set on his face.

"Go to hell."

April 7th, 1 S.R.
Carousel Boutique, Ponyville

"Where is he?"

Rarity paced back and forth as she held an elaborate red gem in the shape of a heart. She placed her eyes on it and trailed back to the door. Confirming that there was no answer, she resumed her usual trotting back and forth.

"One would think that my summoning him here would drive him to hurry along.

*Knock Knock Knock*

"Just a moment." She yelled to the door cheerfully. With a spring in her step, she made her way over to the door and smiled at who stood on her front porch.

"Hey, Rarity!"

"Spike, it's so good to see you. You must come in."

The purple drake entered into the boutique as Rarity closed the door behind him. She happily made her way to the kitchen. Spike awaited in the foyer as he heard the snowy seamstress rumble about in the kitchen. "So do you need anything done?"

"No dear. It's just us two now."

Spike blushed as he thought about what she said. For the first time since their initial meeting, they would get to spend some time with each other. Needless to say that Spike was beyond anxious. "Well, well..."

"Would you care for any refreshments?" Asked Rarity, levitating a tray of tea and two cups to the dining room table.

"No thanks." He spoke as he walked into the room with her.

Rarity smiled as she offered him a chair. "Spike, sit down."

Sitting at the table, Spike watched as Rarity poured herself a cup of tea and mixing in some honey. Spike took a deep breath as he tried to break the ice. "So I guess you've thought about our time together?"

"I have... and then some." She answered before taking a sip.

Spike nervously played with his claws, unsure of what to say next. So he asked the first thing that came to mind. "So what do you think of me thus far?"

"You're absolutely wonderful. You can do just about anything and that is something rarely seen in many stallions. And yes, I knew that you've had a crush on me. Long before you told me just earlier today. I've called you in to respond to your statement."

The young drake could feel his entire body temperature rise as his heart started to pound rapidly within his chest. "So you feel something too?"

Rarity placed down the tea cup and made her way over to the dragon's side. Holding his claws in her hooves, she rubbed them gently as she finally gave him her answer. "I do. I really do. Spike. It's just that... that..."

"You're not ready." He finished, feeling a crushing blow to his chest.

"Well... yes. How did you know?"

"You called me to the shop after I wreaked havoc on all of Ponyville because of my greed and you summoned me here at sunset. At this time of day, you would either be partying with the girls, and there's no party going on, taking care of some dresses for clients, and you won't have any until sometime next week. And you would be home alone if it weren't for Sweetie Belle, who's out at a sleepovers at Applejack's. What more can I say to verify that you wanted to speak to me about us?"

Rarity knew that he was a young dragon that was far from her age, but the intelligence he had vastly rivaled those of even some grown stallions. "How deductive. You're a very bright one, aren't you Spikey-wikey?"

"I've learned from living with Twilight." He answered in deadpan.

"Also another thing."

She removed the golden necklace, along with the red heart-shaped gem that adorned her neck. Placing it in the drake's small claws, she enclosed his fingers around it with her hooves as she looked down to him.

"But... Rarity."

Placing a hoof on his lips, she quietly explained herself. "I don't want to receive something that I'm not ready for just yet. And I'm sorry that I swept you into giving it to me. It was wrong of me to do that. Can you ever forgive me?"

Spike shook as he shoved the gem back to her. "I will if you can hold on to it for me."

"Spike." She whispered, not sure how to respond to his generosity.

"I already told you how I feel. I want you to keep it, as a memento of me."

"But this isn't for me, not yet." She stressed, wanting him to wait until he was at least of age before receiving it.

"Then think of it as a gift, from one friend to another." He insisted, placing the jewel back on her neck. She looked at the pristine facets of the fire ruby and back to the jade eyes of the dragon before her. She quickly coiled him in her hooves as he hugged her back. She held on to him tightly, upset that he was far too young for her but at the same time, appreciative for his maturity.

"I suppose since you put it like that." She answered, giving him a kiss on the cheek. Sniffling, she held the dragon tightly as he stayed by her side.

"Thanks, Rarity."

"No. Thank you, Spike."

April 9th, 1 S.R.
Central District, Canterlot

"So do you think that you'll be able to do it?"

"Not a chance. The next two weeks, I have to head out to Manehattan for a large fashion show that I'm in charge of the catering. Sorry Captain, but maybe some other time."

The office door to the head chef's office closed behind the frustrated stallion as he cursed his luck. All day, he had to run around town in order to find someone to help him plan the wedding. But just like his previous endeavor, they were to no avail.

"Great, just great. Now I can't find anyone who would be in charge of the catering. I wrote to party planner extraordinaire Cheese Sandwich and he's way out in Las Pegasus, so there's no party planner. I've talked to Hoity Toity to design the dress and he's doing a show in Manehattan, which is the same show that Gustav Le Grande is catering to."

Stepping outside of the restaurant Le Grande, named after the owner, he crossed out yet another name off his list and took to the streets, looking for the next professional on his list.

"I guess my next stop is to speak to Octavia Philharmonica. She and I graduated from the same school, wonder if she could cut me a favor."

As he walked down the street, he bumped into a mare on accident. After making a brief apology, he continued to trek along. But as he walked, he heard a mare call out his name.

"Shining Armor?"

"That's my name. Don't wear... Mrs. Pearl?"

Shining's hooves locked in place as the familiar face smiled excitedly at him. Making her way through the crowd, she gave the stallion a gentle hug as well as a kiss on each cheek. "Dear me, it is you! I haven't seen you in so long. How are you dear?"

In shock over who he managed to run into, he reluctantly answered her. "I'm fine. I just didn't think that I would be running into you."

"Oh this is so exciting! I haven't heard from you in over nine years. Tell me, how's your mother doing?"

Remembering the day that he, his mother and Pearl took a trip to the hospital, he tried to stave off the bitter memory of the news he received shorty after his awakening. He wore a hesitant smile as he answered her question. "She's great. Just great."

Seeing that he was starting to get nervous on her, she pulled on him and tried to usher him to the nearest coffee shop. "Oh, there's no need to be nervous around me. Come now, we must talk."

"With all due resp-"

"Not another word. We need to reconnect. I know that you've been distant from me because of what happened between us but I assure you that this time will be nothing more than a platonic conversation."

He knew that the first time, as well as every other time after, he tried to start a platonic conversation with her which ended in a very physical situation. And the result was a pregnancy. Deep down, he really wanted to run away, but in his eyes, he would be running away from the past. Pressing forward, he accepted her offer. "Well that's good to hear."

As they sat at a table in outside seating area, Shining looked around and surveyed the area for anything suspicious. For all he knows, him being with her could be the second time he would endanger her life, or worse. Pearl noticed his active eyes and remembered that he was a guard when they last met. She decided to start the conversation on that matter.

"So what are you doing wandering around the city? On patrol?"

"Actually no. I'm out looking for a caterer, a party planner, a dress maker and a musician."

"Oh goodness. What's going on?"

"A wedding."

Pearl clopped her hooves with joy as she heard the news. "Oh dear goodness! Who's the lucky couple, a relative of yours?"

"Actually, I'm the groom."

Pearl gasped as she held both of her hooves over her mouth. Nearly tipping the table over, she ran over to give him a tight congratulatory hug. "OH CONGRATULATIONS!!! I'm so proud of you! I know that your mother is probably more excited for you than I am at the current moment, but YOU'RE GETTING HITCHED! I swear the time has surely left me behind."

"Yeah, so what are you doing in town?" He asked, struggling to breathe.

Releasing the stallion from her grip, she gave her answer. "Me and my husband are here to celebrate a friend of his being inducted into the Hoofball Hall of Fame. You should come out!"

"Who's all going to be there?" Shining asked curiously, trying to see if he could find someone who could help wind down his list.

"Oh who isn't? We have Fancy Pants coming out, famous fashion model Fleur De Lis, famous cellist Octavia Philharmonica-"

Shining interrupted her as he heard the name of one of his classmates. Octavia was the one he was trying to get a hold of for the wedding. He wanted to know if the even was going to clash with his and Cadance's wedding. "Wait, when is this happening?"

"Sometime next weekend."

"Arrgh!" He groaned as his head came in contact with the tabletop. The silverware clattered as he made the impact.

"What's wrong?"

"That was the musician I was going to ask come out."

"Oh... and when is your..."

"Next weekend."

Feeling pity, she sympathized with the stressed guard. "Oh. How tragic. I wish that I could come."

"It's okay. I'll just have to find someone else."

As his head remained glued to the table, he heard another voice call out to Pearl. He rose as soon as he heard the familiar voice speak out. Looking up, he saw a face that he'd thought to have hated him.

"Hey babe, you ready to..."

"Mr. Magnus Belle?" Shining asked as he rose from his seat. Magnus looked at the stallion suspiciously before he finally realized who it was.

"Shiny? Well hot damn kid, you swollen up, haven't you?"

Shining laughed lightly as the ex-athlete complimented him on his physique. "Well I guess the guard can do that to you."

"Well it's nice to see that you're doing well. How about we go out and share a drink sometime?"

"Magnus, Shining is getting married!" Pearl interrupted, excited over the news of his marriage.

"Really? To who!?"

Shining sat back down at the table, causing the retired hoofball player to do the same. "Well, you all might have known her by the name of Amora a while back. Her real name is Cadance."

Giving the stallion a playful nudge to the shoulder, he complimented the guard further. "Wow. Look at you, you've grown so much from that puny, little teen that we used to know. Now you're like a damn redwood tree. What's your current rank? Corporal? Sergeant? Warrant Officer?"

"Captain." He answered taking a sip of his coffee.

"Captain Shining Armor. That has a nice ring to it. So you're a captain in rank?"

"That and Royal Guard."

Immediately, the couple jumped out of their seats. To hear that he was the current Captain of the Guard caused them to gawk in the fact that he successfully took after his father. "WHAT!?"

"I'm the Captain of the Royal Guard. Not that big of a deal." He said, purposely withholding the fact that he wouldn't be for very long. Revealing that he was going to be a prince would not only be a bad idea, but it would also make him seem like he was gloating over how far he came in life. Though secretly he wanted to.

"Well look at you! You've really gone and hit life right between the eyes. Congratulations!" Magnus cheered jubilantly.

"Thanks. And congratulations on your induction into the hall of fame."

"Oh no problem. I just wish we had more time to talk about what we all missed out on but it seems like we still have a few errands to run before we head back to the hotel."

"Yeah, and I still have to find a variety of ponies to help me and Cadie out with the wedding. I'll see you guys later."

"Sure thing."

As the two made their way off into the crowded streets of Canterlot, Shining applauded himself for facing one of his past demons. Not only did he managed to face his past head-on, but he also learned from it, allowing him to unburden himself with the guilt. His future now seemed brighter than before. As he finished praising himself for passing yet another milestone in his life, he refocused on the one that caused him the most trouble. Summoning his list, he scratched out Octavia's name.

"Now, where was I?"

Later that evening...

Shining sat at the foot of a large pink bed as he reviewed the list one last time. It seemed that a majority of the names were either crossed off or were left in question. And to him, something left in question is far from a confirmation. As of now, he had nowhere to start looking.

"I couldn't seem to find anypony that wasn't already preoccupied with something come next week, Cadance. We might have to reschedule the wedding."

"Buy why?" She asked with concern. "I thought you wanted to do it next week before everypony started prepping for the estrus season."

"I know. But we might have to set it up for later." He said exhaustively, rolling the list into a scroll and sinking his head into his hooves. There was little he could do in terms of setting up a wedding outside of royal aid. Cadance noticed the amount of stress that he was exhibiting and sat alongside him with open hooves.

"Shining, come here."

Feeling himself immersed in the warmth of his fiancee's embrace caused him to relinquish any sadness that filled his heart. Instead, it was replaced with hope, optimism and love. "You know you always had some of the best hugs."

"I'm the princess of love. You know that no pony can give a hug better than I can." She bragged.

"I just wish that we could find a party planner, a musician, a designer and a caterer in time."

She gasped in hearing that her lover was out and about looking for an entire crew to help set up their wedding. "You had to look for all four!?"

"Gustav is going to Manehattan and so is Hoity Toity. Cheese Sandwich is out in Las Pegasus. My classmate is already booked for next weekend."

Cadance sighed as she held her future-husband close to her. "So we need to find all of the above in a short period of time. I never wanted to pull out the power card to help plan this wedding but it looks like I might have to do just that."

"Now what do we do?" He asked her, still worried about how everything was going to come together.

"We talk to auntie, see if she knows anyone who can pull this off. Besides, if she can't find anyone one, then I doubt we would be able to."

"You're a genius, babe." He announced comfortably.

"I know. Now c'mere. My lips aren't going to kiss themselves."

Deciding to be literal for the sake of amusement, Shining question's his fiancee's statement. "Well don't they touch each other when you close your mouth?"

Booping him in the nose, she answered his question. "Shut up, poke your lips out, and press."

Giving her a long peck on the lips, Shining dared to deepen his kiss. Cadance drew back playfully as a means to lure the stallion further in. As he followed her into the pillows of the bed, their session ended as soon as it began.

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

"Sir captain, please open the door!"

Shining and Cadance looked at each other, frustrated over the guard knocking on their door.

"I thought I placed a no-disturbance order on this room." Shining said as he made his way out of the bed and to the door.

"Last I checked, I signed that order." Cadance said as she pouted in her bed.

Opening the door, he saw a guard in full dress. Thought it was customary for those on patrol to wear full dress, Shining loathed the sight of armor and chainmail this late in the evening.

"What do you want?"

"Princess Celestia has summoned the guard to the Grand Hall."

Shining looked over to the grandfather clock on the far side of the room, checking the time. "It's nine thirty-two in the evening and our dismissal was over an hour ago. What could possibly be so important?"

"Sir, she asks that you dress in full military attire."

Shining facehoofs as he hated the idea of being in a full set of armor this late at night. "The suit? Okay, what is the matter?"

"Sir... A threat has been made to the city."

Cadance gasped as she ran over to the side of her guardian, clenching on to him. Shining gritted his teeth in anger as he heard the news of a threat being made against the city. It wasn't the first time he had to deal with something like this in his career, but for a threat to be openly made disturbed him greatly. Clearing his throat, he fortified his resolve. Cadance looked at him with eyes filled with fear as she knew that their wedding plans were now placed on indefinite halt.

"You have my attention, sergeant."

Author's Note

This was pretty much a chapter on closure. As you all could tell, I pretty much sealed off many of the other avenues that were placed here in the story from previous chapters.

But now... the real fun begins. You all know what happens in the end, but now it is time you all knew the details. Who's up for another chapter?

ACT 2: Threatened

Cadance and Shining briskly walked down the halls as they watched many of the other guards passing through the halls of the palace. The clatter of armor and greaves sounded loudly as the two made their way to the Grand Hall. Upon their arrival, they ran into three others, that seemingly shared their concerns.

"Shining!" Longshot called out.

"You've heard?" The captain asked.

"Yeah we heard. Princess Celestia has placed us on full alert." Azure reported.

Poindexter had also submitted his report as more of the guards ran down the hall. "She even ordered the city to be on lockdown."

"And there are guards out now trying to establish an emergency curfew to all the citizens and it's visitors." Longshot added to the list.

Cadance tightened her grip on her fiancee's foreleg. "So I suppose that we'll be seeing an increase of security?"

"Your security, yes, as well as for all the others." Answered Shining, trying to comfort her as a voice rang out from inside of the Grand Hall.

"Captain!"

Recognizing that it was Celestia who called him, he separated himself from Cadance's powerful grip. "Sorry babe, duty calls."

As he started to walk off, Cadance latched herself onto him yet again. This time, she pulled him to her and refused to let him go. With determination shown in her eyes, she stood firm in her choice. "I'm coming with you. I feel that I am also responsible for the well being of Equestria and it's citizens."

Shining knew that there was no time to argue, especially with one who had power over him. With no hesitation, he pointed the princess into the throne room.

"Well in that case, this way, your highness."

The Grand Hall stood filled with the army of stallions that marshaled in mere minutes. Each one of them held a look of stone resolve as they watched their princesses enter. Celestia, Luna and Cadance entered into the room and stood before the throne. With a stern voice, Celestia broke the awaiting silence with her report.

"Thank you all for joining with us tonight. I have called you all here on a matter of grave importance. As some of you know, there was a threat recently made to us."

Luna stepped forward with a letter engulfed in her magic. With anger sat upon her face, she announced the contents of the letter. "This letter is the very evidence of the aforementioned threat. I shall read it aloud so that all of you may hear what it has to say."

To the sovereign of the establishment of Canterlot,

It has been many years since our past conflict has left our denizens on the brink of total desolation. I have written this as a message to say that our prior defeat twenty-six years ago will not go unanswered. Though it has been perceived by all of you that our species were extinct, I can assure you that the rumor of our total eradication has been greatly exaggerated.

We are far from death. In fact, we now marshal even greater numbers than that of the conflict in the past. But as you know, with an increase in population comes a shortage of supplies such as food, water, habitable shelter and land. We also run short on minerals used to mine out precious jewels, the jewels that was stolen from us many years prior. And normally we would try to negotiate a treaty to help stimulate our hive to grow.

But there is no negotiation for those who took from us what is rightfully ours. The southern lands that you call Appleloosa, the city of Dodge junction, the canyon that is called Ghastly Gorge, those and all of it's properties are rightfully ours to reclaim. Your conflict with us the previous time has driven us to the outer edges of the badlands, deep under surface, safe from the dragons that plague our lands.

We will not negotiate with thieves, nor will we waste any time in our decree. Your nation shall soon feel the wrath of a new era of rule. And with this declaration, we swear to take our liberation into the very heart of Canterlot itself. Assemble your defenses, it matters not. Your little empire will crumble before the glorious age that we, the Changelings, shall usher in.

Your days are numbered, Celestia, for a princess can hold nothing to a queen.

"This isn't a threat, this is a declaration of war." Azure mumbled.

"Welp, we're about to go out and kill us a bunch of changelings." Longshot answered, causing the princess Celestia to overhear.

"Nopony is killing anything. We must reason with them a matter of diplomacy. Though it is an answer that is easily executed, fighting is not always the answer."

"Sister, with all due respect," Interrupted Luna. "We cannot harbor any reservations with the likes of these barbarians."

Celestia turned her attention to her younger sibling and stood by on her position. "We cannot afford to lose yet more lives of young stallions. We've already lost enough the last time."

"They will not seek to negotiate!" The night princess reconfirmed, trying to reason with her sister.

"Then we will make them!"

"You are taking a fools errand, Celeste."

Celestia walked over to her sister and placed a hoof on her chin, trying to back her reasons being for the reluctance of going to war. "Luna, I am sure that the parliament would seek to negotiate for a solution rather than take up the call of violence."

Shoving the older alacorn mare's hoof away, Luna stood firm on her position in the matter. "You are a naive fool, Celestia. They will not agree to peace if we are threatened by them."

Cadance finally broke the argument, agreeing that sending her friends and her lover to a war they might not return from would be a bad idea. "I say that we should give peace a chance."

"Cadenza, surely you must not be so blind to see that this is a matter to which our only path is to play their little game." Luna said as she felt backed into a corner where no help awaited her.

"I believe in Princess Celestia. There has to be another way."

Luna scoffed and walked off of the platform where the throne stood. "You will find that there is no other way."

"Luna." Celestia whispered to her as she watched her sister walked through the cleared isle of guards that lined the entire room to the door. With a loud voice, she called out to her personal guardian.

"Azure, escort me to my chambers."

"Your highness." The guard answered, cringing at the volatile tensions that hung high in the air. With a nod to the other princesses, he took after the one that stormed out. Cadance offered to go after her, but was stopped by a tap on her shoulder.

"Let her go. My sister is frustrated. We will have to conclude our matters of diplomacy in an emergency meeting come tomorrow."

"I hope that the parliament will agree with you, auntie."

Celestia sighed at the possibility that her request would more than likely get shut down upon proposal and tried to hope for the best.

"I pray that they would as well."

The next day...

The parliament of a hundred nobles and delegates shouted at the princess to no end. Many of which have grown angry that such an open declaration of war against the country would go unanswered for this long. As they continued to scream out and shout to her to make a decision, Celestia pounded the wooden gavel onto the podium where she, Shining Armor and Cadance stood.

"Order! We will have order!" Shouted the ivory princess.

"No, we will have war!" A voice called out from the upper balcony of the room, causing the others around him to cheer him on.

"How dare they speak to uproot the very foundation of our society and threaten us. They should be purged!" Yet another senator shouted from the lower levels, gaining praise from his peers.

Cadance spoke loudly as she stood forward. "War is not the answer! I believe there is much ado to a peaceful resolution."

"And I'm pretty sure that you wouldn't mind being hugged up with another one of your guards. How's that for a peaceful resolution?" One of the nobles called out from the front of the room, causing the others to laugh and the presiding princess to silence him.

"You are out of order. Your speaking privileges has been revoked until further notice." She enforced, silencing the heckler for the remainder of the meeting. As the offended noble took his seat, Celestia continued her statements.

"As I was saying, we cannot offer the lives of our guards, of our families, so haplessly. They wouldn't mind dying for our country, but what future would we have if they were to die? Our mare-to-stallion ratio just recently improved from eight-to-one to seven-to-one. We can't just send out guards at a moment's notice because there are too few to go around."

A delegate stood up from the far right-side of the room. "Our guards are some of the best trained forces in all of Equestria. Our magic is some of the most powerful in all of existence. Our technology is only rivaled by the griffons. You speak nonsense."

"I will not use our advancements in modern society as a crutch to back a war we don't have the strength to fight." The princess rebutted angrily.

Another stood from the far-left of the chamber. "You are naive to think that your pleas of peace will be heard by an enemy who only hears the drums of battle. You cannot change that they are unwilling to negotiate. We must act now."

"Princess!" Called an unknown voice from the back of the room. As all eyes turned to the source, it was revealed to be a guard who ran up to the podium, disturbing the meeting that was already in progress. The princess wore an angry scowl on her face as she took upon herself to correct the interruption taking place.

"Why do you disturb us? We are in the middle of a meeting and you dare take the floor where you have no place to."

"Actually princess... I do."

The audience gasped at the sudden voice change as the guard started to glow a sickly green aura. His entire body became engulfed by green, eerie flames that burned away all of his appearance. And in his place stood a tall, alacorn-like figure who stood before the ponies, chuckling as her form revealed to them something sinister. Holes littered her insect-like wings and hooves. Her teeth were jagged and sharpened stakes that could pierce flesh and even break bone. Her eyes were large, jade orbs with predatory slits for pupils. Her body was a dark gray, close to black while her abdomen and back were as green as her eyes. Her horn was jagged and her mane and tail resembled that of lifeless green that flopped like seaweed on dry land.

"What is that!?"

"A monster!"

"Where is the guard?"

"Somepony do something!"

"SILENCE!!!" Celestia shouted as the members continued to panic. The dark figure started to make her approach to the podium.

"Thank you. At least your ruler has some sort of tact over the lot of you bumbling buffoons." She spoke in a dual-toned voice.

Wasting no time, Shining teleported before her, holding a sharpened spear to her neck. "You. Speak your name."

"Why hello there cutie." She said, taking pleasure over the captain's appearance and his magical strength.

Shining pressed the blade further into the tall equine-like creature's neck as his eyes narrowed, growling to her. "Name."

"I do believe that a gentlecolt is to share his name before a mare is to offer hers?" She joked as she slowly backed away and shifted the spearhead away from her neck.

"I'm not the intruder here. Now speak your name." He restated, letting the very tip of the weapon against her trachea.

"You first, you hunk."

Realizing that she was too stubborn for answers, he decided to answer her in hopes of moving on to the matter of her arrival. "Drrrgh... Shining Armor. Now speak!"

The creature smiled as she looked up and down, analyzing his body and taking in the chiseled frame. "It is a pleasure meeting you, Sir Shining Armor. Do you happen to be single at the moment?"

"My fiancee is currently unavailable for dating. Now I do believe that you have yet to speak your name, intruder." Cadance answered for him, clarifying that he was off limits to her.

"Oh, where are my manners? To think I asked a stallion for dinner and a movie and not even offer my name in return. My subjects call me Queen, Queen Chrysalis. But you, Sir Shining Armor, may call me Chrissy."

Celestia grew impatient and shouted at her to end her little charade. "Enough! What do you want?"

"What I want is quite simple. I want what is the lands that was once ours to roam, and that fine stallion over there." She said as she pointed to the captain, causing Cadance's temper to stir.

"He's mine." She said calmly, trying to suppress her anger.

"For how long?"

"GUARDS!" Cadance shouted, finally letting the mare get to her. As some of the guards entered into the hall, the queen choked back a laugh as she shoved the weapon away from her neck.

"I believe that calling them in here to oust me would be a bad idea."

"Then make your demands and stop these childish games." Celestia warned her.

"My demands were as I said them, the return of the land my species once roamed, the guard that princess is holding and I would be seeking my revenge on an old friend I used to know. Her name is Twilight Velvet."

Shining held his spear with a crushing magical grip, so much that the wood started to creak and moan under the stress. Hearing his mother's name come out from the mare caused him to grow furious at her. "What's it to you? Why would you want her?"

"Oh... just a little revenge on her humiliating me and taking away what was rightfully mine to wed. And if you must know more details, then I will carry on."

The captain readied his spear for a direct collision with her neck as he scuffed his hoof, readying himself to charge. "I'm waiting."

"You see, Velvet and I was in a herd together. At the time I was called Gemstone, a green earth-pony with a dark green mane. We, as well as four others, all strove to shower him with our love and admiration. But you see, I was the least to be paid attention to. And with no notice whatsoever, my stallion dismissed me from all of their activities. I grew angry and took matters into my own hooves."

Still ready to strike, he finished the story. "And you killed every last member in your herd, with the exception of Twilight Velvet."

Chrysalis smiled as she lit her horn to hold the guard in place. Shining tried to barrel towards the insectoid mare but found himself unable to move. Looking down, he could see the green aura hold him against the carpet. "Quite the intelligent one, with a handsome physique to boot. But yes, she defeated me and cast me into the woods of Everfree, never to return. I could easily tell you what happened when I told my father of my failure, but I'm pretty sure that the war that followed should be enough evidence to back my testimony."

Trying to free himself, he spat at the queen his anger. "So, you came on behalf of a personal grudge? That's mighty selfish to throw away the lives of those who serve you just because daddy's little girl couldn't get what she wanted."

"Oh, I've had aspirations to take the throne of Canterlot long before you were even born. It's just that having a food source as a husband would be a nice touch." Chrysalis answered as she brought a hoof to his face, adoring every dimple and elevation of his features. Cadance boiled as she could do nothing but watch.

"If your terms come with the price of surrender, then I'm afraid that we will not be paying." Celestia stated firmly, opening her wings to make it an official decree.

The changeling queen turned her attention to the mare who stood at equal height to her. "Oh. Well then. I tried to extend the olive branch of peace, but it seems that crushing your pathetic little empire will have to do for now."

"I believe that your welcome has long expired." Shining levitated the blade inches away from the queen's face, this time making sure that she could see the trembling anger that racked his body.

"Pity. I thought that you were more open into polygamous relationships, but it seems that I will have to take you as well."

Letting his temper get the better of him, he reared the spear back and thrust it forward, aiming for her skull. "LEAVE, NOW!"

Side-stepping the weapon and quickly moving in to close the distance. In a fraction of a second, she stood directly in front of him, smiling as she used her magic to forcefully lift his chin. "At once, your sexiness."

Crushing his lips with the might of her own flesh, she cooed as she intensified her approach by forcing his jaw open and injecting her own organ inside of his mouth. Struggling to move, he inadvertently moved his tongue to push her out, only for her to savor in his strife.

"SHINING!" Cadance shouted, mortified that the sanctity of her relationship was violated before her very eyes. Pulling back, a trail of spittle bridged the gap between him and her as the green flames started to swallow her body.

"A good kisser, just like your father." She whispered low so that only he could hear her. Shining flinched in response to her statement.

"Halt!" One of the other guards shouted as the queen laughed and allow her body to turn into ashes. As the flames started to die down, her escape was assured with the ghost of her voice sounding through the dying flames.

"See you around, Shining Armor."

The flames withered into smoldering green cinders that radiated off of the disappearing ash pile. Cadance jumped off of the podium to check on her fiancee, but not before letting her anger surface.

"You succubus, bug-flanked BITCH!"

"CADANCE! Control yourself." Celestia shouted as she scolded the younger princess for her vulgar comment.

"...Sorry."

The green aura that held Shining to the floor dissipated, allowing him the freedom of his limbs. Spitting and wiping his tongue, he continued to revel in disgust. "Bleugh! You saw it, I gave no consent."

One of the other senators rose from the front row and shouted to Celestia. "We all did, and just like she held no hesitation in defiling the captain's lips, we should show none in having her head! VOTE FOR WAR! VOTE NOW!"

"Hear hear!"

"Well said!"

"Vote now!"

The voices of the parliament sounded loudly as they all sought to tally in their votes. Celestia stood horrified over what was happening. The entire consensus started to chant as Celestia struggled to maintain order.

"VOTE NOW! VOTE NOW! VOTE NOW! VOTE NOW! VOTE NOW!"

"Order!"

"VOTE NOW! VOTE NOW! VOTE NOW! VOTE NOW! VOTE NOW!"

"I demand that we will have order!"

"VOTE NOW! VOTE NOW! VOTE NOW! VOTE NOW! VOTE NOW!"

Their persistence made her shudder in fear over what was going to happen. She knew that there would be no end to their chants if she was to dismiss the meeting and delay the decision. She also knew that if she allowed the vote, that they would agree on the very thing she sought to avoid. And as of now, she could only watch as Cadance inched herself closer to her fiancee, who was still recovering from the queen's assault. Feeling the pressure of her subjects crushing her, she decided that she would veto their motion as soon as it would pass. With a reluctant draw of breath, she pounded the gavel once more.

"The floor is open for a vote."

Another noble stood up from the higher levels and spoke loudly. "I hereby motion that the nation of Equestria shall march to war. Those who agree, stand."

The room rumbled with the sounds of ponies rising to their hooves. In droves, Celestia watched as they rose, row by row, until every last one of them stood in favor for it. She could bear to hold her tongue no longer. "You... selfish... hypocrites. You seek to go to war but you wouldn't dare to send your own sons out there! Your brothers! Your fathers, uncles, nephews!"

A few leaders started to feel guilty from hearing the princess' statements, but they felt an overwhelming pressure from their peers to stand in motion of war. To decline at a time such as this would allow them to come off as sympathizers of the enemy or worse; traitors to the state.

"The constituency has spoken, princess."

Slamming her hooves on the wood of her podium, she denied their answer. "Then I shall veto the decision."

"Those who vote to override, remain standing."

No pony in the room dared to sit as they all waited for the final word to be said on the matter. Celestia screamed helplessly as she thought about what this war would bring. "You can't do this!"

"It is unanimous once again. We will march to war!" Declared a delegate on the front row, causing the room to erupt in deafening cheers and thunderous applause. Celestia banged the gavel with disgust as she had no choice but to acknowledge the parliament's decision.

"Then so be it. Send your families to the front line, or what's left of them."

Cadance watched as her aunt lost all signs of hope. She could see the sadness in her eyes as Celestia started to storm out of the room. She called out to her, hoping to convince her to finish. "Princess-"

"This meeting is adjourned." She said as she hurried out of the room. The mutterings of the delegates, nobles and senators filled the room as Cadance clinched onto her fiancee's foreleg. She didn't want her future husband to go out to war. Hoping to hear some words of comfort, she looked to him.

"Shining, what do we do?"

He only had one answer, the only answer. "Fight."

Celestia angrily paced across her room. Her unsuccessful attempt for a peace offering was shut down as soon as her enemy practically declared war right in front of their faces. Not only was it humiliating, but it was also a hindrance to her pleas to the parliament. Whether she liked it or not, war was now at her doorstep, and today was the day it knocked.

"It's sickening! To think that they would be so careless to throw away lives that they have no affiliation with while they get to sit around, feast and be merry while our young soldiers go die in some Faust-forsaken trench!"

Luna sat on the opposite side of the room as she watched her older sister walk back and forth. "I tried to tell you, sister. The parliament only want to do what is convenient to them. If they want money, they'll resort to violence. If they want power, they'll resort to violence. If they need an easy way out of their job, they'll resort to violence. If they are threatened with violence, then you already know where I'm going with this."

"How convenient for them. 'I'll stop this violence the only way I know how; with more violence. But allow me to send this sixteen year old colt who just got a hold on life in my place so I can sit in my office and feast on fancy chocolates'."

Luna cringed at the thought of her eating some chocolate, just before she managed to return from the meeting. "To be fair, we almost do the same. Almost."

"But if I was threatened, then I would seek an alternative to bloodshed. It is so hard to choose a different path other than that which history has retold countless times?"

The night princess shook her head. "It's is the easiest answer. And sadly, in this case, it is the only answer."

"I tried so hard, Luna. I wanted to be different. I wanted to give a third option aside from war or surrender."

"Yet you knew that there would be no other way. You only waste your time."

Celestia stood still for a moment when she heard her sister that her efforts were no more pointless than chasing her own shadow. With despair looming over her head, Celestia turned to her younger sister. "Am... I a good ruler?"

Luna rose from her seat, feeling uncomfortable to hear her sister ask such a question. "What?"

"I try to come up with alternatives, only to be fed with absolutes. I try for peace, yet I only have war. The last war of this kind was one that many families had to grieve over the loss of loved ones. I've seen the faces of the dead, Luna. I fought side by side with them. I did everything a good ruler was to do, but sometimes I feel as if I've come up short."

Luna walked beside her sister to comfort the demoralized mare. "You do more than they do, and you call yourself a bad ruler?"

"I've done nothing but embarrass myself and this nation in front of an enemy. How does that translate into one with power?"

Luna walked in front of her sister so that she could see her eye to eye. She may have been small in stature when compared to Celestia, but her words moved her all the more. "You've made sacrifices that no other could make. You offer your own life alongside those who will die serving you. You would even cast your personal feelings aside in favor of what is best for the future of Equestria. Is there a such thing as being an illegitimate ruler when you've put so much of yourself aside to lead your citizens?"

Finally feeling motivated to act, Celestia decided that there was no time to mope over the circumstances. With a humble smile, the elder sibling nodded to the younger with gratitude. "Thank you, Luna."

"You are a wonderful leader, and I will continue to serve you as long as you draw breath."

Celestia cradled Luna in a warm hug, satisfied that her sister had so much faith in her, but she felt odd in hearing that she would only see their rule as a one-sided affair. "I would rather think that we serve each other."

Separating from their embrace, Luna turned to the window to see a clear and peaceful sky. She thought that it was ironic that on a beautiful day, that they would have to resort to fortifying their city for a time of war. "Such are the words of my sister. Now come, there is much to plan for our defenses."

Moment's later, Shining Armor walked with purpose as he made his way to the courtyard. His meeting with the Princess Celestia had ended with an ultimatum. Prior to it were three choices. The first choice was to send out a group of stallions to patrol the outer boarders of Equestria. He argued that the spreading of their forces would prove too costly if there was a siege made upon the city. The second was a call to arms; every able-bodied colt and stallion would take up training for the sake of protecting the city. Both he and Celestia agreed that it would prove to be more costly than gathering their forces and taking them out to dragon territory to fight the Changeling Horde.

Their discussion left them to a third, yet dangerous, solution to the answer. And to start off with, it was one who's results would not even be assured. And the risks were, indeed, life threatening. The parents were notified of the meeting and his choice, if something should happen to him. Needless to say that they both were non-compliant to the decision.

"Shining dear, I can't allow you to cast that spell!" Cadance tried to persuade him to change his mind, but he refused to listen.

"Aegnus, I did not raise you to be disobedient!" Velvet said as she tried to convince him that he didn't need to do this. Shining continued to march forward.

"Dude, think about what you're doing here." Azure tried to reconcile with the captain, but found themselves in the center of the courtyard, standing in front of both Celestia and Luna. Shining spoke to all three of those who tried to ward him off.

"I've thought. Mind's made up. I'm doing this."

"No, you're not. This spell is very dangerous to cast over a large area such as a school campus, let alone an entire city and the mountainside." Velvet said as she stepped in between her son and the princesses.

"Sorry mom. But this is my job and my job requires me to do the dangerous to protect everypony I know and love."

Orion tried his hoof in coercing his son. "Shining, there are some things that are more important than your job. You need to consider that there is a risk when you do this."

"You may want to listen to your father, captain." Cadance stressed as she pulled on him to back away.

"Princess Celestia, I am here to perform my duty as Captain of the Royal Guard. What are your orders?"

Celestia stepped forward as she gave her answer. "Stop and think."

Surprised by the response, Shining could only blink. "Princess?"

"This spell is very dangerous to cast over a wide area. You are putting your own health at risk. If the spell is successful, then you will repel any changelings that come within the city limits. But if you fail, you would suffer from memory lapses, severe migraines, even suffer a stroke. You could very well die."

Shining took a few seconds to think it over. As he stood still, he could hear the whispers of his friends and loved ones telling him to choose a different option. But in his mind, he came to the conclusion that their safety was more important than the risks of his own health. It was his job to put his life on the line and now the opportunity has presented itself before him. With an exhale, he gave his answer.

"Then let's hope I get it right the first time."

Cadance walked beside him, more worried than before. "Shining, are you sure that you want to do this?"

Breaking out of his position of attention, he looked over to the pleading princess beside him and smiled. "With all due respect, princess. Just let me be awesome."

Celestia smiled at the level of confidence that he displayed but she also knew that the risk was far too great for failure. With a calm demeanor, she cleared her mind of any doubt of his abilities. "I have total faith and confidence that you will come out of this. Good luck."

"Luck is for the gambler, princess. Success is for the well-practiced."

Everyone started to clear the area from around him, leaving him a wide open space. Azure did his best to hold back the captain's father as she struggled to stop her son.

"Princess, stop my son! Remove him from this madness at once!"

Light of the heavens, guide us.

As Shining started the incantation, his horn glowed a warm magenta. In comparison to the wavy form that it would normally give off, it became more focused and concentrated to the very surface of his horn, causing the ridges to glow and for a melodic hum to sing out.

Grant us your illimitable mercy and surround us.

A circle formed beneath the caster and surrounded the stallion with a pillar of white light that turned his entire body black. His mane changed from the dual-toned blue to a mix of yellow and orange. His pupils, normally black, was now white.

Shield us from all iniquity and those that seek to do us harm.

His body took to the air as he slowly ascended the courtyard, causing the ponies all around to cower in fear. His eyes opened to reveal a magenta glow set in them.

Shine forth, light of the heavens and become our place of hiding.

At this moment, the very courtyard started to crackle with the sound of thunder and electricity buzzing through the air. Cadance looked on in horror as the stallion she loved was turned into something so foreign. The circle that stood beneath him expanded to five circles of various sizes as ancient runes circled his body. Each circle lit along with the corresponding set of runes. And with a mighty shout, Shining completed his incantation, calling the name of his spell.

Protegam: Sancta immaculatam!

Bolts of lightening sparked from his body scorching whatever they touched. Though it strayed from all forms of life, the energy fed from all over the courtyard. As the runes around his body latched onto his coat, a whirring screech sounded loudly throughout the area, causing many of the witnesses to close their ears in response. With a final muffled clap of thunder, the spell stopped.

Silence filled the courtyard as Shining floated in the center. The darkened figure that floated remained in place as his eyes continued to glow the color of his aura. But the light soon faded as well as the sound. Everything that was the stallion turned black and consumed him, leaving a darkened husk to float lifeless above the ground.

Suddenly, a marvelous blast of light surged forth, removing the dark taint from around the caster and into the luminous pillar of energy. A magenta ray shot high into the air and culminated far above the highest point of the city. Finally, the beam dispersed to reveal a ring that started to engulf the very city as well as the mountainside to which it stood. The sphere of light encased the city in a tint of the magic of it's caster.

Shining slowly floated to the ground, resting on all of his hooves. He opened his eyes to see the shield surrounding the city. With satisfaction in his mind, he expressed relief. Others cheered as his flashy performance provided them with some rather unique entertainment. Many shared hoof bumps throughout the crowd along with applause.

"Wow, now that was pretty awesome. Looks like one of Blueblood's fancy light shows." Azure said as he rooted for his friend.

"For your information, that is magic at the highest level." Velvet corrected him, smiling at the feat of her son.

"Shining! You did it!" Cadance screamed as she started to run over to him.

"Way to go, Shines!" Poindexter and Longshot shouted out to him.

"That's my boy!" Orion said proudly, proud of his son's work.

"Well done, captain." Congratulated Celestia as Luna stood amazed at his potential. But Luna looked at the captain and could see that something was terribly wrong.

"Captain?" Luna asked, causing Cadance to stop in her place.

"Shining?" The pink princess called to him, gaining no response.

Shining felt his body go limp as his vision blurred. Exhaustion hit him like a hammer to a forged blade. His eyes rolled back into his head and he stumbled forward, only to fall to his side in a lifeless thud. What once was all cheers was now gasps of shock and worry.

"AEGNUS!" Velvet called out to see her son fall before her. She ran to her son and held him as he laid motionless on the ground. Cadance felt her hooves give out from beneath her as the image of him processed into her mind. Orion called out to the crowd for assistance as Azure screamed to the other guards to make for a clear path to the palace. Celestia loomed over the fallen captain as she touched his warm body. He was still alive, but if unattended, he would not be for long.

"Somepony call a medic! Now!"

Cadance as well as Velvet stood before the door to Shining's room. Cadance held on closely to his mother as Velvet continued to pray in whispers. The sound was one that was uncomfortable as they awaited the diagnosis of Shining Armor. Azure, Poindexter, Longshot and Orion all stood on the other side of the room, nervous over what they were to hear. Soon, a doctor with a green coat and black mane walked out of the room, granting them entrance. Velvet was the first to ask. "How is he, doctor?"

"He's going to be a little disoriented, but I believe he will manage to come out of it come sometime tomorrow afternoon. Though there is a chance that he could wake up by sometime tonight, that seem's very unlikely. That boy got some skill to be putting a large barrier over the city by himself. That's a job that would normally take both of the princesses to do and he pulled it off without killing himself."

Cadance felt a wave of relief douse her body as she heard the news. "So he's okay."

"He will have a few migraines and will continue to have them as long as he keeps putting up that shield. But he will be fully functional aside from that."

Velvet dismayed as she heard the news of the migraines, but remained optimistic with the prognosis. "Thank you, doctor."

"Anytime."

The boys, along with Orion started to make their way into the room to see Shining. As they entered, Poindexter was the first to speak. "Well then, I guess that he should be out sometime tomorrow."

"No shit, Sherlock." Longshot answered as the door closed behind them, leaving Velvet and Cadance outside.

"Are you okay?" Cadance asked the still-concerned mother.

"There's nopony else who can renew that barrier aside from him. And he's going to have migraines as long as he keeps putting up that shield."

"I know."

Velvet could feel the very air grow on her, threatening to crush her with the weight as she kept her eyes on the door. "Cadance, have you ever had to watch your child suffer in front of your eyes?"

The princess' ears fell as she responded to the question. "I wouldn't know how to answer that."

"It hurts you, the same it hurts them. Oh Shining, my dear baby."

Velvet brought a hoof to silence her gasps for air as she tried to hold back her tears. Her son was in pain and was going to experience more of it because of everything that happened. Cadance didn't know how it felt to be a mother in this situation, but she knew that Velvet was in a great amount of pain as she rocked herself back and forth. Cadance could only hold on to her as she watched her son rest in the hospital bed.

"I'm so sorry."

Later that night, Cadance laid on her bed as she stared at a portrait of her and Shining when they were in high school, or rather him. Her mind was clouded with what-ifs and what-would-happens as she stared at the stallion. Much has changed from then. Life then was still simple in comparison to what all transpired in the waking moments of the threat of war, a war that he could die in.

"Calm down Cadance. Shining's gonna be alright."

She comforted herself with those words as her eyes moved to yet another picture. This time, it was one of him in the earlier days before they started dating. At the time, she was considered as his friend and she was still plotting to have him become hers.

"Shining Armor, I remember the first day we met."

Her mind reeled back to the moment they bumped into each other. She was walking to class while he was trying to make his way over to his friends. He wasn't exactly speaking in complete sentences either.

"From that very moment, I knew that you were going to be special."

Then her memory flashed back to the night of the Spring Fling dance, where Blueblood almost killed him over a fit of rage and jealousy.

"But since I've managed to have you, all I've been was trouble. And despite that, you still found your way back to me."

She thought back to the time where he offered to apologize to her about his unawareness of her past. After that day, they've been together since.

"That's right, you did find your way back to me. And you would find your way back to me now. I know that you can overcome this."

Her memory flashed back to the very moment she saw him in the hospital bed, looking peaceful and at rest.

"It may be a bit of a stretch but I need you to keep fighting."

*Knock knock*

"Who is it?" She asked to the tall wooden door of her living quarters.

"Cadance, it's me."

The princess' ears perked up as soon as she heard the voice of the stallion through the door. "Shining!?"

Running from the comfort of her bed, she galloped to the door and opened it to see her fiancee standing before her. "Geez, it took you long enough to answer the door."

With a tight hug, she coiled him in her iron grip, making sure that he was real. "Don't scare me like that!"

"Sorry babe. I was only doing what I needed to do."

With a smile, she held on to him and leaned closer to him. "I'll forgive you if you give me a kiss."

"Okay."

"That's right, I want some sugar."

With a peck on the lips, they separated with a wet smack. Shining grinned as he levitated a bucket of ice and a bottle behind his back.

"You know, you're a pretty good kisser."

"Only the best, but you should know that by now."

Revealing his late-night gift, he made his way over to the bed. "Hey, I got us some champagne. You want a glass?"

"Sure!"

As Cadance, walked over to the other side of the room to remove her regalia, Shining poured the glasses full until the foam started to flow off of the edge. "You know, it's moment's like these I'll always cherish. Kisses, hugs, the crazy good sex, the cuddling afterwards."

"And you know what, we'll have many more years of it all. We'll even have our own foals, just like I promised you."

Shining levitated a glass over to the princess and gave a gentle grin. "A toast, to our love?"

Walking over to the bed, she held the glass in her arcane grip, making sure to tip the edge of his glass as she joined him. "To our future together. May we never grow apart."

The two soon-to-be-weds drank their glasses and took joy in the taste of the beverage.

"Ahh. Good stuff."

"Yeah! Where did you get this brand? It's a little strong."

"Oh, just the cellar. Nothing's different about it."

"Really? Because I don't recall champagne having such a kick."

Shining pulled her down to the bed and turned himself on top of her, leaning into her. "Mmmm. You look so beautiful. I wanna run you through all night."

As willing as she was, Cadance felt a little fatigued from the day's events, and the drink's strength was doing more harm than help. "Uuugh. Shining, I don't feel so great. I need to get some sleep."

"Oh... Well go on ahead. The day might have been a little exhausting."

Cadance closed her eyes and waited for her dreams to take her. "Yeah, I... feel... we...ak."

Shining stood watch over her body as she surrendered to slumber. A wide grin formed on his face as he rubbed a hoof on the gentle features of her face.

"Just as planned."

Cadance awoke to find herself no longer in the comfort of her bed. Instead, the surface she rested on was cold, craggy and uncomfortable. "Where am I?"

More of the questions started to surface as she rose from her resting place. "What's going on?"

She tried to find herself a light source, but came up empty as she failed to find her lamp. "Why is it so dark?"

Using her magic to illuminate the room, she found herself to be in an unfamiliar place. There were crystals and gems everywhere she looked. She called out to the empty space, hoping to find someone. "Hello?"

"Hello to you."

She started to panic as she heard the voice call out to her, but found no one answering her. "What is this? Who are you? Show yourself!"

One of the walls started to glow and show the face of the queen that mocked her just earlier in the day. "Oh it's only the one you called a succubus, bug-flanked bitch."

"YOU!" Cadance shouted loudly, even more angry that the one who stole a kiss from her beloved was the one who placed her there.

"Oh give it up Cadenza. She's got us for a ride." An elderly, yet familiar voice sounded out from the crystal.

"No way. This can't be! Blue, is that you?"

As Chrysalis stood over the elder pony's body she wore a toothy grin and leaned over him, smelling him as he spoke. "My time has come. The queen has captured me and will devour my essence, or what's left of it. Soon she will do the same to you, then to Shining Armor, and finally to Celestia."

Cadance knew that he was far from innocent, but he was also far from deserving to be devoured by the likes of the insectoid queen. Being aged to impotence, deprived of his magic and banished to the wild was more than enough for punishment. She battered at the crystal wall that showed his shrived body and his pleaded with his wrinkled appearance. "Blueblood, just hang on. I can find my way out of here. I can save you!"

Chrysalis laughed at Blueblood and held him with her magic, inching her hoof against his jugular vein. "What a poor choice of last words. I was expecting something along the lines of 'I always loved you' or 'I would've died happily knowing that I saw your face once again'. Instead, you choose to warn a mare, who can't even get out of her crystal cell, about something that she wouldn't even live long enough to see."

"You leave him alone, you monster!"

Blueblood wore a distanced expression on his face as he came to terms of what was going to happen to him. "Cadance, just accept what is absolute. I know that I have."

"Blue, no."

Chrysalis sank her fangs into his body, sucking at the blood that exited from his body. He struggled against her, flailing his limbs as she chomped down on his neck a second time.

"BLUEBLOOD!"

As the seconds ticked away, Cadance watched as his body fell limp and his eyes glaze over. His entire body, which was already an off-white color from poor hygiene, turned black and his entire coat sink further against the bones in his body. The former prince stared lifelessly at nothing as his limp body fell to the ground below.

"What a horrid taste. There was no love in him at all. Completely bitter." Said the queen who finished feeding off of her victim.

"You will pay for this!"

"Will I? I know one thing, and that is when my sweet little Shining Armor awakens from his little slumber, I will be around to rock his world."

Cadance banged at the crystal wall that displayed the image of the queen, trying to stop her from following through on her plot. But she did so to no avail. "Don't you touch my Shining Armor!"

"Oh, and the way my magic works, if you can see me now, then I assure you that you will see both me and him falling into primordial lust with each other. I will feed off of his love, and I will make you watch as every last drop is taken from him."

"YOU CAN'T DO THIS!"

"Oh? And how can a lowly princess tell a queen what to do? If anything, you should enjoy the final moments you see your beloved."

Cadance felt her heart sink as she knew that if she couldn't escape, then she would never see him again. She wish she could warn him, but found herself whispering to a wall. "Shining, please-"

"Don't wake up? I'm more than sure that he will be up and active come tomorrow. After all..."

Cadance looked on in horror as she took the form of the very doctor that looked after him. "No."

"I am the one who gave his prognosis."

She screamed and cried at the wall as the changeling changed her form once more. "NO!"

"Now if you excuse me..."

"STOP IT, PLEASE!" She begged, watching in complete horror as the queen transformed into the one thing that she feared the most.

"I'm going to reschedule our wedding for an earlier date.

ACT 2: Invitation

~Monday~
April 11th, 1 S.R.
Canterlot Royal Palace

The day after the shield's summoning over the city, Celestia stood on top of a tower, alongside none other than a disgruntled and pleading 'Cadance'. The younger princess was trying to coerce her superior into having the wedding rescheduled for the upcoming weekend. Despite coming off as unusually to the princess, she continued to press on with her proposal.

"Princess, I think that it would be best to schedule the wedding on an earlier date."

Celestia, who was currently looking through a spyglass for any signs of trouble, grew concerned of the timing of her request. "Cadance, I understand you wanting to marry him, but must you rush this?"

"I've waited for far too long! And I want to be to at least see my husband off for when he leaves for battle."

"I understand. But if we were to set up a wedding, what's to say that we wouldn't be attacked?"

Celestia tilted her spyglass to another direction, confirming that the area she previously scouted out was clear of activity. But upon her looking for another point of interest, she found an unusual pink blur obstructing her view. Removing herself from the scope, she saw that the younger princess blocked the view, flying over the edge of the balcony. "Please, auntie! I love him! I won't send him off without sharing our vowels with each other."

"Once again, I don't think that a wedding can be thrown together in such a short notice."

"Auntie. Please." 'Cadance' persisted, giving her adoptive family member a quivering set of lips and widened eyes that shimmered with a slight whimper.

It was one of the few things that Celestia could rarely say no to in any given situation. She always surrendered to Cadance when she saw that there was something that she really wanted and would work hard to get. And the puppy-dog eyes were of no help to her resistance factor. With a sigh, she finally surrendered. "Well... I suppose that the citizens will need something to celebrate in this dark time."

"Yes! Oh thank you! Thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou!" The pink mare shouted as she nearly crushed the older mare with her own physical strength.

"You're welcome! Goodness, I never thought you would be so excited."

'Cadance' held on to the princess as she gave a sinister glare to her aunt, taking pleasure that her plans to speed things up a bit was going by the book. "Oh you have no idea!"

"But there is a matter of your wedding plans."

"What?" Asked the pink mare as she released Celestia from the vice-like embrace.

"You don't have a planner, nor a caterer, musician or seamstress."

The news of the lack of planners and staff drew worry from the younger mare. "Oh... right."

"Luckily, I have just the group of ponies who can work very well with each other."

'Cadance' felt relieved that her situation was so simply resolved. If there was anything that had it's advantages, it was being kin to royalty. Now the wedding could take place within a week's time, possibly even shorter. "Wonderful. How soon will they be here?"

Celestia returned her attention to the spyglass on the balcony. Looking to a small town to the south of the city. "Tomorrow. They should be getting their letter in the mail today. And I am more than sure that you will be excited for who will also be joining you."

Ponyville

Spike ran furiously as he struggled to keep the letter within his body. A letter of the utmost importance was stored in his magical flames and he also carried yet another curled around his tail. Jumping over creeks and rivers, he finally found the recipient of the letter alongside her five friends, all of them having a picnic together.

"Twi... light... I... have... let me just..." He said as he tried to heave out the letter. Finally feeling his gag reflex kicking in, he belched out the letter in front of the purple mare and her friends. Twilight telekinetically picked up the letter and started to read.

Dear Twilight,

I am sure you are as excited as I am about the upcoming wedding in Canterlot.

"Wedding?" She asked, unsure as to what was going on. She continued to read the letter.

I will be presiding over the ceremony, but would very much like you and your friends to help with the preparations for this wonderful occasion. Fluttershy, I would like you and your songbird choir to provide the music.

"Oh my goodness! What an honor!" Exclaimed the yellow pegasus with a pleased expression.

Pinkie Pie, I can think of no one more qualified than you to host the reception.

"Hip, hip, hooray!" Shouted the pink party pony as she performed a cartwheel over the cake that they were supposed to be eating, leaving a hoofprint. Twilight continued to read as she used her magic to repair the damaged cake.

Applejack, you will be in charge of the catering for the reception.

"Well color me pleased as punch!" Applejack said as Rainbow Dash sat next to her, unimpressed with what she was hearing. She gave a yawn as Twilight continued to read aloud.

Rainbow Dash, I would very much appreciate it if you could perform a sonic rainboom as the bride and groom complete their I do's".

Finding herself chewing on the hoof she used to stifle a yawn, the pegasus excitedly leapt into the air and flew into a miniature corkscrew. "YES!"

Rarity, you will be responsible for designing the dresses for the bride and her bridesmaids.

Rarity failed to process the request as she was stuck on the key words Canterlot wedding and design. "Princess Celestia wants me to... wedding dress... Canterlot wedding? I-ee-ah-ooooo..." Fluttershy tried her best to capture her friend before she wobbled over, but Rarity could care less for the grass in her mane as she reveled in the news of her assignment.

And as for you, Twilight, you will be playing the most important role of all: Making sure that everything goes as planned. See you all very soon.

Yours,

~Princess Celestia.

"But I don't understand. Who's getting married?" Twilight asked as she turned over the letter in hopes of finding an answer.

Spike perked up and remembered the letter coiled in the grasp of his tail. "Oh, wait! Uh... I think I was supposed to give you this one first."

Receiving the parchment from the young drake, Twilight read the invitation out loud. "Princess Celestia cordially invites you to the wedding of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and... MY BROTHER!?"

"Dun dun duuuun!" The cyan pegasus shouted loudly.

"Rainbow!" Applejack said, chiding the flight-crazed mare.

"What? The occasion called for it."

"Anywho, yer brother's getting married? Congratulations, Twilight! That's great news!" Applejack said as she walked up to the still-shocker sister to the groom.

Twilight felt a stir of emotions. Some that bordered on the lines of 'how dare he get married' and 'why didn't he tell me about this'. Despite Twilight being affectionate to her older brother, she didn't mind the fact that he was getting married as much as his failure to inform her of his engagement. "Yeah, great news. That I just got from a wedding invitation! Not from my brother, but from a piece of paper! Thanks a lot, Shining Armor. I mean, really, he couldn't tell me personally?"

Picking up a sandwich, she mimicked her brother's voice as she transformed the small meal into a ventriloquist act. "Hey, Twilight, just thought you should know I'm making a really big decision that changes everything. Oh, never mind, you'll hear about it when you get the invitation."

The others stared at the purple unicorn as she continued gripe about the news. "Princess Mi Amore Cadenza? WHO IN THE HELL IS THAT!?!"

Fluttershy slowly walked beside the livid unicorn and tried to console her. "Um, Twilight, are you okay?"

"Sorry, it's just that Shining Armor and I have always been so close. He's my B.B.B.F.F!"

The five other mares stared at Twilight, not knowing what her acronym meant.

"Big Brother Best Friend Forever?" The purple unicorn corrected.

"Ohhhhh." The others said in unison.

"Before I came here and learned the importance of friendship, Shining Armor was the only pony I ever really accepted as a friend. Not to mention how close we were. When I was a filly, the only thing I thought I needed was my books, but there was only one colt I truly cared for because he would always be there for me. He taught me how to fly a kite and we never really got into any serious arguments. We shared everything together... I guess I really do miss him more than I realize."

"Twilight." Fluttershy whispered as she watched Twilight mope about her brother.

"And even though he's so far away, I wanted him, no, us to stay close. But now it seems like he's growing further and further away from me. And now this... He didn't even tell me that he was getting married."

Applejack walked up from behind the pony and tapped her on the shoulder. "As one of yer P.F.F's..." Her acronym causing the others to tilt their head in question. "Pony friends forever."

"Ohhhhh." The other four answered.

"Ah wanna tell ya that Ah think yer brother sounds like a real good guy."

"He is pretty special. I mean, they don't let just anypony be captain of the Royal Guard."

Rarity gawked and intervened in the conversation as she heard the news that her older brother was so high in society. "So let me get this straight. We're helping out with the wedding of not only a princess... but a captain of the Royal Guard?"

Twilight answered her friend hesitantly. "...I guess we are."

~Tuesday~
April 12th, 1 S.R.
Ponyville-Canterlot Line

The next day, the six ponies as well as Spike made their way over to the city of Canterlot via train. Despite the train being unusually empty, they sat next to each other, sharing jokes and their excitement over the upcoming wedding. They all found the day to be exciting. All of them but Twilight, who sat in the back of the cart they all shared. She stared out the window, watching the mountains pass by as she continued to think about the relationship of her and her older brother. Applejack took notice and approached the brooding mare.

"Why the long face, sugarcube?"

"I'm just thinking about Shining Armor. Ever since I moved to Ponyville, we've been seeing each other less and less. And now that he's starting a new family with this 'Princess Mi Amore Ca-whatshername', we'll probably never see each other."

"Come on, now. Yer his sister. He'll always make time fer ya."

"Couldn't seem to make time to tell me he was getting married." She snapped back as she shut the blinds and focused on the mare beside her.

"Twilight, Ah'm pretty sure that there's a logical explanation fer why he didn't get a chance to. You just have to be patient with 'em."

Twilight took a deep breath as she felt herself detach from everything around her. She just wanted to dissipate into thin air for just a second so that she could just cry. "Just for a moment, I wanna be left alone."

Applejack frowned but understood why she felt like she needed to distance herself. "Okay, sugarcube. Jus' know that we're her for ya when ya need us."

Twilight felt her world being pulled from underneath her. She curled into the seat as she tried not to let her friends see her in such a state. Her thoughts reverberated deep in her mind. "You don't love me the same way I love you, and now you're getting married without my knowing? I would've accepted everything, if you had just told me. But now, I don't know."

Suddenly, the world she distanced herself from drew back into focus as Pinkie Pie shouted from up ahead. "We're here! We're here!"

As they passed the checkpoint of the city, they passed through the magical barrier placed over the entire area. As they passed through, each felt an unusual jolt of energy sweep past their bodies, catching all of them off-guard.

"Whoa, what was that!?" Rainbow Dash shouted.

"Don't know, but Ah reckon y'all felt it too?" Applejack said as she touched herself to make sure she was okay.

"What an odd sensation." Rarity said as she shuddered off the strong magical vibes she was getting.

"Wowie! That felt so funny! I love tickle shields!" Said Pinkie as she giggled and bounced up and down.

"Oh goodness! That was surprising." Fluttershy whispered as she felt her muscles release the tension that coiled up within her from the shield's touch.

Twilight stood speechless as she immediately recognized the magical aura in color and wavelength. And being that the wavelength was similar to hers, she knew exactly who the caster was. "That was..."

The train came to a stop at the Canterlot Central Station. The six ponies and Spike made their way out and was overcome by what they saw.

"Whoa, what's with all the guards?" Rainbow asked.

"I'm sure they're just taking the necessary precautions. Royal weddings do bring out the strangest ponies." Rarity answered as Pinkie Pie sneezed right beside her, shooting out confetti from her nostrils before trotting on like nothing happened. Following Pinkie's example, Rarity urged the group to move along. "Now, let's get going! We've got work to do!"

"And you got a big brother ta congratulate." Applejack said as she turned to Twilight, who wasn't as optimistic as the others.

"Yeah, congratulate. And then give him a piece of my mind."

Canterlot Courtyard
Canterlot Palace Grounds

Shining Armor stood at the top of the battlements that surrounded the courtyard and gave his orders to a set of squads. As some groups came in from their respective patrols, he assigned others to take their place. And with a firm face, he issued his orders to the others.

"Go out and patrol the parameter of the city. We need to make sure that there are no surprises."

"Sir!" A squad of unicorns shouted out in unison as they saluted and marched off.

"Lieutenant Shadow Star, you and your boys take to the skies and scout the area north of the city. They could be hiding within our very shadow."

"Yes, captain." The dark grey pegasus guard said as he also gave the captain a salute before he and his squad took to the sky.

"Sergeant Spaz, I need you to take to Command Tower and guard the princess while she's on lookout."

A murky-red earth-pony stallion with a red coat gave the captain a salute. "CAN DO, SIR! I'M GOING TO ENJOY DICKSMACKING THE NEAREST CHANGELING IN HIS JAW, FOLLOWED BY A LONG AND TENDER CONVERSATION OF MY HOOF SO FAR DEEP IN HIS ASS THAT HE'LL BE TASTING THE DIRT I STEPPED ON, AS WELL AS THIS MORNING'S BREAKFAST!"

Shining failed to experience the same amount of enthusiasm as the stallion before him exhibited. Though he was fresh out of high school and out of the Equestrian Reserve Officer Training Corps, he was still considered new to the majority of those around him. "Ugh, rookies. J-ju... Just go."

"WELL YOU HEARD THE COLT! LET'S MOVE OUT AND-"

Before he could finish, a third voice shouted out to the captain donning the purple armor. "I've got something to say to you, mister!"

Captain Spaz immediately pulled out his weapon without a moment's notice or taking the time to see who was approaching. "CHANGELING! SPEARS OUT!"

The sea of guards on the walls readied their weapons as they took aim for the pony that seemed to have a bout with their captain. Many of them were ready to throw their spears, all except the captain himself.

"Twily!" Shining yelled as he took his helmet off and ran for the stairs.

"NEVERMIND! FALSE ALARM!" Spaz corrected as he pulled his spear from the top of the battlement, alongside the other guards.

"Get to your post already!" Longshot yelled out to the stallion.

"SIR, YES SIR! I LOVE DYING FOR MY COUNTRY!" Spaz shouted before charging at full-gallop towards his designated lookout point, leaving Longshot to watch in utter confusion.

"Ohhhhhh-kaaaaay."

Shining ran down to his younger sibling and offered to give her a hug. "I've missed you, kid. How was the train ride? I-"

Twilight back away from him, seething in anger. "How dare you not tell me in person that you were getting married! I'm your sister, for pony's sake!"

Shining, realizing his mistake, tried to cover for himself. Though he intended to tell her when they last spent time together, he ultimately decided that it would be better that he'd ease her into the news considering her feelings towards him. "It's not my fault! Princess Celestia has requested a major increase in security. Didn't you see all the guards at the train station?"

"Yeah, there's a big wedding coming up. Maybe you heard about it?" Twilight snapped back at her brother, trotting to a nearby pond.

Shining gave chase to his angered sibling and offered to reason with her. "It has nothing to do with the wedding. A threat has been made against Canterlot. We don't know who's responsible for it, but Princess Celestia asked that I help provide additional protection."

Lifting her chin so she could see his face, he advised her to pay attention. "This, you need to see."

Shining stood on the very ground he originally cast the spell the first time and fired up his magic. His horn coursed with his magic and a beam of light surged forth, rising into the air and blasting the shield at it's crown. The entire barrier that surrounded the city glowed brightly as Twilight shielded her eyes from the light. Finally finished with the fortification of the spell in place, his magic restricted itself into the confines of his horn. Though the display was not nearly as flashy as the initial casting, it continued to mesmerize the guards in the city. And though he didn't faint from the exhaustion, his head pulsed with a pain that annoyed him. Coming back from the dizzying after affects, he turned his attention back to Twilight.

"The burden of keeping Canterlot safe and secure rests squarely on my shoulders. Staying focused on the task at hand has been my top priority."

Twilight and Shining started to make their way to the tower where he and his fiancee would normally reside. Twilight felt she was wrong to accuse her brother for him not having time for her, but the news being told by another source aside from him still ate away at her. "Okay, okay, I get it. You've got a really important job protecting all of Canterlot with a force field only you can conjure up. But still... how could you not tell me about something as big as your wedding? Am I not that important to you any more?"

Shining placed a hoof on her and tried to console her. "Hey. You're my little sister. Of course you're important to me." With a smirk, he turned away before speaking. "But I'd understand if you didn't want to be my best mare now."

Twilight gasped as she placed a hoof to her chest. "You want me to be your best mare?"

"Well... yeah."

"I'd be honored!" Twilight said as she hugged her brother for the first time in her visit. But she shoved him off as she thought about the final thing that bothered her. "But I'm still pretty ticked you're marrying somepony I don't even know! When did you even meet this 'Princess Mi Amore Cadenza'?"

Shining giggled as he realized that he never made it clear on who she was throughout all of these years. "Twily, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza is Cadance, your old foalsitter."

Twilight shook her head to make sure that she heard him right. "Cadance? As in the Cadance? As in the greatest foalsitter in all the history of foalsitters?!"

"You tell me. She was your foalsitter."

Twilight reminisced on the times she spent with her and smiled. "Ohmygoshohmygosh! Cadance is only the most amazing pony ever! She's beautiful, she's caring, she's kind. How many alacorns can just spread love wherever they go? I only know of one! And you're marrying her!"

"Yeah. Don't mind me, just marrying the foalsitter." Shining mumbled to himself as his little sister started to playfully prance around him, identical to when she did when they were much younger.

"♫You're marrying Cadance! You're marrying Cadance!♪" Twilight sang-sung before running into a familiar face.

"I hope that I'm not interrupting anything important."

"Cadance!" Twilight shouted as she started to perform the dance they would normally do whenever they met. It was a tradition that they carried whenever they saw each other from time to time.

"Sunshine, shunshine,
Ladybugs awake!
Clap your hooves,
And do a little shake!"

The pink princess stared at the purple plot being shaken in her face and asked in deadpan. "What are you doing?"

Twilight turned around and gave her a better look at her face. "Cadance, it's me, Twilight!"

"Uh-huh..." Said the pink alacorn as she walked through Twilight as if she wasn't there. It was apparent that she was upset, or possibly moody, perhaps even forgotten the mare after their long separation.

Taking his fiancee in his hold, Shining smiled back to his little sister. "I've gotta get back to my station, but Cadance will be checking in with all of you to see how things are going. I think I speak for both of us when I say we couldn't be more excited to have you here. Right, dear?"

The larger mare looked at Twilight with a suspicious glare, immediately realizing how she was going to get rid of her. "Absolutely."

"Well, we'll let you get to it." Shining said as they took to the tower they stayed in, leaving a superstitious Twilight to think about the interaction that she and her 'foalsitter' had just now.

"That wasn't Cadance, or at least the Cadance I remember."

Kitchen of Canterlot Royal Palace
Canterlot Palace Grounds

Twilight sat in the royal kitchen, angry over the encounter of her foalsitter. Though it was unusual for Cadance to not perform the dance with her, her mind replayed the look the pink mare gave her as she walked alongside her older brother. The purple mare continued to pout, even as she checked off the list of foods that Applejack continued to burn through.

"Cake, check." The farm pony said as she finished placing the icing on the cake. Running past the pouting unicorn, she continued to her next item on the list.

"Ice sculpture, check." She said as she finished sculpting a large ice block into a large heart. Running past Twilight one last time, she ran over to the oven.

"Best darn bite-size apple fritter ya ever tasted..."

Applejack fed the confection to the brooding mare, causing Twilight's demeanor to lighten up a bit. Savoring the taste, Twilight smiled with glee as she tended to her list. "Mmmm, check!"

As everything was going on, Spike grew bored and even resorted to playing with the small figurines of the bride and groom that were supposed to go on the cake. "I do. Do you? I do!"

Twilight pulled the toys out of Spike's claws and placed them on the counter as he laughed nervously. Before she could chew him out for his behavior, the group of ponies received some company. Applejack welcomed the esteemed guest and client into the kitchen with a bow.

"Hiya, Princess!"

"Please, call me Princess Mi Amore Cadenza." The pink princess corrected, causing Twilight to roll her eyes in response.

"Hiya, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. Ya come to check out what's on the menu for yer big day?"

"I have!"

Cadance followed behind the orange mare while giving a nasty glare to the purple unicorn on the other side of the room. Twilight returned the expression as her eyes trailed every step she took towards the counter where Applejack had the samples. The princess telekinetically grabbed one of the frosted goods and bit into them. After a brief system of chewing and a swallow, she wore a feint smile.

"Delicious! I love-love-love them." The princess lied.

"Aw, shucks. Why don't ya take a few to go?" Applejack suggested, offering a brown bag of the sweets to her.

'Cadance' hesitated as she looked at the mare smiling before her. She wasn't one for sweets nor was she interested in what the mare had to offer. Despite her consideration to decline, she accepted the gift, not wanting to be rude. "Of course. Thank you."

"Ah know how y'all brides can be. So busy, ya forget to get a little somethin' in yer belly."

As 'Cadance' walked out of the door, she took the liberty of disposing the goods once she reached the doorway. As the brown sack of food landed in a trash can nearby, Twilight gasped and turned to Applejack who was far too busy to even pay attention.

"Did you see what she just...?"

Later that day...

Luna slept in her bed, tossing and turning restlessly as she suffered from a nightmare. Her facial expressions twisted and contorted as she mumbled in her dream. Soon, the horrible dream came to it's startling end, causing the princess to rise and shout ouf for the one stallion who could sedate her. "AZURE!"

The door swung open as the blue unicorn galloped into the room with haste. "Princess! Is something wrong?"

Closing the door behind him and pulling the guard in for an embrace, the night princess breathed heavily as she touched him, making sure that her dream was not real. "You're here. You're safe. I am relieved."

Confused as to what was going on, Azure pushed her away and urged her to explain. "Wait a minute, hold on. What's going on?"

"Oh Azure, I had a nightmare. One that I couldn't disperse. It just kept playing and playing."

Though it was far from night, a nightmare was still an unpleasant thing to have, especially considering that you have the power to control dreams and for it to continuously run on as long as it did. Azure called out to her as she remained stricken with unease. "Luna."

"It was like it never ended."

"LUNA!" He exclaimed, shaking her lightly. "I'm okay. Please tell me what's going on."

Calming down for a moment, the Princess of the Night stood before him, shivering as she retold the things she saw. "I've had a dream that we ran alongside each other. As we ran, you started to get ahead of me. I called out to you, but you refused to slow down. I kept trying to run after you, but you kept running. I started to lose hope and I faltered in my pursuit. And then, I found myself under a small tree on a giant hill. The sun was setting and I saw an old stallion staring at the tree."

"What was he doing under the tree?" He asked, trying to keep the princess calm.

"Singing. He walked around it and placed his hoof on the bark and sang a song to it."

"What was he singing?"

Luna looked away from the stallion as she started to panic once more. "I...I can't."

"Luna."

"I had to see you! I just wanted to see you! I don't want to lose you!"

"LUNA!" He shouted, trying to snap her back to reality.

The princess grappled his slightly smaller frame as she sank her head into his body, hearing the beating heart in his chest. Letting the sound calm her, she rested on the small turf of blue fur on his chest. "I won't go on without you."

Azure could remember a time where his dream had ultimately disturbed him. And even though it was many years since he had it, it still resonated with him thanks to the events that followed. Holding Luna, he confessed his own situation. "I've had a dream that Shining was going to die a long time ago. I was immediately up in arms about it. And when Shining didn't show up at school the week after, I assumed the worst. But he didn't die. If anything, my dream showed to me that his life was going to suffer a drastic change, one that could fall one way or the other."

Luna smiled at the guard's testimony. She knew exactly what kind of dream it was and what message it pertained to. To see him taking in the knowledge that she invested many years into, it made her proud. "You've done your research."

Azure scoffed as he kissed his princess on her forehead. "I've gotta study if I'm gonna be with the dream-walker."

The two sat in the silence, only letting the sounds of their breath sound out softly as the minutes ticked away. Snuggling against the stallion, Luna was the first to break the long silence. "Azure, promise me that you'll stay with me until I leave for my duties. I feel that you should enter into my dreams and protect me."

The guardian knew that he would protect her in real life, but to enter into a dream was something he had no knowledge of. He didn't want to deny his princess, but reason and doubt beat him to the punch. "I don't know if I can."

Luna closed her eyes as she started to drift in his hold. Her body loosened against his and she allowed the slumber to take her. "You can. And knowing you, you'll find a way."

Watching the beautiful mare below him rest, he rubbed the side of her face lightly. He smiled warmly as he thought about how he was going to protect her, despite all odds. Looking to the sun taking it's final dip into the horizon, he whispered to her.

"Okay. Get some rest, your shift to replace your sister will be in two hours."

~Wednesday~
April 13th, 1 S.R.
Royal Guesthouse
Canterlot Royal Palace

The next day, Twilight decided to check in with the dressmaking. With checklist in hoof, or rather on a table, she paced back and forth from one side of the room to the other. And by checking on dresses, she was actually in the middle of a rant on how Cadance wasn't the mare she used to look up to.

"Oh, you should have seen how she acted back there. I don't know when she changed, but she changed! 'Please, call me Princess Mi Amore Cadenza'."

In a miraculous sense of timing, the aforementioned princess made her entrance into the room. "Did I hear someone say my name?"

Rarity halted everything she was doing and ran before the princess. "Your highness! Let me just start by saying what an honor it is to play a role in such a momentous occasion."

"Uh-huh." The pink alacorn mare said dismissively. "Is my dress ready?"

Rarity walked over to one of the larger mannequins and revealed the dress for the bride. The fashionista smiled as she revealed the turquoise-and-cream colored dress with the intricate gold hems. "Yes, of course. Um, I've been working on it ever since I was given the assignment, and I think you'll be pleased with the results!"

Taking only a single glance, the princess gave her opinion on the elegant outfit. "I was hoping for something with more beading and a longer train."

"Oh, yes. Of course." Rarity said as she picked up a notepad and started to take notes.

"And those should be in a different color."

The three other mares, the bridesmaids, smiled as they took pride in the designs of the dresses that thew were to wear. The first to speak was a mare by the name of Twinkleshine. "I think they're lovely."

"Me too." The second mare, Minuette, agreed.

"I love them." Cosigned the third, Lyra.

The princess cut her eyes back to the three, causing them to back away in fear. Turning to the door, 'Cadance' took her leave. "Make them a different color."

"Gee, maybe her name should be 'Princess Demandy-pants'." Twilight said as she was about to take after her.

Rarity continued to work on the train for the bride's gown as she offered to correct her frustrated friend. "Oh Twilight, I am more than certain that she would be taking this in stride if it wasn't for the fact that her special day is being outshined by a war looming over the horizon. And also, you have to keep in mind that she's the only one to check up on us. I haven't heard anything from the groom."

Twilight frowned as she remembered the last time seeing her brother just earlier that morning. He was suffering from a really bad headache but he didn't want to give up on his duties. Though she insisted that he'd take a day off, he ignored her and resumed to his post. "My older brother is on patrol. Plus he's the one responsible for the big shield over the city."

"Well I can understand his position, but would it kill him to introduce himself? We all want to see him, you know." Rarity said as she waived a hoof to the purple unicorn.

"I know. I want to see him too." Twilight said as she took the clipboard off of the table and made her way to the door as Rarity returned her focus to the job of her dress-making.

"Now if you excuse me, I am in need of redoing the designs of these dresses."

~Thursday~
April 14th, 1 S.R.
Canterlot Ball Room
Canterlot Royal Palace

'Cadance' took to the town a little later that day. She stood by the party planner as they started to discuss what was going to take place. Pinkie Pie pranced lively as she discussed the various activities she had planned.

Okay, let me see. We've been over the games, the dances... I think this reception is gonna be perfect! Don't you?" The pink earth pony mare asked with a stressed smile.

"Perfect! ...If we were celebrating a six-year-old's birthday party." The princess responded harshly, though Pinkie didn't seem to mind since any kind of joy seen made her happy.

"Oh! Thank you!" Pinkie yelled as she went back to the matter of taking care of the festivities of the wedding.

But as the pink party mare danced over her 'acceptance' of the party, Twilight stood behind a granite pillar, staring at the princess as she walked away. It infuriated Twilight that she would be so insensitive and blunt. Not only the loving characteristics that she was known for was nowhere to be seen, but she flat-out insulted one of her friends.

"Just who does she think she is!?"

The Crème De La Crème Eatery
Canterlot Inner-District

Night flushed over the sky above Canterlot, though star gazing was not an option due to the large shield emitted over the city. Twilight made her way to a table with her other friends as she held a drink in her arcane grasp.

"Bet I can guess what you're all thinking. Cadance is the absolute worst bride-to-be ever."

"Who me?" Mimicked Spike as he played with a figurine of the bride.

"Spike! That goes on the cake." Applejack shouted as she finally discovered the reason behind the figurine's disappearance.

Rarity confronted her friend, concern set in her tone. "Twilight, whatever are you talking about? Cadance is an absolute gem!"

"Rarity, she was so demanding!"

"Well, of course she is! Why shouldn't she expect the very best on her wedding day?"

Realizing she would get nowhere with Rarity, she moved on to a different victim of 'Cadance's' wrath. "Applejack, did you know that after she told you how much she just 'love-love-loved' your hors d'eouvres, she threw them in the trash?"

"Aw, she was probably jus' trying to spare mah feelin's."

"No, she was just being fake and totally insincere!" Twilight argued, causing the group to look at her with worry. They soon turned their focus to each other and tried to think of something to say. Luckily for the other's, Fluttershy was the first to speak.

"She did raise her voice at one of my birds during rehearsal."

"See? Rude!" Proclaimed the purple mare.

"But he was singing really off-key." Fluttershy took out the bird that was the source of the trouble. As it started to sing, the group, as well as a few passerbyers cringe and hold their ears shut.

As the bird finished, Twilight turned her attention to yet another victim, "Pinkie Pie, you had to have noticed how Cadance treated-" only to see her playing dolls with Spike. "Never mind. Rainbow Dash, you're with me, right?"

"Sorry, Twi. Been too busy prepping for my sonic rainboom to pay much attention to the bride's bad attitude."

Twilight groaned as Rarity tried to offer reason. "The princess is about to get married. I'm sure any negative behavior she might be displaying is simply the result of nerves."

Slamming a hoof on the table, she caused her glass to rattle as she objected in outburst. "And I'm sure it's the result of being an awful pony who doesn't deserve to even know Shining Armor, let alone marry him!"

"Think maybe yer bein' jus' a tiny bit possessive of yer brother?" Applejack asked while the five others hummed in agreement.

"I am not being possessive, and I am not taking it out on Cadance! You're all just too caught up in your wedding planning to notice that maybe there shouldn't even be a wedding!" Shouted Twilight as she drove a hoof into the table, causing all the drinks of her friends to tilt and spill. The purple unicorn stormed off in a seething rage as she made her way to the one pony who would listen to her. The other six sat at the table, wondering what they should do.

"Shouldn't somepony talk to her?" Fluttershy asked quietly.

"Nah, give her a moment. She's jus' going through the motions." The orange farm pony answered as she started to take some napkins and clean the mess she made. As she reached out for the napkin holder at the center of the table, she found a bright green aura manipulating the space around the dispenser.

"Um... excuse me ladies." A voice called out.

"Princess?" They all said in unison, all equally surprised that they would be getting a visit from their client during off-hours.

"Well, I know that this comes off as extremely last minute, but I was kinda looking for some mares to be my bridesmaids. I would love-love-love it if you could."

"What!?" They all shouted, caught off guard by the request.

"What happened to the old bridesmaids?" Rainbow Dash asked objectively.

The princess grew bitter as she spoke about the previous three mares that served the role prior to their dismissal. "I can't talk about it right now. Just thinking about it makes me angry. But I think that you five would be a great replacement. You all work so hard to see to it that my special day is... well... special. So think of it as my way of saying thanks."

The five mares spoke amongst themselves and took the moment to come up with an answer. It didn't take them long to consider their options as Applejack was the first to speak. "Well, we can understand yer frustrations and how ya don't wanna talk about 'em..."

"We would absolutely adore being your new bridesmaids!" Rarity finished excitedly.

"YEAH!" The others yelled in one accord.

'Cadance' took pleasure in seeing that her plan to gain the trust of her nemesis' friends had been fulfilled. By the time Twilight came to object to them about how she was being treated, she would have to convince all of her friends to see it her way. And being that she made them her bridesmaids would make her look like a saint compared to the accusations that the purple unicorn mare would bring against her. With a smirk, she turned away from the ponies and started to make her way to the next target.

"Thanks ladies. Now I can expect you to be at the chapel sometime around five tomorrow evening for the rehearsal?"

Sparkle Residence
Canterlot Inner-District

Back at the Sparkle's residence, Shining stood in front of a mirror, trying to fix a red ceremonial uniform his uncle used to wear. It was the very uniform he wore back in the first Changeling War of Equestria. Though it a size larger than the stallion who donned it, Shining made it work with the exception of the chest strap that showed a replication of his cutie mark. As he struggled to get the strap to fall in place, a knock on the door sounded. Feeling somewhat frustrated over the losing battle, he decided to take a break and answer the door. Upon opening, he smiled brightly as he tried to get her opinion on how he looked.

"Twily! Your big brother's looking pretty good, don't you think?" Seeing that Twilight was unusually dispirited, he threw his conversation about the uniform to the wayside. "Huh. Everything okay?"

Twilight immediately took the opportunity to speak. "We need to talk. I think you're making a big-"

"Ahem!" A third voice sounded from the top of the stairs. It came as a surprise to the both of them to see 'Cadance' at the home. With a scornful appearance, she made her way down the stairs.

"Oh, uh, hi, sweetie." Shining answered nervously.

"She sure has a way of sneaking up on people." Twilight mumbled to herself as she watched the pink princess stop in front of the kitchen door.

"Could I speak to you for a moment, dear?"

Shining gave Twilight a playful nudge as he spoke. "Better see what she wants."

As the two disappeared behind the door to the kitchen, Twilight could hear murmurs coming from within the kitchen. It sounded as if they had started a quiet, yet discerning argument. Feeling curious, the purple mare quietly walked up to the door and started to eavesdrop.

"Look, we need to talk." 'Cadance' said.

"I'm here to talk." Shining responded.

"It's about your sister, okay?"

"I- look, look, she's okay-"

"Just... listen to me, alright?"

"I'm listening, I'm listening!"

"I thought I made it perfectly clear I didn't want you to wear that."

Seeing a crack in the door, Twilight decided that a visual account of the situation would be better than that of a audible one alone. She eased the door open and saw the two in confrontation.

"This was my favorite uncle's."

"And?"

"And I think that I should wear it."

"Are you disagreeing with me?"

"I guess I am- Ow!" Shining felt another one of the painful surges that came with the raising and maintenance of the shield over the city. It seemed to be an extremely painful one as he was brought to his knees.

"Oh, dear. Are you getting another one of your headaches?" Asked the princess before activating her magic and casting a spell on Shining. Twilight watched as his eyes glowed green and his vision loose focus, all while the pink princess stood over him and cast her spell upon him. Finishing the task, she offered her assistance as he rose from the painful ordeal. "Feeling better?"

"Mmmhmmm." He hummed out, feeling a little better but slightly weaker due to the side effects.

Twilight backed away from the door in shock over the suspicious events that recently transpired. "She isn't just unpleasant and rude. She's downright evil!"

Shining and his fiancee made their way out of the kitchen, only to see that their visitor was taking her leave. Shining called out ot her. "Twilight!"

"Let her go." Said the pink princess as she nuzzled the soon-to-be groom.

"Huh. It seemed like she had something else she wanted to tell me." He said to himself, disturbed over his sister's leave. Meanwhile, 'Cadance' looked back to the open door and grinned in amusement over Twilight's refusal to say what she wanted to say in front of her.

"That's right, simpleton. Run like the spineless invertebrate you are."

Royal Guesthouse
Canterlot Palace Grounds

Twilight ran past the courtyard, hearing a warning from Princess Luna as well as other guards in the vicinity. Galloping for the guesthouse, she knew exactly what was going on. This Cadance was clearly not the one she's come to know, but rather some sort of sociopath who wanted to marry her brother. She loved Shining far too much for that to happen, and she would rather face the world than to see him make a crucial mistake in his choice of marrying her. Making her way through the door, she shouted to her friends.

"Shining Armor's in real trouble! You have to help-" Twilight was silenced over the sight of her five friends in gowns. "Dresses? What are you-"

"Can you believe it? We're gonna be Princess Mi Amore Cadenza's new bridesmaids!" Fluttershy cheered as she danced in mid-air.

"New bridesmaids? What happened to her old bridesmaids?" Twilight asked, even more perplexed over the sudden change.

"She didn't say. But she did tell us that she would love-love-love it if we'd fill in fer 'em." Applejack explained.

"Seeing as we've been working so hard and everything." Rarity added to the explanation.

"And you had yer doubts about her." Applejack said.

"Told you she was an absolute gem!" Agreed Rarity, causing Twilight to grow horrified over what was going on.

"You sure this is what I should wear? Doesn't seem all that aerodynamic." Rainbow asked as she complained about the dress she wore. It made her uncomfortable that she was so constrained to basic movements such as walking and casual dancing rather than being able to take to the sky.

Rarity took a look at the dress and decided that she could make some adjustments. "Hmm. I'll see what I can do."

As the other mares continued to celebrate, Twilight left the five giddy mares to their excitement, her brother still on her mind. She knew that they would be of no assistance to her now that they were bridesmaids as well as having roles in the wedding as is. To convince somepony that the one who did them a monumental favor was doing harm to her brother would only result in their defense of the one who gave them such esteemed privileges. Twilight sulked as she made her way to her old room in the palace. "Looks like I really am on my own."

Back inside, the five mares giggled and laughed as they shared their exuberance, Pinkie Pie especially. "This is so exciting! I never been a bridesmaid for a princess before."

"I concur! Perhaps we should go out and celebrate the occasion." Rarity agreed as she placed a small box of sewing supplies on the ground before Rainbow Dash, who already took off the dress.

"Hell yeah! Let's do it. Put the dresses on hold for later and lets head out to town." Rainbow said as she flew loops in the air.

"It isn't like we live here in Canterlot. I think that an evening to unwind would be perfect." Fluttershy suggested.

"And I know just the place." Said Spike as he spoke from a far-off corner, gaining bewildered expressions from the five mares.

"You do?"

"Lived here for eight years, remember?"

Guiltless Paradise
Canterlot Central District

The loud bumping music and throbbing bass-lines invoked the ponies in the club to dance along with the beat. Mares and stallions alike moved and swayed to the rhythm of the kick that punched out on every beat, accompanied by a melodic bass progression that carried the empty space between the blasting kick. As the ponies below danced and threw their cares of the day out of the door, they let the sounds of the music drive them to a life of blissful ignorance.

Above, a smaller group of party-goers danced and shouted as the dj continued to play her music out on the speakers. The room was filled with the cheers of the ponies as they all watched the dj spin her records in front of the night sky. And on the far end of the room, five mares, alongside Spike, entered into the sealed off room.

"Told you that this was the best place to come."

The five mares gawked at the scene and how many ponies were reserved to the room. Judging from the fifty other ponies, it appeared to be rather exclusive. Rainbow Dash flew over to Spike. "How did you get us in here, in the V.I.P. no less?"

"Well, when you do judge a few competitions with some of the royal guards, who tip generously, you tend to get a few favors."

"Wow, go Spike!" Pinkie Pie shouted as she started to hit the dance floor.

Spike finally feeling at home, decided to unwind and let himself to be taken by the music thumping in the sub-woofers. "I know I'm awesome. Welcome to my sanctuary."

Rarity giggled as she stroked his prominent green scale he was known for. "How cute, Spikey-poo thinks that a club is his sanctuary."

"No, I'm serious. How do you even think I got us in here? Favors with the princess?" He asked sarcastically.

"I have to admit, that would be a believable excuse." Fluttershy added as she accompanied Rarity to the bar.

"Excuse me, may I have a White Zinfandel, please?" The white unicorn asked to the bartender.

"Classy chic, huh? You come to a bar that's filled with lots of the hard stuff and you ask for something so light?" The heavyset stallion asked from behind the counter.

"C'mon Guiltless, you could at least give her the drink." Said another stallion who sat beside Rarity.

As the barkeep started to rinse a glass, the stallion continued to talk to his friend next to him. Feeling appreciative of the stallion for his assistance in brushing off the bartender's criticism, she showed her appreciation. "Thank you, darling."

"Sure, nothing at all." He responded.

"So I take it that you come here often." Rarity asked, while Fluttershy requested a similar order.

"Yeah sometimes." The stallion answered as he took a sip from his glass.

Rarity smiled as she took an interest into knowing the stallion beside her. "Do you have a name?"

"Well, my na-"

Spike shouted from the other side of the room to the two stallions beside Rarity and Fluttershy. "Hey, Azure! Shining Armor!"

Azure turned away from the stallion behind the counter and smiled at the familiar face. "Hey Spike, didn't think you'd be here!"

Fluttershy gasped at the name she identified as the name of her friend's older sibling. "You're Twilight's older brother!?"

"Yeah! How do you know Twi...ly?" Shining was stuck in stare as he looked next to him and recognized the mare beside him. It was the mare that he'd often see in his dreams. Though she was usually dressed in a frilly gown with an elegant crown upon her head, the indigo curls were a dead giveaway.

"She's our friend in Ponyville." The fashionista answered.

Spike started to introduce the two sets of friends to each other. "Yeah! Fluttershy, Rarity, this is Shining Armor and Azure Sword. Shi-"

"RARITY!?" The two stallions shouted in unison as their jaws were left unhinged at the sight of the mare before them.

The barkeep instantly turned around to look at the two mares that sat next to his two best customers. "You mean, Mag's little girl, as in Magnus Belle's daughter?"

Rarity spoke up as she failed to recognize the stallion behind the counter. "Magnus Belle is my father, yes."

Guiltless laughed heartily as he nudged and winked at Shining. "Wow, she really blossomed from the last time you were foalsitting her, eh?"

It was at that moment where it all came together. Rarity finally remembered everything about her prince. The prince of her dreams was sitting right in front of her. She froze as she took in the features that seemed to have faded with time within the confines of her mind. But now, they became refreshed as she remembered the young and scrawny colt she looked up to when she was only ten years old. Her foalsitter, her prince, the stallion of her dreams, her knight in shining armor. She cursed herself for the obvious clue her dream had given her throughout her life. Shining Armor and Rarity stared at each other as the world around them seemed to be shut away in silence.

"...M-m-mister... Shining? Oh dear."

"Oh shit."

Author's Note

Well... I've been on this story for 7 months, thinking to myself that this was going to be a simple 84k-word story, and here I am +340k words and seven months and when I finished the skeleton of this chapter, I've pretty much stared back at the page and said to myself.

FINALLY GODDAMMIT I'M HERE!

Yes, the two have met for the first time in nine years. And 26 chapters in, we are all sitting here saying "well it took you long enough." Maybe the build was a little long, but I'll try to make it worth the wait.

ACT 2: Invasion

"Mister Shining? Oh dear."

"Oh shit."

The two white unicorns stared at the familiar yet changed visage of one another, in shock over who they were really looking at. Rarity could feel her heart beating faster and faster as Shining forgot how to breathe. Spike looked between the two and grew confused over what was going on.

"Um... do you two know each other?" The young drake asked.

Rarity snapped out of her stare and grew nervous. "Fluttershy... this is the crush I had when I was a foal. Crush, meet Fluttershy. Fluttershy, meet crush."

"Oh, well hello. Rarity often talked about how she kept thinking of you in our weekly spa sessions." Fluttershy said as she hesitantly extended a hoof to meet with his.

"Really? I... wouldn't have guessed." Shining answered, slowly accepting the gesture.

"You... fucking grew. I remember when you were still bite-sized but now... you're a league of your own!" Azure exclaimed, shocked over the mare's transformation from foalhood.

Rarity paused for a moment as she grew lost on who the stallion that addressed her was. "Well, I appreciate the compliment, I think, but who are you again?"

"I'm Azure, the one you'd usually see hanging around Shining every now and then."

Though it took a moment to remember, she finally recognized him from her first outing with Shining and their shenanigans together. "Oh! Mister Azure, I remember you now. You were the one that made fun of Shining when we meet."

"Yeah, good times." Shining said as he gave the other guard a punch to the shoulder.

Spike was already confused to begin with and he still had yet to receive an answer on how the two came to meet. "So... you guys already knew each other? For how long?"

"Spike, Shining Armor used to be my foalsitter a long time ago. We were separated for... various reasons." The fashionista answered.

"If you don't mind me asking-" Fluttershy began.

"I believe, dear Fluttershy, that those kind of questions would be best to go unanswered." Rarity answered politely, not wanting to reveal his past to her.

"Oh. Sorry." Fluttershy whispered, barely audible over the music.

"Quite alright actually. In fact..."

Rarity jumped from her seat and grabbed the stocky guard with a strong grip of her magic, guiding him by the back of his mane. It didn't hurt him much, but the discomfort was enough to take him along for the ride. "Oh boy."

"We have much to discuss and little time to do so. We must catch up."

"I agree. But where are we going?" Shining asked, still being tugged by his mane.

"Away from the noise, darling. We can't speak with all of this riff-raff going about. No harm in a little conversation, right?"

"Well, no."

"Then let's get going." Rarity said as she made a bee-line for the balcony outside. Shining followed closely behind her. He was scared to be around her out of fear for what he wanted to do, but at the same time he saw the experience exhilarating. The mare he chased down months ago, the mare that perpetually haunted his dreams, had turned out to be a friend of his sister and a mare that he knew a long time ago. As he trailed her, he heard Guiltless call out to them.

"Hey, you forgot your drinks!"

"Bring them outside please! I'll be sure to tip you handsomely!" Rarity shouted out from the doorway.

"Will do!" The bartender hollered back.

Meanwhile, Fluttershy stared at the two as they shut the glass door behind them. It was obvious that Rarity wanted to speand some time with him, but then she was left with the questions that tugged against her mind. "Where are they going?"

"Don't know. But I'm gonna watch. Wanna join me?" Azure offered, watching the bartender take the two drinks of their friends outside.

"Oh goodness, I'm not one to peer into a pony's business without permission."

Azure downed half of his drink as he watched the bartender come from outside. "She's your friend, who still has feelings for her foalhood crush, who's going to get married in the next two days, and they're going to have a little 'talk'."

The shy pegasus defended the captain. "Well, I'm more than sure that he would turn her down if she was to make any advances."

"Oh, and bonus points, he's been into her for years." Azure added, trying to make sure that his point got across. Fluttershy only knew Rarity's perspective, but was completely unaware of Shining's situation. To hear that he had an interest in her caused concern to grow within Fluttershy. There was no denying it; Shining Armor was still a bachelor until Saturday, and Rarity was single and still on market. Add their personal feelings and their already established bond and it became a recipe for drama and scandal.

"I... might can see your cause for concern."

Shining and Rarity sat at the balcony, laughing at the stories that they shared and the times that they endured in their time apart. The glasses they drank from lined across an adjacent table beside the tray that they came on. The two ponies were flushed in pink as the alcohol took away from their cares. They were not inebriated to the point where they became careless, but they were loosened in their discussions and decision making.

"...And on that note, I never want to look at another parasprite again." Shining finished, as he told his story on the parasprite invasion of Canterlot.

"Understandable. Especially since they keep multiplying like rats in the spring." Rarity said as she shuddered at the thought of seeing the small bulbs reproduce.

"Oh yeah."

Rarity swirled her glass of wine as their conversation grew quiet. She shied around the captain, watching him take a drink from his glass. Clearing her throat, she braved forward. "Soooooo... Captain of the Guard, how did you get here?"

"Well, I walked here." Shining joked, earning a chortle from the fashionista.

"You're so funny. I meant your position, silly."

Shining took a moment to think as he began."Well, I managed to prevent a faction of a rebel army of the Griffon Kingdom from starting a war between our two nations."

"Oh, so you were around when that incident took place in Canterlot? Interesting."

"Was I there? Twily had to play medic."

"To think that you and Twilight were siblings this entire time."

"To think that you would get to know her via the elements."

Rarity giggled as she sipped from her glass. "So you've heard about our special little bond?"

"Heard? Princess Celestia announced it. You girls are like national heroes. Twice now with Discord out of the way."

Rarity took admiration that he was keeping up with their adventures, but something piqued her curiosity. "In speaking of out of the way, a little birdie told me that Blueblood was ousted. Is that true?"

"Tossed on his ass would be an understatement." Shining answered as he took a swig of his drink, emptying the glass.

"Good riddance! I hated how he treated me at the Grand Galloping Gala! I refused to submit to his ways. Well, I showed him what for."

Shining grew excited over what he heard. "So you were the one that got him covered in cake!? The boys have been on that one for months!"

"At least I've been mentioned." Rarity jokes.

"Adored would be more like it."

Rarity takes a moment to look away from the stallion and looked back to the interior of the club. She was surprised by what she saw. "Oh dear."

"What?"

"We've seem to be getting quite the audience." Rarity said as she pointed out that all of her friends, as well as his own, stopped enjoying the party to watch the two of them speak.

Shining looked back at the group of ponies and grew curious. "Those your friends?"

"The girls yes. Your's?"

"The boys, pretty much."

"I suppose they're just trying to make sure that we're careful."

Shining stopped for a moment and looked back at the table. He grew a devious smile as he lifted the tray from it's resting place and placed between them and the window. "Hey, let's give them a show while we're at it."

"Really? Here? Now?" Rarity asked nervously as she backed away a little, only to be caught up to by the larger stallion.

"Sure, it'll be just like old times." He answered.

Rarity was no stranger to the art of flirting, but when it came to the stallion she longed for, she almost grew unfamiliar with the practice. With a smile, she pressed onward, agreeing to his bluff. "Oh Mister Shining, I wouldn't have figured you to be a prankster."

As the tray concealed their faces from view, Shining closed the distance between them. "Yeah, I bet they think that we're kissing right now."

"Should we sell our stunt a little more?"

"I think we're close enough."

Rarity stared at the stallion in front of her. Her knight in shining armor, her prince, her Mister Shining, smiled at her. She took in his refined features, the chiseled structure of his frame. She allowed herself the opportunity to adore every dimple that formed all over his muscular form. The once, evenly-cut mane that was one his had grown nearly unruly, fluttering gently in the wind. The stallion that used to tower over her, didn't stand nearly as tall as she had come to identify him as, but his physique and his height did change for the greater. The scrawny hooves she was so used to seeing had transformed into blue sledgehammers capable of breaking her in two.

"Wow... Um... you've really grown."

Shining blushed deeply at her compliment as he allowed his eyes to travel to the indigo coiffure atop her pristine face. The blue shadow that glazed over her eyelids matched with her very eyes. With each time she blink, he felt a part of his soul become ensnared by the lost gaze and engulfed by the very same eyes that continued to draw him in like a sailor to the siren's aria. Her voluptuous curves sank in and out in perfect proportions. Every valley and elevation of her body was deserving of praise as he drew closer.

"Well, *ahem* so have you."

"I think we've been here a little too long." Rarity whispers, while ironically allowing her body to touch his. The first waves of his heat burning her coat drove her to press her body against him even more.

"Yeah. It's not like you were going to kiss me." Shining joked as he felt her soft fur brush up against him. The sweet smell of lavender radiated off of her body, causing his muzzle to seek her.

"To be honest... we can."

Shining felt a bolt of excitement strike his body as soon as she gave her consent to kiss her. His breathing grew hungry as he tried his best to keep levitating the tray beside them. Her body proved to be too much of a distraction for him to focus on his magic. "Just for performance, right?"

"Yeah... It's... all in good fun." Rarity said as she brought up a hoof to caress his face.

"No harm done?" Shining asked as his hoof traced the curls in her mane, slowly making it's way to her navel.

"Just a second, or a fraction of a second." She painfully urged.

"A quick peck." His answers rushed from his lips as he sought to close the distance between him and her.

"So... may I?" She asked anxiously.

"What's the harm in one little prank?" He said as his nose touched hers, their muzzles finally making contact with one another.

"Quietly now." She whispered softly as she felt the moist air of his exhales vaporize against her skin. Her lips quivered as his touched hers.

For the first time in their lives, they experienced the taboo that was their deepest affection. A quick peck on the lips was all that was as Rarity giggled softly and bit her bottom lip in excitement. She never felt so alive in her life. Much could be shared by her partner in crime, who also giggled a little. But their laughter stopped as they had realized what was done.

They shared a kiss when he was to be married to another. She violated the relationship of a stallion who was going to get married to someone else. It was a betrayal that proved to be hurtful to his future... but it was a betrayal that they continued to commit.

Rarity gave him another peck on the lips. This time, he pressed himself fully against her. As quickly as he retreated, Rarity offered to engage him even more. He fought back with his own advances, forcefully shoving his lips against hers, causing him and her to grant each other passage to their tongues.

Immediately, the invitation were accepted by the greedy stallion who pulled back briefly, only to be stopped by her teeth pulling his bottom lip into her. Drawn in by the act, Shining felt himself loose all means of restraint, not that there was much restraint left in him. Rarity gasped lustfully as she mouthed his name into her lips, letting his tongue scar her senses with his depravity. She felt herself sink into the nape of his neck, finished with the kiss. At this point, there was no turning back. She wanted him then and there. It was pointless to hold the tray up for what she was going to do to him. As she allowed herself to sink lower against his body, he stopped her.

"We really have to get away from each other." He said guiltily, realizing that what they did was a terrible mistake that could've been avoided.

Brought back to reality on what she was feeling, what she was offering herself to do and where she was at the time, she rose from his neck and stood in front of him, not separating the distance between them. "Agreed."

Shining breathed heavily as he knew that this was going to turn out bad if he didn't stop now. Deep down, he wanted to take her, just once before he was taken to the alter; a sin committed before a vow was to be broken. But something inside of him flashed and showed the face of his fiancee, telling him that his love was only for her. Finally, seeing that his mistake was a crucial one, he offered to finish their 'prank'. "Turn to the audience and poke our tongues at them."

"Silly faces are fun." Rarity said as she breathed heavily, still tasting the liquor from his tongue mixed in with the wine she drank.

Shining turned to the tray as he counted. "One...two..."

"Three!" Rarity shouted as he threw the tray away, revealing a stallion and a mare who poked their tongues out at them and made ugly faces. The others who watched either got a laugh from it or they groaned at the joke for being so risque. They could even see Azure's disappointed facial expression when he had to pay Rainbow Dash ten bits for what seemed like a wager.

"Ha! That's what you get for snooping around!" Shining shouted at the stallions.

"Sorry ladies, but it looks like you fell for the old bait-and-switch!" Rarity hollered to her friends.

As the gathering around the window dispersed, Shining turned back to Rarity. "Yeah... so... what happened just now?"

"Nothing worth remembering." Rarity blurted out, shocked and startled from the experience of what she had just done.

"Yeah... nothing at all." Shining seemed hurt by the mare's words, but he understood that she only said it to urge him to move forward with the marriage. That only seemed to hurt him even more.

"I suppose that the night is getting late." Rarity said as she looked at the sky.

Shining became enshrouded with shame and defeat as he did his best to hide his emotions behind a paper-thin smile. "Yeah. Let's mosey on out of here. I'm tired and I need to get on patrol before the rehearsal come tomorrow."

"And I have dresses to make." Rarity added as she started to make her way to the door.

"So I've heard."

Rarity held off on opening the door as she turned facing him while still trying to avoid his eyes. "Maybe... it's best that... we don't see each other again. Alone I mean."

"Yeah. Good idea." Shining agreed, wounded from the mare's suggestion.

A mutual silence fell as they both stood in agreement that what had happened should never leave the balcony. Not just for the sanctity of his relationship, but for the safety of her career. With a sigh, Rarity dismissed herself. "Well... goodnight Captain."

"Goodnight... princess." He whispered to himself, taking to the balcony. Though what he didn't realize was that Rarity had heard him.

Rarity wanted to open the door and just simply leave, but she felt a horrid pain that felt as if something dug away at her chest, like a wild animal mauling away at her ribs to take the very thing that pumped blood into her from her veins. With a broken voice as quiet as a whisper, she felt her world come crumbling down before her eyes. "Always one for cruel jokes, I see."

Rarity stormed off and left the scene, running past practically anyone who tried to stop her. Shining stood on the balcony and looked down to the ground below. The streets were well lit with the small patrol of guards posted at every other street corner. It didn't take long to see the white mare he kissed dashing for the palace grounds. A painful sadness tortured him.

"Yeah... or at least I am the cruel joke."

Canterlot Palace Grounds
Royal Guesthouse

The rooms of the guesthouse was filled with the cacophony of glass breaking and shrieks that came from an emotionally distraught Rarity as she lamented her lifelong loss. For many years, she wanted her knight to be with her, to hold her, to marry her and to ruin her. It was a cruel reality that cut her as much as the glass from the broken mirror of the bathroom she locked herself inside of.

"Bridesmaid to Princess Mi Amore Cadenza."

She stood before the remnants of the looking glass, Each fragment that remained held a reflection of her in varying sizes as she gritted her teeth at the pain of her cut-up hooves.

"Dressmaker to Princess Mi Amore Cadenza."

She cursed the name that was the name of her client. If she had known that her client would be marrying what was to be hers, then she would've long planned her attempt to win him over. But her hour grew late and there was little she could do beside finish the dress in the adjacent room.

"Shining Armor, my dearest prince, will be given away to yet another mare."

She felt the pain in her hooves burn away as she allowed the anger to swell within her body.

"This shouldn't even be her dress, it should be mine. It should be my rehearsal tomorrow. Shining Armor belongs to me... and I belong to him... It's not fair."

Her eyes met with the tiny reflections of her face, covered in streaks of mascara and tears.

"It's not fair."

Suddenly, she imagined the face of her client. The pink princess that dared to be beautiful, who dared to have curls in her mane, who dared to smile at her, who dared to take what was hers. The princess' smile pierced her very soul and made something inside of her lose bearing as she picked up the nearest heavy item and shoved it into the broken glass of the mirror.

"IT'S NOT FAIR!!!"

For moments, the white unicorn sat inside of the bathroom, allowing herself to wallow in the despair that caused her to choke on her own sobs. Rarity closed her eyes and curled up on the marble floor, wishing that everything was just nothing more than a bad dream, but the pain she felt in her hooves proved to be a hindrance to her escape to fantasy land. It also didn't help that a knock sounded outside of the bathroom door.

"Rarity? Are you in there?"

The sullen mare perked up at the voice, surprised that she was waiting outside. "Pinkie Pie, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be back at the party?"

"I can't think about a party when one of my friends is screaming in the bathroom." Pinkie responded with concern heavy in her voice. It was unusual to hear her so mellowed in contrast to the lively, bouncy, joyful demeanor she would normally have.

"Sugarcube, come on out. We all wanna talk to ya." A third voice called through the door.

Rarity rose from the floor and opened the door to see that all of her friends were there to check in on her. "Oh, hello girls."

"Rarity, are you going to be okay?" Fluttershy asked as she nuzzled the depressed seamstress that was covered in ruined makeup.

"Why of course." Rarity answered quietly.

Rainbow Dash flew forward, landing on her hooves as she escorted the mare out of the war-torn bathroom. "Normally, you don't leave us hanging like that. So when we saw you leave, we all knew that something had to be wrong."

"I'm fine girls."

"No, you're not." Pinkie intervened.

The sternness in her voice made Rarity fall back in surprise. "Pinkie?"

"You're still in love with him, and he may actually like you in return. I know that I wanna see my friends happy, but I can't let them make mistakes that they'll regret later on in life. You're one of my bestest friends, and it is my duty to make sure that you don't get hurt, even when you're the one who's hurting yourself."

For a moment, the words of the pink mare sounded similar to that of Twilight. Rarity was perplexed at the level of maturity that Pinkie had started to display. "Wow... that was pretty insightful."

"Pinkie Pie has seen a lot of ponies with a lot of problems. Learning how to talk with those who have problems is another way I've learned to make others smile. My destiny and my talents aren't confined to parties and cupcakes, but to be a good friend."

Rarity felt better as she finally accepted the hug of her pink friend. "Thanks. I suppose you-"

"Did you kiss him?" Another voice asked in a low, displeased tone.

"Spike!!!" Fluttershy scolded the purple drake.

Applejack walked up to the dragon and demanded that he take back his question. "Ah don't think that was the least bit called fer. Apo-"

Brushing aside the farm mare, he gave Rarity a long, disapproving glare. "Did you kiss Shining Armor?"

Rarity remembered one crucial detail of how she managed to reunite with Shining in the first place. She remembered that Spike had brought them there and that he could've been watching as they played out their prank. "Spike... I-"

"WELL DID YOU!?" Spike shouted, letting his anger get the better of him.

Rarity knew what they did. She kissed him, more than once. She even dared to allow him the honor of being her first. Rarity couldn't deny that she wanted to kiss him, but she could deny to him that they actually committed the deed. At that moment, she was reminded of a situation in the past, one that involved her mother. And just like back then, the second culprit was none other than Shining Armor. The hurtful months of her youth that she blocked out of her memories flooded back to her. And she remembered that her mother lied to her to protect her feelings.

She finally realized why her mother lied to her. She wanted to protect her personal feelings. There was no way that she could tell Spike the truth because it would hurt him more since he wanted to have a relationship with her, similar to how she wanted a relationship with Shining. Suddenly, she realized that she was more or less in her mother's hoofprints in that situation. She became her mother, and would answer as such.

"...No."

"Did you want to?"

"...Yes. I wanted to. But I didn't. It was all an act to play with you guys. I didn't mean to upset you, Spike." She lied, feeling remorse for what she did to him and for what she did to Shining's relationship.

Spike grew jealous of how she felt towards one of his friends. It was painful to say the least, but to him, it cut far deeper than that. "It's okay. After all, you said you needed more time to think about us. I guess it's fair that you may not ever see me that way."

"Spike, it's not like that." Rarity tried to reassure him, but he did the one thing that she never thought he could do. He ignored her.

"Goodnignt girls. We should be going to bed anyways." Spike answered as he started to make his way out to the palace, hoping to find an open guestroom far away from Rarity.

"Goodnight, Spike." She said, feeling guilty for what had occurred between him and her.

"Goodnight, Rarity." Spike responded before shutting the door behind him. The five mares stood in the lobby, staring at the door the dragon just left out of. Rarity offered to pursue him, but was stopped by a pink hoof pulling against her. Pinkie shook her head, notifying Rarity that he needed some time alone. One by one, the mares left the area, all with the exception of Rarity, who made her way to the outside balcony, giving her a view of the upset drake that trekked to the palace.

"It isn't fair. It just isn't fair." Spike muttered out as he walked across the moonlit courtyard, unaware that Rarity could still hear him as she watched from the balcony.

"Life never is, Spikey-poo. It never was."

~Friday~
April 15th, 1 S.R.
Canterlot Royal Chapel

The following day, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Pinkie Pie attended the rehearsal for the wedding. Rarity tried her best to mask herself as she conducted the ceremony, even going as far as joining the others for a laugh. As they walked down the isle, the five mares smiled and giggled as they received instruction from Celestia herself.

"Perfect girls. No need to rush. Then of course, Cadance will enter."

"Stay focused Rarity. No need for outbursts." Rarity muttered to herself, trying to keep her poise.

"I'll say a few words, and then we'll begin with the vows. Shining Armor, you'll get the ring from your best mare."

They turned around to see that the mare who was assigned the position didn't show. Shining started to question what seemed to bother his sister. Since she came back to the city, she's been up at arms about the marriage. Perhaps she might have gotten caught up with something important. "Hey, has anypony seen Twilight?" Shining asked.

In miraculous timing, his younger sister broke through the doors screaming. "I'm here! I'm not gonna stand next to her! And neither should you!"

Shining cringed at the thought of her being so confrontational with Cadance. Not only was it embarrassing, but it also made the whole situation in general awkward. "I'm sorry, I... I don't know why she's acting like this."

"Maybe we should just ignore her." The pink princess whispered.

"You have to listen to me!" Twilight shouted from the back of the room.

"Oh, goodness! Are you okay?" Fluttershy asked as she offered to intervene.

"I'm fine!" Twilight answered.

"Ya sure about that?" Applejack asked before she promptly received a face full of her stetson.

"I've got something to say! She's evil!"

Shining stood in front of his fiancee, realizing that the mare had gone mental. He already knew that Twilight was deeply affectionate towards him, but to see her go to such strenuous lengths made him angry. Twilight teleported behind him as she started to back the mare into a corner.

"She's been horrible to my friends, she's obviously done something to her bridesmaids, and if that wasn't enough, I saw her put a spell on my brother that made his eyes go all wobbly!"

Everyone in the room looked back to the two mares. Twilight closed in on her target, giving her a dark grin as she felt her victory was assured. "That's right. You don't have a prayer of being with my brother. Now confess!"

The pink princess knew that she had no way of answering everything at once. She needed an escape plan, one that would convince the others to side with her. After all, they should side with her considering that she made all of their wildest dreams of taking part in a royal wedding. She could try to fake her way out of the room and cause the others to sympathize with her. Besides, manipulation was always a changeling's art. Forcing herself to cry, 'Cadance' sobbed as she tried to make her way out of the chapel. "Why are you doing this to me?!"

The pink mare galloped out of the chapel bawling as Twilight teleported to the doorway. "Because you're evil! Evil! And if I don't stop you, you're gonna ruin my brother's life!"

The others remained slack-jawed over Twilight's brashness and accusations. Twilight, feeling proud of her work made her way back into the room, only to run into a large wall that was her older brother staring down at her. She gave him a light smile while he grew livid over his sister's selfishness.

"You want to know why my eyes went all-arrrgh!" Shining rubbed his head as another one of his migraines caused him a great deal pain. "Because ever since I started having to perform my protection spell, I've been getting terrible migraines. Cadance hasn't been casting spells on me. She's been using her magic to heal me!"

Twilight started to see what exactly was going on when it came to her casting the spell on him. She grew from confident and proud to shameful and unsure. "And she decided to replace her bridesmaids because she found out the only reason they wanted to be in the wedding was so that they could meet Canterlot royalty! And if she hasn't been on her best behavior with your friends, it's because with me being so busy, she's had to make all the decisions about the wedding!"

Twilight didn't want to hurt his feelings, she only wanted to protect him. Now she felt that her means of protecting her brother that she loved so much had proven to be a wedge in their relationship. Her unsure composure fell even further into remorse. "I was just trying to-"

"She's been completely stressed out because it's really important to her that our big day be perfect! Something that obviously wasn't important to you!"

"Shining, just liste-" Twilight started off before Shining buckled over in pain from his migraine. She grew horrified over what she had done. Now her older brother was genuinely angry with her.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go and comfort my bride. And you can forget about being my best mare... In fact, if I were you, I wouldn't show up to the wedding at all."

Twilight grew saddened over her actions. She made a mistake that ultimately caused her and her brother to fight for the first time. They never found themselves getting into an altercation over anything, but now, she let her personal desire to protect her older brother become an obsession that started to get out of control. She's been obsessing over him and now, even her friends have had it up to their eye sockets with her antics.

"C'mon, y'all. Let's go check on the princess." Applejack said, causing the others to follow behind her. As they passed the purple mare, Twilight felt herself become disheartened and become depressed over what she had started to lose. Finally, she saw her mentor pass by her.

"I was-"

"You have a lot to think about." Celestia answered sternly, angry that Twilight could be so careless and selfish. Though Celestia was aware of Twilight's personal feelings for her brother, she never thought of it to be something that would stem out of control. Frankly, her assumptions proved to be wrong. Slamming the door behind her, Celestia looked back at her student with disappointment.

The halls grew silent, the rehearsal that filled the chapel with laughs of joy and celebration had grown quiet as Twilight laid herself at the front of the alter. "Maybe I was being overprotective. I could've gained a sister. But instead... I just lost a brother. And now, we'll never do anything together. And it's all my fault."

Twilight started to weep on the steps of the alter. She became brokenhearted over her loss of her friends, her mentor, her future sister and now her brother. She was alone, or at least she thought she was. Quiet hoofsteps sounded closer and closer to her. She rose to see the mare she accused of wrongdoing. "I'm so sorry."

The pink alacorn wore a gentle smile on her face. Suddenly, her eyes flashed green and her smile disappeared into a angry frown. "You will be."

Twilight backed away from the mare. Before she could say anything, Twilight saw green flames erupt around her body. The mare smiled maniacally at the mare as her face shone brightly in the emerald colored flames. Twilight felt her entire world rising above her, or so she thought as she started to sink into the floor. The flames then snuffed her out, making her breathe in the harmful fumes, causing her to fall unconscious. As the green dome of her magic sank into the floor, the princess made her way out to the hallway.

"And now, to the final act of my plan. This is going to be a treat."

Private Chambers of Mi Amore Cadenza
Canterlot Royal Palace

In the room of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, 'Cadance' stood over her bed as she continued to siphon energy from the sleeping stallion that rested. Her spell ensured that he would be under her total control by the morning's light. She also made sure that he was unable to wake. As she continued to cast her spell, a knock set in a cryptic pattern sounded at the door.

"Enter." The pink mare sounded to the door. Allowing a guard in black armor to walk into the room.

"Your majesty." He said as he bowed before her.

Turning her attention to the stallion, she continued to drain the energy from the captain. "So I trust that you will be ready come tomorrow?"

Speaking softly, the guard used his magic to close the door behind him. "More than, my queen. We will crush these pathetic Equestrians before the afternoon's completion."

"Well done, my useful drone."

The impostor guard smirked as he rose from his bow. "Please, your highness, call me Wrath."

"Well then, Wrath, I would have you await my signal come tomorrow to start the siege."

"Your highness. But what of the prisoner?"

The fake princess gently caressed the sleeping stallion, smiling as she took in his serene form. "She should be very much on her way out. It's been five days, she should be suffering the final stages of thirst."

"Unless she decided to cast her dignity aside for the sake of her survival, but even then she would have only a few more days. To think that a princess would resort to drinking her own urine." Wrath joked, much to the disgust of his superior.

"Quite an amusing thought. But at least she won't die alone."

His smirk grew into a frown of concern. "This Twilight Sparkle, my queen, she is not to be underestimated. She is the captain's sister."

"She will be a bargaining chip for Celestia to surrender. That mare is so soft, I bet she would barely be able to put up a fight." The queen mocked as she realized that her spell was upon it's completion.

"Then she will be no match for us." Wrath deduced, bowing before the princess as he dismissed himself.

"Precisely. Now go. You will need to take to the shadows while I stay behind and welcome our new prisoner."

~Saturday~
April 16th, 1 S.R.
???

Twilight awoke in a dark cavern. Rubbing her head from resting on a nearby rock, she rose and illuminated the room to get a better view of where she was. All around her, showed the reflection of herself on the walls. The purple mare grew frightened.

"Hello? Is anyone there?"

Walking forward while looking in every other direction, she bumped into a wall. As she looked at the bewildered expression on her own face, she came to realize that she was the furthest thing from safe.

"Where am I?"

A laugh sounded from the darkness of the cave before a voice called from the wall behind her. "The caves beneath Canterlot, once home to greedy unicorns who wanted to claim the gems that could be found inside. And now, your prison."

Growing scared, Twilight ran to the other side of the room, not wanting to see the the face of the mare that defeated her. She screamed out to the top of her lungs. "Help! Help!"

The faux princess showed her images on many of the facets of the walls around her. "It's no use. No one can hear you. And no one will ever think to look for you, either. Most ponies have forgotten that these caves even exist, which is why they are the ideal place to keep the ones who try to interfere with my plans."

"Plans? What plans?" Twilight asked.

"The plans I have for your brother, of course."

Twilight felt her fear transcend into anger and hatred. Her horn that illuminated the room started to spark with a volatile energy that acted as an active volcano. Twilight could not stand by as 'Cadance' took advantage of her older brother, the brother that she loved in more ways than one. "Don't you dare do anything to my brother, you... you monster!"

"Only way to stop me is to catch me!" She said as she disappeared before Twilight launched a bolt of energy at the reflection. As the bolt ricocheted off of the many facets of the walls, she sidestepped the incoming bolt. As she landed, the evil mare's visage could be seen on the floor and on every wall at once.

"Over here!"

Twilight amplified her output and shot a bolt at every reflection she saw. As the bolts hit their targets, the gemstone crumbled and broke from the impact.

"Nope! Over here!" The mare's voice called out from behind before erupting into laughter. Twilight turned around to fire another bolt of energy and blasted an entire wall to bits, revealing the same pink mare that placed her in the caves. She lunged for the mare who sat behind the busted wall.

"No! Wait!"

Twilight ignored her please as she tackled the mare and pinned her down to the ground.

"Please! Don't hurt me!" The mare asked as she raised her hooves to protect herself from any incoming blows, but she let her guard down as soon as she recognized the magenta streak in the purple mane. The familiar face of the foal she used to care for.

"Twilight, it's me! Please, you have to believe me. I've been imprisoned like you. The Cadance who brought you down here was an imposter."

"Likely story!" Twilight screamed as she readied herself to attack again.

Freeing herself from Twilight's grasp, she started to speak the same greeting that she and Twilight managed to use in the past. "Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake. Clap your hooves..."

"...And do a little shake." Twilight finished, seeing the mare smile back at her.

"Now do you see?"

Twilight grinned widely as she hugged her old foalsitter. "You remember me!"

"Of course I do. How could I forget the filly I love to sit for the most?" Cadance asked before an ominous laugh interrupted the moment they shared. As Cadance looked up, she could see a glimmer of light sparkle in the distance. Luckily for her, Twilight was on the same page. They separated themselves and agreed that their reunion would have to wait until later as they made their way down the caves, with Twilight being the motivational speaker as they ran.

"We have to get out of here. We have to stop her!"

The Royal Chapel
Canterlot Royal Palace

"Dearly beloved, we have gathered here today to join this mare, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, and this colt, Sir Shining Armor Aegnus Sparkle, in holy matrimony."

As Celestia continued to conduct the ceremony, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Rarity sat on the one side of the alter with Cadance, as Poindexter, Longshot, Azure, Shadow Star and Silverleaf stood on the other with Shining Armor. As they all stood in front of the small, privatized congregation, Rarity couldn't help but to be unnerved by the situation.

"Remain calm, Rarity. Remember your promise to the others. You were done with this crush thing. You can prove it to them by not making a fool out of yourself." She thought to herself as he tried her best not to let her emotions show as Celestia continued to carry on with the ceremony.

"Marriage is considered to be a sacred union between two who commit themselves to an eternity of fidelity. If there should be anypony who finds this union to be objectionable under reason of law, let them speak now or forever hold their peace."

"No... this cannot be happening! Rarity Andalusia Belle, say something! SAY SOMETHING NOW!" Rarity felt her body move on it's own accord, offering to object, but stopped short when she heard a voice whisper from beside her. She looked to see who it was, only to find that all of her friends were looking at her. Rarity wanted to object despite their disapproving looks, but she knew that she would ultimately be going back on her word to leave her crush in the past. Finally, she surrendered to reality. "No, they're right. He has chosen to move on. I should do the same... no matter how much it hurts."

Celestia waited a few moments before turning back to the bride and groom. "Very well then. Princess Cadance, do you have any vows to share with your groom?"

Feeling bitter, Rarity held an inward scowl as she forced herself to smile. "It better be worth it! If you dare love him halfheartedly, I will cut you down like a rabid stray dog!"

With a long pause, 'Cadance' brought herself to speak. "There are no words to describe what I feel for you. I want everything from you and I would do anything to have just that. I truly do love you, and I can only fail in listing the many ways I find myself completely infatuated with you. You are my dawn, my dusk, my darkness and my light. You are the world's creation to me and I will forever hold true to what we have: a special bond. I could... I could never imagine my life without you..."

"What a performance. What an act. Quite a show you're putting on. But I know this, you will never love him like I do now, like I always have!"

"Shining Armor, do you have any vows to share?" Celestia questioned to the groom.

Shining cleared his throat and turned to the bride. "It's been nine years since we've first met. I could still remember the days you would often play pranks on me. I still recall the times you tried to make my life a living hell by trying to convince me to date you. Looking back at those moments, I laugh at what we were, what we are now, and what will be of us in the future."

Shining let his eyes trail to the bridesmaid that stood behind his soon-to-be wife. He looked at Rarity for a brief moment and saw her eyes look to him. Rarity gasped to herself. "Shining Armor, why do you not say these things to me? I know what you really want."

The bride took notice that his eyes were no longer focused on her, and tapped a hoof against the floor quietly, knocking her spell back into motion. With a sly grin, she "allowed" him to continue with his vows.

"...I find that you haunt me, even to this very day. Our past may have not been perfect, but we've still made it through. You were there when I was at my best, and you even lifted my spirits when I was at my worst. You even consoled me over what was lost to me. And even now, all it took was one kiss from you to know what was meant to be... All it took was one kiss. I'm sure that the wheels of fate turned, and brought to me a perfect moment of tenderness and happiness. From now on... every minute, every second that I have, I will spend beside you, to make you happy."

Rarity watched as he finished the vow and Celestia stepped forward. "Mi Amore Cadenza, do you take this stallion to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, for better or worse, for richer of poorer, in sickness and in health, till death do you part?"

"I do."

Rarity started to tremble in fear of what was inevitable. She still held hope that he would change his mind as the ceremony turned it's attention to his response. "Shining Armor Aegnus Sparkle, do you take this mare to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, for better or worse, for richer of poorer, in sickness and in health, till death do you part?"

Rarity screamed internally at the stallion. "No... no... that's not fair. You belong with me. PLEASE DON'T SAY IT!"

"I do."

Rarity looked up to him, her heart stopping as she stared past the cascading purple, pink and blonde streaks of hair, past the veil that she painfully designed with my very being and into his azure eyes, her tears hitting the ground. She was so broken at that very moment that it took her everything in her very existence to prevent herself from either kissing him past the veil or running away as she wept in everlasting sorrow. She turned her head, breaking her contact from the stallion at the alter and grew bitter towards him.

"I love you Shining Armor, for speaking those words into the cosmos. But I hate you even more Shining Armor, for denying me those words that should have been mine after all these years. I curse your name, as you have enraptured my heart only to take it all away without so much as a second thought. Go to hell, Shining Armor Aegnus Sparkle."

Celestia turned her attention to the young dragon on the far end of the alter. "Spike, may I have the rings, please?"

As the princess readied to place the rings on each of their horns, 'Cadance' smiled and took joy in her victory. Shining Armor was hers to wed and there was nothing that could stop her. With a smile, she looked at the stallion's green glowing eyes. "And it's a done deal."

"Princess Cadance and Shining Armor, it is my great pleasure to pronounce you-"

"STOOOP!!!" A voice rang from the back of the room. The audience gasped and mumbled at the sudden interruption. Rarity and the others looked back to see who it was and became perplexed over who they saw.

"Twilight?" She whispered as she saw her friend standing in the doorway. She wanted to cheer and leap for joy, but doing so would make things awkward for the both of them. For now, she decided to play along with a subtle facehoof. Spike looked defeated as soon as he saw that his caretaker was the one who objected to the wedding. He wasn't upset that Twilight was out to embarrass herself, but she stopped a wedding that would raise any chance of him and Rarity being together.

"Ugh! Why does she have to be so possessive of her brother?" 'Cadance' blurted out, before gaining a odd look from Celestia. She then offered to correct herself. "Why does she have to ruin my special day?"

"Because it's not your special day!" Another voice rang out from the back. "It's mine!"

The entire audience gasped once more at the development before them. At the alter was Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and the mare that stood in the back of the room was none other than Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. Two Cadances and only one was to be married. The chapel erupted in confusion as the bride shouted back to the two mares who objected her union. "What? But how did you escape my bridesmaids?"

Cadance rolled her eyes. "Seriously? You chose those three mares, over my Twilight? Those three fell for a fake bouquet I tossed into a dark cavern. My Twilight could see through your little game."

"Hmph, clever. But you're still too late." The other Cadance shouted back.

"Ah don't understand. How can there be two of 'em?" Applejack asked as the other mares agreed.

Cadance, the real Cadance, walked into the isle and called her imposter out. "She's a changeling. She takes the form of somepony you love and gains power by feeding off your love for them."

The audience turned to the princess in the wedding dress as the fake Cadance grew furious. "You... little... SLUT!"

Green flames erupted around her body. The pink feathers that were her wings then exploded to reveal a set of insect-like wings. The pink hooves turned black, filled with holes. Her pink horn set in a straight spiral was now jagged and curved. The mare's frame grew to the size of Celestia herself as a dual-toned laugh erupted form the flames. The light show dispersed to reveal none other than Queen Chrysalis herself.

"Right you are, Princess. And as queen of the changelings, it is up to me to find food for my subjects. Equestria has more love than any place I've ever encountered. My fellow changelings will be able to devour so much of it that we will gain more power than we have ever dreamed of!"

Cadance challenged the queens theory. "They'll never get the chance! Shining Armor's protection spell will keep them from ever even reaching us!"

"Oh, I doubt that. Isn't that right, dear?" Chrysalis turned her attention to the stallion at the alter, lighting her magic and causing the stallion to agree. Cadance grew angry and charged for her fiancee, only to be stopped by Chrysalis readying a spell to send her back from where she escaped from.

"Ah, ah, ah. Don't want to go back to the caves, now do you?" She asked, causing the pink princess to back down out of fear of not being able to rescue Shining. "Ever since I took your place, I've been feeding off Shining Armor's love for you. Every moment he grows weaker and so does his spell. Even now, my minions are chipping away at it."

As it was mentioned, Longshot looked outside of the window to see a large army outside of the barrier bashing against the shield over the city. "Uh, guys."

Azure took notice and ordered the guards to ready themselves. "MOUNT UP! SPEARS SHARP!"

"He may not be my husband, but he is under my total control now. And I'm sorry to say, unable to perform his duties as Captain of the Royal Guard." The queen said as she glared menacingly at the pink princess.

"Not my Shining Armor!" Cadance yelled as she was held back by Twilight.

Chrysalis took to the air above the alter. "Soon, my changeling army will break through. First, we take Canterlot. And then, all of Equestria!"

Azure ran back into the chapel, armed with his spear. "Like hell yo-"

"No." Celestia interrupted, waiving him off of his attack. "You won't."

The changeling queen landed on the ground as Celestia decided to take matters into her own hooves. "You may have made it impossible for Shining Armor to perform his spell, but now that you have so foolishly revealed your true self..."

Celestia and Chrysalis charged at each other, meeting halfway with horns clashing like swords. "I can protect my subjects..." Pulling off of the queen, Celestia took to the air and fired a bolt of energy at the queen. "FROM YOU!"

Chrysalis struggled as she tried to stave off her opponent's magic. It was true that her powers alone was not enough to challenge her, but with an additional source of power reserved inside of her, she could rival, possibly even dwarf Celestia's own. Feeling the intensity of the suns heat raining down before her, she tapped into the hidden reservoir of energy she obtained from her victim.

She started to press the heat back to the caster and grew emboldened over the large influx of power she was releasing. In mere seconds, Celestia realized that her power alone was too little in comparison to love itself. She tried to erect a barrier over her body before the beam hit her horn, but it was too late. An explosion sounded and sent Celestia falling to the floor. The impact of the blow even sent Celestia's crown off of her head and landing beside her.

"Princess Celestia!" Twilight screamed as she saw the surreal sight of her mentor being brought down before her. The audience started to flee from the scene and push their way into the halls.

"BOYS, GUARD THE PRINCESS AT ALL COSTS! FOR EQUESTRIA!" Azure ordered as he and the other guards surrounded their fallen leader.

Chrysalis stood in shock over what she was witnessing. She didn't think that she'd be able to pull it off but now, there was a sense of certainty that she had in defeating the princess of Equestria. "Ah! Shining Armor's love for you is even stronger than I thought! Consuming it has made me even more powerful than Celestia!"

The six mares remained at the princess' side as Celestia whispered to them their orders. "The Elements of Harmony. You must get to them and use their power to defeat the queen."

The mares all nodded in approval. Casting their dresses aside, they made their way to the exit. All except Rarity made their leave for the vault as she tried to keep her dresses off of the floor.

"Rarity!" The other five called out to her. Finally giving up the pointless task, she cast her own dress aside to take after them.

Chrysalis laughed at the group who left for the elements and shouted out to them. "You can run, but you can't hide!"

Azure held his spear and the others followed him as they ran for the queen who wounded their ruler. "Get speared, you ugly skank!"

"AZURE!" The princess shouted as she struggled to get back on her hooves.

"Princess!" He answered back, halting his advance.

"You are now acting Captain of the Royal Guard. I hereby order you, Poindexter, Longshot, Silverleaf and the Shadow Star to escort those girls to the vault."

"But princess-"

"DO AS I SAY! THE FUTURE OF THIS NATION REST WITHIN THE ELEMENT BEARERS, NOT ME!" She shouted, letting her wings span out in full.

"But-"

"I will handle this usurper. NOW GO!"

Azure didn't like his orders but knew he had no other choice but to obey. As a guard, he was taught to obey the order, no matter how questionable it was. With a salute, he and the five guards took after the six element bearers. "Yes, your highness."

The chapel was now emptied with only two witnesses, being Spike and Cadance. Shining stood motionless at the alter as the spell continued to render him useless. "It's just you and me, Chrysalis."

Celestia struggled to walk forward, earning a pitied laugh from the changeling queen. "Should you even be fighting in your current condition?"

Still a bit disoriented, she wobbled towards the queen, with determination in her eyes. The sun shone for a brief moment. "I will break that thing you call a horn off of your head and use it as a bludgeoning tool."

With a strong bolt of energy, Chrysalis sent Celestia flying to a nearby wall, causing her to land head first into a pillar and falling to the ground unconscious. As she wiped her foreleg against herself, she spat back at the downed princess.

"I think that would require you to stand up, first."

"Go, go!" Twilight shouted as the shield collapsed around them, causing the changelings to fall from the sky. The six mares ran down the street as multiple changelings landed all around them. One even landed before Twilight, but she immediately took the liberty of crushing it's head as she pressed onward.

"Keep running, girls!" Twilight lead the others into a turn, a shortcut to the vault when they were ambushed by a large group of changelings. Many of them grinned and hissed as they walked closer to the group of mares.

*hiss*

"Now what do we do?" Fluttershy asked as she started to scamper backwards.

"Keep going!" A voice called out from behind. As a spear came falling from the air, it landed into the changeling's chest. As the creature fell over dead, the six mares shielded their eyes from the gruesome expression of it's face. Before they could turn around, a party of five guards stood before them and started to fend off any stragglers that dared to attack.

"Azure, what are you doing here!? The princess is in trouble and you're out here!" Twilight shouted.

"The princess ordered us to protect you and to make sure that you get to that vault!" Azure answered.

"Azure-" Twilight called back angrily.

"Shining's no good right now. So I've been made captain in his place. And it was orders from the princess that you get your asses out of here and get to that damn vault."

Feeling angry over his statement, Twilight stood firm. "I'm not taking orders from you!"

*hiss*

As she answered Azure, a changeling ran over to them. But before it could get within striking distance, Azure took the initiative and drew his sword from it's sheath and gave it a single swipe at the changeling. The drone that barreled towards them stumbled short as it fell to the ground. As it landed, blood spilled forth as the head rolled a short distance, stopping shy of Twilight's hooves.

"Do you really wanna argue with me right now!?"

"No." She squeaked.

"THEN GET THAT ASS MOVING!!!"

"This way girls!" She said as she dragged the first mare she could reach. As they made their escape, more of the changelings, made their way over to the the mares, only to be stopped by Longshot and Poindexter.

Rarity stepped forward before running off. "Thank you all so much."

"Hey, that order applies to you too. Now go save Equestria for a third time. We'll hold them off here." Longshot said as he shoved a changeling off of him and shot it in the eye with his crossbow.

"Howdy." Applejack said to a familiar face.

"Hi. Lovely weather we're having, eh?" Poindexter joked as he thrusted his spear into the neck of an incoming changeling.

"If'n ya call rainin' changelings lovely weather." Applejack answered as she watched the lifeless body fall before him.

"You're gonna leave or not?" Poindexter asked as he retracted his spear from the carcass below him.

Applejack blushed lightly as she took a step back. "Ah was wonderin'..."

*hiss*

Poindexter raised his spear to avoid being bitten by another changeling that offered to rip his neck open. Catching the wooden rod in it's teeth, he shoved the creature back and sent it tumbling to another guard that accompanied them. "Ask me later."

"Loud and clear." Applejack said as she was drug away by a magenta aura that propelled her towards the direction of her friends. Shadow Star finished off the changeling that Poindexter sent his way and sliced into it's hide with a large halberd. Meanwhile, Twilight chided her friend on her inability to run when told to do so.

"What was all of that about?"

"Nothin' at all. A guard Ah met at the Gala."

Back over on the streets of Canterlot, the five stallions started to rack up a large body count. Dead changelings littered the street as they forced themselves through. As they looked around, they saw a family made of a stallion, a mare and their young filly, trying to run from an incoming squad of changelings.

"Shit! Looks like we need to clear these streets so that family can get out of here." Longshot pointed out.

"Your orders, captain?" Poindexter asked as he brandished his spear.

Azure shook his head. "And I'm reminded on why being called captain feels weird. Longshot, Shadow Star, you take the street to the left. Poindexter, Silverleaf, you take the street to the right."

"What about you?" Silverleaf asked.

"I'm gonna do the one thing that my mom always told me not to do when I was a child." Azure said as he looked at the family making a run for it.

"That being?" Shadow Star asked.

Azure pulled out a second blade and held both of them in his magic. "Run around while playing with sharp objects."

"Seems fair." Longshot answered back, readying his crossbow and his sword.

"Might try that myself." Poindexter said as he readied his spear for a charge.

"SPLIT UP!" Azure shouted, causing the five to go their assigned routes.

Azure took the center and charged into a group of incoming changelings that transformed into him, weapons and all. They all tried to subdue the guard, but fell short as his blades sliced into their hides, severing flesh and bone alike. Two tried to take a swing at him from his left side, but he responded with a quick dash in between both of them and found their open necks a good place to bury his blades. Another three came from his right, he turned around and drove his sword into the skull of one and parried off a blow from the second. In rapid succession, he pulled the blade from the changeling's skull and struck the other in the shoulder and used the other blade to pierce into it's chest. The third surprised him and tried to force a blade into his side.

"Oh you did not just try to stab me!" He said angrily as he knocked the sword from the changeling's magical hold and used the other sword to bury itself into the skull of the insectoid, cleaving it's skull in two.

Covered in changeling blood, he shouted out to the three civilians and held off yet another changeling. "Hey, you three! Get going!"

"Thank you, kind sir." The stallion said as he and his family ran the opposite way of the incoming squad of changelings. As they ran for the other streets, he turned his attention to the changeling before him. Curving his slash inwards, he severed both of the changeling's forelegs and allowed his blade to dive deep into the chest of the changeling.

"No problem. Now where was I?"

"Somewhere between a blade and a hard place." A voice called out from beside him. Azure turned around, only to be flanked by the same figure. As he tried to react, he felt his entire body jolt in shock. He stood motionless as the changeling stood beside him, pushing his body into a wall.

"You... you can... talk?" Azure asked, still in a state of shock as he looked down to see a blade protruding his body from one side to the other. Blood poured down from his chest and onto the wall he was pinned against.

"Wrath is my name. But before I leave you here to die, I will tell you something."

As the figure spoke into his victims ear, Azure could feel a dull throbbing coming from where the blade was slowly being pulled from his body. The throbbing started to grow painful until it started to override his other senses. As he slinked against the wall, a trail of blood followed his descent as he held himself, cringing at the unholy amount of pain he was experiencing. The cold emptiness of his wound grew warm with the flow of blood replacing it. Azure was left shaking and stuttering as the pain grew unbearable while Wrath walked towards his mission objective.

"Now, where was I? Oh yes... now I remember."

Author's Note

This... was... a very hard chapter to write. I wasn't exactly a fan of the scene where Twilight was cast aside, but I had to make their abandonment of her as close to reasonable as possible. And yeah, Celestia knew of Twi's feelings of Shining (he told her in a conversation prior to Twi receiving the tickets to the gala).

Please forgive me for this chapter, but I know that you will enjoy the next chapter a little more. A lot of action will take place the next chapter. I would personally call it the royal rumble chapter due to how many conflicts there will be in it.

Now who wants some free rugs?

ACT 2: Liberation and Judgement [READER'S DISCRETION IS ADVISED]

Warning: This chapter will have a bit of unsightly things that will be crucial to the storyline, thus earning the story a lovely little [gore] tag. Also, I prefer to squeamish readers to skip ahead. Those who can handle a bit of grimdark, read on as long as you'd like. Remember to skip past the elegant break.

You have been warned. Enjoy.

Canterlot Royal Palace
Princess Luna's Private Chambers

Within the bed chambers of the esteemed Princess Luna, the princess of the night rested from her long shift of a relentless two nights without a day of rest. Her previous day was consumed by tasks of running errands for the wedding, leaving her with little to no time to relax. The moment the sun rose, she laid in her bed and ordered that she would not be disturbed. Unfortunately, her dreams were exempted from that order.

Luna tossed and turned exhaustively in her bed, whispering her lovers name. As her dream intensified, she grasped at the sheets, trying to claw her way to the image of her beloved. Before she could reach him, her eyes shot open and she rose from the comfort of her sheets, screaming for her guardian.

"AZURE!"

The room was silent. No one responded to her cry. Panting from the uncanny visions that was her dreamscape, she calmed herself and took a deep breath.

"Oh... a dream. A bad dream."

Suddenly, her ears tilted to the doorway as the sound of glass shattering near her room riled her.

"WHAT IN FAUST?"

Walking to her door, she opened it to see a guard ordering a group of his subordinates to various positions all over the palace. Walking up to the stallion clad in heavy armor, she questioned him.

"What is going on here!?"

"Princess Luna, we need to get you away from here. It's not safe."

Luna yawned and stretched as she continued to question the guard. "What is going on?"

"We are under attack. The changelings have started their siege on the city. Our orders were to ensure that you were escorted from the city safely."

Luna shook off her sleep as she heard the news of the attack. "I can fight. Now where is my guardian?"

"He was at the wedding. If I'm correct, he should be somewhere around the chapel."

"Find him and see that he is safe as well. I want him alive."

"Ma'am."

*hiss*

A changeling hung from a nearby pillar, growling and snarling at any guard that tried to approach. Luna's eyes grew wide as she saw a guard spear the creature from the top of the marble column to the ground below.

"Why are they in the palace!?" Luna asked angrily.

"They brought down the shield and the changeling queen has confronted both Princess Celestia and Princess Cadance."

Luna remained optimistic that her sister would handle such an opponent on her own, let alone with the assistance of Shining Armor and Cadance. However, she was completely unaware of what was really going on in the chapel. "A foolish battle she would fight. Two princesses would easily best her on her own. But I still demand my guardian."

"I will do my best to seek him-"

A third guard, coming from down the hall, ran towards the two superiors. "MASTER SERGEANT!"

"What is it, Spaz?"

"I HAVE COME TO REPORT THAT WE ARE CURRENTLY GETTING OUR ASSES THOROUGHLY KICKED SIR! THEIR FORCES HAVE SURROUNDED THE CITY AND THEY'RE HITTING US FROM ALL SIDES! THEY'RE SPIT-ROASTING US, WITHOUT A CARE FOR OUR NEED TO BREATHE OR TAKE A BREAK FROM THE ANAL POUNDING WE ARE CURRENTLY RECEIVING!"

The Master Sergeant rubbed his ears from the brutal pounding his ears received from the new recruit. "We could do without the yelling."

"SORRY SIR, I AM A LITTLE FRAZZLED UP! IT'S JUST THAT THE ELEMENT BEARERS ARE ON THEIR WAY TO THE VAULT AND THEIR ESCORT IS FAR BEHIND THEM! AS OF NOW THEY ARE BEHIND ENEMY LINES! HOPING THEY AREN'T DEAD ALREADY, SIR!"

"Escort?" Who was in the escort?" Luna asked curiously.

"MA'AM, CAPTAIN AZURE SWORD, WARRANT OFFICER-"

"MY AZURE!?" Luna screamed as she started to grow worried over her guardian being behind the lines of the enemy.

"Is there any way we can get those colts out of there?" The Master Sergeant asked.

"NO SIR, THERE IS NO HOPE FOR THEM! FAUST REST THEIR SOULS!" Spaz answered hurriedly as Luna grabbed him by the collar of his armor.

"Go out there, and GET MY AZURE OUT OF THERE!!!"

Clenching his eyes shut, the recruit dreaded his order, and out of cowardice, he refused. "WITH ALL DUE RESPECT, PRINCESS LUNA, I HAVE JUST LEFT FROM A SHITSTORM OUTSIDE! THERE IS BLOOD EVERYWHERE, THERE ARE DEAD AND DISMEMBERED BODIES EVERYWHERE! THERE WAS A DEAD FOAL IN THE STREET! I HAVE SHIT MYSELF, PISSED MYSELF AND VOMITED ON MYSELF! SIMULTANEOUSLY! I DON'T WANNA DIE LIKE THAT, MA'AM!"

Luna threw the fear-stricken recruit to the ground forcefully and took flight out of the nearest window. "Useless. I'll find him myself!"

"Princess, no!" The Master Sergeant shouted back to an already-departed Luna.

"PRINCESS, DON'T LEAVE ME! YOU ARE LIKE A SURROGATE MOTHER TO ME RIGHT NOW, AND I CAN'T OPERATE WITHOUT YOU!"

The older guard slapped the cowering colt and stared him down as he towered above him. "Pony up, and show some dignity, recruit!"

"I WANT MY MOMMY, SIR!"

"Recruits these days."

Royal Chapel
Canterlot Royal Palace

Princess Cadance
vs.
Queen Chrysalis

Four changeling drones continued to drag the unconscious body of Celestia towards the center of the room, readying her to be placed high into the air as a trophy for their Queen's success of the invasion. Chrysalis was already celebrating her victory, but she would not go undisturbed, as yet another royal still challenged her.

"How dare you do this to my Shining Armor! What did he ever do to you?"

"Oh you poor thing. Surely you must know that he didn't have to do anything for me to seek him out."

Cadance stomped her hooves angrily as she demanded an answer. "Then what was the purpose!? WHY HIM!?"

"Are you deaf? I swore that I already explained it to him in the courtroom. This is a personal matter that involves me and him." Chrysalis answered as she walked away from the alter to survey her drone's work on her new trophy.

"No, it was a matter that involved you and his parents! He had nothing to do with you!" Cadance argued.

"Au contraire, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. He is the offspring of my dear Orion."

Still perplexed by her reasoning, demanded a deeper explanation on the subject. "What does that matter!?"

Chrysalis turned away from her busy drones and leapt by the mesmerized Shining Armor, moving a lock of his mane off of his face. "Allow me to explain it to you in a more... natural sense."

The changeling queen walked in a circle around her hypnotized prey. "See, if a lion was to be with a lioness and a second lion arrived to take his mate, then they would fight to see who would have the honor of mating with that lioness. The loser walks away. So after the outcome has been decided and the lioness has her cubs, everything is just peachy. However, when that lion comes to mate with the lioness yet again, this time with the father being nowhere to be seen, he kills the cubs and the process starts all over."

Cadance instinctively took a step back as the analogy rang like a bell in her mind. "So... you've come to kill Shining?"

"Oh no... I have another 'lion' to take care of that later. And to put it in retrospect, you're the lioness." Chrysalis finished as she turned her back on the mare.

"Or..." Cadance said with a frown.

"Or what?"

Chrysalis turned her head to see a light blue bolt of energy barrel towards her. Taking a reflexive side-step, she avoided the bolt altogether. She turned around to see an angry Cadance, her horn lit with the same blue glow. "You and I could play our part of the lions, fighting for their mate."

"You dare to challenge a queen?" Chrysalis turned herself around and blasted a similar ray of her sickly-green magic towards the princess.

"I dare to squash you like a roach." Cadance returned, mocking her insectoid appearance and blasting a ray of her own.

Their beams became interlocked between the two casters. With every passing moment, the beam would fluctuate between Cadance and Chrysalis. After a bit of time, the changeling queen managed to put out enough energy to cause the beam to become deadlocked at the center. With a hearty laugh, Chrysalis talked down to her opponent.

"Is that all you got?"

"I've got plenty." Answered a struggling Cadance.

Chrysalis decided that not was a good time to unleash some of her victim's own magic against the mare he was to marry. With a low grunt, she released a large wave of magic and combined it with her own, similar to what she did with Celestia. She still saw the pink alacorn standing before her, but it was a matter of time before the beam war would be decided in her favor.

"Still going, are we?" Chrysalis asked with a grin.

Cadance struggled to stand as the beam slowly work it's way against her magic, towards her. Refusing to succumb to defeat, Cadance placed the last bit of her own love for Shining into her magic. "I... will... beat you..."

The beam stopped inches before Cadance's face as it started to struggle back to the winning combatant. Chrysalis gasped at the resistance the mare before her was putting up. Cadance refused to go down. With an angry snarl, the changeling queen released all of her magic as well as the magic of her victim, causing the beam to go into deadlock once more. With a sly grin, Chrysalis started to corrupt the energy of her opponent's magic. Being that the blue beam was filled with the emotion that the changelings so often fed off of, Cadance's own magic found itself turning green and being reflected back at the caster. With a large blast, Cadance was knocked back to a nearby wall.

"Second verse, same as the first." Chrysalis scoffed at the beaten pink princess.

"No... this can't be." Cadance whispered as she tried to regain her balance, but fell to the floor instead.

The changeling queen started to approach her beaten adversary with a falsely-endearing smile. "It can be, it will be, and it has been for the past hour."

"Perhaps you may want to take up your teenage angst with me." A third voice shouted out to her from the open doors of the chapel. Chrysalis turned around to see a face that she hadn't seen in over twenty-six years.

"Orion? You've gained weight. What ever happened to that blocky figure you used to sport?"

Shaking his hind leg, Orion gave his response. "I retired almost nine years ago. But I think that I still have a bit of a spring in my step."

"So what brings you here?"

"Oh, I don't know, my son's wedding?" He answered sarcastically.

The changeling queen flew back to the entranced Shining Armor, rubbing his chin. "Well, I'm sorry that the wedding has been canceled, but I will inform you that the dance floor is open."

Growing angry over the display, Orion summoned a spear and a sword to his side. As the weapons landed on the ground, blades sinking into the floor, he yanked them out with a single tug of his bright yellow magic. "Well then, let's dance."

The queen gave him a smile as she kissed the non-responsive stallion at the alter. "I'm afraid that I won't be your partner this time."

"What?" Orion shouted as he watched the changeling queen toy with his son.

"I've grown bored of dancing. Perhaps my minions would prove to be adequate partners?" The queen asked before she laughed in the face of her old interest.

"LET GO OF MY SON!!!" Orion charged to the alter, with sword and spear in tow. But before he could get within thrusting distance of his spear, he was knocked back by a changeling that took the shape of his own son. Three others fell before him, giving off similar appearances. All four of the Shining Armors drew their swords and engaged Orion until he was driven into the hall, where they continued their fight.

"Sir Orion!" Cadance called out. But her only response was that of a sadistic laugh from the changeling queen.

"Hush now, the show is just getting good."

Vista Boulevard
Canterlot Keeping District

"Let's keep moving, girls!"

Twilight urged the others to continue to the vault where the Elements of Harmony were located. But their quickest way had been sealed off by a horde of changelings. As of now, there were two available options left to them, but they would take even longer than their initial choice.

"How much further do we have to go?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"This is a second shortcut that leads us past the checkpoints that the changelings are attacking, straight into the Canterlot maze, putting us back on palace grounds." Twilight answered as she pushed aside an incoming changeling.

"So what was that last 'shortcut'?" Rarity asked as she avoided a fallen changeling.

"Leads us past the pond and straight into a secret passageway that leads to the vault." Twilight answered.

"What useful flanking routes." A voice answered back to the six mares. The party of mares stopped in their tracks as a unusually tall changeling in armor walked before them. "I don't suppose you mind if I take a stroll."

"Who are you!?" Twilight asked demanding his answer.

"The name's Wrath."

A long silence came as they all looked at each other, unsure on what they should do next. Rainbow Dash was the first to speak. "Uhh... Does anypony think that was a little too easy?"

"I only told you because you will be getting acquainted with the name." Wrath answered as he stood in their way.

"Well, excuse me, Wrath, but we have someplace important to go." Twilight snapped as she took a step forward.

Wrath mimicked Twilight's motions and took a step forward as well. "Like through me?"

"Arrrgh, we don't have time fer this now. Go on, get!" Applejack shouted, trying to shoo him off, only to be shot down by a green bolt of energy, causing her to tumble a considerable distance from the group.

"Filthy plebeian serf." Wrath mumbled as he retracted his magic.

"APPLEJACK!" The five other mares yelled as the farm pony rose from the assault. They all took relief that she had managed to come out of it relatively unharmed.

"She's fine. I toned down my magic for her because she, as well as all of you, will be serving me. And I can't have servants if they're all dead." The changeling guardian said as he slowly walked to the six mares.

Twilight snorted and took an offensive stance, anchoring her hooves into the ground so she could keep her balance for the time being. "Not if I can help it!"

"Twilight Sparkle, the younger sister of Shining Armor. This should be an interesting encounter." Wrath muffled a laugh as he grew closer to the group.

"Twilight, let's go. We don't have time to waste here." Rarity said as she tried to get Twilight to reconsider the confrontation.

Wrath halted his approach and looked to the white unicorn mare. "Rarity Andalusia Belle... We meet again."

"Again? I don't recall meeting you." She answered, unsure as to who he was or what he was referring to. His voice grew into an angered tone.

"Have you forgotten? Here's a hint, you and I were covered in cake."

It took Rarity a moment to remember anything that caused her to become covered in cake, that is until a distinctive and unpleasant memory was brought to light. She remembered the Grand Galloping Gala and the annoying, selfish stallion that was her date. Finally, she knew who he was. "...No. You're... Blueblood?"

"The one and only. And yes, I will be more forward with my advances. You and your friends will all be my little sex slaves until I drain you of every year of your life. But don't worry, I'm only going to fuck all of you to death."

"I really don't think that's a nice thing to do." The yellow pegasus whinnied.

He turned his attention to the mortified pegasus and smiled. "Oh dear, Fluttershy, was it? Anyway, whether you consent to it or not, I will do as I please to you."

"I won't let you!" Twilight screamed as she teleported herself from beside Rarity to in front of Fluttershy.

The recently revealed Blueblood started to twitch at the mare's presence. He grew annoyed of her presence, ultimately mocking him and his failures. Twilight was a student to Celestia as he was, yet she was more successful at her endeavors than he was. Envy filled his heart and he grew to resent her. "Student of Celeste Delanise Valkyrie, made into the Element of Magic? That's my element. You stole that from me. It's in my title and I-"

"Your titles were revoked by order of Princess Celestia." Rarity interjected, causing Blueblood to laugh.

"You say that, Rarity. But there's a misconception in your theory, I'm a king now."

Twilight grew cautious of his demeanor. He was not the normal Blueblood she was used to hearing about, but instead, he seemed to be... off. "What are you talking about?"

Blueblood transformed from his blackish figure. Green flames surrounded his body similar to how Chrysalis did, only his seemed to sweep over his body. As the flames subsided, Blueblood appeared in his white pristine coat and his seaweed green mane had transformed back into the golden blonde it once was.

"I made a deal. Chrysalis gave me untold power, infinite power, an age without degradation. And it's all for giving her the access into the city. For many years I've longed to ascend to the status of alacorn, but Celestia, my former mentor, wouldn't give me that honor. I was forever denied what I worked so hard to obtain, only to have everything taken away from me. But now... I have done it. Without her teachings, without her lectures, without any friends to call my own."

"You're wrong." Twilight shouted. "Princess Celestia denied you because she saw you as who you truly were. You couldn't be an element bearer because you were too greedy, you betrayed others around you, you didn't show a single sign of kindness, you lied to everypony you've dealt with and you've focused your life on only yourself rather than making others happy. You're not all powerful, you're just corrupt."

Blueblood grinned from ear to ear as he heard her lecture. Willing to prove her wrong, he allowed his body to become engulfed by the green flames that turned a bright yellow. As the fire burned on his body, immaculate white wings shot out from both sides. He rose into the air, flapping his wings and hovering well above the ground. "Don't you see? I've ascended! I'm immortal! I have wings! I can fly! I have my magic again! I know more spells than that of you and your brother combined! I can challenge Celestia, AND WIN! THIS IS MY LAND! THIS IS MY WORLD! EVERYTHING. AND EVERYONE. BELONGS. TO ME!!!"

Her suspicions were correct. Blueblood, who was once calculative and cunning in his takeovers, manipulative in his dealings, had completely gone mental. He was blinded by power and there was no convincing him otherwise. Taking a deep breath, Twilight readied herself to fight him. "Not if I can help it!"

Blueblood laughed at Twilight and mocked her. "You can't even help yourself. You can't even help your brother! In fact, I will show you why you can't help it! I'll show you a-AUGH!"

Blueblood was silenced by a blow to the side of his body, causing him to stumble. He still held his hoofing and remained standing after the assault. "What was-"

"And here I was thinking that my husband was overreacting when he quit his job."

A mare walked from behind the six element bearers and made her way to the front of the group, challenging him. As she stood before them, Rarity recognized the mare from a past event that involved her and her mother. Rarity was shocked to see her standing up to defend her once more.

"Mrs.... Velvet?"

"Mom?" Twilight asked, surprised that her mother came to the rescue.

"Go on ahead, girls. Fillies shouldn't involve themselves in grown folks business."

Blueblood started to giggle, which then erupted to full-blown laughter. "An old hag? You? Challenge me?"

Twilight tugged at her mother, trying to dissuade her from fighting. "Mom, please don't do this. You'll get hurt-"

"I'll be fine. Go on ahead."

"Mom-"

"Don't you have a mission to complete, Violet?" Velvet asked as she teleported her daughter and her friends past Blueblood. Seeing that her mother was insistent, and that she never tended to be moved by her motivations to reconsider, Twilight surrendered and took to the mission before her once more.

"...Let's go girls."

All of the mares galloped off, with the exception of Rarity, who stayed behind to thank the mare for her appearance, now and in the years prior. "Mrs. Velvet... I do believe that this is twice now that you've done this."

"I've been doing this before your parents even made you. Now move along, I've got some family business to take care of."

Rarity nodded and took after her friends. Blueblood rolled his eyes at the scene before him. "Sending away any and all help that you may have had for this fight? Well that's cowardly."

"Don't see how that's cowardly. If you would've said foolish, then I might have agreed with you." Velvet rebutted.

"That too, but sending away your reinforcements is textbook suicide. And last I remember, suicide is the coward's way out."

Chevalier Road
Canterlot Keeping District

"Ughhh.... Argh... Ke-ep... moving..."

Azure strained and grimaced as he tried his best to move himself off of the street. His wound caused him a great deal of pain and even went as far as causing him to stop at times to cough out blood. Striving to ignore the pain, he pressed forward towards the girls.

"God this hurts so much."

His mind continued to become his motivation. But it also became his source of conflict. One side chose to remain optimistic of his situation, while the other side, albeit a resounding majority, continued to face the reality of his possible death.

"I need to sleep... NO, NOT NOW!"

He stumbled forward, his vision blurring in and out of focus. Azure felt his body getting significantly weaker.

"Shit."

Finally, his body grew too weak to carry out it's basic fight-or-flight functions. He fell over, gasping out in pain as his vision started to fade in and out.

"Fuck, it's getting kinda dark."

Letting himself lie on the ground, he was treated to one last view of the sky. Far above him, he could see the changelings raining into the city. His first day as Captain of the Royal Guard had ended as soon as it began. His vision continued to fade from light to darkness, and as it faded, he saw the form of a black body barreling towards him.

"So... I guess this is where I take my leave."

The form stopped well above him, snarling and hissing above him. At that moment, Azure resigned to his fate.

"Fuck it... Old age is for pussies."

"RAAAWWGHHH"

He heard the mighty roar of a great beast towering above his mangled form. His eyes came into focus long enough to see what looked over him, seemingly ready to devour him whole.

"Well... I guess being eaten by... Nightmare Moon? No, it's-"

His eyes didn't lie to him. The figure above him was indeed Nightmare Moon, but to see her shadow-like visage in the day was startling. But he remembered who the mare was behind the legend of his childhood. "L..u...na...?"

"AZURE, HANG ON!" She screamed, choking back sobs and holding back tears.

"Wh...at.... are you... doing here?" He asked, his voice sounding no louder than an audible whisper.

"I'm here! Don't worry, you're going to be alright! I promise you!"

"It's... okay.... Luna." He said, already succumbing to the fate before him.

"No! NO! I'M NOT LEAVING YOU HERE ALONE!!!" She begged, hugging his body.

"The palace... the city..." He whispered as he looked at the wreckage around him.

"I could care less! I want you! I want us!"

Feeling frustrated that she would abandon her duties in search of him, he reasoned with her. "Luna, stop saying... stupid shit."

Luna shook her head as she used all of her strength to raise him to her back. "I love you too much! I want a future with you! I want our wedding, our honeymoon, our own home, our own foals! I want us to see our foals have foals of their own. I would sacrifice my longevity for just a lifetime of knowing you. But I can't keep knowing you if you don't stay with me."

"Really?" He asked, letting his body go limp on the princess' back.

Luna nodded as she started to make her way to the palace, with Azure's barely-conscious body on her back. "You and I played around the first night we were together. Do you remember?"

"...Yeah."

Luna tried her best not to walk too fast for fear of causing him discomfort, but not too slow to where he would fade out as she carried him. "You said that you wanted to marry me. I said that what we had was forbidden. You said 'only if you made it so'. I told you that I would age past you. You said 'you'll be fine with whatever I so chose'. Then I told you that you didn't even know me. And you know what you said?"

Azure closed his eyes and quoted his response. "Then I'll have the rest of my life to find out."

"You have many more years to get to know me for who I really am. And this time we spent together was the best time I've had in all of my years. So don't you dare take that away from me."

Finally finding a smile in his grim situation, he wore it as he tried his best to sound like himself as a means to comfort the worrisome princess. "Geez... don't you think a medic is the best place for me rather than a street?"

"I can't fly you with that wound, I can only carry you. Hang on. I'll get you through this.

Azure let his mind become focused on the silver lining of his storm. He knew that there was nothing he could do as far as fighting was concerned. He could only enjoy the ride, despite the occasional bump that caused him some pain. "I have a mare who is willing to abandon her title and her duties for a life of raising a family with me. She's willing to go so far as to carry by bloodied body on her back, just so she can keep me around a little longer."

Azure then saw what he was leaving if he had accepted death. Luna was a beautiful mare that cared for him. It was true that she was royalty, but she placed her crown aside to tend to his every whim. He already knew he loved her, but now, his reasons for loving her was cemented in stone. He could never leave behind something so precious.

"I guess old age isn't all that bad."

Canterlot Royal Checkpoint
Canterlot Keeping District/Canterlot Palace Grounds

"Keep running!"

Twilight and her friends continued to make their way to the vault of the Elements of Harmony. As they ran, they did their best to avoid any confrontations. But time was running out.

"Twilight, we've been running for a while now. Can we please be at the vault?" Fluttershy begged, starting to feel a little tired from the marathon that they had to run.

Twilight offered to comfort her friend. "We're almost there. We'd be there and back by now if it weren't for all the..."

*hiss*

"...detours?"

The six mares stopped to find themselves surrounded by an entire platoon of changeling soldiers. As the changelings snarled and angrily hissed at the element bearers, Rainbow Dash decided that there was no other way to the vault but through them.

"It's looks like we'll have to do this the hard way."

Rainbow Dash charged forward, only to meet with herself. She grew confused over what she was facing. She wasn't expecting to get into a fight with herself. As she moved, the splitting image of her moved in the same manner. When she tilted her head, it moved with her. But as she drew her head closer, she was caught off guard by a hoof she didn't raise. Before she could react, the duplicate shoved her to the ground.

"Hey, how did you-?"

Before Rainbow Dash could finish her question, she managed to get an answer as all of the other changelings transformed into each one of her friends. Copies of each one of them surrounded them and the real element bearers grew even more baffled at the sight of themselves getting ready to take each one of them down.

"They're changelings remember?" Twilight said to Rainbow.

"They're changelings remember?" Repeated five changelings that imitated Twilight's voice to the last detail with a sinister grin.

Twilight readied herself as she spoke to her friends. "Don't let them distract you. We have to get to the Elements of Harmony. They're our only hope."

The six ponies charged at each other and started to engage with one another. As blows were being exchanged, Fluttershy grew even more confused as to who she could help or run away from. A group of similar copies of herself started to approach her. Feeling like the only way to avoid a fight was to simulate what they would normally do in the situation. As she feigned punches and kicks, the other three versions of her walked off. Seeing that she was in the clear, she ran the opposite direction, only to encounter four Rainbow Dash duplicates.

The four Rainbows readied to pounce on her, causing Fluttershy to duck in fear. The four stood tall above her, ready to strike, when the Rainbow to the center right broke the pose that the others were set in. With a strong kick, she sent two flying one way and gave the final dupe an uppercut to the jaw, sending it flying.

"You okay?" Rainbow asked, picking up the timid, yellow pegasus.

"Thanks to you, Rainbow Dash." She responded as she smiled back at the friend who just saved her from a painful situation.

Meanwhile, Applejack and Twilight backed into each other as they faced changelings both front and back. Twilight winced as she realized that she bumped into her friend. Applejack turned back as she saw it was none other than Twilight. Feeling like she could take them on with some help, Applejack faced her duplicates head on. "Alright, how many ya think y'all can take?"

*hiss*

Applejack turned around to find that the Twilight that backed into her was none other than a changeling that tried to pounce on her. "Okay, this is jus' gettin' wierd!"

As Applejack was head-butted to the ground, changeling after changeling started to dog-pile on top of her. Feeling the weight of a dozen changelings on her caused the farm mare to experience an extreme level of discomfort. As she laid victim to the large pile of Applejacks crushing her, the changeling that head-butted her transformed into an Applejack.

Suddenly, the pile started to get a little lighter as she noticed that one by one, the clones started to get blasted away from the pile. After a while, Twilight held the farm pony with a dark look in her eyes, as if she was going to finish her off once and for all.

"Real me! REAL ME!" Applejack shouted.

"Prove it!" Twilight demanded.

"Big Mac has your Smarty Pants doll!" Applejack responded as quickly as she could, causing Twilight to drop her on her hooves.

"Well, there's one problem solved." Twilight said as she turned her attention to the changelings in front of them.

Elsewhere, Pinkie Pie was busy being amused by a changeling who continued to shift their forms from her various friends. She giggled eagerly as she bounced up and down. "Heeheeheehee! Do me! Do me!"

The changeling, who was transformed to Fluttershy at the time, rolled it's eyes and transformed into Pinkie Pie. Causing the mare to look a her with skepticism.

"Meh, I've seen better." The pink party mare said as she grabbed Twilight from Applejack and placed her in front of her.

As she grabbed her tail, Twilight blushed a little as she felt her head being lowered. "Pinkie, what are you doi-oh I see where you're going with this."

Pinkie started to crank Twilight's tail as the purple unicorn blasted off magic bolts like a gatling gun. Changelings fell before them like wheat before a scythe as Pinkie continued to crank Twilight. Finally stopping, Twilight's tail started to become a twisted mess, even causing a bit of pain.

"Ow, Pinkie! Watch the tail!" Twilight scolded.

"Sorry, I just wish my party cannon worked." Pinkie said as she pulled out the aforementioned device; a sky-blue cannon with pink and yellow wheels. "For some odd reason, it hasn't been working the past few days."

"I can give you one reason on why." Twilight mumbled as she thought about the impostor who tried to take her brother as her own.

Pinkie pummeled the barrel of the cannon as she spoke. Meanwhile, to her ignorance, a changeling approached from behind her as she was pounding away at the cannon. "UGH! Stupid. Party. Canno-"

*BOOM*

A large slime ball that was clogging the end of the barrel shot out and hit a changeling in the rear end, causing Pinkie to cheer for it's continued functionality. "Whee! It works again!"

Elsewhere, Rarity continued to destroy any changeling that tried to even look her direction. The fashionista decked every changeling she encountered with a powerful blow. Another charged at her from behind, only to receive a well-timed roundhouse kick to the skull.

Before she could get fired up, the fight was already over.

"You dare challenge a fashionista! Well, I'll show you what years of maintaining your figure in the gym can do!"

Rainbow looked at the adrenaline-fueled unicorn, trying to get her attention. "Uhh... Rarity, that's all of them."

Ignoring her friend, she remained on her guard. "WHO WANT'S SOME OF THESE HOOVES!? I'LL KICK ALL YOUR SORRY-"

"Rarity!" The five other mares yelled as they finally managed to get Rarity's attention.

Rarity blushed as she was finally brought back to her senses. "Oh... heh heh... Well, we showed them."

As the other mares took a brief moment to catch their breath, they all heard the familiar buzzing noise of wings beating in the air. The six mares turned around to see another large platoon of changelings headed their way. Twilight rose form her spot and ran for the tower that the vault was located. "Not for long! Let's get moving!"

With the tower in sight, the six mares ran across the bridge that connected the tower to the checkpoint. The six mares breathed a sigh of relief as they finally opened the doors to the tower where the vault was located. But their relief soon turn into dismay as they saw an entire army of changelings in the building already. As they turned around, they saw the platoon they escaped from catch up to them. The six mares were completely surrounded from all sides.

"Now what do we do? There's way to many to fight!" Rainbow Dash asked as they all backed into each other.

"Um... if there is any way we could possibly consider a strategic surrender?" Fluttershy suggested, seeing that there was nothing that they could do for the time being.

All of the others gave her a disapproving glance. Even some of the changelings looked at her with shock and bemusement.

"That would be the safest option, after all."

"Are you nuts?" Applejack asked the timid pegasus, shocked that she would even suggest that surrender was a plausible choice.

Twilight took a moment to reflect on the situation. In reality, there was no escape from this situation. At the very least, if she went back, she could still rescue her brother rather than risk a chance of being killed in action. And the elements were locked away in a vault where only she and Princess Twilight had access to it. She summarized that if they went peacefully, they could make their escape later, get the elements and save Equestria. In all, the ends justified the means of saving a nation. "Actually, she has a point. Live today, fight tomorrow. The elements will be here when we get back."

"But Twilight-" Rarity started before Pinkie Pie jumped in.

"TAKE ME TO YOUR LEADER!"

The entire army, plus her friends, stared oddly at her out-of-nowhere comment.

"What! Weren't they gonna do that anyways?"

Vista Boulevard
Canterlot Keeping District

~Main Event~
Twilight Velvet
vs.
Olysseus Blueblood Patrikios/Wrath

"So... how's the commoner's life been treating you?"

"I don't think that you could ever understand the anger I feel towards you."

Blueblood laughed as he continued to fly around the gray unicorn below him. "And I believe I do. You want to run me through. Garrote me, impale me, tear my limbs from my body in the worst fashion. All of your hatred. I can feel emotions now. Since my transformation to this wonderful body, I've never felt such power coursing through my veins."

"You are a changeling! You're not a pony, nor have you 'ascended'. You're just a traitor who took on a new look." Velvet argued angrily, wanting to blast the arrogant stallion from the sky.

"Well, this 'look' is something that I can change at any given moment." He answered back, willing to show her an example, but not wanting to out of the admiration of his current appearance. "Behold, I am Olysseus Blueblood Patrikios, wrath and hatred incarnate, lust and gluttony personified, Element of Magic, and king, no, GOD of this city. And you are nothing more than an old used whore; good for only taking my seed to your face."

Velvet stared at him blankly before taking a quick breath, to express how annoyed she was of him. "You know, I don't have a problem with being called a whore. We all do a bit of whoring in our lives, whether it's for profit, notoriety, hell even for love. But there is one thing I draw the line at, and that is being called old. I could teach you a thing or two, mister 'Element of Magic'."

"An old whore with a mouth. Surely one's genitalia would plug that thing shut. Shall I offer my own? I promise that I am well-endowed." He said mockingly, flying behind her.

Velvet took a deep breath and squinted her eyes. "Call me old... one more time."

Blueblood slowly descended and spoke in her ear. "Ancient as the dust on this earth."

Without hesitation, she turned around and drove a hoof to his face, causing him to lose his balance in mid-air. As his body spun around in the air, Velvet cast a gossamer wing spell upon herself, giving her flight capability. As Blueblood regained his balance, he eyed the angry mare and blitzed towards her.

Meeting him halfway, Velvet took the initiative and blasted him square in the face with a stun-bolt spell. She wasted no time with incantations as she summoned a wheel of prismatic swords to rain down on him. Blueblood cast a shield around his body, avoiding all blows from the weapons and summoned his own sword. In similar fashion to when he faced off against Shining Armor, he called upon a great blade that towered high into the sky and ordered it to plunge into his target. He decided that incantations were best left for times where he would enjoy making a mockery of his opponent.

As the darkened blade came down upon the city, Velvet cast a spell of her own, sending a bright magenta shield over her. As the shield intercepted the blow caused by the large blade, the two spells dispersed, causing the former prince to shake with anger. Never has there been a pony who countered one of his most powerful spells with such ease. Charging up his horn he tried to fire a bolt of his magic towards Velvet.

The grey unicorn dodged the spell and fired a bolt of her own. Blueblood dodged her in return and took to the offensive, flying after Velvet. The two passed through the city's skyline as Velvet did her best to maneuver herself past buildings in hopes of causing him to crash into one. However, he countered her evasive efforts by blasting whatever building that stood in between her and him, without a care for who or what was inside.

Velvet decided that her tactic was far too dangerous in a situation that involved such a careless opponent. Taking herself close to the ground, she drew Blueblood in. Fury lined in the fallen prince's eyes, causing him to fly at a blinding speed towards the mare. But little did he know, he fell right into her trap. She turned around, with horn lit with a blinding power, and fired a blast at Blueblood, hitting him and causing him to fall to the ground. They landed just outside of a cafe as he rose from a table that broke his fall.

"That's the problem with you young ones, you're so eager to get things done." Velvet said as she descended upon the wreckage of the outside eating area.

Blueblood summoned the weapon he used to stab Azure and lunged towards the mare. "Bitch, I'm older than you!"

Levitating a sword from a fallen guard she obtained from a street corner just feet away, she parried any incoming blows. His blade swiped left, she counted with an upward strike. he tried a diagonal sweep, only to be countered with a swift kick to the side of the head, knocking him into yet another table. "And you call me old? I'm a lively forty-six. You've hit the century mark."

"And I still age better than a hag like you!" He shouted as he rose from the table and charged towards her, leaving his sword to the wayside. He blasted hers out of her possession and the two clashed horns. Their magic reacted violently as they butted heads.

"How many mares have you taken advantage of? How many have become the victim of your plight? Too many, far too many!" Velvet said as she pushed against him.

"Too few, I say! I want more, much more!" He answered as he returned the push. Their horns started to spark as the volatile reaction changed the harmless sparks into blistering cinders.

"A spoiled little child with mommy issues is what you are." Velvet said, pressing all of her body's weight against him.

Blueblood felt an anger that he never felt in all of his one-hundred plus years of life. The fury that accompanied with his mother's face, the frustration of his failures with the princesses and Shining Armor, his titles being revoked and his powers being stripped. Nothing could sum up to the anger he felt to Velvet, a commoner mare who was equally skilled at his forte as he was and one who lectured him over his mother. Something inside of Blueblood snapped as a brand new power surged throughout his body. "SHUT UP, YOU INSOLENT, PIG-FACED SOW!"

Pushing her off of him, he levitated her body into the cafe's window. Landing on the floor, he stood over Velvet. "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE TO HAVE TO EARN EVERYTHING AND TO HAVE IT ALL TAKEN AWAY FROM YOU!"

Velvet was a bit shaken from the blow she received as she tried her best to make it back on her hooves. "You... earned nothing. You stole-"

Blueblood silenced her with blow after blow of his hardened hoof to her muzzle, knocking out blood and spit as he battered away at her. "THAT I DID! I KILLED, I RAPED, I LIED, I CHEATED! I FUCKING DESTROYED ENTIRE FAMILIES FOR THIS! I WILL NOT BE LECTURED BY AN INFERIOR BEING!"

Raising the disoriented body of Velvet from the ground, he gave the mare a blast to the face of his magic, launching her through the entire cafe and into another building. She rose to fight, only to be knocked through yet another wall, landing into a fountain in the middle of the town square. As some of the fixtures fell apart, Blueblood laughed at her misfortune. "WHAT'S WRONG!? GETTING A LITTLE WASHED UP, EH!?"

Blueblood took the higher ground in the fight and levitated her high into the air, flying behind her. As she opened her eyes, she took notice that her wings were wet and started to melt away. Letting his magic subside from her body, he let her fall to the ground. As she was about to meet with the cobblestone road, she felt a hoof drive into the right side of her face, knocking her into a bell tower.

She struggled to get up from the beating, unable to stand as Blueblood flew in from behind. She felt the hatred radiating from his body as he kicked her over to her belly. "I will show you what it means to be a true whore. Bring me that arse."

"It's not yours to have!" She screamed as she felt the surge of adrenaline throughout her body. She turned over and gave the fallen prince a swift hind leg to his scrotum, causing him to buckle over in pain. She took the moment to escape into another room as Blueblood quickly recovered from the menacing blow.

"I love it when they think they can run. It just gives me a glimpse of what I'm going to be taking." He grunted out loud as he walked slowly to the room Velvet ran to.

Velvet closed and barricaded the door behind her and felt herself needing to escape. Unfortunately for her, there was no way out beside the way she came in. She hobbled over to a nearby pillar, using it to support her fatigued body. Before she had started to catch her breath, the door sounded loudly as the stallion that pursued her banged against the door. She looked around in desperation, only seeing large wooden pillars, holes in the ceiling and dead changelings that didn't make it past the landing. Her heartbeat drove her to find the nearest form of shelter from the stallion. She hid behind the pillar and out of view just as a whirring sound could be heard past the door. Suddenly, the door blasted open, with the frenzied Blueblood who stood in the way.

"HELLO? IS ANYPONY HOME!?" He shouted hysterically.

Velvet held a hoof to her mouth as she tried her best to avoid any sound escaping. Even a breath could give her away to the stallion. Blueblood twitched neurotically and suppressed quick grunts as he did so. His eyes roamed around the room like a mad colt seeking the sight of one's entrails.

"I'VE 'AD ENOUGH OF YE BLOODY FUCKCUNT! COME ON OUT, YOU WRINKED-PUSSY SLUT!"

As his words echoed throughout the bell tower, Velvet continued to calm herself down the best way she could. She knew that she couldn't avoid him the entire time and that it would only be a matter of time before he'd find her.

"I'VE 'AVENT ALL DAY HERE! SHOW YOURSELF!"

Trying to concentrate, she picked up a nearby pebble and threw it over to the other side of the room, causing his ears to turn to the source of the sound.

"Clever girl. BUT NOT CLEVER ENOUGH!" He shouted as he turned to the source of the sound. He leapt to where the pebble had landed and found nothing but empty space. Velvet remained quiet as she kept a hoof clenched over her mouth. Her heart pounded wildly as the stallion called out to her once more.

"OLLIE OLLIE OXEN-FREE!!! I JUST... I JUST FANCY A LITTLE FOREPLAY IS ALL! COME ON! COME ON OUT, YE CRUSTY-CUNT-FLAKED DRAP!"

Blueblood continued to trot back to the center of the room. But as he continued, he thought of something that would ultimately cause him to win this impromptu game of hide-and-seek. He laughed maniacally while he started to recite a foalhood poem.

"One of these things is not like the others, one of these things just doesn't belong."

He blasted two random pillars, the first one was a pillar on the other side of the room and the second one was a pillar to his rear left, directly next to Velvet. He laughed comically and ended his laughing fit with a high pitched squeak. Velvet closed her eyes and started to pray as Blueblood continued his poem.

"Can you tell me which thing is not like the others, before I finish me song?"

Velvet continued to pray as she kept her eyes closed. But something disturbed her as she prayed. It was the silence of the room. The once crazed laughs that echoed off the walls made her uneasy. She stopped praying to check on what was going on. She looked to her left, there was nothing there. She looked to her right, the only thing that was there was the smoldering ashes of the pillar he destroyed. She dared not to look up for fear of him flying above her. But she didn't hear any wings flapping to notify that he flew above her.

Her only hint came in the form of a drop of sweat. She wiped her brow quietly as the small droplet fell on her head. She froze in terror as she slowly raised her head to meet with the twisted and inverted face of the insane fallen prince, who smiled back at her.

"O mideum!" She shouted.

"Ello poppet, fancy a twirl?" He whispered as she tried to escape.

Blueblood shoved his hoof into her neck and used his magic to slam her into the pillar he leapt off. Shortly after, he followed up his slam with his levitating her body and tossing it into another pillar across the room. Velvet tumbled as she rolled into the pillar, breaking her right hind leg. With a shriek, she fell to the ground.

"That looked like that hurt a bit. Here, let me check on that." He said as he stomped on the mare's afflicted leg.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!"

As she continued to unleash a blood curdling scream, he giggled at the pain she underwent. "Oi, that's broken alright. I suppose you can't fix a broken whore. Oh well, guess you'll do fine as a rug."

Tossing her to the ground in the center of the room, he watched as the mare's body on the floor writhed in discomfort. Standing above her, he readied himself to take his reward.

"COME ON! BEG! SCREAM! SQUEAL! CRY FOR YOUR HUSBAND, YOUR SON, YOUR DAUGHTER, YOUR PRINCESS, YOUR GOD! NONE OF THEM CAN HELP YOU NOW!"

He lowered himself down to her so he was ready to thrust himself into her, but found that something caused him to stop. He froze for an instant before he looked behind him to see a changeling, who was believed to be dead, standing behind him, with a sword buried into his underbelly. "You... traitorous... SON OF A-"

The changeling spoke. "Her...lamb's... been dead for more."

"What did you say?" Blueblood asked as he stared wide-eyed into the glazed-over eyes of the undead changeling.

"Her lamb's been dead for more." The changeling recited.

Remembering the final lyric of his mother's so-called lullaby caused him to kick the changeling off of him and removing the blade from his stomach with his magic. In a single swing, he rid himself of the grim reminder of his nightmare. "Quiet you!"

"Her lamb's been dead for more." Another undead changeling chanted as it approached him from his left side.

"You too?" Blueblood screamed to the undead creature, severing it's head from it's shoulders while another walked up to him. Even the head stared back at him and continued to chant.

"Her lamb's been dead for more. Her lamb's been dead for more."

Blueblood hacked away at the bodies, relentlessly cutting off anything that was a changeling. He shouted at them as they drove him to a fallen bell. "SHUT UP! SHUT UP! ALL OF YE, SHUT UP!!!"

As he finally silenced the monsters, he could still hear the relentless chants of the three changelings. He knew that it had to have been some cruel joke performed by his mother. He called out to her, seeking that she would stop torturing him. "MOTHER!!!!"

As he looked around, he found nothing that resembled her. He shouted to the emptiness one last time. "Mother, stop this! Please! Make it stop!"

A voice rang from behind him. He turned around to see his mother in the reflection of the fallen bell. She wore an unchanged expression on her face as she spoke. "Oh Ollie, it'll stop very soon."

"I want it to stop no-"

Her unchanged expression changed into a smile, one that resembled the one in his nightmare. "It's time to come on home, Ollie. You've been away for long enough. I've got a lovely dinner waitin' for ye."

He felt his entire body grow cold at once. He looked around and saw three spirits that hovered over the bodies of the felled changelings. The three mares that corrupted his dreams: the decoy of Celestia, Morning Vale, stood over the decapitated changeling, similar to her own death, the virgin who was forcefully tainted, Maria Trotovich, that stood with the changeling blade impaled in her body. And the final, a recent face, Sweet Relief, to which he insulted as he left her to face a world she could no longer live in, stood above the body of the changeling that stabbed him.

"No. No. Nononono. This can't be! You can't do this to me! I'M YOUR SON!"

Blueblood's mother stood facing him, almost leaning in over him and grinning all the while as she whispered into his ears."Don't ye remember? I've been trying to do this since ye were born."

The four mares continued to chant the lyric as Blueblood shook his head hysterically, trying to block out their words. "NOOOOO!!! GET AWAY FROM ME!"

"Whatever this talk of lambs is, I think it would be fitting that I'd join in."

Blueblood turned around to see that the spirits had deserted him while Velvet stood on her own four hooves. She didn't move as much but she didn't have to with Blueblood's current condition. He was lost to the world of sanity and now she had a divine intervention that caused her to gain the upper hoof. She bashed a block of wood into the stallion's head, causing him to hit the ground.

He turned over, to crawl away but found that some of his entrails had started to find it's way out of the open wound. Velvet teleported over him and punched him in the face with a firm hoof. She telekinetically raised his body and bashed his face into the bell that he screamed to. After the second time she pressed his head into the bell, he received another blow to his muzzle before she continued with her savage assault. Each time he hit the surface of the bell, his appearance changed from Blueblood, to Wrath, the changeling. As she planted his face into the bell again, his appearance changed back. She did this until his body had become a grotesque mix between his ponified appearance and his new changeling appearance.

After another set of his face coming in contact with the bell, she pushed his body into the bell and held him outstretched as she concentrated a beam of energy to the center of his body. This time, her energy became focused into a thin line and trailed into his wounded underbelly. Her beam had spit into two as the energy started to sear into his skin. Blueblood/Wrath screamed as he felt his hide being burned by the beams. The two beams worked in opposite directions, one going up to his chest, the other going down to his lower extremities. The top beam then split into three, carving themselves into his face, and both of his forelegs. The bottom beam only split into two as they cut into the hind legs of the stallion. The beams then disappeared and Blueblood/Wrath screamed at Velvet.

"PLEASE, NO MORE! NO MORE! I CAN'T TAKE ANYMORE! PLEASE, SPARE ME!"

Velvet paused for a moment and thought about the words he said to her. He wanted her to show mercy. She thought that the very idea of him asking for something that he would give to no other quite ironic.

"So, lets put a number to your deeds, shall we? You've tried to kill my son, you've tried to set my husband up for failure, you've tried to take my daughter and her friends as your personal sex slaves, you've tried to rape and kill me, you've aided an enemy of the state, you've caused multiple bits in property damage, you were banished under penalty of death and returned to ignore such warning. Now I know Celestia has been nothing but merciful to you... but I will assure you that I will not be so kind as to let you off."

The fallen prince continued to plead for his life. "PLEASE, SHOW MERCY! SHOW MERCY!"

Velvet slowly raised a hoof to his damaged face, bloodied and bruised by the abuse he had taken by her. She gently rubbed him as she spoke. "I will show you mercy. I will show you the mercy of your skin."

Lighting her horn, she pulled at his body as the fallen prince screamed and writhed in utter agony. As she pulled, the sound similar to that of velcro being pulled apart slowly sounded as she tugged and tugged at him with her magic. He yelped with each pull she made. With a final scream, Velvet yanked her head back as the stallion before her screamed in discomfort as his hide instantly became separated from his body, leaving only a meaty husk to step forward. The ugly skinned prince took two steps forward before buckling over in pain. As he stepped forward, he could feel some of his intestines leave his body via his rear entrance. He then fell to the floor and vomited as he convulsed. Drowning in the vile liquid puddle, he finally drew his final, yet strangled breaths.

Olysseus Blueblood Patrikios, the changeling commander under the name of 'Wrath', had finally died, April the Sixteenth, year one of the Sister's Reunited.

Velvet fell over and rested herself against a wooden pillar of the tower and stared at the ugly hide she managed to peel off of the departed stallion.

"You know... I was always in a rush to find a nice wedding gift for my son, but this... I'm afraid that this won't go with anything in his room."

Royal Chapel
Canterlot Royal Palace

Cadance and Shining Armor
vs.
Queen Chrysalis

Celestia awoke from her defeat to find two changelings staring back at her. She had to blink because she thought they were hanging from the ceiling. But as the seconds ticked away, she found that gravity was working well against her. She was the one suspended in a cocoon from the ceiling. As the two changelings flew off to notify their queen of the princess' awakening, another princess below continued to argue with Chrysalis.

"You won't get away with this! Twilight and her friends will-"

Before Cadance could finish her sentence, the doors opened to reveal six captured mares, the element bearers they hung their heads in defeat as the queen took amusement in their capture.

"You were saying?" Chrysalis said to Cadance as she turned her attention to the drones above. "You do realize the reception's been cancelled, don't you? Go! Feed!"

The remaining changelings in the throne room made their exit to the outside hall. Shining still stood at the alter, unresponsive to what was going on around him.

"It's funny, really. Twilight here was suspicious of my behavior all along. Too bad the rest of you were too caught up in your wedding planning to realize those suspicions were correct!" The changeling queen said as placed a hoof on Twilight's chin, only for her to brush it off. Applejack looked to the purple unicorn with shame in her heart.

"Sorry, Twi. We shoulda listened to ya."

"It's not your fault. She fooled everypony." Twilight said as the queen answered her.

"Hmm, I did, didn't I?"

Chrysalis smiled while she made her way to the balcony. She overlooked the entire city being swarmed with her changelings. "Just look at it all. The burning, the screams, the bodies in the streets. It's wonderful. This day has been just perfect, the kind of day of which I've dreamed since I was small. Everypony I'll soon control, every stallion, mare, and foal. Who says a girl can't really have it all?"

While the victorious queen giggled and guffawed at her work, Twilight remained quiet as she made her way to the alter, meeting with Cadance, who's hooves were glued to the ground so that she couldn't get near Shining. "Quick! Go to him while you still have the chance!"

Twilight blasted the glue from Cadance's hooves and took to cover for her while the pink princess went to save her fiancee. Cadance looked at the miserable condition Shining was left in. She had no time to cry over it. Instead, she hugged the stallion and lit her horn with what little magic she had left from challenging Chrysalis. Her horn sparked as she strove to cast the spell. With a small release of energy, a single, tiny heart flew into the air. The heart was small in size, but within it held all of the treasured memories that they shared with one another. The small heart landed upon Shining's horn and dispersed before him, knocking him out of his trance.

"Wha- where... huh? Is...is the wedding over?" Shining asked disoriented from the spell Chrysalis placed on him. Twilight and the others smiled as he became freed from the queen's influence. But their celebration was short-lived.

"It's all over!" Chrysalis said as she laughed.

"Your spell! Perform your spell!" Twilight shouted to her older brother.

"What good would that do? My changelings already roam free." The queen said as she pointed to the city outside of the chapel. Changelings chased civilians down the street, guards left and right were either wounded, dead, or captured. Celestia was also captured as well. Shining looked on with horror, but snapping out of it as he remembered that he had a job to do.

His horn lit with a dim light. As he grunted and struggled to ignite his magic, he came to the realization that his energy was far too little for him to pull off the spell a second time, considering that placing up the spell took a large portion of his magic to cast it.

"No... My power is useless now. I don't have the strength to repel them."

"My love will give you strength." Cadance answered as she gave her fiancee a hug, holding him close to her.

Chrysalis laughed as she turned her attention back to the besieged streets below. "What a lovely but absolutely ridiculous sentiment."

Shining stared bitterly at the changeling queen as he tried to start up his spell a second time. He struggled to get an aura started on his horn, but help came in the form of another caster standing in front of him. Cadance lowered her head and sparked her horn to get his magic started. As their horns touched, the united wavelengths of their love for each other caused their magic to synchronize with one another's. Their horns lit brightly as a bright pink aura surrounded the two, the power of the spell caused their manes to become swept in the power and their bodies to raise into the air. The flash of light managed to capture the changeling queen's attention.

"What?" Chrysalis yelped as the powerful display started to grow blinding to the eye. The stallion and the mare opened their eyes and let the unified magic surge into the room, clearing out any effects of the changelings and freeing that of Princess Celestia. But their magic didn't stop there.

"NOOOOOO!!!" Chrysalis screamed as the wall of energy flew directly towards her. She tried to combat the shield by going on the counter-offensive, but she found that time was against her. By the moment she was ready to cast the spell, the shield knocked her out of the chapel and into the streets. But their spell didn't cease at just the castle alone.

Their spell swept streets clean of the changelings, alive and dead. Guards that were once captured by the changelings found themselves free from their bindings. Those who were about to be slain by the insectoid menace were spared, the citizens that once cowered for their lives, watched as the shield wiped the entire army off of the mountainside. Chrysalis screamed alongside her drones and her generals as they were cast back into the far reaches of the southern Equestrian border, into the badlands that they once roamed.

Shining and Cadance were lowered from the spell. Cadance, who had a disheveled mane and unkempt appearance, found herself back to the way she was prior to her capture. They nuzzled each other on the alter as the other mares looked on with glee.

Rarity, however, found the moment rather bittersweet. She was always a sucker for romantic stories, but to see her prince being married off to another mare was quite painful. Still, she smiled for what they had was real, even though it wasn't her who was at the alter instead of Cadance.

Celestia lied on the ground from her fall. Twilight helped her up as she grunted from the pain she was still feeling from the previous encounter with the queen, as well as a fall from the ceiling. With a serene smile, Celestia looked to her student and couldn't feel any prouder.

"Don't worry about me. I'm fine. You have a real wedding to put together."

Author's Note

Sooooo... About that Purple Wedding, huh? I guess this chapter couldn't have come out at a better time. I had started writing this chapter prior of the viewing, but now, I decided to release it a few days early, in honor of the episode.

Rest in puke, you f:flutterrage:king 'king'.

ACT 2: Aftermath

~Saturday~
April 16th, 1 S.R.
Canterlot Royal Palace

"Mom!"

Velvet limped into the palace as her family ran over to her. As Twilight and Shining ran over to help their mother, Orion dropped everything he was doing to rush over. "Oh, hello dearies. How are you two feeling?"

"Mom, you're hurt!" Shining pointed out as he saw an unsightly bruise on his mother's hind leg.

"Velvet!" Orion cried out to her as he nuzzled his wife passionately.

"It's just a broken leg, nothing too serious." Velvet muttered as she collapsed to the ground.

"Twily!" Shining called to his younger sister. The purple unicorn knew exactly what to do.

"On it!"

Canterlot Royal Infirmary
Main Lobby

"Dammit! Azure got hurt!?" Longshot screamed as he and Poindexter were being treated to their wounds.

"He's in the royal infirmary right now. But the doctor says that you shouldn't stress yourselves." One of the nurses answered as she tried her best to hold down Poindexter and keep him from storming out of the room.

"Fuck that! That's our best friend in there!" Poindexter shouted as he tried to shove the nurses away from him.

Longshot waited until the nurse finished wrapping his forehead before making a dash for the door. "Azure! Hang on, buddy! We're on our way!"

"But the doctor said-"

Poindexter finally managed to shove the nurse off of him and joined up with his friend. "FUCK THE DOCTOR! WE'RE SEEING OUR FRIEND!"

Canterlot Royal Infirmary
Room 215

"So what is it looking like, doctor?" Luna asked quietly, taking care on not disturbing the sleeping stallion.

"He's lost a lot of blood. Thankfully, you've got him here in time enough for us to save him." The doctor answered quickly.

"So will he be okay?"

"I know that he will be in critical condition for a while, but give it some time and I am sure that he will start to stabilize."

"Thank you, doctor."

"Anytime, your excellency."

The doctor left the room, leaving behind a comatose Azure and a distressed Luna. She placed her hoof on the stallions head, pushing away any locks of his mane from his face.

"Azure, please be okay."

Canterlot Inner-District
Verdant Praise Boulevard

"NOOOOOO!"

A mare could be heard screaming in a crowded area as medical workers tried their best to remove the bodies of any survivors out of a damaged building.

"Ma'am, we have to clear this area. Please allow us to do our job." One of the supervisors asked her.

"MY LITTLE STAR DUST IS IN THERE! PLEASE, GET HER OUT!"

As she continued to scream and shout at the supervisor, a worker shouted out to him that they managed to uncover the body of a young filly no older than the age of eight. The supervisor and the distraught mother ran over to the little filly to find a worker shaking his head.

"Do you know this girl?"

"That's my Star Dust. She's okay." The mother answered quietly.

"Ma'am, she's not showing any life signs." The medic quietly informed her.

"MY DAUGHTER IS FINE! CHECK AGAIN!"

The medic did as he was requested of him with the approval of his supervisor. Coming to the same conclusion, he tried his best to reason with her. "She's gone, ma'am."

Refusing to accept the truth, she shoved the medic out of the way and held on to her daughter with a distant smile. She started to rock back and forth as she cradled the deceased child. "NO, YOU'RE CRAZY! MY DAUGHTER IS JUST FINE! LOOK AT HER!"

The supervisor turned his head away from the painful sight. "Ma'am... I am so sorry."

~Sunday~
April 17th, 1 S.R.
Canterlot Central District
Town Square Plaza

"STOP THE WAR! STOP THE WAR! STOP THE WAR!"

Chants filled the streets of the city as a large crowd gathered to protest the homes of the members of the parliament. As they continued their demonstration, a commanding officer tried to apprehend an AWOL guard, who led the movement.

"Spaz, what in Faust's name are you doing!?"

"I'M EXPOSING THE CRUELTY OF WHAT THIS WAR WILL BRING!" He shouted.

"Get down from there and help us clean up!"

"NO! I WILL CONTINUE TO EXPOSE WHAT THIS WAR WILL BRING TO US IF WE ARE TO CONTINUE WITH THIS SENSELESS FIGHTING! I WILL NOT STAND, I REPEAT, WILL NOT STAND TO SEE OUR FUTURES TOSSED AWAY LIKE SOME GARBAGE TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD!"

As the crowed continued to chant in protest, the guard stood against the rally leader. "I gave you an order!"

"YOU WILL NOT HIDE THE TRUTH! I WILL SPEAK THE TRUTH, AND YOU WILL NOT SILENCE ME!"

Canterlot Keeping District
Trinity Clock Tower

"Hey, boss. Come look at this."

A medical worker and his commanding officer surveyed a body on the ground, attached to a pelt of what appeared to be the mix of a pony's hide and a changeling's exoskeleton. "What the hell is this?"

"I can tell you who it was." The medical worker said as he signaled for the officer to come closer.

"From the looks of it, it looks like a changeling skinned to his teeth."

"Look closer, sir."

As he hesitantly stepped closer to the carcass, his eye grew wide as the familiar facial structure matched up with the familiar face of the pelt. Suppressing any sickness he started to feel in seeing who it was, he backed away slowly. "Well goddamn. That's Blueblood alright."

"Should we report this to the princess?"

~Monday~
April 18th, 1 S.R.
Canterlot Royal Palace
Emergency Parliament Meeting

The parliament held an emergency meeting to discuss whether the war would be funded or not. As the shouts and screams of the members, Celestia tried her best to preside over the messy affair.

"Order!"

"NO! Your political outreach has only proved to the other nations that our beloved Equestria is weak." One of the politicians shouted out loud.

"The Griffon Kingdom will never let us live it down." A noble added.

"But the citizens call for peace!" A younger noble argued.

"The citizens don't know what's good for them. They need to be protected. They call for war!" An older stallion rebutted.

"Princess Celestia was right! Peace is the only affordable answer!" A veteran politician called out from the back of the room.

"Peace and love is what got us invaded by the changelings!" Another politician shouted out loud to the caucus.

The stallions continued to argue and fight amongst themselves as their princess held to herself. She could not institute order at a time where angers and emotions were at an all-time high. She cursed herself for agreeing with the changeling queen's request, then disguised as her niece, to have the wedding at an earlier date.

"I am such a fool."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~Aftermath~

~Tuesday~
April 19th, 1 S.R.
Canterlot Royal Infirmary
Room 139

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Three days have passed since the invasion of Canterlot. Much of the city has undergone some major repairs from all of the damage sustained from the changelings that fell into towers and buildings. Some buildings stood while others were compromised of their structural integrity. More of them were decommissioned for repairs thanks to a conflict involving only two fighters. One of those fighters laid in a hospital bed staring at the damaged Canterlot skyline from her window. Her eyes shifted from building to building, that is until the door opened to reveal three of the closest individuals to her.

"Hey mom." Twilight called out as she opened the door, her brother and her father behind her.

"Still checking in on me every two hours to the dot? I can see you've taken after your father's sense of time well." Velvet said to her daughter as she received a bouquet of colorful flowers from her son.

"Here you go. Just got these from the shop." Shining said proudly.

"Oh, Shining. You didn't need to give me these. I'll be fine."

"Yeah, but I didn't want to leave you in here without flowers."

Velvet giggled at her son as she looked at the window. "Well... the color of those curtains aren't very kind to the eyes."

"And the room altogether is a complete bore." Another voice rang out from the door. The family of four turned to the door to see another family paying a visit, with Rarity taking the lead.

"Rarity? What are you doing here?" Twilight asked, baffled that her friend would pay a visit to her mother.

"I only came to offer my condolences and my thanks. And as you can see, I didn't come alone." She answered as she also gave a bouquet of flowers to the hospitalized mare.

"Hey there, Velvet." Magnus spoke as he held his youngest daughter, Sweetie Belle, on his back.

"Velvet, dearie! You have got to stop throwing yourself in harm's way like that. You could get yourself killed." Pearl joked.

"Close to it, actually. I swear that I was seeing me and Orion getting married all over again." Velvet joined in.

Orion laughed nervously as he spoke. "Just don't walk towards the light."

"I'll keep that in mind." Velvet responded with a chuckle over her husband's nervous demeanor.

"So, when is the wedding being rescheduled?" The young filly asked out of nowhere, causing her older sister to scold her.

"Sweetie Belle-"

Shining interrupted Rarity and turned his attention to the young foal. "Actually, Cadance was going to hold it tomorrow. She and the girls have been really hard at work, especially trying to plan everything in the midst of all of this turmoil. The wedding will be a bit smaller, but I'm sure she's wanting some sort of good to shine in all of this bad news floating around."

"Another source of good news." Twilight added. "The Parliament has taken a vote earlier today."

"And?" Rarity asked intrigued.

"Well... fifty-one percent voted for the funding of the war while the other forty-nine voted against."

A long pause came after Twilight's statement. The silence was then broken by Velvet. "That doesn't sound like good news."

"No, the good news is that Celestia vetoed the motion as it was voted in. And as you know, only a two-thirds majority can override a veto from the princess. The same fifty-one percent still voted to uphold, but failed to sustain it. So the so-called war is dead in the vote."

Velvet felt relieved that her son was no longer going to be put in the face of danger. "Oh, thank the heavens! I don't have to see my son march out like my husband did."

"No war for us, no more casualties. End game. I like it." Orion agreed with a smile.

"Actually dearie, it was the citizens of the city who pressured the politicians to vote no to the war." Pearl added as she walked beside the bed.

"Well that's even better." Shining answered.

Twilight turned her attention to her friend. "So... I have a question, Rarity. How did you and Shining come to know each other?"

"Well, Shining was my foalsitter."

"WHAT!?" Twilight shouted as she tried to comprehend the fact that her friend was being looked after by her older brother. "He was your foalsitter and you didn't even tell me?"

"He often took care of me when my father had to play in the hoofball games."

"Oh, I see. So you were the one that he went off to see."

Rarity laughed as both Velvet and Pearl rolled their eyes, knowing the real reason why his absence was frequent during the games. "Of course, darling. Why would he ever-"

Velvet interrupted Rarity, pointing out something that piqued her interest. "I notice that you and your mother both use nicknames for the ponies you speak to."

"I beg your pardon?" Rarity asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"Pearl uses the name 'dearie' when she speaks. You use the name 'darling' whenever you address somepony. Just something interesting that I've noticed."

"You notice everything, mom." Shining deadpanned.

"You don't get far in my line of work if you don't. Hell, you may not even live."

Twilight nodded in agreement. "Magic works the same way. Even a small detail or a miscalculation could cause a spell to backfire. Incidents like that are severely life-threatening."

Shining then rubbed his head, remembering the strife he had to go through when he had to cast the protection spell over the city. "I... kinda know where you come from with that."

Rarity looked at a nearby clock on the wall and panicked at the hour shown. The day grew late into the afternoon hours. "D'oh, just look at the time! I have to run back and get to these dresses! Adieu to all!"

As the families shared their farewells, the Belle family parted ways with the Sparkle family. As they walked through the hall, Sweetie Belle grew curious in the relationship that her older sister and Shining shared.

"Hey Rarity, Shining Armor was your foalsitter, right?"

"A long time ago, yes."

"So... do you think he'll take care of me too? Maybe he could tell me how to get my cutie mark in self-defense!"

Rarity stopped walking for a moment and thought of all the drama of their being together would cause. If anything, a close interaction with Shining would cause her to become uncomfortable. It was already vexing that he needed to meet with her for a run-through rehearsal. The wedding tomorrow was going to be an abridged ceremony, due to security reasons. But for her to spend more time with Shining would cause more issues than it would solve.

"Perhaps."

Canterlot Royal Infirmary
Room 215

Luna stood by the bed of her lover. She looked at his expressionless face and grew uncertain of his health. She feared that at any given moment, he would die, leaving her alone. But her fears were soon displaced by the call of another stallion, Azure's best friend. Poindexter and Longshot also accompanied him.

"Princess."

"Prince." Luna responded, much to Shining's displeasure.

"I haven't been married yet, so that title doesn't apply to me."

Luna turned her head to him. "You will be considered as such come tomorrow. I call you that so that you will be prepared."

Shining kept his eyes on the serene appearance his friend showed on his face. "Okay, I can understand that."

"Funny thing, Azure actually said that he thought that being called captain was a little weird." Poindexter said as he pointed to the still figure in the bed.

Shining nodded his head in agreement. "True, it's a little unusual when it starts, but at the same time, the feeling can be exciting. But it can also be scary."

"Accountability." Longshot summarized.

"Precisely." Luna answered. "Those in power are held accountable for the well-being of their subordinates and comrades."

The guys turned their attention back to the bed-ridden Captain. Shining grew saddened by the thought of his friend being hurt because of a trick Chrysalis played on him. He turned back to the princess, who was equally concerned. "So is there an established date on when he's getting out?"

"The doctor said that he's stable, so three weeks with the aid of magic. Months without." Luna said quietly as she continued to pet her guardian, stroking his mane.

Shining sighed in relief at the doctor's news. "Great to know."

Poindexter looked to the soon-to-be prince. "Oh yeah. Question."

Shining already knew what he was going to ask. He was going to ask about his inability to do anything at the wedding. Before he could even ask, the former-captain gave an answer for him. "I already know. I got tricked. We all did. To think that Chrysalis would so far as to take Cadance's place to do all of this was... vexing."

"Nonetheless, she is no longer a threat. But I will say that the wedding will be scrutinized by some skeptics in the constituency." Luna warned.

The groom shook his head, dismissing her warning. "Forget the politics. Me and Cadance just want to walk down the isle and completely put all of this behind us."

Luna smiled at the stallion's carefree attitude, making her feel more comfortable. "I agree."

"Just like you want to stand by Az and see to it that he's going to be okay." Shining added.

"My faith in him is strong. I trust that he will make it. He's stable and he's very strong. He'll be fine." Luna said with a smile.

Shining and his friends bowed before Luna as they dismissed themselves from the room. "Okay. Well, I'm going to go and check on the preparations."

"Hold up, sir prince!" Longshot mocked as the door closed behind them.

"Stop calling me that!"

Luna turned away from the door and to the comatose stallion. She continued to stroke his mane slowly as she tried her best to remain calm over his current condition. But deep inside, she knew what would really convince her that he was going to be okay.

"Azure... Wake up."

Canterlot Royal Palace
Royal Chapel

Later that evening, Shining attended a rehearsal with Rarity while Cadance was busy with the set up of the reception. As they continued the rehearsal, the fashionista walked him through the wedding step by step on what was going to happen tomorrow.

"Okay, and you walk down the isle like so."

"Okay."

After a brief pause, Rarity turned her attention to the isle, back to the entrance doors of the chapel. "And you look at Cadance. And after she reaches the alter, the two of you look to the princess."

"Alright." Shining said as he stood by his mock bride, Rarity.

Standing beside the stallion, she imagined herself in Cadance's position. Her mind wandered to a vision of her and Shining standing in front of the princess as they exchanged their vows. She bowed her head and closed her eyes as her dream came true. "And we wait for the princess to place the rings on our h-" Rarity awoke from her vision as she blushed in embarrassment, accidentally letting her imagination become vocalized. "I mean... your horns. The horns of you and Cadance."

Shining paused the rehearsal for a moment and turned to the snow-white unicorn mare. "Rarity, are you feeling okay?"

Still feeling embarrassed from her flub, she lied to him. "Why of course, darling. I've never been better."

As she started to turn away, Shining walked over to her, trying to get her to look him in the eye. "I think something's troubling you."

"Is it that obvious?" Rarity asked as she turned away, back to the direction she faced earlier.

"Is it? How about neon signs saying 'problems this way'?" Shining said as he pointed to Rarity.

"I'm fine. Let's continue this rehearsal." Rarity shot back, growing annoyed over the stallion's persistence to know what had bothered her.

Shining began to get angry and stepped in front of Rarity's view once more. "Well, I don't want to continue if you're going to get an attitude."

"I don't have an attitude. I just want this to be over with." Rarity argued, stepping up to the inquisitive stallion.

"Just tell me what's wrong."

"There's nothing wrong!"

"You're lying."

"I'm not lying."

"You're a zebra trying to pass as a chimera. It's obvious."

"Just leave it alone and look at the alter." She commanded as she tried to shove his face in the direction she wanted him to look to.

Shining shoved her hooves away and stepped towards her. "Just say it."

"No."

"Say it."

"No."

"Please?"

"NO!"

"Look, I'm just trying to help."

Rarity growls as she screams at the stallion, determined to get off the subject. "I don't need your help, and I don't need you saving me!"

"I want to save you!" Shining shouts back.

"Do you!?"

"Yes!"

With a snarl, Rarity pushes the stallion with all of her strength. Caught off-guard, Shining lost his balance and fell to the floor, raising up to angrily feud with the mare that assaulted him. But before he could say anything, a familiar feeling pressed against his lips. Rarity held no quarter as she desperately sought to devour him. His mouth still open from the shock, he unwittingly allowed the mare access to his tongue. With fervent gasps of air, Rarity's lips smacked as she parted from his.

"Then save me now." She whispered, her voice becoming unsteady in it's tone.

"Your highness." Answered Shining, not questioning the mare.

He returned the lustful gesture with his own flame of desires ignited. He didn't know what had caused her to become so heated, but he knew that it was far different from what Cadance would give to him. Cadance often asked or demanded her kisses from him, but this mare, she simply took what she wanted. It was distasteful and it was greedy... and he loved it.

Rarity tried her best to dismiss the stallion. She knew that if he continued to pressure her, she'd throw herself at him. He had a charm about him, even in her foalhood, that made him fun to argue with. The more she argued with him, the more she wanted him to herself. This self-destructive habit now took a turn for the passionate as her body matured, with her desire to be with him transcending into a desire to mate with him.

Rarity backed away into a nearby pillar to support herself. As she retreated, he matched her step-by-step, making sure that their lips never parted. She tried to turn herself around, only for him to wrestle her and hold her chin to his, making her even more angry with him. And just as she grew angry with him, she only wanted to commit lustful acts with him. She gasped loudly as the foreign sensation of a stallionhood pressed against her pristine posterior. Shining grunted impatiently as he held onto her, wanting everything she was offering, yet he knew that they couldn't fulfill their wishes in the chapel, where anyone could simply walk in.

Panting loudly with flushed cheeks, she grasped the marble pillar she leaned against. As she felt him starting to grow closer to her virgin slit, she cried out behind a foreleg, muffling her moans. "Now. Do it."

"Here?" Shining asked, shocked that she would overlook a more private place.

"Yes." She pleads longingly, pressing herself against him.

"Now?" Shining asked as he aligned himself to enter.

"Just take me already!"

Shining found the mare's soaked entrance with the help of her magic guiding him. She increased her grip on the pillar as Shining took his time with his entry. He felt the tip of his stallionhood sink into her heated sex. Finally, after all the dreams that teased him, he curled his foreleg around her waist as he started to sink further in.

"R...Rarity?"

Shining and Rarity looked to each other in shock as they knew that neither of them spoke. Turning their head to the back of the chapel, Shining jumped off the mare he mounted, hiding his member behind a coiled backleg. "Twily?"

"Twilight!?" Rarity shouted in conjunction as she held her tail between her legs to cover up her sex.

The purple mare stood in the doorway for a quick moment before shaking herself out of the shock and galloping down the hall. "I have to go."

"Twilight, come back!" Rarity shouted after her, wanting to reason with her.

As she left, Shining felt frustrated over the fact that he was so close to living out his fantasy. He didn't know which was worse, the fact that he allowed himself to become so infatuated with the mare that he decided to ram her to the floor or his little sister catching him in the act. Though it didn't take much convincing to notify him that it was the latter.

"Fuck. I screwed up... Again."

Canterlot Royal Palace
The Hall of Unity (the hall leading to the Royal Chapel)

The purple unicorn trotted at a hastened pace as she wore a deep blush on her face. She tried her best to convince herself that there was going to be a wedding tomorrow. But she couldn't erase the memory of her brother trying to take one of her friends for a ride, let alone her allowing it. As she continued down the hallway, Rarity ran beside her.

"Twilight, just listen to me."

Ignoring the fashionista, Twilight carried on as she spoke to herself loudly, blocking out her friend's voice. "Plans for the wedding, yes. I should be looking for those, not my brother."

"Twilight, please hear what I have to say."

"Then I'll have to check on the cake, the decorations and then I'll go check after Fluttershy and her birds."

Rarity felt anger building on her already-built frustration of being so close to having herself relived of the nine-year itch that only Shining could scratch. As Twilight continued on, Rarity felt her magic manifest in her horn. All the while, the frustration, combined with the surmounted anger, unleashed a powerful blast that transported her body before Twilight, shouting directly in her face. "TWILIGHT SPARKLE, LISTEN TO ME!"

Twilight fell back in surprise of her friend teleporting before her. She grew confused. "H-how did you... You were..."

Rarity rubbed her head after a brief pain surged through her head. "I don't exactly know, but I need to tell you something. It's about me and Shining."

"I know. You like him." Twilight answered angrily, raising herself from the ground.

"Well... yes. I do, very much. But what happened in there was a complete accident."

"How was him mounting you after a tongue wrestling match an accident!?" Twilight inquired loudly, causing Rarity to wince.

"How long were you watching?"

"From 'I don't need you saving me'." Twilight quoted with sarcasm.

"Twilight, we try to-"

"Okay. So here's the deal. You tell me everything between the two of you or I will tell Cadance what I saw in there."

Rarity gasped at her friend's threat. "Twilight, you wouldn't."

"Cadance has been like a sister to me, and I would do anything for her. So you would either confess to me, or I'll confess to Cadance." Twilight said, realizing that this brash approach was the only way to get any sort of truth from the situation.

"Twilight-"

"Waiting."

Rarity felt herself sweating bullets as she looked at the condescending glare of Twilight. She already knew how protective she was over her brother, so a lie would definitely set her off. With a deep breath, Rarity took a seat and urged the enraged purple unicorn to do the same.

"...I have had a crush on your brother for a while now. I guess nine years is too long of a crush, but you could say that it all started from a simple bad dream."

Finally finishing the story, Twilight was left in awe over what all had happened to the two of them and what all occurred. Everything about her brother had started to make sense. She now knew the reasons why her brother never spent time with her and Cadance when the games came around, she knew why Shining had to run her to the school like a mad mare. She understood what caused her mother to be sent to the hospital and why her brother was so sad at times. She even knew why Rarity was so persistent in seeing her 'true love, the stallion of her dreams'. But it still left one question to be answered, and to her misfortune, it was the the one that only her brother had an answer to.

"I understand that much. But... what about Shining?"

Rarity stirred her hoof into the carpet as she answered. "I don't know what exactly made him have an interest in me. I just know that when he and I met just last Thursday, we got into a... heated discussion."

Twilight felt sympathy for the seamstress. Rarity had to undergo hardships because of something that was beyond her control. And in the end, it was her crush who managed to do all he could to save what she had. It was a trait of her brother that she grew well-acquainted with. "You know, after hearing your story... I kinda know how you feel."

"You do?" Rarity asked.

Twilight finally decided to swallow her pride. Rarity had told her everything that occurred between her and her brother. It was time that Twilight would disclose some of her secrets to her in return. It was only fair. "I've had a crush on Shining too. You know, big brother being nice to you and then you find yourself being the victim of a love unrequited."

Rarity had heard stories like that in her romance novels, but she never would've expected it from her. It was a bit of a shock to her. "Wow... Um, Twilight."

"Weird, I know. And it took me all the way up to the past Hearth's Warming Eve to confess to him. But we talked and he told me that what we had was a friendship that nopony could ever come between. So he understood where I was coming from, but he also made it known that he only wanted us to remain friends."

Rarity understood the affection that Twilight had for Shining, but there was still one perplexing fact that continued to drive at her. "But he's your brother."

"Can I tell you another secret?"

Rarity gulped as she readied herself for what she may have to say. "As long as you keep mine."

"He and I did it twice."

The snow-white unicorn stared blankly at her friend, choosing not to believe what was disclosed to her. "Excuse me... but WHAT!?"

"The first time, I was in heat. The second time... it was hours before I confessed to him. I know that it's taboo, but if you really wanna go past the benchmark, you should look at-"

Rarity plunged a hoof into Twilight's muzzle, deciding that she didn't need to go any further. "Ah! Not another word!"

As the white hoof removed itself from her muzzle, Twilight smiled. "Okay. So... I guess this makes us even."

"You have secrets from Cadance, and I have secrets from Cadance. Our lips shall remained sealed and our emotions shall remain dormant throughout the course of this wedding."

Twilight grew a devious smile as she teleported a book in front of her. "Hmm... Perhaps there is a way we could both find a means of coping with our loss."

"Actually," Rarity swatted the book out of the way before things got out of hoof. "I think that we should start moving on."

Accepting defeat, Twilight held an inward smile. "Maybe you're right."

The two started to make their way down the hall of the palace as they took to Twilight's next destination, the party planning with Pinkie. Rarity chuckled as she walked.

"But a question for curiosity."

"Fire away." Twilight asked.

"Just how... skilled is Shining Armor."

~Wednesday~
April 20th, 1 S.R.
Canterlot Royal Palace
Royal Chapel

The next day, the wedding had commenced and mostly everything had gone along without fail. Velvet and Orion stood on the front row as they proudly looked up to their son being married off to his bride. Rarity continued to cry at her loss of not being the mare in the wedding gown, but she was supportive of the union, deciding that it was best for her to move on. Applejack looked to the other side of the alter, where a certain guard winked at her. The farm pony wore her hat as a means to hide her face from him as she scrunched her face with glee. Finally, Cadance approached the alter, where both Celestia and Shining Armor stood.

"Mares and gentlecolts, we are gathered here today to celebrate the union of the real Princess Mi Amore Cadenza-"

"Princess Cadance is fine." The pink princess corrected her aunt.

Celestia hummed in acknowledgement. "The union of Princess Cadance and Shining Armor. The strength of their commitment is clear. The power of their love, undeniable."

Celestia turned to Spike, who was at the far end of the row of stallions beside the groom. "May we have the rings please?"

Spike walked up to Celestia, presenting the princess with the two rings of the bride and groom. Cadance had started to cry over what was her dream come true. Shining felt happy that he could make her often denied pursuit, a reality. Celestia took great joy over placing the rings on the horns of the two lovers. "I now pronounce you mare and colt."

As the two stepped out to the outside balcony to display their successful union, the six mares looked at the two as they waived to the crowd outside. Rarity still wiped away tears as she spoke. "They look great together."

"One can only hope that their future is as bright as this beautiful day." Celestia agreed.

Twilight looked at her former foalsitter and her older brother with a teary-eyed smile. "Yeah, they fought for this. It's a victory that they rightfully earned."

Celestia smiled at her student. "This is your victory as much as theirs. You persisted in the face of doubt, and your actions led to your being able to bring the real Princess Cadance back to us. Learning to trust your instincts is a valuable lesson to learn."

Turning back to see the married couple kissing, Celestia held a wing out to whisper to Rainbow Dash to go on with her routine.

"Rainbow Dash, that's your cue."

Canterlot Palace Grounds
Canterlot Royal Garden.

"Hey there, party ponies! I hope that all of you are ready to shake your groove thang because the dance floor will be open in a second! But first, lets start off with the newlyweds, Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor!"

After Pinkie made the announcement on the loudspeaker, both Shining and Cadance walked onto the dance floor, much to the cheer of everyone in attendance.

"Don't break your hip, old guy." Orion shouted to his son, stirring up a laugh between his friends.

"Look who's talking!" Shining said before the music started to play in the distance. While the record continued to spin, Shining danced with Cadance, who fell against the stallion, allowing him to lead her. Meanwhile, Luna flew from the sky and landed beside her older sister.

"Hello everypony. Did I miss anything?"

"Nothing at all, Luna." The older sibling answered. As they looked at the bride and groom, the continued to hold their conversation.

"It's great to see those two finally together. I know Cadance has been looking forward to this day for many years."

"And she will remember this day for the years to come. Just as you will when you and Azure take your vows."

Luna felt anxious of the day she would take her own special somepony as her groom. It was a day that was far off into the future, but it was one that she would wait patiently for. Suddenly, a voice called out over the sound system.

"Let's get this party started!"

Luna immediately recognized this song from one of parties out in Ponyville. She remembered that Azure and her both danced to the song the night of the Nightmare Night Bash. "I love this song!"

Twilight caught a microphone from Pinkie and started to sing the lyrics of the song.

Love is in bloom
A beautiful bride, a handsome groom,
Two hearts becoming one
A bond that cannot be undone because
Love is in bloom
A beautiful bride, a handsome groom
I said love is in bloom
You're starting a life and making room
For us

Elsewhere, Poindexter crept beside Applejack as he cleared his throat to get her attention.

"Hi."

"Howdy." She answered back.

"Lovely weather today, eh?"

Applejack laughed at his attempt at small talk. "Yeah, it's better than the last time ya said it."

"Soooooo... You wanna dance?" He offered pointing to the dancefloor, where others had started to enjoy themselves.

"Eeenope." A low voice burled out to the stallion. As Poindexter turned around, all he could see was a wall of red fur.

"Oh. Poindexter, this is mah big brother, Big Macintosh."

Finally looking at the stallion's face, he started to back away slowly. "Oh... heh heh... hello."

"Eeyup." The larger stallion said with an unchanged expression on his face.

"I'm sorry for not introducing myself. I should've looked for you first, cause big brother always knows best, you know?"

"Eeyup."

Feeling nervous from the series of one-worded answers, he offered to take his leave. "So... I guess you'll be dancing with your sister?"

"Eenope!"

"Oh. Well, I guess I can go on ahead and leave you two to your conversation then."

As Poindexter turned away, he felt a hoof turn him back around. "Hold it right there, partner."

As Big Mac called him out, Poindexter started to get anxious. "Uh, did I do something wrong?"

"Eeyup. Ya don't ask a mare fer a dance an' leave her hangin'." Big Mac said as he pushed him towards Applejack.

Feeling relieved, Poindexter released a held breath. "Oh! So I guess I had to make my acquaintance."

Feeling himself being tugged away from the orange farm mare, he soon met with a bright-green elderly mare with a mane silvered from age. "Yer darn tootin, young feller! Ya best on mosey on over here an' show this old timer a good time 'fore ya fixin' ta dance with ma granddaugher!"

Applejack chuckled. "Well, how 'bout it? A dance with the Apple Family will get ya well-acquainted."

Giving in, Poindexter decided that there was no harm in having fun with the family. He took on the offer. "I suppose it can't be all that bad."

"Yeee-haw!" The elder mare shouted as she yanked him into a whirlwind to tango with her.

A younger filly walked beside the farm mare, shouting out to the stallion. "Careful now. She may be old, but she's a bit fresh on the dance floor."

As Granny Smith pulled the stallion into a dip, he called back to the filly. "Thanks for the warning!"

As Cadance and Shining started to make their leave to the honeymoon suite of Cinquième Ciel, one of the most prestigious hotels in all of Canterlot, Twilight held the door to their carriage open. Shining ran towards his younger sibling.

"Twilight! None of this would've been possible without you, little sis. Love ya, Twily."

"Love you too, B.B.B.F.F." Twilight said as she hugged her brother before he and his new wife took to the hotel. As they entered the carriage, Shining turned to Cadance.

"Ready to go?"

Cadance looked down to notice that she was still holding the bouquet. "Oh, I almost forgot!"

The pink princess maneuvered herself past the stallion, placing her plot right in front of his face. Shining gave it a quick slap as she tossed the bouquet backwards in response from the shock. She glared at her husband as he looked back to her with an innocent look.

"MIIIINE!!!" Rarity shouted as she leapt into the air, pushing away three others for the bouquet. As she caught it, she found herself being stared down by three other mares. She chuckled nervously as she held the bouquet of flowers in her magic.

"Aha ha... I guess this belongs to you?"

Canterlot Royal Palace
Hall of the Two Sisters.

The two princesses made their way to their respective rooms as they continued to smile. The clock showed that the midnight hour had long passed as the two royal siblings laughed from the memories that they shared with many others in the party.

"What a lovely evening!" Celestia said happily as she and her sister recovered from their laughing fits.

"I've haven't had so much fun since the night of the Nightmare Night Bash! This was a wonderful, wonderful night.

"Yes. I know that Azure would've enjoyed himself." Celestia stated, unwittingly causing her younger sister to become saddened by his absence.

"...I know he would have."

Celestia realized what she had said and offered to apologize. "Luna?"

"I'm sorry, I guess I feel a bit lonely from his not being there."

Celestia placed a hoof to her sister's chin. "Luna, you don't have to blame yourself. In fact, you should be thanking yourself for what you did. You saved him from death and you managed to even risk your own life to do so. I think that exempts you from any self-doubt."

"You think so?"

"I know so."

"Princess!" A third voice called from the darkness of the hallway. A stallion in medical robes called out to the two princesses. "A thousand pardons, your highness."

"Doctor. Is something wrong?" Celestia asked.

"Well... there's been numerous cases of stallions contracting an infection from wounds received from the changeling attack reported in today. We knew that the two of you wished not to be disturbed at all, but I think this case warrants your attention."

As Celestia received a list of the infected patients, Luna turned to the doctor. "What are you saying?"

Celestia grew dismayed upon reading the list. The smile that she once wore turned into a frown of despair. "Well, to safely put it, Azure is one of the ones infected."

ACT 2: I Always Loved the Night Sky...

~Thursday~
April 21st, 1 S.R.
Canterlot Royal Infirmary
Outside of Room 215
9:28 A.M.

A small crowd gathered around the room where Azure rested. The gathering consisted of close friends, intimate relations and well-known associates. His family was nowhere to be seen due to a business meeting. As the doctor finished informing everyone of the news, gasps and no's quietly sounded throughout the hall.

"Azure's infected? With what?" Longshot asked.

"It appears to be some sort of virus that the changelings managed to inject into the bodies of all that they wounded severely. And from the looks of things, it seems to be a method of last resort."

Shadow Star hummed as he brought a hoof to his chin, thinking about the tactical disadvantages this disease was to cause. "So, if they managed to lose the battle, they'd let our wounded die off and leave us with even less soldiers. Something like that would easily give them the war."

Taking a moment to think further on the subject, Twilight spoke out. "Wait a sec, I thought that the spell that drove out all the changelings canceled out their magic too."

"Yes, but the effects doesn't apply to a biological hazard." The doctor answered.

Silverleaf hesitated when he thought of what the end result could be. "So... Azure is going to-"

"SHUT UP! Just shut it! I don't wanna hear it." Poindexter interjected, trying to ignore the stallion's suggestion.

Luna, however, couldn't help but to ponder on the implied result that the Silverleaf mentioned. "Azure... no."

The doctor turned to the two royal sisters, bowing his head in respect. "Princess Celestia, I will also inform to you that our medical team is working around the clock to find a vaccine to this infection."

"How long will it take?" Luna asked impatiently.

"Princess Luna, this is something that cannot be done quickly. This will be something that takes time." The doctor responded.

"I want answers. And I want them immediately."

"I promise to do my best." With another bow, the doctor took his leave down the hall, leaving a group of ponies and a dragon stuck in disbelief.

"No way..." Rainbow Dash whispered.

"Not a chance in hell." Longshot mumbled.

The hall grew silent after the exchange took place. The group allowed the news to settle in as Spike thought about the absence of Azure's mother and father. "Should we tell his parents?"

Poindexter grew upset at the dragon's question. "Of course we tell his parents! 'Hey sir and ma'am, I understand that your son didn't live up to your expectations, but please understand that he is in a serious predicament that could cost him more than his health. Normally, you would ignore your son's reckless pursuits and have done so since his freshmeat year, but it's only fair that you were notified of the circumstances prior to any future occurrences'."

"There will be only one future occurrence, and that is Azure will resume his position as Captain of the Royal Guard." Celestia declared, trying to remain optimistic for her younger sister.

"I can respect that." Longshot responded with a nod.

"Sounds a lot better than what I was thinking." Silverleaf said.

The solar princess took great joy in hearing that everyone was on board with her. "Very well then. We will continue to support Azure in his time of need, agreed?"

"Agreed."

Room 215
12:25 P.M.

The room remained silent as the continuous beeps of a heart monitor signified that the stallion was still alive. Soon, Azure gained a visitor, who walked in with a somber expression set on his face. Longshot looked at his friend and took a seat by his bedside, speaking with the comatose stallion as if he was fully awake.

"Hey, Azure."

Azure did not respond.

"I know you can't speak, but I'm gonna talk for a while. Is that cool?"

The beeps of the heart monitor was the only response that was given.

"Of course it is."

Longshot looked at the window, watching the workers in the distance repair an adjacent wing to the hospital that was damaged in the invasion. "You know, Luna's been working with the doctors a lot lately. I don't wanna tell you that they've come up with a cure yet, but I got a cheer ready, just in case."

Turning away from the construction work, he returned his attention to the stallion in the bed.

"You remember back when we were in high school? It was our senior year, and I was still anxious about being a father. I didn't know how to act, but you stood by me in my darkest time and told me that it was going to be alright. You slapped me on the back, hard, and told me to pony up."

Longshot raised from his seat and started to make his way to the door.

"I don't mind what you did. In fact, I wanted to say... thanks. Thanks for being around for me. And now that it's my turn to be here for you, just know that I'll be in your corner."

"You keep fighting, Az."

3:09 P.M.

"I guess you don't mind me sitting here."

Poindexter took his seat beside his unconscious friend. He pulled out a get well card and turned to the unresponsive stallion.

"I brought you a card. I'll go on ahead a read it."

"It’s been so nice seeing you every day; with your humor and kindness but it has been so sad not seeing you. Being ill and out of commission is hard on anyone. Everyone here sends their best wishes for your better health and healing. Take all the time you need to get well and know that when you return, there will be many happy faces that you will see."

Azure could not respond.

"I signed it, but so did a lot of others. Cadance and Shining signed it just last night, Longshot and his family signed not too long ago, heck, even Twilight signed it, and she doesn't even like you all that much... Or at least I though she didn't. She's been really down since the news of this... infection got out. She feels sorry that she didn't ever get a chance to thank you. But at least, I know that she'll get a second chance once you wake up."

Poindexter looked back at the card and noticed another set of signatures, reminded of a certain mare he grew interested in.

"Oh, and the Apple family signed it too. You may be wondering 'who the hell is that', but they're friends. A mare I met at the Gala, we started talking not too long ago. She even made me dance with her family while she laughed and made fun of me for dancing with her brother. Her grandmother is a feisty one too. She gets offended when you call her old. And she has a younger sister, who's constantly looking for ways to get her cutie mark. You would love them. They were so close. Even though they didn't have their parents, they still smiled and laughed, just like you do."

Azure remained non-responsive as Poindexter sought to dismiss himself.

"I can't wait till you get out of here, so you can see them for yourself. I could tell you all about them, but I think you'd like it better if you met them on your own."

Looking back to hospitalized captain, Poindexter could no longer bear to look at the sight of his friend in such a state. He turned away before he was brought to tears.

"I'll go on ahead and take my leave. But you keep fighting."

The door opened as Poindexter looked back into the room one last time before leaving.

"Don't quit."

5:16 P.M.

The door to the room opened to reveal two ponies taking a visit to the comatose patient. One held flowers set in a exquisite vase while the other held on to a set of dog tags. The couple stood beside the patient as they held each other, trying to be the support for one another.

"Hey there." Cadance whispered.

"Guess you didn't expect us to take our honeymoon off to see you." Shining joked.

"We had a lot of fun together. You made fun of Shining while I often teased him." Cadance said as she reminisced on the adventures they shared back in high school.

Shining stood by his wife. "Who'd knew that we'd be married like this and still have you to thank?"

Cadance felt her composure breaking as she thought about everything that happened during the past week. "I can't seem to help but to become sad when I see you there. Just last week, it was my husband who was down the hall from here. Now it's you."

"But there's some good news. The war that was recently declared had ended. We drove back the changelings and me and Cadance got married just yesterday. You should've been there."

Cadance left the vase of flowers on the desk next to the sleeping stallion. "I... We really want you to come back to us sometime soon."

Shining felt himself becoming weak at the sight of his best friend not responding to anything they had to say. "We can't imagine you leaving us. Especially since you were with us for so long."

Cadance rubbed her husband's shoulders as she realized that even he couldn't maintain his composure. "Do you want me to give you some time, dear?"

"No... I'm fine." Shining answered, needing the support of his wife as he clasped her hoof with his own.

"Okay, honey. Go on."

Shining took a heavy breath as he sank his head down. "I remember back when we were in elementary school. You and I used to get into fights all the time. We absolutely hated each other. You always knew what to say to get under my skin and I knew exactly where to hit you. We were fighting each other for a seat next to the cutest girl in class. But when she moved away, you and I stopped fighting, and eventually we put everything behind us and started seeing eye-to-eye."

Shining then held an outstretched hoof of his best friend. "Since then, we've been friends. And later, came Longshot, and finally Poindexter. The four of us would always get into stupid stuff together. And we'd also get in trouble too. I remember this one prank you pulled that almost got all of us suspended. But as soon as my dad came in and cleared it up, I remember you saying how you didn't want to go home and face your mom and dad."

Shining's grip tightened and shook as he tried his best to remain calm. "They never really had time for you when you did right, but when you did wrong, it seemed like that's all they cared about. They may have not shown their compassion when raising you, but I believe that they meant well when they punished you. Besides, if you weren't important to them, then they would've left you to get into more trouble. But it didn't matter what they said, you and I were like brothers."

The mention of how he saw their friendship broke him, causing Shining to release suppressed tears. Shining shuddered as he feared the thought of losing his best friend. "We were like the brothers we wished we could've had. We argued, we fought, we made up, we laughed, we talked and the cycle repeated itself."

Cadance held on to her weakened husband. Shining removed the dog tags from around his neck and placed it into the combined grip of his hooves as well as Azure's. "So I'm here to say, don't you dare give up on me. I never gave up on you. Stay strong. Be encouraged to carry on."

Finally, the weight became too much as Shining leaned against his comrade, his brother-in-arms, his best friend, his brother, tears riding down his face.

"I love you, bro."

7:30 P.M.

The door to Azure's room opened once more. This time there was a party of ponies walking into the room. Hooves quietly clopped against the floor as six mares and a young dragon looked over the unconscious form.

"You think he minds us coming in here?" Fluttershy asked quietly.

"He's out cold, I don't think he would even care to notice." Rainbow Dash answered in deadpan.

Pinkie Pie remained optimistic. "You think he'd mind-"

"Pinkie, we talked 'bout this. No parties in the hospital." Applejack answered, trying to calm her friend.

"Right, sorry. But do you think I could throw a 'Happy-Waking-Up-From-Your-Coma-And-Now-We-Can-Finally-Celebrate-Your-Recovery' party?"

"Jus' not in the hospital."

"Okay." Pinkie answered as she set aside her optimism for a more somber expression.

"Hello, mister Azure. I hope that you continue to fight the good fight." Rarity said as she walked up to Azure.

Twilight walked beside Rarity and placed a hoof on his. "We all just came to say how thankful we were for you and your friends defending us. You did everything for us and you didn't ask for much in return."

Rarity started to think back to when she was a foal. She often seen him with Shining whenever they went to the hotel he worked at. "You know, I still remembered the time where he and my mother would often poke fun at Shining back when I was still being foalsitted by him."

Twilight still held on to the stallion as she spoke to Rarity. "I remember the times where he would call me Twily, just to get on my nerves. I never really found it funny that he would call me the name that only my brother was allowed to call me. But he always seemed to laugh. He never did show me one time that he was down or that he was angry, or frustrated, or depressed, or even sad."

Pinkie Pie knew exactly where this would go as soon as Twilight started to shake. She offered to hug the mare, which she initially declined. "I always hated how he seemed to be so happy, no matter what my brother went through. It made me so angry that I started to resent him. I always thought that it was unfair that he got to be happy but my brother got to suffer. But now that I've met all of you, I realized what he was doing. He was shouldering everypony around him to see the light in their darkest hour. He wanted to be the support that they could count on when the chips fell. While my brother was the one suffering, he was the one saying that everything was going to be alright."

Applejack and Fluttershy immediately saw the sadness in Twilight's eyes as she continued to rant on about him. "And at the same time, he was going through his own turmoils, his own battles. He never did show when he was in pain, because he needed to be that individual who'd shine the brightest. He never let his conflicts show on him because he knew he could overcome them."

Pinkie and Rarity immediately threw their forelegs around the emotionally unstable mare as Twilight cried loudly. "I'm so stupid! I couldn't even see how important he was to everypony! He mastered friendship long before I had even started to learn about it. I was so angry over that smile he wore, never knowing that his smile was a mask half of the time. Now that's he's not smiling... Azure..."

"It's okay, Twilight." Rainbow Dash said as she petted her friend. Spike turned away from the display, fearing that he could no longer be strong for his caretaker.

"Azure, I'm so sorry for hating you. I never knew that you were..."

"It's okay to cry, Twilight." Another voice whispered from the doorway. As the others turned around to see who it was, they grew shocked over who also offered their respects.

"Prin...cess?" Twilight staggered out as Celestia walked up to her student, offering her a hug.

"It's okay to cry."

~Friday~
April 22nd, 1 S.R.
12:01 A.M.

"Happy Birthday, my dear Azure."

Princess Luna stood by the side of the bed, exhausted from the long day of research with the doctors.

"I remember that you were to turn twenty-six today. But we'll be more than certain to celebrate when you awaken from your slumber."

Luna took a seat by her special sompony, still fatigued over the fruitless efforts that she and the doctors managed to put forth.

"We're still trying to find a cure. We're close now. I can see you being rid from that ailment by the end of the week."

Kissing her guardian on the forehead, she felt the warmness of his body still radiating to her lips.

"You're a lot stronger than some of the others who were infected. Some of them have already died from the infection."

Luna rested herself against the stallion, hearing the heart beating in his chest as she allowed the rhythmic thumbs soothe her.

"If I was only there to save you. You wouldn't be here like this. But I'll save you."

In mere seconds, his heartbeat became similar to that of a lullaby. The waltz of his pulse quietly rocked her to sleep.

"I'll save you, Azure."

Her eyelids grew heavy. She allowed herself a moment to rest once more with him as she did prior to the invasion. Warm memories propelled her thoughts of saving him as her body started to drift into the realm of dreams. Luna closed her eyes and rested.

"Even... if I have to..."

???
3:21 A.M.

"Azure!"

Luna ran after the galloping shadow of her beloved. Though the more she tried to catch up to him, Azure gained more ground, disappearing into the darkness of the distance. After a few steps, Luna found herself stumbling to the ground. The shadow continued to gallop further into the dark.

"Azure! Don't leave me here alone!"

Luna reached out to him with an outstretched hoof, begging him to return. He ignored her cries and ran on as she yelled to him, watching him disappear into the shadows. Luna was left alone in a circle that continued to emit the light of her own body as she rose to her hooves. The moment she regained her hoofing, a dark tentacle tugged at her hind leg, preventing her from going further. When she looked back, she could see more of the dark tendrils reaching from the shadows and dragging her by her horn, sealing off her magic. Several more surrounded her as they all latched onto her wings and her other legs, rendering her immobile. She grunted as she struggled against the darkness of her own nightmare devouring her. She called out to the one stallion who was assigned to protect he; the stallion who was her guardian and her lover.

"AZUUUUURRE!!!"

A bright light erupted from within her chest, cradling her in an orb of energy that severed the bindings of the tendrils that held her captive. She looked up to see the stallion she cried for standing over her with a gentle smile on his face as he reached down to her.

"Geez, I'm okay. I play one game of hide-n-go-seek and you start screaming bloody murder."

As the dreamscape became cleansed of the nightmare, Luna took his hoof with relief washing over her body. But she did not only accept his assistance, but also thanking him with a powerful hug. She clung onto him with a unbelievable strength, ensuring that what she was feeling was very much real. She knew that this was far from the world of reality, but she accepted the fact that her beloved stallion was with her once more.

"You're here! You're alive!"

"Of course I'm alive. I don't intend on dying now."

Luna buried herself into his neck, close to crying. "Oh thank you! Thank you for everything!"

"Luna, still alive here." He said, trying to brush off any doubts she may have had of his well-being.

"I don't care, I want to make sure that you know how I feel."

Trying to further emphasize his desire to live, he squirmed as he tried to escape from the princess' death-grip. "I can feel you crushing my ribs, if that's what you mean."

Pulling away from the stallion, Luna blushed as she allowed him to breathe. "Sorry, I didn't me-"

Luna's unfinished sentence started to intrigue the stallion. "What's wrong?"

"You're... talking to me... in my dream." Luna finished, taking a moment to realize what was going on.

"Well... yeah."

"You're here, in my dreams."

Azure nodded his head slowly. "Yeeeessss."

Suddenly, the deadly vice-like grip he previously escaped from managed to lock on to him once more as Luna snuggled up to him. "Oh how wonderful! You managed to learn how to walk the dreamscape!"

"Wait, I did?" Azure asked, straining to breathe.

"What do you remember from you conscious state?" Luna asked impatiently.

"Well... I remember a lot of pain."

Luna felt herself become saddened over the reminder of the trip she made to bring him to the hospital. He often grunted and groaned weakly as she carried him. Every step she took was agonizing pain to him. She couldn't bring herself to look at him. "I'm sorry."

Azure walked in front of the gloomy princess, raising her head with his magic. "It wasn't your fault. In fact, I managed to receive a parting gift from Blueblood."

Luna became confused at his statement. "What? What did he do?"

A magical monitor appeared before the two of them, showing the moment he was fighting in Canterlot. As he turned to the side, a large, heavily-built changeling thrusted a blade into him and into an adjacent wall. "He turned traitor, became a changeling and stabbed me in the gut. Your basic Shakespearean drama. Stuff like that."

Looking at the figure of her guardian and the monitor above, she saw that he still sported the ghastly wound that placed him in the hospital. She grew infuriated over the traitor's actions. "Where is he!?"

"If I can safely conclude, he's either dead, or he's blown to the sky with the others."

Luna gasped as she realized that he knew that the changelings were purged from the city. "You know?"

"Yeah. You weren't the only one at my bedside." Azure said as he pulled up several more screens, showing each time a pony managed to visit him. Numerous panes shone brightly in the darkness, surrounding the two ponies as Luna took comfort in him being frequented by other well-wishers.

"Well, that's good to know."

The screens disappeared into the darkness as Azure started to walk towards her. "Hey Luna... I wanted to show you something while I was here. I think I may have gotten it wrong, so I need you to tell me what it is."

"What do you mean?"

Azure smiled as he held a hoof to the dark space around him. "Well, this."

In an instant, one tiny white dot shined brightly as Luna questioned it's appearance. She reached out to touch it, only for the whole entire world around her to erupt similar white specks, some arranging themselves into the formations she grew well-acquainted with. A smile grew on her face as she realized what he tried to simulate.

"Azure... this is-"

"An exact replication of your night sky. Or at least it would be if I had managed to get all of the stars right."

Luna held her hooves to her mouth as she admired the beauty of his sky. "It's perfect."

"Stop lying."

"It's perfect to me."

"Luna." He deadpanned.

The princess rolled her eyes. "Okay, just twenty-seven stars are out of place, but I think you did just fine."

"Which one's did I need to move?" He asked as he started to tap random stars at will, only to have his hoof pulled away by Luna.

"You don't."

"Why not?"

Luna closed in on him and gave him a peck on the lips. "Because this is the night you created and I like it the way you made it."

"You sure?"

"I am."

Luna sank herself into him, showing her appreciation for his attention to her night. Though it was flawed, she preferred that his stars remained unchanged. She only wanted to hold on to him, while he had other plans. A playful grin grew on his face. "Since we're hugged up like this, I suppose you don't mind a dance."

"A dance, under the stars of your night? I would love to."

Luna and Azure separated from each other as they bowed before each other. The guardian offered his hoof and the princess accepted his offer, allowing him to take the lead. They proceeded to dance in the silence as the stars passed through their bodies upon their passing. Suddenly, Azure noticed a sound echoing throughout the silence. Luna smiled as she closed her eyes and hummed a tune to their dance.

"That's a beautiful melody you're humming. It sounds familiar."

Luna rose to face her her lover, mocking him. "You've been on this earth far longer than the time I spent in my return from the moon. I'd figure that you would know the song."

"It escapes my mind every single time. Would you care to sing it to me?"

Luna stumbled a bit as his suggestion made her nervous. "I'm not a singer."

"You are now. So can I hear it, just this once?"

"Fine, since you asked so nicely."

Luna took a breath as she started to sing before him. Azure waived his hoof and a table, complete with chairs and candlelight. He sat before her as she started to sing her melody.

Thanks for everything, all those special things.
The stolen moments shared, when we were unprepared for anything.

Walking in the park, that sudden summer storm.
Time, sinking in sand.
Stumbling in the dark, and wondering wheres the warm.
Us, feeling so grand.

So thanks for giving things, all those extra things.
That unexpected call, that put me in free-fall like anything.

Flying without strings, I've suddenly grown wings.
You made me feel free. Now I wanna sing, thank you for just everything.

"Oh, so that's the song my mom would play on the radio when I was a foal." Azure responded with applause.

Luna felt her cheeks fill with a burn as she bashfully turned away from the stallion who praised her. "It's a beautiful song."

"Ahhh, what a memory these sounds bring. The robust horns, the cornet singing your melody in a mellow tone, the falling woodwinds that gracefully glissando into a colorful silence, and the strings journeying through the dissonance of hardship into a land of unspeakable wonder."

"You make it sound so poetic."

Azure rose from the table to lean against the tabletop, remembering a time long past. "I'd look at the stars when I'd hear that song. I always loved the night sky, and hearing that song made me picture the nights where I'd take a glance at the sky above while my mother sat by the fire, tapping her hoof along with the beat."

"Perhaps... we should dance like this when you get well." Luna suggested, as she finally faced Azure for the first time since she finished singing.

Azure shrugged with a grin. "I would love to."

A rumbling sounded as the dreamscape that held the two grew unstable. A loud voice shouted through the serene void.

"LUNA!!!"

The princess knew that her elder sister called on her. She dismayed that she would not get to spend more time with the stallion. She grew solemn as she said her goodbye. "Azure... I fear that it is my time."

"I understand. Go on ahead. I'll be here when you want to sing again." Azure said as he sat back in the chair.

Luna grew frustrated at Azure's praise of her vocal talents. "I'm not a singer!"

"With a voice like that, I beg to differ." He argued.

"...You think so?"

"You've got an audience every time you come here, so why not make it a show?"

Luna smiled one last time, giving in to his demands. "Okay. I will come back to see you."

"And I'll be waiting."

Luna's dream started to fade into darkness once more as the final view was that of a stallion sitting at a table before her. She called out to him before he dissipated into the void. "Goodbye?"

She saw his smile glowing in the darkness as his voice reached out to her. "I'd prefer the term 'see you later'."

3:42 A.M.

Time seemed to stand still as the world Azure created glowed around him. He sat at the table, awaiting his diva to take the stage upon her next visit. There was little he could do in this state, so he decided that waiting on her was the best choice he had. He quietly sang to himself as he continued to play with a nearby star.

"Flying without strings, I've suddenly grown wings. You made me feel free. Now I wanna sing, tha-"

"I didn't take you for a singer." A voice rang out from behind him. Azure turned around to see a white alacorn mare with a red mane. She had blue eyes and a cutie mark that seemingly depicted that of a quill in an ink well. She held a scroll in her possession.

"Uhhh, do I know you?" Azure asked.

The mare giggled. "No and yes."

"So, I take it that you're another audience to Luna's show?"

"Actually, I'm here for something else."

"That something is what?"

"Well... I'm here to speak to a love-struck stallion. Know where I might meet him?"

Azure facehoofed as he immediately knew that she was looking for him. "I'm assuming that you want to talk to me?"

"You got it." She said cheerfully, approaching the table he sat at.

"So what's the problem?"

"Oh, I just need you to sign this." She said as she unrolled a scroll before him, pointing to a dotted line with an x marked by it.

"What is it?"

"Just for accountability. Your track record was rather concerning but you seemed to come through in the end."

Azure grabbed the pen and started to sign his name, but as the first droplet of ink landed on the paper, he soon realized what she had just implied. "In the end?"

Her smile grew into a sorrowful frown. "Yes."

Azure backed away from the table, only to find himself backed against a young tree, devoid of all life. He looked to his sides and saw the landscape he created replaced by an world filled with color. The waters that flowed from the ground glistened in many colors. The sky became an eternal twilight, with one side as the day and the other as the night. Strange clouds floated above him as he watched the colors from both sides of the sky blend into a beautiful mix of orange and purple. He looked forward to see a gate that spanned the very equator of the world.

Azure started to stutter, which then evolved into a series of whimpers and trembled breaths.

"...No. No no nononono! I can't be-"

The mare rolled up the scroll, satisfied with the little speck of ink on the signature line. "I'm so sorry. We were expecting you far later than this. But we were prepared to receive you no matter what."

Azure continued to deny what was obviously absolute. "I can't be... Luna's-"

"Luna is a very lucky mare to have you around her. Though I questioned her tastes from the start, but she managed to come away with a good one. It's just too bad that you were like a fleeting dream."

"I... I-"

"Do you have any regrets?"

Azure fell to the ground, deeply saddened over what had occurred to him. He didn't want to believe, but the tree behind him that represented his life was a definite sign of his departure. "Not seeing her again."

"That's a common trait. But I believe there is a peace that can be found in this."

Azure faced the mare. "That being?"

"You spent the time of your life with the mare that loved you the most. She's happy to know you and others around you are just as happy to spend time with you."

Finally seeing that his regrets were nothing more than an attachment to what he could no longer have, he questioned her. "So... there's really nothing to regret?"

"Come along. We have much to discuss."

The mare started to walk to the gates. As she approached, they opened to grant her passage into the heavens. She started to make her way in, when suddenly...

"Wait!"

The alacorn turned around to the stallion standing on his hooves. She nodded once, letting him know that he had permission to ask her whatever he needed to have answered.

"Can I say goodbye?"

"I think that your 'see you later' was in the best taste." She answered in a soft, motherly tone.

He accepted the answer. And even if he didn't, he was well-aware that there was no turning back to say goodbye. He couldn't bargain for his life now that he was in the world beyond. "Okay... So what are we discussing?"

"Hmm... I would like to hear everything from your perspective."

"From?"

"From birth of course. We've got the time."

Azure paused for a second as he walked up to the mare. "Before I start, I just wanna know. Why didn't you just outright tell me that I..." He gulped as he struggled to say the word. "...passed?"

"If I walked up to you and said that, you would be kicking and screaming for a chance to go back. I'd tell you no and you'd still resist. Besides, I'm not as harsh as what scriptures and teachings make me to be. I believe in telling you the news in the easiest way possible. I think it was best that I eased you into it rather than yank you from your body."

Azure cringed. "Your reason sounds a little less painful than the latter."

"To me, it is. Especially when young children such as yourself meet their ends in battle or in the cause of violence. Often I have come across those who try to fight me for a chance to go back, but all attempts to do so have ended in failure. Some have even resorted to attach themselves to the world of the living, becoming demonic manifestations that I could not save. They continue to become evil spirits, working against the peace that I offer in hopes of regaining a second chance at life."

"And me?"

"You are different, however. You've, and others, have denied your demise many times, you've been angered at your circumstances just recently as you started to feel regrets for your past life, you've tried to bargain for a chance to go back, you've even mourned the fact that you would never see the ones you love in the living world ever again and you've come to accept what was, is and always will be. But since I answered your question, I think it's time you gave me your account on your life."

With a final take of air, he dismissed the attachments to his living state. He no longer needed the air he once breathed nor did he thirst or hunger. He grew contempt with what was, and walked into the gates of the heavens alongside the goddess.

"Well... It all started when I was born..."

And on this day, April 22nd, 1 S.R. at the hour of 3:42 A.M. was the passing of Azure Sword. He lived a fruitful life with few regrets. His soul now rests in peace as Faust claimed him to the heavens.

Sunrise: April 22nd, 975 C.D.V., -25 S.R.

Sunset: April 22nd, 1001 C.D.V., 1 S.R.

Requiescat in pace

Author's Note

The feels on the bus go round and round.

ACT 2: When I Am Weakened and Helpless...

Three weeks later...

Shining continued to stare at the photo of him standing beside his late best friend. The two stood next to each other with a broad smile as Azure held up his certificate of completion from basic training. It brought to him fond memories as well as a bitter sadness as he continued to mourn the loss of his best friend. It still didn't feel as if he died just recently, but Shining was used to the shock.

"I can't believe this."

Cadance stood in front of her mirror as she removed all of her regalia. She could see the reflection of her husband standing in the distance, wearing a somber expression. She turned around and hugged him.

"I know you miss him dear, but I need you to stop staring at that picture. You're going to make things worse."

Cadance telekinetically moved the portrait from her husband's hooves and placed it face-down on the nightstand. Shining still believed he was to blame. "I've been the cause of this. If only I hadn't let my guard down."

"You didn't know." Cadance said, trying to comfort her grieving husband.

"But Twily did. And I ignored her."

Cadance grew frustrated at her husband's insistence of blaming himself and pushed him next to the bed so he could rest. The hour was growing late. "Shining Armor, stop this incessant pity party at once."

"What else am I to do?"

"Leave it alone, come to the bed, and let me hold you."

Shining complied with her suggestion and laid himself on his side of the bed. He laid alone in the comfort of the sheets for many moments until Cadance was finished with everything she had to do in the mirror. She finally laid herself into the bed, causing the weight to shift towards her side. Shining remained despondent. "I feel like I can't protect anything."

She turned over to her side to face him, whispering to him. "Why do you feel that way?"

"First, it was the foal-"

Cadance placed a hoof on his lips as she spoke softly. "We've already discussed this. You are not to blame for the taking of a life when you are the one who offered theirs in turn. The same goes for Azure."

"But I let it happen." He said, angry with himself.

"Fine. We all 'allowed' it to happen. But what had been designed by fate cannot be interfered with. We are only to observe."

Shining looked up to her, meeting with the large orbs of light blue. "You think so?"

Cadance petted her husband as she reminded him of her past. "There have been others that I've watched die, some of whom I've even fell for. And, you know, a hundred plus years of living shows you the fragility of life."

"So, what would you do when I expire?" Shining asked.

Cadance sighed deeply as she took her time to think about it. "I don't think that I'll be alive to know of it."

"Why not?" He asked, confused from her statement.

"Alacorns aren't immortal. We age just like you do, only slower."

"But you've got another thousand years or so." He argued, thinking about Princess Celestia's age and how it translated to her current well-being.

"Not if I choose to go earlier." Cadance corrected. "Celestia chose to live due to the attachment to her sister. Since she has what she longs for, she will continue to live as long as Luna lives."

"But Luna was tied to Azure." Shining said unhappily.

"Yes, but she was not prepared to join him due to the nature of his passing. So she will live on, sadly."

Shining took some time to think about what she said, only for it to confuse him even more. "But I thought that-"

"Unfortunate circumstances does not an alacorn's passing make. Otherwise, we wouldn't be here right now."

Shining remained silent at the thought of not being married to Cadance. She would be long dead before he or his parents was even conceived. "Would you trade your life to save mine if I was to die off early?"

"If you could still be saved, then yes. Otherwise, no. I wouldn't, because I would leave you alone. The pain of losing someone close to me is something I've grown acquainted with. You wouldn't be able to bear it."

Shining felt himself growing pale from the thought of losing yet another close friend. "Heh, I guess you're right."

"Can we get off this subject, now? I don't wanna think about my husband dying. I'd much rather get to that bridge when we come to it." Cadance turned over to the other side of the bed, cutting off her lamp as Shining did the same.

"Okay. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, dearest."

The room became pitch black as Shining's eyes remained open. He leaned back over to his wife. "You know, I'd think I would follow you if you died early."

"Go to sleep."

Shining had a dream that night. He awoken in a field of flowers, sitting at a table set with tea, sweets and a few other delicacies that ponies would normally enjoy. He, however, remained suspicious of what was going on. "What is this?"

"An invitation." A voice echoed throughout the dreamscape. Shining turned to every direction to try and find the familiar voice. He rapidly searched everywhere around him before the sound of a stallion clearing his throat seemed to come from near him. He looked back to where he was sitting and in front of him was a familiar face.

"Azure?"

The blue unicorn, now ascended into alacorn stallion nodded. "Yeah and no. I used to be called that name, now I'm something else entirely."

Shining held out his hooves, urging him to slow down on his explanation. "Azure, I need you to be called Azure. That's the only name I know you by."

"Okay, sure." He answered.

Shining had so many questions for his deceased friend. Some teetered on the edge of simplicity such as 'how's the afterlife' or 'what's death like'. Others were more inquisitive such as 'what is the meaning of life' or 'why did you die and why can't you return to us'. But for the moment, he knew that there was one question that burned brightest in his mind. "So why are you here?"

"I'm just here to ask you a question."

Shining remained seated at the table as he reached for the tea set on the table. "Okay, ask."

"Do you love Cadance?"

Shining blew air from his lips, sputtering at the question. "Well, yeah. She's my wife and I've been with her for nine years. I don't see how I wouldn't love her."

"Okay then. So here's another question. Are you in love with her?"

This time, Shining couldn't blow off the question that was asked. He didn't know how to answer. "I...don't get it."

"I mean, do you find yourself and her mutually connected by your emotions? Do you hurt when you see her?" Azure clarified.

"Why would I?"

The alacorn stallion drew in a vacant breath. "That's what I was afraid of."

"What?" Shining asked, unaware of what Azure was implying.

"I can't exactly say it the way I want to because it will come off as rude."

"Just say it already." Shining urged.

"Shines, I don't think that you are in love with Cadance as much as you think."

The prince grew bewildered at the thought of him not loving his wife. "What are you talking about? She's my wife."

"Yes, but she isn't the object of your desire. You like her, you love her for being the amazing friend she's always been to you. She's put out a lot for you and done everything she could to have you. But what have you done for her to say how much you love her in return?"

"I've been there for her!" Shining rebutted loudly.

"Through what?"

Shining stumbled as he tried his best to come up with a decent answer. "Well... I've... been through a lot with her."

"Not with her, for her." Azure recited, trying to clarify his point.

"But we defeated Chrysalis together, with the power of love."

"Can I give you a reality check for a second?"

Shining remained persistent in his argument. "Our love means something."

"Then why was it mainly her power, fueled by her love for you that caused the changelings to be tossed out?"

Shining offered a response, but his mind fell short of creating one. "Wait, what?"

"That little light show you and Cadance put up on the day of the wedding, that was all her. The only reason she couldn't do it earlier was because you weren't around."

"I was there!" Shining still combated the suggestion of him doing nothing for his wife, when suddenly the field of flowers turned into a war-torn chapel, filled with green goo and changelings flying everywhere. Azure turned him to the center of the room as the scene started to play out.

"Okay, then take a look at this."

"Still going are we?" Chrysalis asked with a grin.

Cadance struggled to stand as the beam slowly work it's way against her magic, towards her. Refusing to succumb to defeat, Cadance placed the last bit of her own love for Shining into her magic. "I... will... beat you..."

The beam stopped inches before Cadance's face as it started to struggle back to the winning combatant. Chrysalis gasped at the resistance the mare before her was putting up. Cadance refused to go down. With an angry snarl, the changeling queen released all of her magic as well as the magic of her victim, causing the beam to go into deadlock once more. With a sly grin, Chrysalis started to corrupt the energy of her opponent's magic. Being that the blue beam was filled with the emotion that the changelings so often fed off of, Cadance's own magic found itself turning green and being reflected back at the caster. With a large blast, Cadance was knocked back to a nearby wall.

"Second verse, same as the first." Chrysalis scoffed at the beaten pink princess.

"Cadance!" Shining shouted as he ran over to the fallen figure of his wife. As he sought to pick her up, the body faded from in front of him.

"This is an illusion, a flashback to when you were unresponsive. She needed you then, but you didn't show up."

"But I did later." Shining argued, trying to justify that he was still there to support Cadance as equally as she did to him.

"Because your little sister freed her from Chrysalis' grip and allowed her to save you. Another instance where you were saved by her."

"But..." Shining couldn't finish his statement as he found himself in the middle of a crowd full of teenage colts and mares. Azure pointed to a clearing and spoke.

"Can I show you something else?"

"STOP IT BLUEBLOOD!" The pink mare screamed to her cousin. Blueblood stopped short of the stallion, pulling out the spear with his magic. Shining winced as the prince held the bloodied spear over his face.

"There wasn't just you she had an interest in. Princess over there had four others. She loved them all before they all met their ends. They all served their duties and whatnot and died on the field shortly after confessing their love for each other. All of them except for the last one, who was executed for trespassing on place grounds. Points to you though. There was one thing that you were the first to do out of all of them, it was to take what was rightfully mine and piss me off."

"STOP THIS! PLEASE!" Cadance screamed to the angry prince. He nodded his head to notify the guards that it was time to make the young guard pay.

"Hold him down." Two of the guards held him down as Shining cringed in pain. Azure, who watched from behind the barricade, pushed one of the guards, only to have another come from behind and strike him behind the head with his spear shaft. As Azure fell to the ground unconscious, Blueblood held the spear in his hooves while he transferred his magic to the task of pulling back the stallion's mane, raising his head up. "AND FOR TAKING WHAT WAS ALLOCATED TO ROYALTY WITHOUT CONSENT, I, PRINCE BLUEBLOOD, HEARBY SENTENCE YOU TO DEATH! LAST WORDS?"

Shining groaned softly as the visions of Cadance filled his mind. "Cadance isn't... She wouldn't lie to me... Not like this."

Blueblood drew a smile across his face as he devised a way to make his death as insignificant as possible. "Oh... But she did lie to you. She was going to use you for an escape attempt. She's a princess on the run, avoiding her duties and all in the hopes of finding a stallion to rut her into the dirt. Ask her about anything... Her name was a lie, her status as a student is an absolute lie, she's not even your own age. She's lied to you about everything."

Cadance thought to herself as he projected to the blue-maned stallion. "Shining... That's not true! I really do love you-"

"Oh quit it, Cadenza! Go weep on the graves of the stallions that you've sullied yourself with. I'm pretty sure that the dust from their bones must be wanting to hear your wasteful cries just like they have been for the past seventy-plus years."

Cadance ignored his insult and spoke once more to her beloved coltfriend. "Shining Armor, I love you like no other. Please believe me."

Blueblood held the spear against the throat, focusing out on the point where he wanted to plant the blade. "And the ashes shall return to the earth from whence it came. The world shall fully receive what was given unto it!" His blade drew back as he readied the weapon for the plunge. "Recubo illic quod intereo!"

Shining's closes his eyes. There was nothing that could save him. This was a royal execution and only a royal had the power to halt it's course. Visions of his family and all of his friends. The visions of the young filly whom he had to reject faded into the darkness as he awaited his end. There was nothing left. Regrets or not... "This is it..."

Cadance pushed the guards out of her way with a swift flap of her wings. She stood forward and screamed to the top of her lungs. "UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF PRINCESS MI AMORE CADENZA, I ORDER YOU TO STOP!!!"

Blueblood halted his advancement. The distance between the spear and Shining's neck was still large enough to see that there was nothing to be afraid of. But in his mind, Blueblood pranced up and down in his victory. That was what he wanted. She almost admitted her status to everyone here, but now she would have to explain it to him in front of all of the students. With a grin, the prince retreated his weapon. "As you wish... highness."

Cadance ran to the stallion. She ran past her chuckling cousin and into the lap of the wounded teen she cared for and adored. His eyes opened to see that she was the one to call the halt. The other guards released him from their grip as Cadance openly wept in his hooves.

"I remember that night. I even apologized to her for being so angry with her even as she-"

"Protected you."

Shining felt that he was far from a decisive victory in his argument. "Oh... that's..."

The crowd suddenly changed from a numerous group of adolescents to a small gathering of mature officers who all sat in an office, staring past a glass window. On the other side was a spitting image of Shining when he was apprehended for punching an official of a hoofball game.

"One more thing, I need to show you this one."

"We're gonna clear you out somehow. Your charges will be omitted and your case will be swept under the table."

"But how? Not even a pony with your authority could even hope to drop this, especially with so many witnesses."

Orion released his son and removed himself from the table. As he walked out the door he turned back to his son. "There's always a way."

The door closes behind him as he trots to the other room. Opening the door, he sees the other officers that witnessed their actions behind the glass. The officers remained silent. Orion, suspicious of the unusual silence, speaks first.

"Well gentlecolts, how do we do this?"

One of the officers turns around to point to the wall behind Orion. "Well sir, you should ask your visitor."

As the blue unicorn stallion turns around, he sees a pink figure hiding within the shadow. Taken aback, Orion jumps away from the figure and prepares himself for combat.

"Those actions won't be necessary, captain." A young female voice calls out to him.

Relieved to hear the familiar voice, he lets his guard down. "Oh, it's you... what are you doing here?"

As the figure approaches the light, much of her figure is to be revealed as a medium sized mare with a pink coat. She had a multicolored mane with a light blue ribbon tied in a bow. She had a cutie mark depicting a blue heart. She donned both a horn and a pair of wings. As she pulled out a paper out of her saddlebag, she placed it into the hooves of Orion. The document was a form of omission, a roll of parchment that stated that the accused of the crime could walk free from any charges that was brought against them. As Orion reviewed the document, it already had the royal seal placed upon it as well as a signature.

Princess Mi Amore Cadenza

"My reason is simple, captain... I'm getting my boyfriend out."

Shining felt weakened by the sight of Cadance saving him yet again. At this point, there was no convincing his friend that he did as much to show his appreciation or love for her as she did for him. He had lost. "Oh... no... even then she-"

"Did way more for you than you ever did for her."

"I feel... so... useless." Shining bowed his head in shame from the defeat.

"Well don't. I think that it's fair that I'd show you this one thing you did when you were alone with another a few weeks ago."

"What are you showing me this time?" As Shining asked the question, he saw the same chapel they started off in, only empty of changelings and filled with decorations. Azure pointed his attention to the alter.

"Just watch."

"Shining paused the rehearsal for a moment and turned to the snow-white unicorn mare. "Rarity, are you feeling okay?"

Still feeling embarrassed from her flub, she lied to him. "Why of course, darling. I've never been better."

As she started to turn away, Shining walked over to her, trying to get her to look him in the eye. "I think something's troubling you."

"Is it that obvious?" Rarity asked as she turned away, back to the direction she faced earlier.

"Is it? How about neon signs saying 'problems this way'?" Shining said as he pointed to Rarity.

"I'm fine. Let's continue this rehearsal." Rarity shot back, growing annoyed over the stallion's persistence to know what had bothered her.

Shining began to get angry and stepped in front of Rarity's view once more. "Well, I don't want to continue if you're going to get an attitude."

"I don't have an attitude. I just want this to be over with." Rarity argued, stepping up to the inquisitive stallion.

"Just tell me what's wrong."

"There's nothing wrong!"

"You're lying."

"I'm not lying."

"You're a zebra trying to pass as a chimera. It's obvious."

"Just leave it alone and look at the alter." She commanded as she tried to shove his face in the direction she wanted him to look to.

Shining shoved her hooves away and stepped towards her. "Just say it."

"No."

"Say it."

"No."

"Please?"

"NO!"

"Look, I'm just trying to help."

Rarity growls as she screams at the stallion, determined to get off the subject. "I don't need your help, and I don't need you saving me!"

"I want to save you!" Shining shouts back.

"Do you!?"

"Yes!"

With a snarl, Rarity pushes the stallion with all of her strength. Caught off-guard, Shining lost his balance and fell to the floor, raising up to angrily feud with the mare that assaulted him. But before he could say anything, a familiar feeling pressed against his lips. Rarity held no quarter as she desperately sought to devour him. His mouth still open from the shock, he unwittingly allowed the mare access to his tongue. With fervent gasps of air, Rarity's lips smacked as she parted from his.

"Then save me now." She whispered, her voice becoming unsteady in it's tone.

"Your highness."

"See? Even then, you gave yourself to her more openly than you do with Cadance."

Shining blushed loudly as he tried to cover for himself. "But it was a misunderstanding. A mistake. I didn't mean to go that far with her."

"The two of you kissed on an alter that was designated for you and Cadance, I see nothing to misunderstand."

"Okay, so that was just once." Shining said frustrated that he continued to lose at every argument that was set against him. As his frustrations grew louder, so did the loud pounding of the music. Shining looked around to see that he was standing on a balcony just outside of a club. Azure pointed to two ponies staring at a window.

"Really? Then let me jog your memory. Even I was here for this one."

"Oh dear."

"What?"

"We've seem to be getting quite the audience." Rarity said as she pointed out that all of her friends, as well as his own, stopped enjoying the party to watch the two of them speak.

Shining looked back at the group of ponies and grew curious. "Those your friends?"

"The girls yes. Your's?"

"The boys, pretty much."

"I suppose they're just trying to make sure that we're careful."

Shining stopped for a moment and looked back at the table. He grew a devious smile as he lifted the tray from it's resting place and placed between them and the window. "Hey, let's give them a show while we're at it."

"Really? Here? Now?" Rarity asked nervously as she backed away a little, only to be caught up to by the larger stallion.

"Sure, it'll be just like old times." He answered.

Rarity was no stranger to the art of flirting, but when it came to the stallion she longed for, she almost grew unfamiliar with the practice. With a smile, she pressed onward, agreeing to his bluff. "Oh Mister Shining, I wouldn't have figured you to be a prankster."

As the tray concealed their faces from view, Shining closed the distance between them. "Yeah, I bet they think that we're kissing right now."

"Should we sell our stunt a little more?"

"I think we're close enough."

Rarity stared at the stallion in front of her. Her knight in shining armor, her prince, her Mister Shining, smiled at her. She took in his refined features, the chiseled structure of his frame. She allowed herself the opportunity to adore every dimple that formed all over his muscular form. The once, evenly-cut mane that was one his had grown nearly unruly, fluttering gently in the wind. The stallion that used to tower over her, didn't stand nearly as tall as she had come to identify him as, but his physique and his height did change for the greater. The scrawny hooves she was so used to seeing had transformed into blue sledgehammers capable of breaking her in two.

"Wow... Um... you've really grown."

Shining blushed deeply at her compliment as he allowed his eyes to travel to the indigo coiffure atop her pristine face. The blue shadow that glazed over her eyelids matched with her very eyes. With each time she blink, he felt a part of his soul become ensnared by the lost gaze and engulfed by the very same eyes that continued to draw him in like a sailor to the siren's aria. Her voluptuous curves sank in and out in perfect proportions. Every valley and elevation of her body was deserving of praise as he drew closer.

"Well, *ahem* so have you."

"I think we've been here a little too long." Rarity whispers, while ironically allowing her body to touch his. The first waves of his heat burning her coat drove her to press her body against him even more.

"Yeah. It's not like you were going to kiss me." Shining joked as he felt her soft fur brush up against him. The sweet smell of lavender radiated off of her body, causing his muzzle to seek her.

"TIMEOUT!" Shining said, pausing the flashback as he tried to defend himself. "I already said that-"

"You're lying to a spirit that has unlimited access to all of time and creation. I don't think you have a case here."

"But I-" Shining stuttered as the scene continued from where it was left off.

"TIME-IN!"

"Yeah. It's not like you were going to kiss me." Shining joked as he felt her soft fur brush up against him. The sweet smell of lavender radiated off of her body, causing his muzzle to seek her.

"To be honest... we can."

Shining felt a bolt of excitement strike his body as soon as she gave her consent to kiss her. His breathing grew hungry as he tried his best to keep levitating the tray beside them. Her body proved to be too much of a distraction for him to focus on his magic. "Just for performance, right?"

"Yeah... It's... all in good fun." Rarity said as she brought up a hoof to caress his face.

"No harm done?" Shining asked as his hoof traced the curls in her mane, slowly making it's way to her navel.

"Just a second, or a fraction of a second." She painfully urged.

"A quick peck." His answers rushed from his lips as he sought to close the distance between him and her.

"So... may I?" She asked anxiously.

"What's the harm in one little prank?" He said as his nose touched hers, their muzzles finally making contact with one another.

"Quietly now." She whispered softly as she felt the moist air of his exhales vaporize against her skin. Her lips quivered as his touched hers.

For the first time in their lives, they experienced the taboo that was their deepest affection. A quick peck on the lips was all that was as Rarity giggled softly and bit her bottom lip in excitement. She never felt so alive in her life. Much could be shared by her partner in crime, who also giggled a little. But their laughter stopped as they had realized what was done.

They shared a kiss when he was to be married to another. She violated the relationship of a stallion who was going to get married to someone else. It was a betrayal that proved to be hurtful to his future... but it was a betrayal that they continued to commit.

Rarity gave him another peck on the lips. This time, he pressed himself fully against her. As quickly as he retreated, Rarity offered to engage him even more. He fought back with his own advances, forcefully shoving his lips against hers, causing him and her to grant each other passage to their tongues.

Immediately, the invitation were accepted by the greedy stallion who pulled back briefly, only to be stopped by her teeth pulling his bottom lip into her. Drawn in by the act, Shining felt himself loose all means of restraint, not that there was much restraint left in him. Rarity gasped lustfully as she mouthed his name into her lips, letting his tongue scar her senses with his depravity. She felt herself sink into the nape of his neck, finished with the kiss. At this point, there was no turning back. She wanted him then and there. It was pointless to hold the tray up for what she was going to do to him. As she allowed herself to sink lower against his body, he stopped her.

"We really have to get away from each other." He said guiltily, realizing that what they did was a terrible mistake that could've been avoided.

Brought back to reality on what she was feeling, what she was offering herself to do and where she was at the time, she rose from his neck and stood in front of him, not separating the distance between them. "Agreed."

Shining breathed heavily as he knew that this was going to turn out bad if he didn't stop now. Deep down, he wanted to take her, just once before he was taken to the alter; a sin committed before a vow was to be broken. But something inside of him flashed and showed the face of his fiancee, telling him that his love was only for her. Finally, seeing that his mistake was a crucial one, he offered to finish their 'prank'. "Turn to the audience and poke our tongues at them."

"Silly faces are fun." Rarity said as she breathed heavily, still tasting the liquor from his tongue mixed in with the wine she drank.

Shining turned to the tray as he counted. "One...two..."

"Three!" Rarity shouted as he threw the tray away, revealing a stallion and a mare who poked their tongues out at them and made ugly faces. The others who watched either got a laugh from it or they groaned at the joke for being so risque. They could even see Azure's disappointed facial expression when he had to pay Rainbow Dash ten bits for what seemed like a wager.

"Ha! That's what you get for snooping around!" Shining shouted at the stallions.

"Sorry ladies, but it looks like you fell for the old bait-and-switch!" Rarity hollered to her friends.

As the gathering around the window dispersed, Shining turned back to Rarity. "Yeah... so... what happened just now?"

"Nothing worth remembering." Rarity blurted out, shocked and startled from the experience of what she had just done.

"Yeah... nothing at all." Shining seemed hurt by the mare's words, but he understood that she only said it to urge him to move forward with the marriage. That only seemed to hurt him even more.

"So why were you in pain over what she considered an event that was 'nothing worth remembering'?"

"..." Shining could not give a reason. Even he realized that he was well beyond beat on this one. He was caught in two lies and everything had played out just like it did in real life. But as he remained silent, the area around them grew dark with the exceptions of a slim crack of light piercing through the darkness. They could hear a foal sniffling next to them.

"Let's go back for this one. But this time, let's change the perspective"

"My knight will come and save me."

The young filly whispered those words to herself with each passing breath that she took.

"My knight will come and save me."

The knight she longed to see was nowhere to be found.

"My knight will come and save me."

He promised that he would be there no matter what.

"My knight will come and save me."

So where was he when she needed him most?

"My knight will come and save me."

With every passing minute, she can hear the screams of ponies and griffons in the hallway.

"My knight will come and save me."

The screams scared her more than anything that she could ever dream of.

"My knight will come and save me."

The world that she once knew had become nothing more than a wasteland.

"My knight will come and save me."

Her father was hurt, a mean pony wanted to do more harm to him and wanted to hurt her mother.

"My knight... will come and save me."

"YOU FUCKING BITCH! YOU KILLED MY DAMN COMRADES!"

"My knight... He will come and save me."

The identifiable cries of pain come from the one mare who swore to protect her, no matter the cost.

"My knight..."

Her hero was nowhere to be found, nowhere to be seen.

"My knight... has failed me."

For a long time, she released the tears that she held in since end of all the screams. Everything seemed to be giving way to despair. Everything that she had hoped for had all but come true...

...all of her wishes except one.

A light appears as a figure stood above her hiding form. Her eyes welled up when she saw that the one thing that she prayed for the entire day would show up, has come to her. To save her from the dangers seen and unseen.

"My knight... He came and rescued me."

"Rarity???"

"SHINING ARMOOOOOR!"

The filly cried her tears as her knight held her in his hooves. Beyond shocked to see her in his closet, Shining asked the one question that's been on his mind.

"Rarity." Shining whispered quietly as the scene dissipated in front of his eyes.

"Yeah, you were her knight. You were the very thing that she personified to be her saving grace. Why, because you did what no other could do for her."

"I... I..." While Shining stuttered, he noticed that they stood in a room of a luxury hotel. He seemed as if he was unfamiliar with the setting, that is until Azure pointed his attention to that of a filly and her foalsitter.

"One last time. This time, we're going back to the first day you two met."

"Promise me that you'll watch over me!"

"I promise. Now get some sleep."

"NOOOO!!!" Rarity screamed in protest.

"What's wrong?"

"If you leave me, then I'll be alone."

"I promise that the dragon won't come and eat you up, okay?"

"That's not what I meant!"

"Then what do you mean?"

Rarity trots to Shining Armor, embracing him in a tight hug. "Promise that you'll always watch over me."

Shining looks at Rarity in confusion. "Wait, what?"

"Daddy, whenever he's home, he would hug me... and hold me as I went to bed. He would tell me that he loves me... and that he would try to win the next game for me. I don't wanna be alone tonight." Tears begin to well in her eyes, breaching the floodgates unleashing a torrent of tears.

"But I can't be your-"

"I HATE BEING ALONE!" Rarity screams as she stomps her hoof to the carpet. She continues to sniffle and hiccup as the tears fall from her cheeks to the ground below. "My daddy barely has time for us. He tries, but those ruffians keep him away from us. All I ever wanted was to be with my dad. That's why I wanna stay here! So I can be home with him. But I can't.

"Rarity..." Shining knew first-hoof that a life in the limelight could result in time taken away from the family. He sometimes experiences it with his father being the decorated Captain of the Royal Guard. He was often deprived of any father-son time because of his duties, which is a reason why he chose to go to the academy. He wanted to be his own social class and not referred to as 'The Son of the Guard Captain'. He knew her pain, and he decided that it was for the best that he'd step up and be the role model she needed.

" *sniff* So... please..." Rarity tried to continue until Shining began to squeeze back. He held on to her tightly and whispered in her ear.

"I promise to look after you. You may not be my little sister, but you'll be a close second."

Rarity smiled at his words and was quickly led off to bed. Shining would also agree to stand guard next to her bed to keep the evil dragon away from her as she slept. Within a matter of minutes, the young filly was swept away to dreamland as her guardian continued to stand watch over her.

"So... Even I-"

"From day one." Azure finished as the world around them transformed into the field of flowers that they had originally started with.

"...Why?" Shining asked himself.

"Because Cadance and you weren't meant to be. You just made it so."

"But how do I know that she feels the same way towards me?"

Azure scoffed as he facehoofed. "Are you really that air-headed?"

"Hey!" Shining shouted back, feeling offended that he would be considered as a dunce.

"She's been dreaming of you since your chivalrous rescue from her nightmare, just as long as you've been dreaming about her."

"What?" Shining asked in disbelief. He didn't believe that her feelings for him were so deep that they were rooted into the very first night they spent with each other.

"She shared the same dream you've told me about over and over again. The white unicorn mare with the flowing indigo curls in her mane. You were the knight who saved her from the dragon who sought to devour her. Plain and simple, the two of you are one of the same."

Shining silently accepted the situation, but not without skepticism of his friend. "Why didn't you tell me this before I got married?"

"Because I wasn't dead." The alacorn responded.

"Oh yeah."

"But now you understand, right?"

Shining looked into the cup that sat in front of him. He could see the partial reflection of himself in the liquid. "The times where I'd question if what I was doing was right for Cadance, and I didn't take my own heart into consideration. I feel so stupid."

"We all make mistakes."

"So... what do I do now? Where do I go from here?"

Azure pointed to a door in the distance. "That's up to you to decide."

Shining nervously stared at the door as he contemplated on whether it was safe to open it or not. After all, it was a dream and anything could very much happen. "Can't you give me a hint?"

"I can only disclose the past. The present is for you only and the future belongs to fate. I cannot tell you where to go. Only you can make that choice."

Shining turned around to face the door, only to find himself standing on the other side of the field. He looked back to the table to see how small it was in the distance. Azure stood beside him as he opened the door for Shining. Shining already had a feeling that this was going to be the way out of his dream, but he didn't know how it was going to play out. Taking a risk, he stepped into the door.

"So, when I wake up from this dream, where do I start?"

The world of flowers faded into darkness as Azure stood by the open door, that wouldn't stay open for long. The light that the world produced gradually began to fade into white as the blue alacorn stallion closed the door behind him.

"In the mirror."

Shining Armor looked at the red uniform on his bed, not just looking at it, but staring at the gaping tear that rode down the side. He continued to stare at the hole for many moments as Cadance entered into the bedroom. She happily trotted along as she looked at her husband staring at the article of clothing. She became curious over what made him become so transfixed to the uniform and walked over to the bed. Then, she realized what he was staring at.

"Oh no! That's your uncle's uniform!"

"Yeah. It's in pretty bad shape." Shining said as he eyed the large tear in the fabric.

"Oh dear, it looks like we might have to take it to a tailor to get it fixed. I know a few."

"Don't worry about it."

Shining's answer threw off Cadance; he would normally be concerned over the state of his uncle uniform. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Don't you have to get ready for a trip or something?" Shining asked.

"Well, yes. But I didn't think that I'd need to rush. After all, me and Velvet will be just fine in Baltimare. The train doesn't leave until later on this morning." Cadance said as she presented a large back that seemed to be on the verge of a violent explosion.

"But wouldn't mom be getting concerned over you showing up late to the station?"

"She's not rushing things either. In fact, the only reason we're going is to spend some mother-daughter bonding time with each other for a few days."

"I'm just concerned." Shining added as he looked at the clock on the far end of the room.

Cadance booped him on the nose with a hoof, causing him to scrunch his nose. She always thought the little wrinkles on his nose was cute, and that it was payback for the time when he did it to her after the defeat of Discord. "Well stop worrying. And if I were you, I'd be worried over the condition of that uniform before your mother sees it."

Shining rolled his eyes. "Yeah. I get it. I'll arrange a tailor to come out."

"Great. Now what time is it?"

Shining looked back to the clock and read it to his wife. "Eleven minutes before ten."

"WHAT!? The train leaves in twenty-five minutes!"

Shining chuckled as he watched his wife scurry from one end of the room to the other, picking up her tickets and making a rush to the door. He ran beside her the entire time, making fun of her. "I told you to hurry up."

"Okay, you win!" Cadance admitted, annoyed with her husband beating her out on his time awareness.

"What time should I be expecting you back?"

"Maybe in three days, before the season starts." She answered as she opened the door with her magic.

"Okay, I'll be waiting until then."

"Love you!" She quickly said as she gave her husband a rushed peck on the lips.

"You take care!" Shining shouted as she bolted for the train station.

The door closed as he started to make his way back up the stairs. He walked back into the master bedroom of the home and stared at the red uniform that he wore for his wedding. Shining refocused his attention to the gaping hole in the clothing and immediately started to grin.

"Now, I think I needed to get in touch with a tailor... or a seamstress, better yet."

ACT 2: ...My Prince Will Come For Me

It was a beautiful and sunny day in the town of Ponyville, almost flawless if it wasn't for the occasional cloud or two that rolled by. The birds tweeted and sang songs as the ponies of the town walked the lively streets. Foals played in the parks while their parents often watched. The sweet smell of cupcakes wafted in the air as the ponies lined up outside of the door to receive a daily special that was unheard of; a single bit for a half-dozen cupcakes. The line reached far back into the outer parts of the town, including past the Golden Oaks Library, where two unicorns continued to debate inside.

"Rarity, I think that this is a bad idea. It's one thing to accept a commission you just received in the mail this morning, but to head out to Canterlot this time of year is suicide."

Twilight tried her best to plead with her friend to not go to Canterlot in such short notice. Even though she took the occasional business visit to the city, going at this current time of year was considered to be similar to a death wish. Of course, the days grew near and the early stages of estrus have started to set in with some, while others were not so unfortunate. And even as of now, the ones who were afflicted were a ways away from being in a sex-crazed frenzy.

"Oh come now, darling. It's only a commission to repair a suit. It's not like the world is going to end." Rarity reminded Twilight, brushing off her warning.

"No. But the estrus season starts in three to five days, and there have already been some cases reported."

Rarity released a distressed and annoyed sigh as she rolled her eyes. "I can manage to keep myself chaste. Besides, what could possibly go wrong?"

Twilight teleported herself directly in front of Rarity's face. "EVERYTHING! The estrus season is the worst in the city of Canterlot. Mares are so persistent to find a mate that they'd go into a bloodlust frenzy and fight anypony they run into that's not a stallion."

Rarity held a hoof to her mouth in response to hearing what the purple mare had just said. "That bad?"

Twilight walked past her friend to organize a nearby bookshelf that caught her attention. "They will even fight a stallion for a chance to rut him for the whole week."

"Isn't that a bit extreme?" The seamstress asked as Twilight switched two books that sat next to each other around so that the numerical order was according to the system that they were to be categorized.

"Rarity, Ponyville has a mare-to-stallion ratio of three-to-one. Canterlot's ratio, since the invasion weeks ago, is currently standing at seven-to-one, including the exodus of stallions leaving to other cities for safety's sake."

Rarity took into account Twilight's warning, but at the same time, she knew that a simple job of fixing a uniform was something that can be resolved in a day's time. An easy pay with a quick leave. "Well I can assure you that my little tenure will not take as long. And besides, I can handle anything that comes my way. At least give me some credit, Twilight."

"Rarity, you can't leave." Twilight begged.

"Well darling, my commissions usually run dry at this time of the year. I need the bits to feed Opal while I'm locked in." Rarity states, reminding that her normal errands would be put on halt due to the other stores and outlets being closed for the remainder of the week.

"I'm just saying it's not a good idea."

"Twilight do you trust me?" Rarity asked, giving her friend a concerned look.

Twilight paused for a moment, finally surrendering to the question and her argument. "Yes."

Rarity cooed with glee as she nuzzled the purple unicorn mare. "Then will you at least have the faith to see that I will make it out of this unharmed and unchanged?"

"Fine. Go on ahead." Twilight answered, waiving her off.

"Thank you!"

Rarity started to trot to the front door when Twilight turned around and spoke back to her. "And when you get back, please do me a favor and notify me if Spike gets out of the library. I don't want some crazy mare to take advantage of him."

Feeling as if her friend was unaware of how the season passed in the town of Ponyville, she offered counsel on what would be the worst possible thing that could ever happen. "Twilight, many of the mares here are more tame in their seasons. I don't think that you will see nothing more than a few mares pleasuring themselves in a dark alley somewhere."

"Yes, but Spike doesn't need to be exposed to that." Twilight snapped back, sounding somewhat overprotective of her young dragon assistant.

Rarity thought about how she could endure such a tumultuous time without relieving herself of the built-up stress and sexual frustration without exposing Spike to her habits. "Then how do you take care of your... *ahem* needs?"

"I do have a basement, and Spike is not allowed down there. He understands that I'll be performing some experiments and will not want to be disturbed."

"Oh."

Twilight smiled as she gave Rarity one final hug before she made her way out to the train station. "But either way, I hope that you come back in enough time to avoid the seasonal exodus."

"I will do my best."

The Canterlot Central Station seemed to be in full-swing as ponies lined from end to end. But there was something different about the travelers that only occurred once every year. Stallions all lined up and waited for trains to various locations of the country. If anything, they were trying to escape the impending throng of mares trying to mate them into the dirt. The estrus season, and it's impact on mares, was heavily based on population, ratios of the opposite sex and their accessibility. And being that a majority of the stallions in the city were either closeted colt-cuddlers, stallions who couldn't hold their own in a fight and politicians trying to find an escape from their wives, the was only a small few that would remain in the city. Most of them being guards. As the train station remained in a vocal uproar, a voice called to a grey unicorn mare with a silver and lavender mane.

"Hello!"

Velvet turned around to see who was addressing her and smiled upon seeing the mare being cleared from the crowd. "Cadance, dear, thank goodness you're here! I was starting to get worried."

Velvet and Cadance exchanged kisses on each cheek as they greeted each other. "Yeah. If it wasn't for Shining, I would've missed the train!"

"Well just try not to be so late next time."

"How are you doing this morning?"

Velvet pulled out a map of Equestria with a particular city circled in red as well as a traveler's brochure. "Splendid, my dear. I cannot of any better way of spending time with you. I know that you've always wanted to head out to Baltimare to see the Inner Harbor, the Equestrian Visionary Arts Museum. Oh goodness, I just can't wait to show you everything.

"Well it's awfully nice of you to show me around your hometown."

"Yes. And we will have a third to accompany us." Velvet answered.

"Your husband?" Cadance guessed.

"Goodness no! I won't dare sully the time that is between us girls. I was talking about picking up Twilight from Ponyville and taking her with us."

Cadance would normally show her immediate excitement, but she became concerned over what her sister-in-law may have already have planned. "Isn't she busy?"

"That's the problem. She's always busy. But since she started to frequent our communication with each other, I decided that sweeping her away from all of this mundane work would be in the best interest."

Cadance giggled at Velvet's response. It was very much like her to become so engrossed in literature that she'd almost ignore the house burning down. "Yeah, Twilight can be caught in a book-a-thon without even caring for what's going on around her."

"Which is why we're taking her with us."

Cadance happily nodded her head. "Well, I don't see why not. The more, the merrier!"

"ALL ABOARD! NEXT STOP IN PONYVILLE!" A voice on the loudspeaker sounded out to the travelers. In a rush, stallions proceeded to take the earliest train out of the town, but failed to get past the conductors lined up at the entrances, checking for any wanderers who just wanted to leave town, despite their paid destination being somewhere in the opposite direction. Cadance and Velvet started to walk forward as the line they stood in started to move.

"Guess that's us."

The train silently chugged along as Rarity continued to sit in her seat, looking at the empty space around her. For moments, the constant sound of the train drumming against the rails grew tiresome and she would turn to her left to speak to one of her friends, only to find that she was alone.

It was always like this when she rode the train alone, considering that she and six others would normally exchange stories and jokes to speed up the travel. But instead, the lasting silence is what greeted her.

"Hmm... It's awfully quiet without everypony being around."

Rarity turned her attention from the empty seats and looked to the passing trees and mountains in the window. As each scene passed her by, she thought more on what Twilight had said to her. It was disturbing to think that mares would be so barbaric come this time of year to get what they desired, but the reminder of her not being around for long gave her comfort.

"Oh well, I suppose that it shouldn't be that bad of an issue. I can handle myself."

Her mind cleared of her worries over the season and focused on her client. It was oddly unusual that she was ever contacted to do anything this time of year, let alone something so small of a task and get paid handsomely for it.

"But at the same time, to know that a client is so willing to pay so much for a patch job is moderately concerning."

A brief self-discussion soon concluded with the familiar thought of her pet running around the house, clawing away at everything and knocking things over as she protested the lack of food.

"D'ohhh, nevermind. A profit is a profit and I need those bits to carry Opal through the week of me locking myself in the house."

As Rarity finished her self-contained argument, she was disturbed by the voice of the conductor over the train's loudspeakers.

"Our next location will be in Canterlot Central Station. Please remember to secure your belongings before the stop is made that way you won't forget anything. Thank you for riding with us and we hope that you will have a pleasant day."

"Well, here's my stop." Rarity said as she pulled her small travel bag from the overhead bin. And by small, Rarity packed a full suitcase filled with sewing supplies, fabrics, her notepad for when she became inspired by something and several outfits for various occasions. She thought it was best to always be prepared.

As the train came to a complete stop in Canterlot, the doors opened as she left the train. Rarity held onto her bag as best as she could, but the cumbersome size had proved to be a hindrance to her pace. She tugged at the large bag and cursed herself for not getting a similar bag with wheels installed. She even cursed herself further now that her errand-drake was nowhere to be seen. Spike would normally do this kind of thing with a smile, but for now she was on her own. Suddenly, her load became a little lighter for a brief period of time. In a second, her bags grew heavy again, but easier to move. When she looked back, she saw that a stallion, who was also packed for a leave, placed her baggage on a cart.

"Thank you, kind sir."

"No problem at all." He responded.

Rarity glanced at the stallion as she started to leave the station, but soon found herself looking back to the familiar stallion. She ran up to him with her curiosity driving her every step. "Oh! Do I know you?"

"Uh, maybe." The stallion answered as he turned around to face the mare.

It didn't take long for the fashionista to identify who he was. "Ah! I remember, you were the one that was dancing with Granny Smith at the wedding."

"Well... yeah." He answered bluntly, thinking about the spry elderly mare.

"Then you danced with Big Mac and Applejack, correct."

He held a cringe to himself as he thought back to the night of the wedding, where he salsa'd with Granny Smith and Tangoed with Big Mac. "So far."

"So you're the fellow that Applejack was talking to! How are you doing?"

Poindexter scratched his mane as he looked back to the train platform. "Well, I'm doing okay. Just a bit nervous."

"Really, for what?" Rarity asked.

"Applejack wanted me to have dinner with her and her folks."

"But... aren't you supposed to be on duty?

"No." He corrected with a hint of relief in his voice. "I'm on leave for a full ten days. I got lucky this year."

"How fortunate."

Poindexter's expression grew into concern as he thought about the real reason he was taking his leave from the city. "Have you ever been here during the season?"

"I've heard things." Rarity responded, thinking back to Twilight's answer.

"Well, trust what you hear on that one. What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to repair a client's suit. Apparently, they must want something special patched up."

Poindexter hummed to himself as he thought about the mare's reason for coming. But her appearance still concerned him a bit. "Taking a gamble on such a small commission."

Rarity giggled as she tapped the large suitcase she brought along. "But the pay is absolutely worth it."

"ALL ABOARD!" A conductor calls out from the train that leads back to Ponyville. Poindexter gathered his things and galloped for the platform with his ticket.

"Well, that's my train! Gotta go!"

"Good luck, darling." Rarity shouted out to the guard as he ran inside of the train to pursue Applejack. "You'll be needing it."

Rarity arrived at the address of her client. She stared and gawked at the large home of her client. It was obvious that her promised payment was far from exaggerated. Elegant bars not only decorated, but protected the doors that led inside. The miniature villa towered above her, causing her to become a mix between scared of how powerful her client was and giddy over seeing the interior. "I wonder who lives in such a place. Close to the palace itself and still in the Keeping District. Must be a noble."

She knocked on the door, using her magic to hammer the knocker into the wood. She stood at the door for only a few seconds before her client stood before her. "Hey there!"

"Or... a prince." She finished to herself as she recognized the stallion that stood before her. "Ah... Shining Armor... what a pleasant surprise!"

"Yeah..."

The two stared at each other for some time, not saying a word or moving. Rarity cleared her throat to get herself back on track. "So..."

"...Y-yes?"

The moment continued to become even more awkward than before as she tried her best to start up some small talk. "Um... how is your day?"

"Not so great, I managed to somehow run a bad tear into my uncle's uniform." He informed her, cringing all the while.

"Oh... I guess that it shouldn't be so bad."

"Wait till you see it for yourself." Shining grumbled, seeming upset over the situation.

"Oh. Well, may I enter?" Rarity asked.

Shining removed himself from the doorway, allowing the white unicorn mare to enter into the large foyer. A chandelier hung high in the air as a pair of staircases curled upward to the second floor. The room was adorned with numerous decorations of armor, shields, weapons and other forms of armament. Shining smiled as he held the door for her. "Come on in. I guess you don't mind some tea, coffee?"

Rarity took in the glamorous designs of the front room, staring in awe over how huge the entrance alone was. She couldn't even imagine how big the bedroom was. Though it didn't distract her from his question. "Tea with a spot of milk would be most delightful."

"Okay, I will see what I can mix up."

Rarity looked at the two stairwells and stood confused as to which direction to take as soon as she got to the second floor. "Um... where do I-"

"Upstairs, turn left and head straight down the hall. My uniform should be on the bed."

"Okay."

The two started to make their way up the stairs and down the hall to the bedroom as Shining escorted her. He knew that he liked her and that he had some extra time to spend with her outside of Cadance's knowing. This was a perfect opportunity to make his reoccurring dream a reality.

The door to the master bedroom opened to reveal a large bed placed in the center. Rarity grinned as she saw how big the room really was and started to take a look around. Shining walked in behind her and placed her suitcase on the side of the bed. He turned his attention to the bright-red uniform still sitting on the top of his bed.

"Let me know if you need anything. I'll be right up."

"There'll be no need for that, but thank you anyways." Rarity answered as she snapped herself out of her prying curiosity, closing a nearby drawer.

"Okay. Thanks a lot."

Rarity looked at the uniform and saw the gaping hole in the side. Her first response was a gasp followed by a long sigh, indicating that she had some work cut out for her if she needed to repair this uniform to a wearable condition. "You could've told me that it was you. I would've given you some sort of bargain."

Shining waived his hooves. "Nah. I don't wanna do business like that."

Rarity sat on the bed, exhausted from her travels. She became surprised by the level of comfort and even more so of it's size as she laid in it. She could easily lie in the bed three times over before falling off the edge. Letting herself relax, she fell back into the sheets. "Oh goodness, that is a very, VERY large bed."

"Cadance always found comfort in larger beds, plus she's a bit of a rough sleeper." Shining added as he sat beside her.

"Takes your side of the bed?"

"Yeah." He answered anxiously. He stared at the mare beside him, taking in the beauty of her appearance. Her carefully curled eyelashes, her well-curled mane and tail, the large blue eyes that looked back to him. She blushed as her eyes met with his and grew nervous as she could feel his body heat radiate next to her. Shining could feel the excitement growing inside of him as his hoof barely touched the fur of her haunches. Rarity tensed as she felt the hoof brush against her cutie mark.

"...So..."

Shining realized that she was far from comfortable enough to where he could take her and offered to take his leave. "I-I guess I'll start that tea." He stuttered.

Breaking her eyes off of him, she looked to the red uniform beside her. "You go do that."

Shining left the room and made his way to the kitchen downstairs. Meanwhile, Rarity looked at the uniform and couldn't help but to feel that something was amiss. Cadance would normally accompany him, and from what she was noticing, Cadance was nowhere to be found. She grew suspicious of what he really called her over to do. And as she levitated the uniform before her, as well as the suitcase to the top of the bed, she mumbled to herself.

"Something is off here."

Around thirty minutes had passed as Shining took to the kitchen in a pink apron. He didn't like wearing it, but it was one that Cadance would often wear when she made, or attempted to make, his dinner. So it was his only source of protection in the kitchen. As he continued to wait for the pot of tea to whistle, he cut up an assortment of vegetables, preparing a side dish for the tea.

"Shining darling, what have you been doing in this outfit to cause this thing to be in a state of disrepair?" Rarity called from upstairs as he worked.

"I've gotten into some rough playtime with the boys. We got into a bit of a heated spar and I got cut."

"Oh, well I hope you're okay."

He turned on a burner on the stove and allowed some water to boil in an empty pot. Later he added some seasonings to transform it into a creamy broth. "Oh yeah! That hospital has got some pretty good doctors. You can't even see the scar now."

"Well, just try not to get into a spar while wearing this again."

"Solid copy!" He shouted out as placed his vegetables in the boiling base of his dish. As he poured, Rarity caught his attention.

"What in the-"

"Rarity, are you okay?" He called back up the stairs, trying to make sure that everything was okay.

"I'm fine! Just ran into a minor issue. I've got it sorted out." She answered as a whistling noise started to pierce into his ears. Taking the kettle off of the stove, he placed it on the rear burner so that it could cool off a bit.

"Great. Tea's ready when you are."

In seconds, Rarity trotted down the stairs. Upon her decent, she was captivated by a smell that drew her attention to the kitchen, causing her stomach to grumble. "I beg your pardon, but what is this delightful aroma filling the room?"

Shining walked out of the kitchen to speak with her. "Oh, I'm just making a specialty my mom used to make. I was hoping to get it done with the tea. Cremé a la Carrót, have you ever had any?"

"Well in my work, I've had several carrot, oat and apple-based dishes." She said, stopping midway from her downward venture.

"Well, you haven't have it like this." Shining states proudly.

Rarity grew intrigued by the stallion's suggestion. She never thought of him to be a cook, so she became open to the idea of tasting what he had to offer her. "What are you implying?"

"Why don't you come on down and find out? It's almost done."

Moments later, Rarity and Shining sat at the dining room table, happily filled with tea and the meal he provided. After a brief wait, Rarity requested some wine. Shining recalled a specific flavor that she took interest in and made his way to the cabinet in the kitchen. As he came back, he held a bottle and two glasses in tow. They both shared drinks and stories until the day grew late.

"You know, I've never really took to drinking that much, but with a bottle of this... well let's just say that I can become quite flushed." Rarity said with a light chuckle.

"So why this particular wine?" Shining asked as he stirred the glass. "This is a really cheap drink in comparison to much of the other brands around. I figured you would be interested in something a little more... full."

"Well as I said, darling, I'm not into drinking."

"And? You're drinking this." Shining argued as he held up the bottle of White Zinfandel.

"Because it's what I'm used to. My mother used to always have some of this on hoof when a special day came up. And when my coming-of-age celebration came to pass sometime two years ago, she gave me a glass of this."

"And you've been drinking it since?" He concluded, taking a sip of his glass.

"Every so often, yes."

"But why haven't you gone for something a little bolder?"

Rarity shook her head. "I didn't think that it was for me. And besides, I like the taste. And in speaking of taste, that meal was manifique! I cannot express to you how delicious that was."

Shining grew surprised of her reaction to his cooking. "Really? I actually thought that there was something missing."

"Well if it's not broke, my dear." She joked.

"Right. But anyways, how's the patch-job coming along?"

"Give me a moment. I'll be back down." Rarity rose from her seat and walked up stars, leaving Shining to his drink. It didn't take her long to retrieve the red uniform as it looked as if there had been no damage done to it at all. "Good as new!"

Shining praised her for her work. "Awesome! I cannot tha-"

*KLING*

Rarity also placed a pair of scissors on the table. Shining looked to the tool and back up to the mare, who's expression turned from bright and engaging, to complete indifference.

"What's with the scissors?"

"Well, I was hoping that you would tell me." She said as she scooted the instrument towards him.

"What do you mean?"

"...Well, while I was looking at the cut in your uniform, I managed to see that the cut was conveniently straight as if a blade had been brought against it."

Shining tried to explain what had happened to the uniform once more. "Well, I did get into a spar."

"Another thing, I found these scissors on the nightstand, still ajar." She answered as she levitated the sharp object in front of him, giving him a better look.

"Cadance could've used those to cut her mane-"

Rarity interrupted his sentence with the separation of the two blades, causing red strands of thread to fall to the table. She immediately grew insulted by his testament. "With red fibers in the teeth? Mister Armor, I suppose you would expect me to believe such a fallacy when Cadance clearly does not have a trace of red in her mane."

"Well...I-" Shining couldn't argue that he was responsible for the hole in his uniform. At this point, he couldn't deny what he did nor could he come up with a lie good enough to save himself.

"Now, either you confess what's really going on and why did you bring me here or I will take my leave, right now." She demanded, slamming her hoof on the table and letting the pair of scissors fall to the ground.

"Well... I... You see-"

"Why am I here? What was the real reason why you brought me here?"

"Rarity-"

"And where is Cadance?"

Shining couldn't avoid it anymore. If he didn't say anything, then she would leave. And if he had told her the truth, then there was a possibility that she may stay. He took the gamble and a deep breath and told her what was really going on. "...She's out of town."

"For how long?"

Shining rose from his seat and walked towards her. "However long we need."

Before the fashionista could object, she found her words silenced by a pair of lips pressing firmly against hers. Rarity tried to pull away from him as he continued his assault.

"No! Stop... nnngh..."

She pressed against him, trying to free herself from his grip, but he was too strong to overcome in such a situation. He whispered to her as he continued to force his kisses upon her. "Oh Rarity, I've wanted this for so long."

"STOP!" She screamed to the top of her lungs, scaring the stallion. Shining immediately retreated from her and gave her some distance as he realized that he forced himself onto her.

"Oh no. Rarity, I didn't mean to-"

The furious mare held a hoof up as she turned away from him. "You stop right there, mister 'I didn't mean to'! You meant to take advantage of your wife being away for a chance to have your way with me!"

"I'm sorry."

"SORRY!? You've voided the sanctity of your marriage!"

Shining stood silently as he watched the livid mare breathe heavily from the pent-up anger. He had already knew that there was no going back, so he continued to throw all of his chips in at this moment. There was nothing left to lose. He needed to come clean and he needed to do it now. "Look, when I was at the alter-"

"What we did that night was a complete mistake." Rarity said, not wanting Shining to complete his statement.

"No, not then. Before that."

"I don't want to hear it!"

Shining allowed the frustration of her ignoring him get the better of his actions as he drove a hoof into a nearby wall, strong enough to cause the wall to rumble, but light enough to leave only an imprint. Rarity became silenced out of fear of his antic, while he screamed his heart to her. "THE VOWS I SPOKE WERE FOR YOU!"

"...Pardon me?" Rarity asked as she felt her blood run cold from the shock of what the prince had said to her.

"I find that you haunt me, even to this very day. Our past may have not been perfect, but we've still made it through. You were there when I was at my best, and you even lifted my spirits when I was at my worst. You even consoled me over what was lost to me. And even now, all it took was one kiss from you to know what was meant to be... All it took was one kiss. I'm sure that the wheels of fate turned, and brought to me a perfect moment of tenderness and happiness. From now on... every minute, every second that I have, I will spend beside you, to make you happy."

Rarity could feel nothing but bittersweet sadness as she stared back to the stallion. "...Shining, why?"

He walked up to her, placing her hooves in his. "I made a mistake. I married Cadance because I felt sorry for her. I even lied to myself, saying that I loved her. I didn't want the vows to be said during the second wedding because I would've only lied to her. Those words... they were for you."

Rarity pulled away from the stallion and started to make her way to the upstairs room. "I need to leave."

"What?"

"I need to leave. I need to go."

Shining watched as she quickly ascended the stairs to retrieve her luggage. She didn't waste any time in leaving him. Shining shouts to her from the bottom of the stairs. "Why! WHY!"

"Because you're married now! I can't do this to you!" She responded, struggling to move the suitcase down the flight of stairs.

"Consider it as payback-"

Rarity tugged away at the large case, letting it batter against each step she took downward. She furiously stormed to the front door. "For sleeping with my mother? I'm sorry, but I don't believe in payback that breaks families and destroys lives."

Shining stood at the door, not allowing the mare to leave him. "Rarity, I'm sorry."

"It's not enough!"

Shining becomes desperate to have her. He had already showed her his heart. To her, it was far too late, while to him, it was early enough to make things right. In a move of final desperation, he clung onto her forelegs, preventing her from moving forward. "No."

The stallion remained persistent in his attempt to keep her, while she continued to resist him. "Let me go!"

"No."

"LET ME GO, THIS INSTANT!"

"I don't want to lose you!"

"Well you should've though about that before you've gotten married!"

He took a deep breath as he played the final card he could use to make things between them right; he used the marriage he chose to abandon. "RARITY ANDALUSIA BELLE, I WILL ANNUL MY MARRIAGE TO CADANCE IF YOU STAY!"

Rarity stopped moving. Shining remained clutched to the mare's forelegs, disabling her from taking a step forward. She knew that he had liked her and that she liked him, but she had already promised herself to move forward from him, no matter how painful it was. But his pleas didn't make it any easier for her to make a decision whether to stay or leave. She blamed him for being so insistent on being with her, a luxury that he could no longer afford. "Don't... please... you sound pathetic."

Shining groveled at her hooves, showering them with kisses. "Then treat me as such. I don't care if you make me your dog, I want to serve you, I want to be with you."

His kisses started to break her resistance. Her body started to heat up as he held her, enamoring her with his affection. She blushed as his kisses started to trail higher and higher up her foreleg. "I can't do this."

"Please just listen to me." He begged, sounding like a child bargaining for his beloved toy. Rarity felt herself become like gelatin as he continued to bestow upon her kisses to her hooves she walked on. To be treated as such was her dream, her fantasy. Add the stallion whom she loved since foalhood, and eventually the wall that was her protection tumbled over like a rotten tree. In an instinctive flash, she acted and spoke without consenting to thought.

"Get away from me!"

She removed her hooves from his lips and pushed forward with all of her might. Opening her eyes, she found the stallion before her, knocked to the floor as he recovered from the brutal hit. In that instant, she realized what she had done to him.

"Shining... Oh my goodness... Shining Armor, are you hurt?"

The prince blinked a few times, trying to refocus his sight to the beautiful mare in front of him. A strange indignation caused him to rise on his hooves as he stared back to the mare that hit him square in the jaw. "You..." He spoke slowly as a small bead of crimson fell from the side of his mouth.

"You're bleeding, I'll call for a doctor. I'll call fo-mmmph!"

Shining pushed the mare onto the floor, but not before shoving his lips against hers. She felt a strong flame gravitating her towards the prince. She already knew what she wanted, and for her it was long overdue. As he pulled his lips away from his, the sweet fantasy of her lips was broken by the painful reality that was his stinging wound. "Gnnngh!"

"What are you doing?"

"What I should've a long time ago."

Rarity tried to adjust herself so that she was in a more dominant position. Unfortunately for her, Shining stood over her body, allowing her little space to maneuver. "Get off of me."

"Make me." Shining responded with a sly grin, which was soon wiped off his face in a instant as Rarity grabbed the stallion and rotated their positions. It was now Shining who was on the ground as he accidentally bumped his head against the floor. "Ouch!"

"AHA!" Rarity cheered as she relished in her minor victory. "Pinned! I suppose that the former Captain of the Guard has lost his touch."

"I let you win." Shining refused to admit that he was caught off guard.

"That's a lie and you know it."

He sighed as he finally conceded to her. "Fine, I lose... You beat me."

Rarity didn't exactly hear his confession as much as she was paying attention to the small red smudge on the side of his lip. "That looks like it hurts a bit."

"Just a bruise, I'll be fine."

"Awww, does the wittle bwaby want mwommy to kiss the boo-boo?" Rarity asked as she taunted the stallion.

"No." Answered Shining begrudgingly.

"Come here, darling." Rarity ignored his answer and proceeded to give him a soft tender kiss where his injury had occurred.

"Ah!" Shining hissed as the kiss left a slight sting.

"All better?"

He knew that the sting was quite unpleasant, but the kiss that he received from her was far more potent in it's ability to send small ripples of pleasure throughout his body. His lips were but a minor objection to what he felt. "Actually, yeah. A lot."

"That's..." Rarity had forgotten what she wanted to say. Her words escaped her as she stared back at the stallion below her. Her breathing increased as she felt the familiar heat he caused earlier surge up once more.

"...You okay?"

Rarity kissed him on his injury once more. "I just thought you needed another, for good measure."

"It feels good." He admitted, feeling himself becoming aroused by the thought of this mare before him, the mare of his dreams, kissing him as he lied on the floor. The way her lips lingered as she separated herself from him is what really drove him wild.

"I've had practice with a little sister and a baby dragon when it comes to comforting those who are younger than you."

His teeth pulled at the flesh of his lower lip as he moaned quietly. "Can I have another?"

"Of course." She answered in a whisper, kissing him on the lips with a long and tender press. As she retreated, she felt herself wanting to stay fixed upon him. But she tried her best to pace herself on how quickly this could escalate, remembering that her time in the castle would've been fulfilling only for a brief moment. She wanted to enjoy him.

"Um..."

"Does that feel better?"

Shining inched his head closer to her as she leaned over him. "Can I have one more?"

"Yes..." She gave him a quick peck to tease him, to lure him in. Upon the short reunion and release, Shining pleaded for more.

"Another?"

"Yes." Rarity could feel herself lose pace on how slow she wanted to go. At this very moment, her nethers dripped with anticipation, just as she felt his own eagerness press against her soft underbelly. Their next kiss was all but dignified as they brought their lips together for a second, parted, then crashed into one another's with a fervent animosity. Their tongues swirled as she shifted her body up and down his throbbing stallionhood. He growled maliciously as he started to thrust against her, causing him to become lost in his own personal desire.

But this time, he didn't want to let himself jump to the main event without first seeing what she was capable of outside of the realm of intercourse. His hooves caressed her smaller, voluptuous figure. He could feel every curve of her, settling from her hips up to her upper body. Rarity gasped for air as their kiss grew long without breath. Shining was anxious to get started, but he took his time as he lowed his hoof to her haunches, causing her to squeak in expectation. Then, he removed himself from her, making her whimper as she expected him to touch her.

Her hooves pulled him back downward, to meet with two small mounds beneath her belly. With a croon, she encouraged him to go even further down. Her invitation would not be ignored as he dug his hoof against the soaking wet lips of her marehood. A silent cry left her lips as she arched herself away from him and into the air. The surge of pleasure rode throughout her body as she stared back down to him.

"Five more?"

"Mister Shining, I believe five would be an insufficient amount."

She got off of him, letting him stand up on his own. As he recovered, she continued where they had left off. Rarity pushed him forward into the room as they exchanged the offerings of their tongues with one another. She screamed as the painful itch in her innermost depths rose to a blistering degree. She tried her best to make it to the stairs, but she soon found herself backed into a wall. She pushed him back, briefly separating them from the kiss before she charged at him, resuming her own assault. Their argument continued until they had managed to bring themselves back into the dining room.

"Fuck, I want you so bad." Shining vulgarly stated as he chomped down on his lower lip. The pain of his wound had all but disappeared, but that didn't stop him from wanting to do what he could to please his princess.

"Table." She commanded, magically shoving everything off of the surface so that they would have room enough to work. He stared as she hopped on top of the wooden surface. Rarity leaned back and brought a hoof to her lower lips, encircling the winking mound of her clitoris. She cried out in pain as she demanded his entrance.

"Now!?" Shining asked, completely bewildered by her desire to get it over with.

"Why not!" She shouted back to him, still masturbating before him.

His eyes followed every encircling motion her hoof took as she bit her other hoof in return. Her body began to feel as if she was on the verge of being incinerated. His own mast stood at the ready, more than willing to impale the mare and put her out of her misery that was the nine year itch. But that wasn't what he wanted to do. He wanted to take his time in pleasing her.

He had learned much from his time with Cadance. One of those things were how to please a mare without giving her everything upfront. And especially in the case of a first-timer like Rarity, he needed to warm her up to the occasion of being deflowered. Luckily, there was a compromise to where not only he could satisfy her, but also take his time in pleasing her. With an outward tongue, he lowered himself, held on to the mare's hind legs and allowed his tongue to travel from the bottom of the saturated slit to the very tip of the mound that hid underneath.

"Oh good heavens! YES!" She could almost feel the stress on her back becoming uncomfortable as she arched herself, holding the stallion to her moist slit.

He enjoyed the taste of the mare before him. It was a different taste than what he was accustomed to with his wife. His nine years with her had managed to nearly bore him. For each time, there was a change to how they would please each other, but the one thing that remained a constant was the way Cadance tasted when his tongue touched her lower lips. Instead, Rarity was something out of the ordinary, a delicacy that only he had the opportunity of tasting.

Rarity often wondered what it was like to become like the princess she depicted in her dreams. At that moment, she had came to the conclusion that her dream didn't even hold a candle to what was happening right now. Small squeaks left her lips as his tongue lapped at her sex, becoming completely dampened by his actions. But she was not yet satisfied with his performance.

"Harder! Harder please!" She begged him, holding him against her marehood with both hooves accompanied by the reinforcement of her magic.

Shining pressed his tongue as deep as it could go into her, eliciting a loud cry from the mare he serviced. He curled his tongue upwards, making sure that he hit the layer underneath her clitoris, intensifying her pleasure. Immediately, he felt the mare release him out of the shock. He could also feel her starting to clutch against his tongue. She was starting to experience her first orgasm, and Shining wouldn't deny her the privilege. Pulling away, he suckled at the pink mound, pulling her with him as he tugged, until his lips separated with an audible pop.

"SHINING!!!" Rarity screamed as she shuddered violently, suffering the effects of her orgasm crashing down upon her like a strong bolt of lightning surging through her body. She came down from her first climax, nearly speechless from the new experience. Meanwhile, Shining not only took pride in his work, but he also reveled in the taste of the virgin mare. He rose his head from in between her haunches, facing her as he wiped some of her juices off of his muzzle.

"You... I can't even speak."

Rarity stared down the stallion and started to get an idea. Being that her sex life was rather dry, she turned to erotic books to satisfy her after a long day of work. And in her time reading, she had often read up on some books that often described certain characters performing particular fetishes. One of those fetishes was where a stallion had managed to capture a figure of royalty and ordered her to perform lewd and indecent acts to please him. Immediately her mind filled with numerous ideas she could try out. And the main advantage she carried was that she could easily get him to do whatever she desired right now. She was more than willing to take advantage of the situation.

Rarity rose from the table and stood back onto the floor. "Are you ready to serve me, my dear knight?"

"Yes. I will do anything to please you." He answered proudly.

"Down!" Suddenly, Rarity pushed him down to the ground, leaving his legs, as well as his extra appendage, suspended into the air. Lying on the ground, he notified her that he was ready.

"Yes, your highness!"

She knelt before him, finally seeing the instrument that drove him to madness, the very same instrument that defiled many mares before her, the instrument that she sought to tame. "Tell me, what am I to do with this?"

"Whatever comes to mind, milady."

She poked a hoof at the towering erection, causing it to twitch in response. She gave a facetious grin and eased her hoof against the skin of him. Upon reaching the top, she could see a small trail of liquid running down the side, coming from the very tip of his stallionhood. "Absolutely filthy."

"I am terribly sorry, your excellency." Shining said, playing along. This was a game that was too familiar to him for it to be something so foreign. The only thing that had changed was the mare he did it with.

"You need to be cleansed. Just look at this filthy thing." She continued to tease him with heated breaths brushing against the needful extension. She nuzzled the warm length, basking in the smell that it gave off. She began to kiss it gently against the base, working her way up in an agonizing pace.

"I will do as you ask, my lady." He answered with a flush in his cheeks. He gritted his teeth as the mare continued her ministrations. There was little he could do since he was the one playing the submissive role. He laid back and allowed her to carry on with what she had planned for him. She rolled the shaft around her muzzle, causing him to leak more fluids from within. He was going insane from the level of buildup she had managed to produce. Rarity opened her mouth and allowed her tongue to travel from the bottom of his sex, up the veiny length and finally to the tip of his flared instrument. The stream of precum now settled onto her tongue as she left his hips in search of his lips.

"Taste it." She plunged her tongue into his mouth, swirling the combination of her own spittle and his fluids onto her. In turn he offered his own mixture, giving her a taste of herself. For seconds that seemed to go on as hours, they exchanged the tastes of each other. Finally, the kiss broke with a small strand of liquid bridging the rapidly expanding gap between their lips. Shining could feel the tiny droplets of their exchange dribble on his chest.

"Rarity, when did you become like this?"

"Quiet!" She commanded as she his stallionhood a light smack, causing it to bob back and forth.

"Yes, milady."

Rarity took her tongue and ran up and down the stallion's length a numerous amount of times before allowing him the pleasure of the warm embrace of her mouth. Her lips parted as she sank herself part-ways down the stallion's shaft. Soft groans sounded as Shining found himself rolling his eyes in the bliss. Whispers of encouragement sounded to Rarity's ears as Shining remained obedient to her. Not once did he move for the sake of his own desire. He was broken to obey by that of his wife, it was only fitting that he'd show the mare that should be what Cadance is to him now, the very same level of discipline. Though, his discipline didn't exclude his body from approaching what was inevitable.

Rarity's lips separated with a gasp for air as well as a loud plop. Jerking the stallion with a hoof, she looked directly into his eyes. "I suppose you want to want me to finish you off?"

Meeting the large portals of sapphire, Shining tried his best to not instinctively thrust upward as he begged. "Yes, please!"

"Oh... Well that's too bad. Finish yourself." In a cruel fashion, she pushed away the well-endowed stallionhood, leaving him to complete her task for her. She took in depraved pleasure from seeing the stallion squirm as he tried his best to finish off what she had started.

"Where?" He asked with powerful grunts, trying to reach his climax, which started to escape him if he didn't continue the fervent pace to which his hoof moved. In turn, he became surprised by what she offered as his vice.

"My hooves. Worship them. Give unto them a plentiful offering, my dear knight." She requested in character, extending a hoof outward as if he was to kiss it.

"May I taste, my princess?" He asked, panting with rabid arousal.

"I suppose it is customary that they should be cleaned before they receive their offerings. Use your tongue."

Immediately, he took his tongue and cleaned every inch of her hooves. Rarity cooed with excitement as the loyal knight followed her every order. She blushed deeply as he continued to tease her with his praises. His tongue swiped away at every nook and cranny of her lovely snow-white forelegs.

"Shining, you wonderful pet!" She cheered as he used his magic to try and move her hoof to his twitching erection, the tip flaring out to an enormous size. Rarity was astounded at the stallion's girth.

"I... I'm cumming!"

As he completed his warning, thick strands of white, hot cum doused the mare's hooves, but not before hitting another unintended target. In a moment of accidental occurrence, ropes of his semen jettisoned into the air, hitting her on all of her forelegs, her face and even her mane. Rarity fell back as she was caught off her guard by the constant stream of his seed. As he continued to dribble some of himself onto the floor Rarity wiped her mane to find the sticky fluid in her well-coiffed curls.

"Oops." Shining mumbled.

"Eewwww!"

"Sorry! So sorry! I didn't mean to get it in your mane. Or any on your face."

Blinded by a thick coating of his seed over her eyelids, she reached out in every direction in hopes of wiping off her eyes. "I can see that."

Shining pulled a cloth off the table, giving it to the mare. The moment she cleared her eyes of his semen, she glared at him menacingly. He offered his apologies, or at least tried to. "Please forgive me. I can-"

"Raaagh!" With a roar, she pulled her mane out of the carefully constructed curls, causing her hair to fall into a mess of curls and strands. She breathed heavily as she angrily eyed the prince.

"Woah... that's-"

"ARMOR!!!" With a blood-curling scream, she pounced onto him.

This time, he was more than prepared to take her on as he lifted the mare above the ground holding her tightly as her body remained suspended in the air while he stood on his hind legs. As he wobbled to support her, he stumbled and regained his balance as he held her against a nearby wall. There he stood as she held on to his shoulders while he cradled her by her plot and securing her further by reaching around her.

"Fuck!" He shouted out, relieved that he didn't drop her.

Rarity looked down as she felt something prodding away at her entrance. "You're still hard?"

Shining snickered with a devilish grin. "Persistence is a key element in pleasing royalty, your highness."

"Good!" In an instant, she released her hold on his shoulders, aligned him with her magic and sank down on top of him. The taking of her flower was instant.

"Woah there-"

"AAAH!~"

"Rarity, you okay?" He asked out of concern that she may have been in pain.

Oddly enough, the initial pain of her first time was only a minor inconvenience. It was apparent that all of Shining's foreplay to prepare her for this moment was more than sufficient to loosen her up. Wrapping her hooves around his shoulders, she bounced up and down a few times, trying to prime him into the act. "Well, don't just stand there. Get to it!"

"Oh fuck!" He shouted as he felt her grasping him as he entered and exited from her moist, velvety walls. Her chest heaved out as a reflexive thrust from Shining caused her to experience an unbelievable jolt of pleasure that threatened to shut down her entire body. Her reaction to his thrust drove him to want more.

Shining held his balance as he continued to ram himself into her, causing her to elicit primal grunts. He was excited to see her become so uncivilized in her venture into the world of marehood. She recovered from her limp state and speared her tongue into his mouth, ignoring the lips that sealed himself shut. Shining gave a powerful thrust upward into Rarity, making her open her eyes in shock of his forceful entry. Shining deepened the kiss as his tongue battled back hers, causing her to retreat back into her own quarters.

Shining started to feel himself straining to keep both himself on his hind legs and holding her with him. But refusing to exit from her, he placed her gently on the floor so he could finish. Rarity wrapped her forelegs around Shining's torso as he worked himself into a slow rhythm. Rarity clenched herself around him as tight as she could while he pulled away, and loosened with each entry he made. She moaned lustfully as she stared back at the clench-eyed stallion above her.

"Do I feel good?" She asked as he continued to piston himself in and out of her.

"Yes." Shining out panted in between breaths.

"Do you want to go faster?" Rarity asked, now gyrating her hips against him while he exited. The way her hips swirled as he plowed into her ended up making him increase his pace.

"Yes." He cried out, begging that she'd keep going. He was infatuated with the way she worked herself as he drove his stallionhood into her.

Rarity started to massage his length while she worked her hips against his. She oohed in tandem with his breaths. "Do you want to go deeper?"

"Rrraaagh!" Shining had had enough of her being the one in charge as he roared and rose off of the mare, flipping her over to her belly as he took her creamy wet slit for a venture. Rarity buckled over as her lover dove deep into her, his tip kissing the very walls of her womb's entrance. Rarity squeaked like a helpless mouse as she was slowly taken to her end by the predator who assaulted her relentlessly.

"Shining!" She screamed as he hammered his hips into hers, his scrotum slapping against the wet flesh of her haunches.

"Rarity. I love you." He whispered into her ear before tugging away at it, biting the tip of her ear. She felt her body becoming significantly weaker as his thrust progressed. She felt herself ascend past the workings of traditional bliss and entered into the realm of nirvana as her marehood was invaded by the stallion's pulsing erection. Her orgasm was soon approaching.

"My one and only knight, where have you been all this time?"

Meanwhile, Shining could feel himself closing in on his second orgasm. He rapidly rammed his stallionhood into her drenched sex as he cried out to her. "I'm close!"

"Don't you dare pull out!" She commanded, turning back to him.

"But-"

"You will not finish until I have! Now keep going!"

Shining nodded as he stood up to his hind legs again, this time as he took her from behind. Unfortunately, he had managed to step in a small puddle of her juices, causing him to slip a bit. Before he could regain his balance, his hooves instinctively reached out for the nearest secured object, which happened to be the indigo curls of the mare's tail. He inwardly swore at himself for his mistake. "Shit!"

Rarity, on the other hoof, saw his gesture as something different entirely.

"OH YES! PULL MY TAIL!!!" She shouted as she backed into him feverishly, wanting to be completely defaced by the stallion. He initially stared at the reaction that was stimulated by his accident. But the sight of the mare pressing back at him made something within him snap.

He pulled at her tail as he began to meet her hips halfway. The clapping sound of flesh filled the room along with the stench of their debauchery. Rarity felt something else now. Aside from the stallion entering into her, she felt him growing. She knew that he would fountain into her.

"I'm cumming!" He shouted as he pulled at her tail.

Rarity giggled as she bit her lip. "Fill me. Make me suffer! Make me feel loved."

"Your highness!"

Her lower lip escaped the clenching vice of her teeth as she shouted back to him with all of her might. "Shining, make me a mother."

Shining instantly paused for a brief moment. "What!?"

She continued to press herself against him, maintaining the pace he started. "Make me a mother. I know that you didn't have much with my mother, so please take me instead. Let me be the vessel for your child."

"But I-"

"It's the only thing that I'll have that's truly yours! It will be our standing testament of our love! I want to have your foals!"

Shining took a moment to think about what she had offered to him. He was more than willing to give her what she desired, but it came with a price. "Only if you say you love me."

Rarity stopped herself, edging near her orgasm. Though it frustrated her to do so, she wanted to make it clear that what she gave to him was indeed genuine. Her body, her first time, the flower of her remaining innocence. "If I could live my life without knowing you, I'd suffer. If I could live my life knowing that I had loved you and lost you, then I would be content. It is better to had and lost something than to live wishing for it without it coming true. I will take this memory over the madness that is to never be. I love you Shining Armor!"

Shining didn't need any more reinforcement as he yanked at her tail, entering her as her body jerked backwards into him. Her entire world fell apart as his shattered into broken glass. "I LOVE YOU, RARITY!"

In that moment, the fates that they shared had drastically changed. Rarity rose to heights that she couldn't fathom of it's existence. Shining ascended to a world where his dreams were now broken by the overwhelming sensations of the reality. Shining emptied himself into her depths as she quivered from the impact of his final few thrusts.

"♥~GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!~♥"

The two screamed loudly as they both fell to the floor, tired and in need of breath. Shining felt himself exit from the mare. Rarity unleashed a stream of clear juices as he exited from within her. Upon her own ejaculation, she managed to even expel some of his seed in the fluids. The mixture from their session pooled onto the floor as they both lied on the ground, catching their breath.

Shining and Rarity finally lied together, content with the act of their procreation. He was now pleased with the mare of his dreams, and she was more than accepting of the possible foal that would be in their future. They took a few breaths as they hugged each other, nuzzling one another. Shining kissed the mare on the forehead, causing Rarity to giggle as she whispered to him.

"Round two?"

Shining grinned. "Miss Rarity, I believe that two would be an insufficient amount."

Two hours have passed since their first go at each other. Even up to now, they had managed to share a second, a third and even a fourth for insurance. But now, they were more than exhausted. The two lied under the sheets of the large bed of the master bedroom. Shining even had Rarity wear the wedding dress, while she had made him wear the lingerie from the honeymoon. The two had managed to touch up on every fantasy imaginable to them. Now, even the creator would grow fond of their endeavors.

"Oh... wow..." Rarity said out of breath, hugged up to the stallion. She laid happily on his chest as he held her close to him.

"That was incredible."

"Shining Armor, you leave me speechless."

"You leave me wanting more."

"In a moment. Mommy's a little sore."

Shining chuckled loudly. "You're not the only one."

"Then why go again?"

"Just for good measure?" He joked, causing Rarity to shove him.

"I think all of the fluids you left inside of me was more than 'good measure'."

Rarity laid herself silently against Shining's chest as he stared blankly into the ceiling. Questions swirled around his mind as he thought about what he was going to do next. It was evident that there was no remorse for what he did with her, or at least that's what he kept telling himself.

"Have you ever known what it feels like to fall in love with the one you're not married to?"

Rarity curled her hoof into a small patch of fur on his chest as she gave her answer. "I wouldn't know that feeling, sir prince."

"Well... With Cadance, it feels as if my body and soul is present, but my heart is lost somewhere else. With you... well I can feel that everything is there."

"You sound as if you're sick."

"Sick of not being able to hear your moans and cries for me from the past few years."

His off-color remark was swiftly rewarded with a hoof pounding hard into his chest. "Pervert!"

"Ow!"

She replaced her hoof back to the small tuft of fur she was so fond of fondling. "Many seasons have came and went that I've cried out your name. This will be the first one that you'll cry out mine in return."

"I don't regret any second I've spent with you." He whispers quietly, giving her a tender peck below her horn.

"Me either." She tightened her grip on the stallion, sinking further into his chest. She heard the thumping waltz of his heartbeat softly gracing her ears.

"So, how do we... you know? Or did you say that as a spur-of-the-moment thing?" He asked, referring to the moment in their first session when she asked him to make her a mother. Rarity rose from the stallion's chest and looked directly into his eyes.

"...I want you, but I can't have you... unless you were serious about the annulment of your marriage."

Shining thought about it. It was still a choice that was heavy in it's burden. He could sacrifice everything he had worked hard to earn for the sake of a mare that continued to wait for him for many years of her life. It was true that Cadance was a virgin when he took her, but even then she held out for the stallion that interested her. But with Rarity, it was for him, and him alone. The dormant guilt of leaving Cadance alone was the single thing that caused a major conflict within him. In the end, it was what the two mares had offered that would ultimately be a deciding factor.

Cadance and Rarity both promised foals to him. It was a difficult decision, the mare who saved him on more than one occasion who opened her heart to him, or the young foal he used to look after, who had grown into a beautiful mare. He could easily admit to himself that he wanted the both of them, but in the end, he could only marry one.

But Rarity was already stumbling into a marriage to begin with. He knew that he was already betrothed to Cadance and offered to spend his life with her. He married her because he wanted her to be happy. He was very much satisfied with his relationship with Cadance, but deep down, he knew that they weren't going to last due to her status and her age. Furthermore, he grew concerned with one factor of their relationship.

The numerous times they've shared a bed and to this point, not a single hint of a foal was made present.

Cadance offered to give him foals once before, even trying to perform the act herself. But oddly enough, nothing came of their attempts, even months after she tried her best to do so. Rarity was the mare that could give him what he had longed to have for many years.

It was then, that his choice was made.

"I can only say this... You are the mare I want my family with."

Rarity's heart skipped a beat as Shining stared directly back at her. "So soon?" She mockingly asked.

"Hell, you've sold me since you started writing letters to me."

"Oh!" Rarity cooed joyfully, nuzzling up against the stallion, giving him an even tighter squeeze.

"I like how you snuggle."

"It's only because I love to snuggle."

Shining looked at the clock on the far side of the room. The time was a few minutes shy of seven in the evening. "Well, we've got a few days."

"And we will be sharing our dearest affection with one another, as well as the missed time, on those days." Rarity added, giving the stallion a passionate kiss on the lips.

"Sounds great to me." He whispered in a low tone.

"Sounds like you two are having a fun time."

Both Shining and Rarity jumped at the third voice in the room. They turned to the door to see a pink mare with long black streaks of mascara running down her cheeks and distorting around her eyes. She breathed heavily as she stood in the doorway, staring at the two ponies who lied in her bed, exchanging kisses.

"CADANCE!!!"

"PRINCESS!?!"

Cadance shook with anger. She caught her husband cheating on her only weeks after they've been married. She made sure that the only way out was through her as she shut the windows and sealed every last one with a magical spell. She spoke in a broken tone as she finished.

"I'm so sorry dear, for leaving you alone for twelve fucking seconds!"

Author's Note

Fun thing about the English language and it's grammatical guidelines, shit like this below actually makes sense.
"All the faith he had had had had no effect on the outcome of his life."

Fucking English language.

Now... I'm going to say this. FINALLY, I'VE GOT TO THIS POINT OF THE STORY!

So that leaves the question of what Cadance will do now that she caught him red hoofed or at least she caught his dick that way. Stick around for the next chapter to find out.

ACT 2: ...But Only in my Dreams.

"Cadance, I can explain."

"What can you explain, Shining Armor!? There is another mare in OUR bed WITH YOU! KISSING YOU!"

Shining shook with fear as he saw the pained expression set in his wife's face. She was wrought with despair and anger as she stood in the doorway.

"I thought th-"

"What!? You thought that I was going to be gone for a few days so you could sleep around?"

"Cadance, calm down."

"Calm down!? CALM DOWN!? My husband is fucking another mare in my bed and you're asking me to CALM DOWN!?"

"I suppose it would be best to take my leave." Rarity whispered, removing the sheets from her body. Before she could make her way to the door, a light blue aura surrounded her hind legs, locking them in place. The white unicorn mare's eyes looked up to see Cadance casting a series of sealing spells on all of the windows of the bedroom, even going as far as sealing off the bathroom.

"Oh no. Not now. Things just got good."

Rarity struggled as she tried to shake herself loose of the magical bindings around her legs. "Look, I-"

"No, you shut the hell up. I don't wanna hear a single word from you, home-wrecker."

"Cadance-" Shining offered to defend her.

"And none from you either!"

With a flick of her magic, Cadance locked him in place as well. Shining grunted as he tried to escape. Seeing that his strength alone was far too inferior to the bindings around his legs, he used his own magic in an attempt to set himself free. But to his misfortune, Cadance ran to him and slapped his horn, negating his magic altogether.

"So what was it, Shining Armor? What made you go to her?"

"..." Shining didn't speak as he rubbed his horn from the painful blow.

"Oh, you can speak now. I wanna hear what you have to say."

The prince looked to his wife and finally drew courage from within. "...Cadance... I don't think that we can-"

"No. You're not doing this. You doing this. I can't believe you're doing this." Cadance interrupted, sounding distraught.

"It's not you."

"Apparently, it is if you're willing to blow off our vows like this. I mean, how could you?"

While Cadance was busy arguing with her husband, Rarity took a page from Shining's book and used her magic to break the bindings around her hind legs. "Pardon me for one second."

"Rarity, I think you need to stay." Another voice called out from the doorway. The worried fashionista looked over to see a familiar face, one that she didn't think she was likely to see.

"TWILIGHT!?"

"I wanna know, Rarity. Why did you do this? You promised that you would move on... like I did." Twilight's head dipped at the reminder of the taboo relationship with her brother that she once had.

"But... I didn't know that he was the client! He never gave me a name, just an address." Rarity argued, causing Cadance to angrily snarl at her husband.

"So, you called her in so you could sleep with her!?"

"Well, no and-"

"NO AND YES!? So you called her here to fix your uniform, then had her stay over for tea and an afternoon fuck?"

"Cadance, I'm sorry."

The pink princess stomped her hoof as she denied his apology. "No. I'm not accepting this. You're not sorry for what you did, you're sorry for getting caught!"

Twilight shook her head as she walked up to her friend. "Rarity, we promised each other that we would move past this. What happened?"

Rarity turned around, not having the courage to face the purple unicorn. "I'm sorry. It's just that one thing had led into another. The end result ended up being something like this."

"You said to me and the girls that you would move on from your foalhood crush, then you promised me that you'd stay away from him. Now you're laying in bed with him doing Faust-knows-what to him."

Rarity started to feel the guilt of her actions weighing heavily against her, almost crushing her into a thin paste. She still failed to find the courage to face her, or Cadance for that matter. "I'm sorry, Twilight. I didn't know that I would still be so infatuated with him since he took care of me all those years ago."

Cadance's ears twitched as soon as she heard the major clue that lead her to identify her established relationship with her husband. She was aware of him being a foalsitter, she just didn't remember who exactly he watched over. Now, she knew, and it made her very angry. "So, you're that one filly that Shining sat over while he continued to rut her mother into the ground, huh? The one mother that ended up making him into an emotional wreck?"

Rarity knew of the affair that she and Shining had. But she was unaware of the toll it took on him in return. "My mother-"

"Your mother lost her foal when you were younger, and now, Shining can't stop thinking about having foals all the time. He gets depressed, he loses sleep over it, he can't even keep himself from crying over him not having a family!"

After all these years, Rarity didn't think once that her hero would be plagued over the loss of her sibling. She always thought that the foal she had was one that her mother and her father managed to conceive. To hear that it was actually his, it made her sad to know that he was carrying that guilt this entire time. "Shining..."

"Oh no. You're not going to be that reminder to him. I want you to stay away from my husband." Cadance snapped, trotting up to Rarity.

"In speaking of foals, I think it's time we talked about something, Cadance."

The princess halted her advance to the labeled home-wrecker and returned her attention back to her husband. "What do you want to talk about?"

"On Nightmare Night, you promised me that we would try to have a foal. Since then, we have tried numerous times. So I just wanna know, why are you not pregnant?"

Cadance froze as she thought back to Nightmare Night, the promise still fresh on her mind. It was true that the two of them did work hard to bring a foal into the world, but it irked him that she was far from having a child. Cadance backed away from her husband. "It's because I chose not to be."

"That's a lie!" Shining blurted out.

"I am in full control over my body and can age at any given moment. Who are you to tell me that I am a liar?"

Shining could name an outstanding example where she allowed her body to be in control over her, a reason that was just around the corner. "Because even you're not immune to estrus, just like you aren't immune to giving birth."

"...Actually..." Another voice called from down the hall. Sounds of hooves clopping against the carpet sounded as yet another mare entered into the room. Cadance grew mortified now that the truth was going to come out.

"Mom?" The prince gawked at her visit.

"Shining dear, I've been meaning to tell you this-"

His surprise then turned into a flash of anger. "SO YOU'RE IN ON IT TOO?"

"No." Velvet quietly answered.

"SO WHAT'S GOING ON!? WHY THE HELL IS-"

Velvet lit her horn as she argued with her son. "You will not talk to your mother like that, especially while she is talking."

In a quick flash of light, Shining found himself unable to speak. His lips moved and he could feel his vocal cords vibrating as he tried to fight his mother's words. Nothing sounded from him as the thirty second time frame started to tick away.

"Now, allow me to explain before the silence spell wears off. Once ascended, alacorns do not age nor are they limited to one particular magic as each individual species are. But their power comes with a terrible price. As you know, mares who have ascended into alacorns can and will mate with whomever they so choose. But the act of conceiving a child is no longer viable after the first ten years."

"What?" Rarity gasped.

The atmosphere of the room grew heavy as Shining stared back to his wife. Twilight was even left in shock as the revelation hit her. "That would mean that Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, they-"

Cadance finally released a deep breath as she finished Twilight's statement. "Cannot bear foals. As I am no longer able to."

The thirty second timer of the silence spell inflicted upon Shining Armor wore off, allowing him to speak once more. "Mom... how long have you been sitting on this information?"

"In my time in the Ministry of Magical Research-"

Without warning, Shining angrily tilted over the nightstand on his side of the bed. The picture of his departed friend falling to the floor and the contents of the small drawer spilled to the floor. A loud bang accompanied his shouts. "Fuck all of that! What about now!? You're retired, that means that you can disclose whatever the hell you want."

Velvet turned an eye to the pink princess beside her. "I was hoping that Cadance would speak with you on her own."

The stallion felt his entire world around his marriage shatter into an insurmountable pile of uncountable broken glass shards. The promise that she made to make him feel better, the false hopes of him being able to have a family in the marriage. Nothing remained to attach him to his current wife. "So... You lied to me, all along."

"N-no dear," Cadance stuttered. "I-I-I just held back some information. I didn't want you to be angry with me."

Cadance tried to comfort her husband, failing miserably with each time she placed her hooves upon him, only for him to shove her off. "I'm absolutely livid! How do you not bring this up? 'Oh hey dear, I suppose you don't mind that I can't bear foals, but hey let's get married anyways and live a fruitless life with a family of two for the rest of our lives."

"I didn't think it would matter!" Cadance shouted.

"I'm twenty seven! I should've had a foal nine years ago. I was willing to be a father. I prepared myself to be just that."

Finally seeing her plan to calm her husband was falling apart, she decided to take on a more forceful approach. "So you saw no success in me and decided to go for some random mare?"

"She is not random. I love her."

"What?" The other mares aside from Rarity asked simultaneously.

Rarity blushed shyly as she tried to explain. "Well, Shining and I had managed to-"

She was cut off by the familiar sensation of his lips pressed against hers. Shining withdrew quickly, making his point. "So now you all know. I'm in love with Rarity. That's why I chose her."

Cadance couldn't believe what she had witnessed. She watched her husband walk across the room and kiss another mare besides her and confess his love for her. The pink mare could feel her heart ripping in two as she grasped her chest. "Shining, sweetie you can't be serious."

"I love her more than I love you, Cadance." He answered bluntly.

Cadance felt her entire body break down, falling to the floor. "You... what?"

Shining leaned down to hug her, comforting her the best he could as he broke the news to her. "I'm sorry. I thought that being with you because my felling sorry for your past was going to equate into a successful relationship, but in the end, I only saw that it was causing me more pain than pleasure. Don't get me wrong, the time we spent together, the things we did, the sex, the cuddles, everything was great. But I can't keep lying to you or myself anymore."

"But I... we..."

"I love you, Cadance. I just... I'm not in love with you. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Cadance became sickened, emotionally unstable as she felt the stallion's forelegs enclosed around her. The stallion she fought tooth and hoof for hugged her as he admitted to her that she was not who he wanted to be with. She felt her entire body grow cold as she stared to the stallion. She refused to see him go. "No."

"Look, I know it's hard-"

Separating herself from her husband, she forced herself to look at him with distraught countenance. "No. No... You love me. You love me, and that's what really matters in this marriage."

"Cadance-"

"No. I'm going to make you see that. I'm going to prove that to you."

Shining shifted his hooves back and forth from each other as he tried his best to break it down. "Cadance, we can't work."

Cadance stared blankly at Shining for a brief moment before tossing him back into the bed. As he landed, she landed on top of him, her wings outstretched to cut off his escape. "I'll make us work!"

"Not if I don't want to."

"You don't have a choice, husband." Cadance answered as she locked her lips against the stallion who tried to reject her. There was no way that she was going to be rejected, especially in such timing.

"Shining Armor!" Rarity charged after the deranged wife, only to find herself pushed back against the wall by a powerful force. Cadance removed herself from her husband and summoned a series of belts and cuffs from her closet, tying and sealing the seamstress to the wall.

"You stay there and watch. I will show you how a real, adult mare pleases her husband. That will be your punishment."

Shining grunted as he tried numerous times to escape Cadance. He shifted his weight to the side of the bed, but she clawed at him to look back up to her as she kissed him. He tried to push her off of him, only for her to tie his forelegs to the bedposts. Rarity watched in horror as Cadance squeed and giggled as she tried to 'prove' to her husband that she was a better choice.

Meanwhile, Twilight Violet and Twilight Velvet stared at the married couple in the bed, watching as Shining's stallionhood became freed from it's sheath. Velvet looked on with a bit lip as she started to take pleasure of the sight of her son's cock. Twilight on the other end was shifting her hind legs as she sat and watched. The mature mare took notice of her daughter's squirming and wore a devious smirk as she whispered into Twilight's ear.

"See something you like, Violet?"

Twilight snapped out of her trance as her mother's words reached to her. She blushed as she looked to the door. "I think we should leave."

"Why?" Velvet closed the door as she started to pet her daughter, her hooves tenderly running down Twilight's back, inching closer to the base of her tail.

The younger mare struggled to answer. "Because, Shining Armor and Cadance is going to..."

Velvet slowly drug her hooves from the base of her tail, tickling her fur as she made her way to the soft purple underbelly of her daughter. She stroked her belly in slow circular motions as she nuzzled deep into the purple mare's neck. "I think that this should be a punishment for you too."

"Mom!?" Twilight stifled a moan as the grey hoof traced the outline of her stomach, reaching around her smaller waist.

"You've done all sorts of things with your brother, illicit things. I would not be much of a mother if I didn't show you the consequences of your actions." Velvet whispered as she licked her daughters ear. She started to groom her blushing daughter as she scooted her body closer into hers. Twilight felt her mother wrapping herself around her, she felt the heat of her body burning her as the mature mare rubbed the younger in between her haunches, being careful not to touch her sensitive spot. Not yet.

"Mom, I don't want to be here."

"Is it because you can see your brother being mated by another mare before your very eyes?"

Twilight felt like her body was in the middle of a sauna. The intense burns of her mother's touch caused her to lean over as she felt herself grow wetter and wetter. "...It's too much."

"Does it hurt?"

Panting softly as her mother continued to tease her, Twilight body seized as she fell against her mother. "Yes."

"Do you want to be free from that pain?" Velvet started to feel her own body warm up as she watched Cadance tending to her son across the room. Even Twilight became invested in the show that she and her husband were putting on.

"Yes. Please."

Velvet started to slowly grind herself against her daughter, lighting her magic to stimulate herself. "You poor thing. Mother's here now, everything will be okay."

Twilight felt her mother's fluids seeping through her coat and onto her skin. The intoxicating stench of a mare turned on made the already growing wet spot in the carpet grow even wetter. Twilight released a soft moan into her foreleg. "Mom... stop this."

Velvet moved her hooves from her daughter's sides to back in between her haunches. She rubbed the small purple teats as she whispered in her daughter's ear. "Your brother asked you to stop months ago. I don't recall you doing so."

"Nnngh, how did you know?" Twilight didn't let the arousal cloud her concern over her mother's knowledge to what she did with her brother the day they both returned home for the holidays. Instead, she grew afraid of what her mother would do to her next.

Velvet re-imagined the moment her daughter was in the bathroom with her son. She didn't see much of the two, but the movements were a strong indication of what she did to her older brother. The moans and the grunts solidified her guess. "I could hear everything that happened in that little bathroom. In fact, I even took the time to watch the two of you go at it."

"Mom! That's disgusting!" Twilight moaned as her mother teased her without end.

"Oh, like this is?"

Twilight yelped as she felt her mother's hoof sink down below the shadowy plain that led to the younger mare's dampened marehood. "Mom, I don't like this."

"Yes you do." Velvet giggled.

"Don't rub it, please." She begged, trying to pull her mother's hoof away from her soaked interior, only to have it replaced by the same hoof, rubbing against the winking bud even harder.

"Why not?" Velvet asked, hoping to get her daughter to describe in detail what she was going to feel.

"Because when you do, I'll... I'll-"

The grey mare kissed her daughter on her neck as she continued to grind herself against the younger mare. "Do it, my dear. Do it right now as you watch your brother."

Twilight oohed softly as she watched Cadance straddling her hips over the erect stallion's. The princess turned away from her husband as she sat atop of him, sandwiching his length in between two massive pink cheeks. Twilight could almost feel herself lose it as she watched her brother being teased to his edge. "Mom, stop."

Back on the bed, Shining grunted as he tried to push off his wife, but to his failure, she rode him faster. As each time her flanks ground against his shaft, he felt himself become even more lubricated. A trail of clear ooze seeped from his stallionhood as his erection throbbed painfully. "Cadance, please don't do this."

The mare on top hummed as her tail curled around the stallion's neck. "I want to show you my love for you. I-I can offer you so much more. Please, just reconsider."

"I've made up my mind, now let me go."

Cadance's smile left her as she forced her hips down on him in an attempt to squeeze the stallion's sex between the crevice of her voluptuous cheeks. Her horn lit brightly, raising his body ever so slightly into hers. "Then I've made up my mind too. I'm going to ride you until you forget about her."

Her back and forward motions sped up, starting to cause the stallion to involuntarily reach within a closing distance of his climax. But he failed to surpass his plane as a uncomfortable jerk of his erection caused him to wince with displeasure. "Gah!"

"What's the matter? Does it hurt?" Cadance asked, stopping for a brief moment.

"Kinda."

Cadance faced forward, looking at the mare who violated their marriage. "She did this to you... She hurt you!"

"She didn't do anything." He came to Rarity's defense.

The princess removed herself for a second to adjust herself. Turning herself around to face her husband, she lowered down to him, kissing him in the nape of his neck. As her lips parted, an unfamiliar taste touched her tongue as she licked her lips. "She's all over you. Her stench is all over you. I can't stand it!"

"Cadance, please-"

In a rushing motion, she planted her tongue against his neck, scraping the stallion clean of his newly-acquired taste. "I'll clean you off. I'll show you how good of a wife I can be."

Cadance resumed the grooming of her husband as Rarity was left to watch on the other side of the room. The snow-white mare turned her head away from the sight, mumbling to herself. "Oh Shining, I can't bear to look."

The princess managed to overhear her prisoner's comment and turn around to see that she was turned away, eyes clenched shut. "And just what do you think you're doing!?"

"I will not watch such an inappropriate display!" Rarity still held her eyes shut, but it didn't stop Cadance from forcing her head to face her. Rarity tried her best to resist, but found herself at the mercy of Cadance's magical grip. As she was brought to face the mare riding on top of her beloved stallion, her eyes were forced open.

"You don't have a choice." The princess spat spitefully.

The seamstress struggled to free herself from her bonds while her captor took advantage of her Shining Armor. Still forced to watch the two in the bed, the prisoner screamed to her warden. "Release me, at once!"

The pink alacorn chortled as she finished cleaning off her husband from the neck to his lower belly. She grinned deviously, eyeing the tall trophy that bobbed freely into the air. "Pencil and paper out, slut. I'm going to show you how you can truly please a stallion."

A light sensation brushed against the length of Shining Armor, making him moan in response. To Cadance's dismay, it was not the reaction she had hoped for. "Rarity." He whispered as his eyes closed, imagining that the captured mare was his assailant. But the princess shook off her inhibitions and continued to lick her husband's throbbing stallionhood.

"Oh don't worry, my dear husband. She should feel honored that the princess of love is willing to share some of her secrets with such a lowly lover."

Rarity took offense to the term Cadance used to described her. "Lowly?"

The princess kissed the tip of her husband's pulsing meat. Shining felt his body ready to seize as Cadance worked her kisses into small slurps at his flesh. His moment came close, but not before his wife playfully slapped the fleshy toy and leaving him out to suffer the descent from his edge. He quietly whimpered while the princess rose form on top of him, walking to the bound mare against the wall. "Pay close attention. This is what you would call Denial 'One-O-One'. This will have the stallion you're teasing by the end of the session to cry and beg for his release."

Rarity could see her knight suffering from the unusual method of erotic play. He thrusted his hips into the air, trying to get himself back to his breaking point. A series of desperate groans sounded as his failure became more certain. Rarity pitied him. "How cruel."

Cadance placed a hoof on Rarity's chest, slowly making it's way down to her soft underbelly. "Oh don't worry your little head. You'll be a student, just like he is."

In an instant, Rarity felt her body tense up in pleasure as her captor's hoof slid against the moistened lips of her marehood. The slits squelched as Cadance worked her hoof up and down against the hood of Rarity's clit. "My word!"

The princess bit her lower lip, chocking back a laugh. "What's the matter, never had a hoof touch you there before?"

"You're a mare!" Rarity answered, still uncomfortable with another mare touching her in her sacred area.

Cadance brought her muzzle close to the disabled mare, allowing the warmth of her breath sear her lips as she spoke. "Sex is blind. Love is infinite. And marriage is eternal."

Rarity felt the heat brushing against her lips, making her want to snap at the princess. But deep down, she was aroused from the display that the mare provided to her. It was little holding back her sexual impulses since the pink princess was steadily rubbing at her moistened flower. Rarity tried her best to suppress her moans, but found it impossible with the pressure building from below, surging through her body like a contained flame whose only source of oxygen was up above. Cadance smirked while she looked at the entranced mare and pulled both her muzzle and her hoof away. Rarity unwittingly yelped to her captor. "No..."

"Oh, I'm so sorry. Did you want me to kiss you?" The pink princess chortled as she gave the lower lips a series of soft slaps.

"I'd never!" Rarity squirmed from the torturous advances, throwing her head back as she attempted to ride the mare's hoof.

"You will by the end of this session. Mark my words." Cadance resumed her rubbing as Rarity was left grinding against her in a desperate attempt to reach her approaching climax. The princess bit her lip as she grew aroused from the eager unicorn's expressions, varying from rolled eyes to licked lips. The pink mare stopped rubbing as she saw Rarity's pace speed up. As she bounced up and down, the fashionista mouthed her words to herself.

"I'm cumming."

Cadance immediately withdrew her hoof as soon as she identified what her captive was saying. "No you're not."

Shining, who watched from the other side of the room, couldn't contain his own arousal as his loins grew uncomfortable with the perpetual longing to release his seed. "Cadance, let me go!"

Turning around, Cadance snapped back at her husband. "And why would I do a thing like that? You need to learn your lesson. Be a good student and wait for me to get done with her."

Finally, Rarity regained some of her lost willpower. Pulling against the bindings that Cadance had placed on her, she struggled as she tried to free herself. "Let me go, Cadance! This isn't right!"

A pink hoof slammed against the area between Rarity's legs, barely missing her marehood. The white mare tensed from fear as the sound of wood being stressed sounded from below. "You violated the sanctity of my marriage. Don't tell me what's right and what's wrong. I do whatever I please."

"...I am not so weak." The seamstress glared into Cadance's eyes as she tried to sit herself on the outstretched foreleg, contradicting her argument.

The princess pulled her hoof down, out of Rarity's reach as she shushed her with a moistened hoof of her own juices. "I think you are."

Meanwhile on the other side of the room, Twilight gyrated her hips against the soaking wet hoof of Velvet, looking back to her in a twisted form. "Mom, it's hot." She whined, sounding as if she was on the verge of crying.

"I know. Do you want it to stop?" Velvet pulled her hoof out of the way, causing Twilight to pull her back down.

"I... I don't know. It burns, it tickles, it itches, it tingles, it hurts, but it feels so good."

Seeing her daughter so desperate made Velvet wet with anticipation. She pulled her hoof away once more and pressed her body against the purple mare, making her take to the floor. "Lay down Violet."

"Mom, make it stop. I can't take it anymore."

Velvet swore at herself for not having a stallionhood. The position she and her daughter were placed in would be greatly pleasing to her. As a means of making up, she flipped her daughter over and spread her hind legs wide open. "I'm going to cool you off for a bit."

"Oh thank you. Thank you so mu-AAAAHH!"

Twilight felt a powerful eruption of pleasure rocket from her marehood as Velvet's tongue cooled off Twilight's blistering heat. The gray mare lapped away at the pink petals of her daughter, holding on to her as she dug her tongue against her outer lips. Twilight's body contorted as Velvet rose up to tease her daughter. "You've been doing very well in your hygiene. I think that you should get a passing grade."

Twilight felt sheepish that her mother was so vocal on her hygiene. "Mom, that's embarrassing."

"Your taste is simply delightful, Violet. What are you doing to keep yourself like this?"

Twilight rolled her eyes and magically shoved Velvet back in between her legs. "Mom, don't stop."

Velvet giggled at her daughter's insistence to keep her busy rather than a friendly chat on her personal hygiene. "Okay, dear. I'll keep going."

Velvet continued to use her tongue to clean off the cream that flowed from the lips of the purple mare. Twilight's chest fell and rose dynamically as she did what she could to keep her mother pressed at her nethers. Velvet could feel her daughter's incoming orgasm from the way Twilight cradled her head against her marehood. The breathing room lessened as the purple mare slowly worked her hips against the older mare's muzzle. The purple mare's body twisted and turned as her mother became relentless in her ministrations. Not too long after a few more laps of Velvet's warm tongue, Twilight froze as juices spilled forth all over her mother's face and even to the floor.

"AAAAHH! MOTHER!!!"

The older mare rose from below and removed herself from between her daughter's legs, wiping off the residual fluids from Twilight's unexpected climax. "Violet, I know that I've often scolded you on not to make a mess of things."

"Sorry, mom. I couldn't help it." Twilight erupted into a giggling fit as she watched her mother recover from the wet and wild experience.

Velvet was far from amused. "Well then, I'll offer you one last chance to redeem yourself."

As Twilight continued to giggle, her laughter came to an abrupt halt as she felt a heavy weight sit atop of her. Looking up, she managed to catch a broad view of her mother's moistened sex. Velvet even lifted her tail out of the way so that Twilight could have an unobstructed view of what she was to feast upon. "Mom!?"

"I've done for you, now it is time to do for your mother."

Twilight grew hesitant as the moistened pair of lips winked at her. "But... it's-"

Velvet ignited her magic, giving her daughter a taste of her own medicine. Twilight became enveloped in a magenta-colored haze as her muzzle was pressed firmly against Velvet's dampened lips. "Yes! That's it, right there!"

Twilight was no stranger to the female anatomy. Her time to her books and studies only made her curious to her own body. In her time of being in Celestia's tutelage, her self-study has made her very aware of the ways she could please herself, even going as far as instructing her brother where to touch her, how and when. Her assumptions were since that this was her own mother, that she would share the same points and fetishes. Prodding her tongue deep into the flowery cavern of Velvet's sex, Twilight caused her mother to unleash a series of vibrant moans.

Velvet felt her entire body vibrate with each touch as Twilight struck every inch of her outer-folds with her tongue, sloppily separating herself before plunging back in. The gray mare felt her legs become gelatinous and fell to the ground as her daughter took charge. The purple unicorn pressed a hoof to the lower belly of Velvet, making sure that her g-spot was well stimulated while she suckled on the bright pink bulb as if she was a newborn filly. Even with her experience and her persistence to hold out, Twilight dashed all hopes of Velvet being able to withhold from her sudden climax.

Streams of fluid squirted into Twilight's face, bathing the purple mare in the juices of her aching sex. Velvet fell over completely, tired from the mind-blowing experience that her daughter had provided to her.

"You've been too invested in the adult section of the library, I see." She barely said above a murmur, still neurotically twitching from the blissful height.

Back on the other side of the bedroom, Cadance happily toyed with her husband, poking and prodding at the massive erection he sported. A river of precum flowed from the stallion as the pink mare happily slapped his stallionhood back and forth, a torture that became entirely too much for Shining to bear. "Aaaagh! Dammit, I... I can't stand this! Cadance, stop!"

Letting her hot breath graze the surface of his flesh, she blessed him with a light kiss before suppressing a small laugh. "And let a perfectly good erection go to waste? I don't think so."

"Cadance, you've proven your point. Now let us go!" Rarity demanded, still tied to the wall.

The princess' face fell to a more serious look as she turned back to the mistress. "I don't like your tone. I think you need a moment to reflect."

Rarity felt her entire body being moved from the wall to the bed across the room. Using the brute force of her magic, Cadance slammed Rarity into the bed, belly up while facing Shining Armor. The white unicorn mare looked up to see a pink underbelly, as well as a curtain of pink, purple and blonde in her eyes. The seamstress' eyes widened as Cadance revealed her dripping sex to her, now shoving it in her face and silencing her words. "Mmmmph!"

Cadance sighed as the captive mare's muzzle mashed against her heated slit. "You smell that? That's the scent of a real mare, a mare who knows how to please her stallion six ways from Tuesday."

"Mmmmphmmmph!" Rarity muffled, requesting that Cadance released her from the damp grip of her haunches.

"No. Not until you lick it."

"MMPH HMMPH!?" Rarity asked surprised.

"That's right, lick it. That's the hole Shining uses when he's wakes up every morning. I am his breakfast, his lunch, his dinner and his desert!"

Rarity turned her head away, only for Cadance to completely rest her weight against her. "Hmmmph!"

"You won't get any more air if you don't start licking." The princess teased.

Shining, already impatient with his wife teasing him dry, shouted to her as her curvaceous pink cheeks were planted firmly on Rarity's face. "Cadance, stop!"

The princess oohed softly as she looked back to her husband. As she bounced up and down upon her victim, Cadance sought to embarrass her even more by telekinetically splaying her hind legs, revealing the set of lips that were reddened from her earlier abuse. "Doesn't she look absolutely soaked? She's so horny, she can't even keep her fluids to herself."

Shining gulped at the sight of Rarity's rose-like lips. Even he licked his lips with longing to relieve her of her torture. "Don't do this." He whispered to his wife.

"You know... I'm going to let you pass with this one." Cadance used her magic free her husband and to part the weeping slit, revealing a hall of pink pleasure to which he wished himself to sample upon. "Taste it."

"Ahhh..." Rushing in like some heat-driven mare, Shining lunged at the mare he longed for, but found himself detoured by a soft blue glow.

"No, not her. Me." Cadance said with a dark tone.

"But-" He tried to object, but found his muzzle firmly pressed against the base of her tail.

"I wanted you to service me, like she's doing now. She's doing a fair job for a beginner, enough to get me interested."

"Cadance-" He mumbled from beneath the tri-colored curtain of hair.

"If you clean me off, I may consider you cleaning her. But only after you make me cum."

Shining didn't want to be denied an opportunity to please his beloved mare. It was his sole desire to ravage Rarity, and he would do and say just about anything to make it happen. The prince submitted to his wife, but for the benefit of his true love. "Okay-"

"Say it."

He had been with her long enough to know where this was going. Immediately, he assumed his role. "...Yes mistress."

Cadance smiled as she cut a glance back down to the mare below her. She didn't want him to be subservient to Rarity while she was seen as a brush off. She needed show her dominance, and she wanted to do it in front of the mistress. Unfortunately for the seamstress, who licked away at Cadance's damp folds, she had a way to show her who was still the higher power. "I've grown tired of that. Call me your princess."

Hesitantly, Shining agreed. "Y-yes..."

A light blue glow shoved the head of Shining Armor deep into the covers, merely inches away from Cadance's pink puckered ring. "Your princess. Say it. I'm your princess and will continue to be so long as you live."

His muffled cry amused the pink alacorn. "Yes... m-my princess."

"Louder." Cadance lifted the stallions muzzle from the sheets, inching him closer to the base of her tail.

"Yes, my princess!"

Cadance turned around to look at the stallion below her as the combined scents of Rarity's arousal and Cadance's marehood made him ache, seeking for a means of release. A release that Cadance would not allow until he showed his loyalty to her. "Look at me as you say it."

"Yes, my princess!" He screamed loudly, making Cadance smile. Her small victory would prove to be a strong standpoint for her argument of dominance. She pulled the stallion into the ring of her rear entrance.

"Kiss my hole, little boy."

Cadance felt her entire back tingle as the tongue of her husband prodded into the center of her back gate. She rocked her hips back and forth, alternating the pressure between Rarity and Shining. As she went forward, a squelch sounded as Rarity became buried into the princess' moist folds. The seamstress tried her hardest, despite her inexperience with pleasing mares, to bring Cadance to her climax. But as soon as she felt herself grow close, she rocked back into the prodding tongue of her husband. A critical mistake.

The warm sensation of his tongue gliding around her out-poked entrance tickled her immensely. His tongue lashed and pulled against her, the small buds of his tongue caused her to instantly lose her will to resist an orgasm. In mere seconds, Cadance caught herself in one of the most heavenly climaxes she had ever experience outside of intercourse. Her body stiffened and shuddered as her release caused her to jolt against both the mare below and the stallion behind her. Her hooves clasped at the sheets, pulling her back down from the lofty heights of her unexpected orgasm. Panting heavily, Cadance commended the couple on a job well done. Yet despite the combined efforts, she chose not to reward Rarity out of spite. Instead, Shining was promptly rewarded by a blue ring encircling his stallionhood, slowly massaging the shaft as it rose and fell.

Cadance droned as she rose from atop of the white unicorn mare, looking back to her husband, who was too entranced by the sight of his wife teasing his erection only mere inches away from Rarity's soaked slit. "Mmmmf, you know exactly what to hit. And so is your friend too. You two working together to kiss my ass is a great idea. I don't know why I haven't thought of it sooner."

Shining tried his best to push himself forward, but the magic of his wife only allowed the throbbing flesh a brief meeting with Rarity's clit. He bit his lip as the mix of pain and pleasure edged him forward, but cringed as the magic tugged him away from the mare's entrance. As he looked down, he could see the stream of precum leaking from his tip, but became even more surprised by a small pool of liquid that poured out from in between Rarity's haunches. The white river of fluids twisted and turned as it met with the bedsheets. Shining looked back to the face of his lover, only to see the light from her eyes disappear. Her hips now tried to seek him eagerly, but the bindings Cadance set against her prevented her from doing so. Rarity whimpered like a stray to a butcher holding a steak as her body itched and burned painfully.

Velvet, form the other side of the room stared at the development on the bed as she spoke to her daughter. "Well, I don't believe it. Look what just started on your friend."

"Oh no." Twilight whispered.

Velvet reached back in between her haunches and touched herself for a brief moment, drew her hoof back and observed the white fluids that stained her hoof. "That means that the season will be hitting us in a few minutes. Maybe even hours."

"I wasn't saying it about her..." Twilight moaned as she found herself reaching down to alleviate the deeply rooted itch, anxiously rubbing a hoof into her marehood.

Velvet paused for a second. As she looked over to the princess, she noticed that something about herself. A warm tingling sensation lit within her body. At first starting from what seemed like a humble candle burning in a cold room to that of a ferocious wildfire in her loins. She couldn't deny that the season was going to hit in a few minutes. Estrus had hit her, Rarity and Twilight.

"Oh goodness. The three of us managed to enter into it. That means-" Before Velvet could finish her sentence, Twilight hastily rose from the floor and ran over to the bed. "Twilight, where do you think you're going!?"

Cadance felt her body being pushed by a strong set of hooves as the purple mare knocked her magic out of sync. The pink mare stared at the frazzle-maned Twilight as she shoved her brother to the top of the bed, laying him facing up. "Twilight?"

"I'm so sorry, Cadance. I... I need this!" The purple unicorn pleaded, straddling her older brother. She wore a lifeless smile as she started to feel herself rub against her brother's sex. But as she started to align herself to him, Velvet held her fast with her magic, lifting her to the side of the bed as the grey mare took to the bed next.

"You can stay right there and wait."

Twilight gawked at her mother's greed. She grew upset that her own mother would deprive her of something so important to her. Rarity watched with lust emblazoned in her eyes. Cadance merely looked on with awe, submitting to the pre-established matriarchy, one that Twilight was unaware of it's existence. "No... It's not fair. He's my brother."

"He was my son first." Velvet said plainly as she began to straddle her son next.

"So I'll take it that you'll be taking the first dibs?" Cadance moaned out as she briefly settled for a hoof to her own needy marehood.

Velvet looked to her daughter on the side of the bed and talked as she sank herself onto Shining's outstretched length, as if she was lecturing her. "Violet, I'm going to teach you how to properly ride a stallion while he is at full mast. Now pay close attention."

"Mmm-ah!" Shining fell between a mix of a moan and a grunt as the pain from earlier sessions with Rarity caused him a great deal of pain while the warmth of his mother's cushion-like walls kissed against him from all sides, cradling him in a tunnel of wet warmth as she sank deeper onto him.

"Ooh, Shining, you're so rigid today." Velvet cooed, letting her hips meet with his as he bottomed out within her.

The stallion winced from the pain-pleasure mix. "Nngh... Mom..."

Velvet gave her son a quick peck on the lips as she lifted her hips from atop of him, staring lustfully as she did. "We've discussed this many times before, dear. You call me Velvet when I'm doing this."

Twilight whined softly as her hooves did nothing but perpetuate the pain she felt inside of her. It did her wonders for the outside itch she experienced, but the internal flames were far from reach. Her new sister-in-law, however, found her arousal fueled by the sight of Velvet's lower lips clasping on to Shining's stallionhood as he left from inside her. The gray mare instantly rode her son with complete abandon as she only sought to quench the rising flames within her body. Her moist labias sank as her son reentered her and puckered as he pulled out. The stallion grunted as his mother continued to coat not only his length, but his entire lap with soaking wet arousal. Cadance's impatience got the better of her as she leapt for Velvet.

"Fuck, you look so sexy right now." Cadance muttered in quick succession as her lips clashed against Velvet's. The gray mare withdrew and prodded a tongue against the pink alacorn's own slimy organ. Their tongues danced as the older mare bounced happily from the top of her son's outstanding spire. Twilight and Rarity both stared with complete bewilderment in their eyes.

"Mom?"

"What... in the..."

Cadance and Velvet broke their kiss, leaving a huffing Cadance to rub herself to the erotic sight of her husband being treated like a doll to a still-inexperienced filly. "Ride him hard."

Velvet was one to never question an order from Cadance, especially in these circumstances. It doesn't take much to motivate her other than the words that Cadance spoke to her. "Yes ma'am."

The wet sound of flesh slapping against flesh added to the symphony of moans that came from all four mares. Twilight shifted uncomfortably as her hooves failed to break her out of her heat. "Mom... I want to ride on Shining next."

"You will have to wait your turn, Violet." The older mare huffed and puffed as she felt herself crushing her son into dust.

Rarity found herself speaking out of turn as she struggled against her bindings, still being turned on by the erotic display in front of her. "I... May I-"

"No. You don't get anything. You can watch." Cadance answered harshly, earning a series of tsk's from Velvet.

"Oh Cadance, the girl has suffered enough. I think it's time to at least show her something close to a good time."

Cadance didn't like the suggestion initially, but as she thought more on other ways she could tease the mare besides just watching everyone get a turn with Shining, she beamed with energy and forged a plan. "That's right... And I've got just the thing to do it."

Cadance removed her hoof from her glistening sex and made her way over to Rarity. The white unicorn started to growl at the pink alacorn mare, but her growls were substituted with surprised cries of pleasure. "AAHH! What are you doing!?"

"Showing you that a unicorn has other ways of getting off." Cadance added as she slid her tongue down the entire length of the unicorn's horn. The pink spear flicked away at the smooth ridges and deep into the spiral crevices as Rarity buckled against her bindings. Her mind exploded with endorphins that soothed the pain of her itch and rerouted the source of pleasure to a separate area of the body. Rarity felt like her mind was as hot as molten lava.

"Oh goodness me, that feels fantastic!"

Cadance took a quick pause. "You like it?"

Willpower became a thing of the past for Rarity. She knew she wanted a release, and this was probably the only way she could come close to getting it. "Yes... Please, your highness, more."

While Rarity was busy with Cadance's ministrations, Twilight was left unattended. She felt an envy rush over her body as she observed that her friend was being tended by her sister-in-law. She suffered as she watched her brother being rode by her mother. The purple unicorn decided that she needed to take action. and her only source of doing so was dripping with anticipation. "Oh Rarity... I'm so sorry."

Twilight slowly walked over to the two mares in front of the bed as Rarity moaned from the attention Cadance gave to her horn. Twilight's jealousy would subside as she grasped a hind leg of her friend, crossing it with her own as she lied against her. The purple mare eased herself onto the sopping wet marehood of her best friend.

"Eeek!" Rarity squealed in shock as she felt a pair of lips sinking into hers.

"Twilight, what are you doing?" The pink mare asked angrily, seeing that this was a clear violation of her plan.

"Cadance, I need this! I can't stand it anymore. The heat is too much!"

Velvet called out to her daughter. "Sit down, or else you won't get to ride your brother."

Instantly, Twilight felt herself revert back into a foal as she tried to convince her mother. "Aww, but mom-"

"No but's." Velvet scolded as she continued to bounce up and down on an exhausted Shining Armor.

"Wait-nngh! Don't I get a say in this?" He protested, trying to find a way out of tending to multiple mares with an aching erection.

Cadance laughs as she teased the captive unicorn below. "You never had a say, Shining. It's estrus season."

The prince cringed as he felt his mother compress her wall around him. "Uh oh. It's starting, isn't it."

"Let's see..." Velvet said with a sarcastic tone. "Well we've started an orgy where one mare has to be the designated viewer. Rational thought and morals have flown out the window. Yeah, it's estrus season alright."

"It's too soon." Shining moaned.

Twilight whimpered loudly as she watched her mother take advantage of her older brother. Her envy had grown to the point where she could no longer just watch her brother being mounted by some one else. The purple mare trotted over and jumped to the top of the bed, straddling herself behind her mother as she followed Velvet's movements. Her hoof circled her aching lips as she bit her mother's ear. "Mom... please... it hurts..."

The older gray mare felt her temperature rise, the sweat off her brow becoming her only source of relief from the sudden increase, as Twilight nibbled at her ear. "I'm almost done, sweetie. Let me get a few more seconds in."

"Please..." The younger mare begged.

"Is it that bad, Twilight?" Inquired Velvet.

"YES! I DON'T WANNA WAIT ANYMORE! It hurts too much! I need my brother. I need him to fill me up with his hard cock!"

"Poor thing." Velvet felt sympathy for her daughter. Watching another mare take her fill over what she had desired was a difficult obstacle to overcome. She could only imagine how it must feel for the mare who would never get a turn. As Velvet increased her pace, Twilight kissed her neck, rubbing a hoof against not only herself, but against the filled marehood of her mother. The older mare rolled her eyes as she rode her son at a blistering speed.

"Please. Please. Please. Please. Please." Twilight begged in rhythm with her mother's intakes. Even her hips rocked into the base of her mother's tail as Velvet was brought to her breaking point.

"I'm cumming!"

Velvet's hips fell a final time as she smiled brightly, her mouth left ajar as her head launched back from the overwhelming ascent of her climax. Her walls clasped around Shining's stallionhood, trying to suck him dry. Unfortunately for her, a small amount was all she could receive from him as her son lied nearly lifeless on the bed, broken by his own orgasm.

"Wow, that was unusually quick of you." Cadance joked at Velvet.

"Blame my daughter's pleas for her brother to egg me on."

Velvet removed herself from her son, letting his length fall out from within her with a silent plop. As she rose, little streams of white streamed from her lips and down the back of her haunches.

"Did he cum?" Cadance asked curiously.

As the younger Twilight cleaned her brother off with her tongue in an attempt to get him back to full-mast, the older Twilight sat to the side, only watching her daughter become a relentless slave to her own heat. "Barely. I think you milked him dry Cadance."

"Oooh, dry loads. Those are fun." The princess mocked as she teased the white unicorn mare below her. Rarity's horn began to glow against her own will, indicating that her own peak had started to arrive.

"PRINCESS!!!" She screamed, trying to release her pent-up frustration of being denied. Unfortunately, her denial would continue as Cadance removed herself from her horn, leaving the mare to stress under the weight of her failed take-off.

"Ah ah ah... No. Cumming."

Rarity's body sank as she felt the mountainous amount of pleasure diminish into a dull plain. The mare was almost brought to tears from the embarrassing moment of being abstained from her pleasures. "But it's not fair! I need to cum too!"

Cadance snarled at Rarity, pressing a hoof to her chest. "You've already had your share."

"My turn!" Twilight interjected as she simply flopped herself onto her brother, who was already sore from earlier events and even more so from his mother.

"Gah! Watch it, Twily! Still a little sore."

The purple mare rose off of her brother, scared that she might have hurt him. But as she rose, she quickly fell back unto him. "Sorry, Shining. Just try to work through it for now."

Cadance didn't want her husband to show any signs of weakness towards her. In fact, she was more open to watching Twilight as she was with Velvet joining them. It was unfair that he would be used up before she had a chance to have her way with him, something that she couldn't allow to happen in front of his captured mistress. She formulated a plan. "I have a spell for that."

With an eruption of her magic, Cadance released the bindings set against her husband in place of casting a spell on him. In a light blue flash, Shining remained motionless for a few seconds. Velvet watched as her son lied still with a distant look in his eyes.

"Do you feel anything, Aegnus?" She asked.

To much of her surprise, Twilight found herself being pushed off of the bed. She shrieked as she fell off of the side, landing in an awkward position. She used her hooves to prevent herself from landing on her head as she remained in a strange hoofstand using her forelegs. In a fraction of a second, Twilight felt the familiar sensation of a large mass entering and filling her as she remained in her unusual position. Shining rapidly positioned himself over her and proceeded to ram her brains onto the floor as he panted to himself. "Ahhh... too much. Feels too good."

Cadance watched her husband fill his younger sister with reckless abandon, complete disregard to moral compass as he greedily stared at the hole he filled. A thousand-yard stare without a hint of light glossed over his eyes as his smile reached from ear to ear. The pink princess stood proud of her work.

"The spell increases not only sex drive, but develops a resilience to soreness, increased endurance, decreased willpower, increased sperm count and a hair-trigger prostate. I call it the 'Estrus-Buster' spell."

Velvet tilted her head as she watched her son and daughter completely lose themselves before her. A morbid curiosity filled her mind as she thought about the spells effects on a stallion. "You've got to teach me that spell sometime. Orion barely puts out when he wants to now and days."

Cadance giggled as she watched the purple mare scream and holler as the stallion tirelessly press his hips into his younger sister. "Maybe I should teach Twilight the spell too. Seems like she's enjoying it."

Twilight became lost in the pleasure that rushed from below to her head. The blood inside of her body rushed to her brain, making her feel light-headed as the constant itch within her body soothed with each passage of her brothers thick meat parting her pink passageways. "Fuck! Yes! Shining! You're so amazing!"

Twilight's smile became a chiseled expression on her face. Giggles and guffaws became her notification of how much she enjoyed being rammed senseless by her entranced older brother. Shining drooled as he felt his next climax overtake him. "Can't hold on much longer."

Twilight giggled like a small filly being tickled by a feather. The deranged sound of a foal's laughter emitted from Twilight's lips as she stared back up to her older brother. "Do it! Fill me with everything you've got."

As he tried to work himself to his release, Twilight had managed to hit hers a long time ago. Her sensitive walls clenched and released around him as he pumped her full of his meat. She became nothing more than a rag doll as her body started to fall limp. Luckily, Shining's strength was more than enough to support her as her forelegs gave under the crushing blows of his cock cramming into ever cranny of her cunt. The purple mare squeed as she felt her womb fill with hot, molten seed, straight from her brother's loins.

Shining groaned as he unleashed rope after rope of cum into his younger sibling. As he finished his spasms, he released the purple mare from his clutches and allowed her to rest on the floor below. The poor mare was left to twitch and convulse as all sense of reality was lost to her.

Cadance happily trotted to her side of the bed, past a still-convulsing Twilight, and opened her drawer. "I'm next, girls. It's time somepony taught Rarity here a lesson on love-making."

Rarity, still suffering from the smells of the other's mare's arousal and furthering hers, watched as Cadance pulled out a rather large toy from her drawer. The pink princess smiled as she waived the phallic device in front of her husband like a bone to a dog. "What is that?" Rarity questioned, still unaware of what was going to happen.

"This?" Cadance showed her the toy, slowly licking the massive length from it's tip to the base. "This is a toy, and it's not for you. It's for him."

"What!?" Rarity shouted, shocked that she would dare use a toy on a stallion.

"Shining needs to be punished too. After all, he called you here to cheat on me, so I'm gonna make him feel what it feels like to be screwed over by somepony who you love."

"That's horrible." The seamstress responded.

Cadance's grinned as she turned back to the white unicorn mare, her horn lit with magic. "Oh, and I haven't forgotten about you either."

A blue aura enclosed around Rarity's lower region, clasping her marehood in it's arcane clutch. A strange abnormal warmth filled her body as the spell continued to work against her winking nub. "What is this?"

"Another spell, only this one will prevent you from reaching your climax. Not only does it prevent you from cumming, but it also arouses the victim until close. And when you reach the limit, the surge of pleasure in your body will be reset to zero, leaving you back at square one. It's like a chastity belt, only you can't achieve an orgasm even when there is a significant amount of pressure applied."

Rarity's eyes grew as she realized that not only she couldn't sneak her way to an orgasm, but now she was going to be magically denied from even coming close to it. A cruel fate she thought would rival that of death itself. "No! You can't do this to me!" She screamed painfully, pleading for her release.

Rarity felt her bonds tighten as Cadance walked over to her. "I can. I will. I've already done it and there's nopony to stop me."

"Why... why are you doing this?"

Cadance lowered herself as she stared back up to the captive mare. With a smirk, she let her tongue brush up against the lips of Rarity's tortured slit. The pleasure she felt was beyond comprehension, but as she Cadance withdrew herself from the solitary lick, she felt the immense pleasure become dull and lacking. The princess took a quick moment to savor the taste before swallowing, sending sparks of delight down Rarity's spine. "Because you need to learn."

On the other side of the room, Velvet tried to talk to her daughter. "Violet, you alright?"

Twilight recovered from the spasms, but still basked in the afterglow of her brother's efforts. "Yeeeeessssssssss~" She hissed out happily with her muzzle still buried in the carpet.

"Well, she's out of it." Velvet pointed out the obvious as Cadance walked to her husband.

"Husband dear, I think it's time for you to show Rarity what real lovemaking feels like."

While Cadance was readying herself to experience her fill of pleasure, Rarity tried to snap him out of it, despite the spell still working against her, making her moan with a painful longing. "Shining-nngh... don't listen to her-aaah!"

Her cries would go unnoticed as Shining heeded to his wife. "Yes, my princess."

Astounded that the spell's effects on him made him blind to her, Rarity tried to call out to her best friend, who barely stood off of the floor. "Twilight, stop this at once."

"Mmmm... Rarity."

"Twilight, you have to get me out of-" The seamstress stopped mid-sentence as she realized that her friend was lost to the seasonal heat. Twilight looked back at her with a half-lidded stare, letting her eyes glide up and down the white mare's curvaceous body.

"Oh, she looks so desperate. Violet dearest, shall we show her a good time?" Velvet added as she walked up to the white mare, licking her lips.

"Uh-huh." The purple mare hummed, still feeling the after-effects from her session with Shining Armor.

Rarity tried to get her friend's attention. "Twilight-"

"Which one are you addressing?" Velvet asked, rubbing the bound mare's underbelly.

"Mrs. Velvet, I'm trying to-"

Rarity was silenced by a soft kiss from the gray mare. Rarity stared at the mare who saved her twice, who would now become her torturer. "You don't need to try anything. What you need to do is relax."

"No."

Velvet lowered herself in between the fashionista's haunches. Taking a grasp at the mare hind legs, she let her tongue traverse across the pink, heated bulb, causing the mare above to squirm in ecstasy. Rarity felt her legs become like gelatin as her body warmed up to the mare. Even her lower lips drooled with anticipation of her next strike.

Yet at the same time, she didn't want to become so devolved by the perpetual desire to hump the mare who ate away at her. She closed her eyes, still trying to reject the cruel vision of Velvet desecrating her sacred depths with such deprave intentions. She called out to her prince, who was busy humping away at Cadance. "Shining. Help me."

Rarity felt despair as she watched her beloved stallion being transformed into some device for Cadance's pleasing. Velvet immediately confirmed her fears. "I'm afraid that he won't be helping you after all. He's a little busy."

Her body seized as she felt herself become close to her climax. But thanks to the spell that the princess cast upon her, she was not going to cross past the threshold of her pleasure's break. The session, which was arousing for the most part, became very taxing on her. "No. This can't be happening."

"Ladies, please make sure that Rarity can see me while you two carry on with her. Oh, and feel free to do to her as you please while she watches. It's not like she can cum from it." Cadance called out from across the room as his hips plopped against her luscious plot.

As Velvet removed her lips from Rarity's nethers, she lied on her back, motioning to her daughter with open legs, hind legs. "Come here Violet."

"Yes mother."

Back on the bed, Cadance couldn't contain herself as the stallion ruthlessly drove himself deep into her. The princess, who was much for dignity in the public eye, had transcended into a common sex-crazed mare. "Fuck me, Shining Armor. Fuck me hard. Fuck me harder than you did to that bitch."

"Yes, my princess!"

As the madness around her continued to eat away at her sanity. Rarity became enraged by Cadance's actions towards how she treated her Shining Armor. "STOP IT!"

Cadance could feel herself drip with excitement as she heard the cries of the seamstress being denied the pleasure she enjoyed. "No. I won't stop! You know why, because this is my husband. This is my home and my marriage you walked into. This is my cock you rode on, and I'm taking it back. You're going to watch me take it, and you're going to see who is the real princess here, whether it's on the streets or in my sheets."

Rarity strained against her bindings, still trying to free herself. "Shining is not some toy for you to use!"

"As of now, he's my little fuck toy, and not yours. Just be happy you get to watch how a real mare does it."

"I can please him better than you can!" The white unicorn mare snapped back, causing the princess to stall her husband.

Cadance's teeth gritted as she stared back at the mare, tightening her bonds. "Oh please, how can you please him when you can't even get yourself off?"

Rarity instinctively shouted back to her. "You... bitch!"

Something inside of Cadance broke as she heard the emphasis of the mare's insult. She wanted to slap her and crush her into the wall. She wanted to humiliate her, to make her seem more insignificant than what she already was. In an instant, the bound mare was levitated to the pink princess at a blinding speed. Twilight and Velvet stopped as they stared at what had happened next.

Cadance and Rarity hatefully dug into each other, letting their tongues become their weapons as they assaulted each other. Their lips broke and reunited countless times as the heat surged Rarity past her despair-event horizon, her breaking point. The demolished mare clawed away at the victorious princess, as Cadance bounced her hips back into her husband.

"Call me that again, you slut." Cadance commanded as she crushed her opponents lips with hers.

"You vile..." Rarity's tongue lashed against Cadance's slimy spearhead, "Disgusting..." Suckling it with every word she spoke as her hatred for her became her drive to prove how well she could please others. "Succubus!"

A heavy sigh leaves Rarity's lips as Cadance feels herself growing ever more powerful from the mare's frantic desires to earn her orgasm, something that Cadance had started to consider. "You're so cute when you're on constant orgasm denial."

"I hate you!" Her words, that intended to cut deep into the princess only strengthened her arousal. Cadance continued to feel her husband enter and exit her until her orgasm crashed into her. He filled her with a copious amount of his seed, spilling out even as he gave her a few more instinctive thrusts. Cadance panted hard as she tried to remain composed in front of Rarity. Finally getting the pleasure she desired for herself, she decided that it was time to punish the stallion for his infidelity.

"Shining, I need you to turn around dear."

The prince bowed before her, just as if he was once more a guardian. "Yes, my princess."

As her husband assumed the position, Cadance pulled out a thick black paddle with hearts engraved in the wood from underneath her side of the bed. Rarity gawked at what was going to happen to her lover. She dared not to watch, yet a depraved curiosity overcame her instinct to look away. Her vested interest was now with the performance of the spell-bound stallion.

"Shining, you need to learn what it means to be used."

The lust-driven stallion looked back to his wife with a juvenile demeanor as he spoke. "Am I being punished?"

"You've been a very bad boy. So now, you need to know the consequences of your actions. Bend over, little boy."

Shining obeys the order of his dominant wife, taking a grasp at the sheets of the bed as he awaited his punishments. Cadance levitated the wooden paddle close the the skin of his backside, brushing against the white cheeks that tingled with expectation. The pink princess slid the black paddle across his backside. Though it pleased her that he was being submissive, she was still angered by the deed he performed in her absence.

"I think that it's a little unfair that you would have another mare in my bed without my consent."

Using the paddle to remove the long dual-toned blue locks of his tail from padding any of the blows, she drew her instrument back and swung at him.

*SLAP*

"AAAH!" The prince yelped as he nearly stumbled from the powerful blow. Cadance allowed him a brief break before carrying onward with his punishment.

"I think that it's a little unfair that you would talk about having another mare to be your wife."

*SLAP*

The second swing battered hard against the stallion's cheeks, flushing his white into a light shade of pink. He nearly lost his foundation as the hit rocked through his body. "OH FAUST!"

This time, Cadance made his wait agonizingly slow. She wanted him to fear the next swing, to be anxious of it. Though she teased him with numerous rubs of the wood against the smoldering surface of his skin. She even took a moment to fondle the large black orbs that dangled between his legs. Her magic massaged the two spheres as she rubbed him. She successfully lured him into thinking that he was safe from any more of his punishment, but then her gentle massage of his testes ceased as the wood drew back into the air.

"And I think it's unfair that you would subjugate her to this level of punishment because of your own selfish greed."

*SLAP*

The paddle came down, sounding out a firm smack of pine to flesh. Shining buried his face into the sheets, biting whatever he could to sedate the pain. "AHHH!!! I'M SORRY, PRINCESS! I'M SORRY!"

Cadance levitated the paddle to his chin, forcing him to look at the bound mare across from him. "Look at her. Now tell her what I am to you."

*SLAP*

In a seamless motion, the princess removed the paddle from his chin and relocated the target of his reddened posterior, causing the stallion to buckle from the blow. "CADANCE IS MY WIFE!"

"Louder." She commanded, striking her target.

*SLAP*

"CADANCE IS MY WIFE!!!"

She was unsatisfied with his volume. She wanted to make Rarity see that he was very much hers. With another strike to his backside, she would impose her argument. "LOUDER!"

*SLAP*

"CADANCE IS MY WIFE!!!"

She held a stern frown as she whacked him again, easing off of him a bit so that she didn't hurt him too much. "And what else?"

*SLAP*

"AND I LOVE HER!" Shining shouted.

A smirk grew on the dominant mare's face. She decided to ease off of him some more for his participation. "And?"

*SLAP*

"AND I WANT TO BE WITH HER!"

Rarity clenched her eyes shut as she heard the forced confession. It was unbearable to hear that he had gone back on his word but she realized that the stallion was not completely himself. Cadance, however, was more than pleased with his performance. "Good boy."

She moved the paddle away from him, causing him to instinctively flinch out of fear that he would be struck again. He begged her as he held on to the bed, still in his pose. "Please stop, princess! It hurts too much!"

"Did you learn your lesson?" Cadance asked as she traced the red outline of his bruises with her wing, tickling his hardened flanks.

"Yes, princess!"

She looked at the stallion with discontent evident all over her face. "I don't think you did."

Shining leapt off the bed, bowing before her as he pleaded his princess for a reprieve. "Please, have mercy, princess!"

She gestured him to rise off of the ground, only to push him back to the bed. "Boys like you never learn the first time around. You never do. So now, I'm going to make sure that I get through to you."

"Princess!"

She reintroduced the strap-on that she showed to Rarity to him as she pulled his tail into the air. "Bring that ass up."

"Princess, please!" He pleaded, almost as if he was a colt who was in the process of chastisement.

She licked the length of the toy, making sure that there wasn't a single inch of it that was dry. And for a final measure, she spat at the phallic toy, rubbing her saliva across it's surface. Strapping the harness of the toy to her lower body, she mounted her husband, magically aligning herself with the round, elevated entrance of his tailhole. Rarity offered to look away, but found herself forced to watch against her own will as Cadance telekinetically turned her head to her and her husband. Eyeing the seamstress, she whispered into Shining's ears. "Tell me how good it hurts, Shiny."

She slowly entered into the stallion's rectum, being careful not to hurt him as she eased in. The stallion bore clenched teeth as he felt the large intruder pierce his outer ring and fill his backside with endless girth and thickness. His wife finally bottomed out after what seemed to be an eternity of her entry. He moaned loudly as she pulled herself out.

"Aaaahh!"

Cadance knew that he wouldn't last very long. To his secrecy, anal play was an often explored fetish that the two often engaged in. He would burst with furious passion as she hilted into him in rapid succession, but now that he was under the effects of Cadance's spell, it wouldn't even take him minutes to reach a climax.

Low-pitched groans and moans sounded as Cadance pivoted her hips back and forth, similar to how he would perform against her. Rarity figured that he would be crying for her to stop what she was doing to him, but she was more perplexed by the expression on the stallion's face.

Shining was elated to be filled with so much of the toy. He smiled as he backed himself into the mare, even encouraging her with his magic shoving her into him as deep as she could go. Initially, it caught the pink mare off-guard, but after a while, she proceeded to oblige his request for deeper thrusts.

Shining was lost in a frenzied rock as the large member swung below, drizzling out copious amounts of clear fluids as she pounded him. Rarity could see the stallion starting to stain not just the sheets but also the floor as well. The unfortunate witness became so entranced by the swinging meat and the waterfall of precum, she started to rock her own hips against the spell Cadance placed on her. Her body wanted a release, she wanted him to fill her with that very same stallionhood that drenched with his wet goo. Rarity could feel the room growing colder as her body started to burn from the sight of the stallion receiving his pleasure.

"What madness is this?" She thought to herself as Shining forced himself back against his wife with panicked presses.

The stallion turned back to his wife, panting like a heated dog as his entire body tensed from the abuse his prostate was receiving. Cadance knew that it was far too much that sought to escape from him. She turned to the two mares across the room, who were busy thrusting themselves against one another in tribadism. The gray mare hurriedly brushed her smoldering marehood against the leaking lips of her daughter.

"Velvet, I think he's close. You think you could clean up after him?"

Velvet turned around to see her son struggling to hold himself back. The potent smell of his seed started to override her senses and urged her to taste him. "Why of course."

"I wanna help too." Twilight crooned behind her mother.

Cadance nodded as she battered her husband's insides. "Okay Twilight, you can help."

Rarity could only gasp as she saw the two mares lowering themselves to share the stallion's length. Velvet, brushed her tongue against the entire length of her son, licking up and down his shaft as Twilight took in a shallow amount, or rather, the amount his flared head would allow her to take. As they shared the stallion of their blood, both of the mares took a moment away from him, kissing each other with lust set in their eyes.

"Twilight, Mrs. Velvet, Shining... What are you doing?" The white mare asked herself as the stallion cried out to his wife.

"Princess, I'm... Gah!!!"

The prince finally allowed himself to release all over the faces of Velvet and Twilight. The purple mare took some of his load to her mane and over much of her face. Velvet took more of his spurts to her chin and inside her mouth. Spent, Shining fell over to the floor, giving himself a moment to relax from the strenuous session. But Cadance had other plans in mind as he laid helpless on the ground.

"Good, now let's see what you've got left." She said as she took his regressing form into her maw, trying to clean him out of anything that might have remained within. Shining pressed against his wife, overwhelmed by the aftershock of his climax and her continuous ministrations.

"Princess... You're too much."

Content with the amount of his seed she managed to salvage in her mouth, she held on to his cum as she strolled to her captive seamstress. Rarity looked up to see an ominous smile resting on Cadance's lips. "What are you doing?"

Cadance cupped Rarity's jaw as she leaned in to kiss her. Their lips sealed off all means of a leak as Cadance pushed the hot load into the mare's unsuspecting mouth. Rarity resisted for a while, but surrendered as time went on. The princess swirled her tongue around Rarity's as the fashionista returned her advances. Their lips separated with a wet smack, a thin strand of saliva mixed with cum bridged between them.

"Ahhh... Don't we taste marvelous together?" Cadance teased.

Rarity stared at the princess, silently with pleading eyes. The snow-white unicorn felt herself become ashamed of what was happening to her. Her entire body racked with pleasure, yet as long as she was under the spell that Cadance had placed on her, she couldn't achieve her orgasm, a cruel fate that endlessly repeated itself to her. Rarity broke her gaze as the final shred of her willpower was sent riding with the wind. With closed eyes, she whispered to the princess.

"...Please."

Cadance ears flickered as she heard the tiny voice that called out to her. "Were you saying something?"

Rarity made herself clear as she rocked against the spell that engulfed her marehood. "Please... let me... I want to cum. I can't take this anymore! My aching cunt needs to cum. PLEASE!!!"

The princess chuckled as she watched the tortured mare squirm in her bindings. "A dignified mare, such as yourself, brought down to groveling at my hooves for her next orgasm? And spouting vulgarities to boot."

"Please!" She cried out painfully.

Cadance thought to herself as the mare whimpered and whined helplessly to her. She did feel as if she needed to be punished, but even she admitted that her torture may have been a bit extreme, or that maybe she wasn't extreme enough. With a sigh, Cadance undid the spell that prevented Rarity from achieving her long-sought climax. "Okay. I'll consider it. But only if you tell me what you two did while I was away."

"We had some tea." Rarity answered quickly, abandoning all shame for the sake of pleasure. Her reward was a hoof pressed against her marehood, massaging her as the princess nodded to her.

"Go on."

Rarity melted as her wet snatch was rubbed at slowly. Her chest rose and fell now that she felt the unaltered effects of her arousal reaching past the levels that the spell didn't allow. "And... nnngh-we had a meal... Shining cooked."

"Go on ahead. Tell me more." Cadance inquired.

The fashionista bit her lower lip, sucking in air as the pink hoof worked against her lower lips. "And... we had some wine... and we kissed each other..."

"And?"

"Oh goodness, this feels so good."

Rarity detoured from her confession, earning her a quick slap against her nethers. "I didn't say stop." Cadance scolded before continuing.

"We went ~oh yes~ into the dining room... and continued there."

Cadance sped up her tempo, making sure that she was rewarded with each confession she made. "What did you do to him?"

"I... gave him... I..."

"Did you suck his cock?" Cadance filled in.

"...Yes." Rarity admitted, rewarded by an intense massage of her dripping wet folds.

"Did he fuck you?"

Caught between a moan of pleasure and her confession, Rarity shouted back to Cadance as she felt her body soar into the abysmal heights of her suppressed climax, one that was built-up for far too long. "Oh Celestia! YES!"

"How many times did you fuck him?"

"I... I... can't say."

Cadance pulled her hoof away, leaving the mare to squirm as she felt herself frantically searching for the feeling that was taken away from her. "Tell me the truth, or else."

"Aaah! We did it. Four times!!!"

Cadance reluctantly rewarded her for her honesty. Replacing her hoof to the nethers of the seamstress, she whispered into her ear as the mare bounced happily off of her hoof. "Okay... you can cum now."

Pressure had started to render the white mare senseless from any other sensation other than pleasure. Bliss became the mare's sole desire as her quivering passage creamed from the long suppressed desire to release. Rarity cried out as she felt her climax finally approach her.

"Yes! I'M CUMMING!!!"

All became silent as Rarity froze in place. Rarity clenched her eyes as her orgasm would soon destroy her... only it didn't. She looked down to see what had happened, only to realize that a cruel twist of fate had been set against her. As she saw the familiar blue glow surrounding her marehood, she had discovered that Cadance had actually tricked her. Her orgasm never came.

The ultimate denial.

"No... NO! THIS ISN'T FAIR!!! I TOLD YOU THE TRUTH!"

Cadance crackled and laughed as she watched the mare fall close to the brink of tears. Her plan for revenge had just completed it's first phase. "It's fair alright. You slept with my husband four times. So I get to deny you four times."

Rarity's eyes widened at the horror that was her punishment. Another three sessions familiar to the one she had just endured. It was far too much. "Please... don't."

"And I will deny you four times, for the next four days. Now including the three other sessions we'll have later, this will make it 'day one'."

"No... please don't do this to me." Rarity felt all hope leave her as she felt the bindings loosen up a bit, but not enough to allow her an escape.

"Should've thought about that before you slept with my husband four times." Cadance spat back.

"But... the estrus season-"

"Had already started." The princess finished as she walked to the bathroom to freshen herself up. "Congratulations, your first four days will be here in Canterlot. And after that, we'll send you home... as a horny, cum-hungry, slutty, crying, orgasm-deprived, teased, teenage filly."

The seamstress gulped as she heard of what she would be reduced to as Cadance started up her shower. "No."

"I hope you're ready for the next session. It starts in fifteen minutes."

Four days later...

Rarity returned back to the small town of Ponyville. As she stepped off of the train, she painfully limped back to her boutique. As she walked, a trail of white cream dripped from her nethers as she winked. Her mane was horrendously unkempt, she smelled of different mares and her coat was extremely matted. Under normal circumstances, she would find herself wanting to tidy herself up, but in this case, she desired something else.

"I need... to be filled. I need... cock..."

The door to the Carousel Boutique opened wide, allowing it's owner inside. As she walked upstairs, she attempted to close the door with her magic, but her mental focus faltered as she felt a strong discomfort pierce into her loins. She had decided that she would close the door later.

"Oh goodness... I need a stallion so badly right now."

Rarity crawled into her bed, reaching for the nearest pillow she could find. Whimpering, she folded the pillow and placed it in between her haunches. Quietly, she started to ride the soft cushion. But due the severity of her heat, it failed to even register any hint of pleasure. Only a stallion would do, but there was one problem.

"No... there's not a stallion available here..."

All the stallions in the town were accounted for, either because some were paid to spend the week with a partner, married, or they had left the town to prevent themselves being the victim of a worst-case scenario, one such case being Rarity herself. Suddenly, an idea came to her mind.

"No... not a stallion... But maybe..."

She stopped herself from grinding against the pillow as her mind started to wander past the lines of her defined friendships. She thought about him, but never considered him to be anything more than a close friend, despite his willingness to be with her.

"No. I can't. We aren't that close." She argued with herself, looking to her vanity across the room. She felt ashamed of what she had become. But as she looked back into the mirror, her mind, a darker portion of her mind, had started to debate with her.

"He's a male, just like any other. He'll be more than willing to assist you in your situation."

She looked away from the reflection, not wanting to see the face of a mare who would sleep with anything that moved. "But I don't think of him like that!"

"No... You do."

Rarity continued to argue amongst herself as she started to trot back and forth, trying to keep herself distracted from leaving the boutique in search of the young dragon. "I don't. He's mature in mind, but not in his body."

"I beg to differ, Andalusia."

Her pacing stopped dead as she thought about him even more. "What are you getting at?"

"Present yourself to him. And he'll want you."

Rarity gasped at herself. "I cannot! I will not show him something that is so sacred to me! We are friends, nothing more."

In an instant, she could feel a shadow hovering directly behind her, whispering small musings to her as she tried to stave off any attempts of seducing the drake. "Why not a friend with benefits?"

"NO! Spike is my dearest friend. I know that he's more than willing to take things to the next level, but I, for one, am not!"

"He's willing to take things to the next level alright. He's willing to please you at any given time. He's always clamoring for you. Don't you see it?"

The shadow started to hold on to her, now clutching her tightly as it's words started to seep into her brain. "I can see it. I just don't want to."

"Darling, there is no other option. Shining is with three other mares who are taking turns with him until the next two days pass over. Hoity Toity is being rammed by some random stallion in another city, Fancy Pants is tending to Fleur De Lis. That only leaves one possible candidate."

"Spike." She whispered, discovering herself becoming aroused at the mention of his name. Her body started to move on it's own. Her tongue licked her lips as her hoof started to inch back. The shadow seemed to guide her to her desired location.

"Don't you remember how big he got when he became greedy? You could make him into that. Once he gets to a certain size, he will be able to please you a lot better than any old stallion!"

"No..." Her hoof worked against the winking bud of her marehood. His very image became her only salvation from the heat that continued to torture her. The more she thought of him, the darker her fantasies became.

"Yes. Rarity, now is the time to submit to your feral desires. It is time to commit the unspeakable taboos hiding within your heart. Twilight didn't allow herself to become burdened by the customs of society. She practically embraced her mother and her brother."

Rarity's eyes launched open as she realized what the shadow had said to her. She didn't want to become so aroused that her morals would be laid to the wayside. She knew that the friendship that they shared would forever be changed if they were to go further, something that Rarity was not ready for. "ENOUGH!"

The shadow of the mare's mentality finally enclosed itself around her once more. This time, it's victory would be assured as it spoke to her one final time. "Oh Rarity... You've already left everything to pass..."

"No... I can't." She whispered to herself, feeling her body warm up again.

But before she started to explore herself, a creaking sound came from downstairs. Rarity remembered a crucial detail that she managed to forget about: the front door was wide open. Her eyes darted around the room, looking for a place to hide as she heard the sound of the door squeaking open. Soon, she found a hiding place behind a mannequin at the darkened side of the room. As she sat, she covered her mouth with a hoof, mistakenly soiled by her own juices. Those juices in turn amplified in it's potency as a familiar voice sounded from the foyer below.

"Rarity, are you in here?"

Author's Note

It's finally done! This was known to be as the sexual torture chapter. That means that there's so much sex that it's damn-near torturous. Now my explanation on why this took so long.

I had gotten caught up with a bad case of writer's block, while on the other hand, my musician's block had subsided. So with that being said, I became a lot more musical over the past two weeks and would every now and then touch up on this, as well as some other stories. But the problem was that I never really could get anywhere with what I wrote. Now there was a release of another story that was more of a spur-of-the-moment thing. It ended up being very successful for it's run. After my finishing of that story, I decided to take another crack at this chapter. And that's where real life decided to knock on the door.

I've been doing some studio work, catching up with some musical stuff and other things ~~like watching the NBA Playoffs. GO THUNDER~~ that need not to be said. So now that I've managed to finish this one, I feel as if you should know that this is actually a halfway point, meaning that this is pretty much going to be the end of this story, but not the end of the Zinfandel series. There will be another.

Why are you writing another Zinfandel?
I'm glad you asked. The main reason why is because the next one will be more reader driven, like a pseudo-dating sim (yay, something that hasn't already been done before). You will be given a series of choices and the story's outcome will be decided upon how well (or poorly) you decided. It will take place in the months after Twilight's ascension and will mostly take place in the crystal empire. There will be sub-plots (just warning you now) and there will be choices that will lead to a rather unfortunate situation.

So choose carefully.

I feel as if I should bring up the love/in-love difference for a second.

Say for example, I'm going to list a group of people you may actually love. Your sister, your brother, your cousin, your best friend, your mom, your dad, your grandparents, your children, your grandchildren, etc. This simply means that you care for them and that you actually want to do for them every now and then.

Now, lets add in the crush, that one friend that sees you as nothing but a friend yet you see them as more, the girlfriend, the fiancee, the wife. You would share a deeply rooted emotional bond with that person and harbor intense romantic feelings with that person.

Cadance has a thing for Shining, that's certain. But Shining ended up in a relationship with her because he felt pity for her. In the end, it was something that he didn't mind doing as long as his actual love interest came into the picture. Azure wanted him to see that his dream was a foreshadowing to what his heart had longed for.

So simply put, the type of love and romantic bonding that Cadance wanted would never be returned to her because of the reoccurring image in Shining's heart, in other words, a love unrequited. He cared for her, and yes, he did love her. But his love only extended to the point of where he cared for her, not to where he truly wanted to spend his life with her. It's like falling for that one girl/boy in your life that you know you is out of your league and you come to find out that they like you just as much as you do to them.

With that being said, Shining knew he was far too old for Rarity, which is why he often dismissed any conversation about her in the past. He didn't want to open up any wounds regarding to her and her family, but in the end, he managed to face the pain of his past, put it all aside, find closure so that he could find the courage to step forward.

ACT 1: First And Ten

"Magnum, 'The Boom', and his Canterlot Chevaliers are scheduled to play against the Baltimare Ravens this evening John. This is surely to be a game to see, I tell you what." A voice is heard on the radio coming from atop a wooden dresser.

"That's right Tom. Magnum is known to be a household name when it comes to hoofball season. The stallions hate him, the mares love him, the fillies want him and the colts want to be him. He averages a good 189 rushing yards per game and he. Is. Known. To. Penetrate. This guy is a league legend, especially early in his career when he pulled that crazy 72 yard run from 4th and 19, in his first year!"

Here is a filly's bedroom, adorned with posters and pictures of her father on the walls. She looks into the mirror as she begins to practice her levitation magic to lift a hair brush to her mane. As she attempts to pick up the brush, more voices are heard from the radio.

"Oh, I believe we all remember that one John. A suicide play that ended up being a touchdown run. They managed to get into the playoffs thanks to that one. But sadly their chances of earning the Prince Lambardi Championship Trophy was held off until two seasons ago, where Magnum, for the first time of his career, held that Prince Lambardi Trophy in his hooves."

The filly smiled in delight as she managed to stabilize her mental wavelengths long enough to concentrate them around the handle of the brush. As she began to brush her mane with her new-found ability, the radio continues it's broadcast.

"Yep. That guy rushed a full 319 yards in that game to win that one 42-19. And he continued his amazing performance last season to bring the trophy back to Canterlot for a second, consecutive season. That game had Chevalier fans in a scare as he went down in the first half with what appeared to be a leg injury that turned out to be a serious cramp. He came back in the fourth quarter to rush an unprecedented 152 yards to lead his team in a come-from-behind victory against the Cloudsdale Chargers, 49-45. I still have the picture where he was holding both the trophy and his little daughter in his hooves. He's a good guy, and a hell of a hoofball player."

The filly looked up on the wall behind her bed. On the wall was a poster of him holding the trophy and her as he smiled for the camera while she kissed him on the cheek. The young filly looked down from the poster and smiled to herself. She turned to the radio as it continued it's mindless chatter.

"And tonight, he has the opportunity to earn his team a spot in the playoffs for this season. If anything could possibly go wrong tonight, it's if he was taken off the field for the season due to an injury. But it's unlikely for that to ha-" *click*

The young filly with a white coat and royal blue mane styled into a large curl cut off the radio and makes her way to the door. She pauses to look back at the poster above her bed and whispers to herself.

"Go get 'em, daddy."

"And just what might your name be little one?" A tall stallion with a handlebar mustache asked the filly as she was about to board the train with her mother.

The Ponyville train station was rather busy tonight, thanks to the 'town hero' that was scheduled to play in a few hours. The cheers and cries of many of the ponies there were that of excitement and anticipation. Members of the Crown, Rich, and Apple families would often gamble their money against some of the Canterlot elite and other elitist from other cities and regions across Equestria. While the rich would flaunt their bits around, the others would leave there to cheer their hero onward. Many of the ponies called him "the stallion who put Ponyville on the map" because of his upbringing.

Magnum was a hoofball player for most of his natural-born life. Earning his cutie mark at a very young age, he displayed the speed and finesse of a prominent hoofball player by dismantling every defensive line he went against. Soon, he found that he became the talk of many high schools in the central region. Cloudsdale High made him an offer to be specially trained in his school, but he turned it down for obvious reasons. Offers from the mighty Appaloosa High, known for it's three consecutive regional titles, came in song and dance, but he denied it due to the fact that it was too far away. Canterlot School for Gifted Unicorns sought his talent by offering him a stipend just for his daily attendance, but he denied it stating that he would be teased and tourmented due to his social class. Even the prestigious Canterlot Heights Private Academy opened their doors, but they would do so on a partial scholarship. Either way, his decision was to attend the school closest to him, Ponyville High.

Ponyville High was not at all impressive nor was it even on-average when it came to sports. Many times, the school would schedule a cupcake game at the end of the season, just so their battle-weary and heavy-hearted team could relieve themselves of their much more abusive league. In his freshman year, they lost to all the major schools and their senior QB was ineffective as he could never stop trying to run the plays himself, leading to a humiliating loss to a cupcake team at the end of the season. They were win-less that year. But his sophomore year, their record improved to a 3-7 season, knocking out the schools of similar circumstances to their own. Their new QB/Receiver duo knew the plays they could run with Soarin as the QB and Magnum as the Receiver. Junior year was a drastic reversal, leading to a 7-3 season getting them into playoff contention and finally ending with a playoff loss to Appaloosa, who managed to avenge their mid season upset. That year, they pulled an upset on every team except for Canterlot Heights. Senior year was the year that Ponyville became the loudest. And they would go on to rack up a winning record of 9-1, letting their cupcake team take the win. They went far into the playoffs that year, avenging their loss to Appaloosa in last years second round of the playoffs. They managed to run straight into the championship game, that sadly ended in a loss against their once-upset rivals, Canterlot Heights. They came back to Ponyville discouraged from the loss only to find that the town was in cheers and screams for the town heroes. They threw a celebration for Magnum and the team in honor in what was called by Mayor Mudd of Ponyville "the best damn hoofball that Ponyville ever did see."

Months after, Soarin graduated a year early, alongside Magnum who hoof bumped his fellow class pony and thanked him for "being the best play calling QB in the business." After that, the two parted onto separate paths. Magnum received a full ride to the elite University of Canterlot. Soarin would go on to enlist in the Equestria National Guard, to carry on his family tradition of being an elite flyer. Magnum entered the university in the fall, with much scrutiny. The initial tension, however, subsided as he continued to drive the team to an undefeated season, that ended with a championship title in his hooves and offers from the Professional Hoofball League. Though he rejected the offer initially, it was needless to say he accepted after a consecutive title in his hooves. That draft season, he was inducted into the Canterlot Chevaliers.

It would not take long for the coaches to take notice of a pony with natural born talent who took his practice seriously, so he was brought out in his rookie season and made his debut with a play from a punt fake on 4th and 19 out to deliver a touchdown run of 72 yards. Since then, he's been a household name in most of the Hoofball world, and also a driving force to which all of Ponyville rallied behind. And continued to be a driving force as his wife gave birth to a healthy young foal that had an unusually white, pristine coat, aptly named Rarity.

Rarity, who was ten now, always supported her father by being his personal cheerleader. Whenever he went down on a play, Rarity could be heard from inside of the press box, cheering him on to a speedy recovery. The louder she cheered, the faster he healed and ran back into the game. She was soon noticed by the team and in some games, she had sideline access in order to keep her father going. When he won a game, she hugged him and tells him how much faith she has. When he losses a game, she scolds him for not playing his hardest and tells him that she does it out of love as she gives him a kiss on the cheek. Sometimes he even tells his teammates that he can't wait for the next game he loses. Win or lose, Rarity has always been there for him to cheer him on.

"And just what might your name be little one?" A tall stallion with a handlebar mustache asked the filly as she was about to board the train with her mother.

"My name is Rarity, and I am the head coach of the team. That means I get to tell my daddy what to do!" She swiftly responded.

"Really? I wish I had your job little one. But you seem to be doing a good job. Keep up the good work, ya hear?" He says with a smile and a wink.

"YES SIR!" She screams loudly, gaining the attention of the whole town.

"Rarity Andalusia Belle! Where ARE your manners?" A scolding voice from inside the train calls out. "Stop yelling and get in here, this instant!"

"Yes mother." She responds as she looks down to the ground in shame before trotting inside the train cart.

Inside, her mother awaits with a serious look on her face. "You know how I feel about you yelling out loud in public..."

"Yes, ma'am." She looks down with tears beginning to form in her eyes.

Rarity begins to prepare for the worst, when suddenly she feels a set of hooves sweep her off the ground and raise her to eye-level "...But you also know that your father needs to hear that lovely little voice of yours in order for him to play well tonight. I really would rather you save it for later tonight."

Pearl snuggles Rarity with a smile and gives her a kiss on her forehead. Rarity, in return, begins to giggle and squee in delight as her mother begins to torture her with tickles and hugs. But Rarity looks down in sadness and begins to ask her mom.

"Mother, do you think father will be able to spend time with us after the game?"

Pearl looks down at her daughter and begins to ponder the possibilities of what all her husband may have to do in terms of his post-game press conference, the media in general and his agent. Looking to the window that showed a mountain with a city built to it's side coming into view, she sighs deeply and begins to look to her daughter to give her an answer.

"Sweetie dear, I have no idea. Maybe he will have time to spend with us tonight. Just remain hopeful and it just might happen." Pearl answered the filly with a faint smile.

The young filly smiled at the answer she received. Shortly after she began to hug her mother and look to her in admiration. Pearl, however, looked away from her daughter in fear of the possibility that she might have lied to her own daughter, just to see her smile. A small amount of guilt began to grow in her heart as her daughter continued to look at her, smiling with the liveliest expression. She looks back to the window and sees that the city of Canterlot was steadily approaching in the distance. She whispered to herself.

"I hope that your father may have time for us as well."

The city of Canterlot was known to be one of the crown jewels of all of Equestria due to the unicorn-based architecture that adorned the buildings. Many of the building were clad in purple and ivory towers, adorned with domes gilded in gold. Many of the streets were well lit with magical lamps that would automatically light themselves with the sun's setting. The roads were made of smooth cobblestones that were patterned into mosaic swirls that led into intersections that began to create patterns of roses, tulips, chrysanthemums, sunflowers, even the sun and moon themselves. The city was often rather busy due to the nightlife that Canterlot had to offer. On every city block, there was a soldier located to its center to insure that peace and order was maintained. And there was also a very large stadium at the end of the cobblestone road that soon turned into marble-slated walkways.

Rarity and her mother, Pearl began to approach the stadium to it's main entrance, that is until a blue unicorn guard walked up to them.

"Hello ma'am. My name is Orion Sparkle. I am your assigned officer for tonight and I will be escorting you to the VIP entrance." He stated with gusto.

"Orion Sparkle? THE Orion Sparkle?" Pearl asked in complete shock. "The Captain of The Royal Guard!?"

"Heheh, I guess you could say that." He responded while blushing a bit behind his armor, while Pearl was struck dumb.

"Bu- I ah- wha- you- you're... But why yo-" She finally found the words to ask, but she could not finished as she was interrupted.

"Because I wanted to take my son to see his favorite hero. Believe it or not, my son is a big hoofball fan and an even bigger 'Magnum' fan. So when I made a request to let my son see the team, the manager and I struck a deal."

"Which was..." Pearl inquired.

"Which was that my best trained guards would be the team's security for tonight. So needless to say that your husband is in capable hooves." He continued as he looked to the stadium entrance, where another guard signaled him.

"Now come along, we haven't much time before the paparazzi shows up wanting to ask questions." He advised.

"Yes, lets." Pearl agreed while hoisting the young Rarity on her back. Soon after Rarity was positioned, Pearl was given a evening coat to wear over her back to hide her daughter.

The three begin to navigate their way through the crowd, reaching the other side of the street and ultimately finding out that one of many secret routes were congested by ponies in trench coats holding cameras. Upon seeing this, Orion looked to an alternative route in case this one was compromised. He looked to an alleyway that had a guard standing by it, who signaled him to come on over. Orion and Pearl took to the alley as Pearl held on to her coat.

Some time later, the three managed to get to the stadium undetected. To Pearl it was the first time, in all her years of her husband being a professional athlete, that she wasn't harassed or pressured to answer questions before she managed to arrive to the game. Surely, as she thought that this feat was amazing, she also thought to herself 'at last she could get rid of that stuffy coat'. Rarity took the opportunity to escape her sweaty prison and seek the attention of one of the guards, asking where the fillies room was located. Pearl took notice to where her daughter was headed, when suddenly...

"M-m-m-May I t-t-take your c-coat, m-ma'am?" A young male voice called out to Pearl.

Pearl turned around to see a young colt standing behind her, holding his hoof out to her. He had a rare, pure white coat, the same as Rarity except that he had a two-toned blue mane. He also appeared to be very nervous as he was blushing. He continued to shake until Pearl spoke out to him.

"What a fine, young gentlecolt we have here. You have exceptional manners. I say, what is your name?"

"Um... Sh-Shining ma'am. S-s-sh-Shining Armor." He responded nervously while keeping his hoof out and his head low. "May I take your coat?"

Pearl saw that he was used to catering to the nobles, who often scolded young colts on their approach to their guests and hosts. But she also saw that he was terrified of the possibility that he would be refused or worse, rebuked. But she was not like the Canterlot Elite, who would tear apart free expression and youth in order to see them hold their muzzles high into the air as they tread on those of a financial and/or social disposition. So she accommodated the young colt in front of her.

"Dear me, if you think I'm one of those stuck up pricks, then I hope that you are not disappointed in the fact that I take the well being of ALL citizens into consideration." She says as she removes her coat and approaches him slowly until she gets close enough in his ear to whisper to him.

"And between you and me, those fillies are often left with seven year itches anyways. Why do you think the political leaders are always caught in infidelity? Because those fillies that they marry are so 'prim and proper' that they don't know how to ~~properly~~ please a stallion like a real mare should."

Shining held his hoof, now adorned with the coat, to his mouth as he tries to withhold his rambunctious laughter.

"How old are you, young lad?" She asks, seeing that she has indulged in his sense of humor.

"*snicker* Sixteen, ma'am."

"In that case, you should be old enough to know that these fillies as so miserable that they wish to see others suffer in their place. Which is a reason why they are left tending to their hooves during the estrous season."

Shining gasped at Pearl's statement, whispering to her. "But I thought that they would seek the attention of-"

"Oh please those mares are nowhere near hiring a stallion, they see it as a means of carrying themselves in highest regard." She interrupted. "Though most of them are left humping their bedposts like savage beasts."

Shining began to crack. His lungs could no longer contain the auditory assault to which he was to give. He lost his composure and began to laugh loudly. Shining buckled over and laughed as his hooves were suspended in the air as he desperately gasped for air to take in. He continued until a small voice interrupted him.

"Mommy, why is he laughing so loudly."

"Mommy told him a funny joke while you were away sweetie." Pearl responded to her daughter.

Shining looked up and saw that a small filly with the same white coat was looking at him. And he saw that she one of the cutest fillies he has set his eyes upon. Shooting back up to attention, he began to speak.

"Aww. You're the second cutest, little filly I've ever seen."

"...What?" Rarity deadpanned.

"Sorry little one, but the title of 'cutest' belongs to my little sister."

"...SERIOUSLY!?" She exploded. "I can be way cuter than your little sister."

"Can not." Shining rebutted.

"Can too." Rarity said while trotting up to him, trying to get in his face.

"Can not."

"Can too."

"Can not."

"Can too."

"Can too."

"Can n- AHAA! I CAN be cuter." Rarity dances around the defeated Shining Armor.

"Dang, I thought I could really win that one with a reverse." He admits while looking down in shame.

"Well it didn't work. That means I can be cuter." Rarity declared triumphantly.

"*tch* You just got lucky." Shining tries to argue.

"No. I just outsmarted you in your own game." Rarity uppercuts Shining's previous statement.

"Alright you two, that's enough." A third voice enters the war of the words. Shining and Rarity looks to the source of the interruption and they both are surprised on who they see.

"Magnum, sweetie. How's the warm-ups treating you tonight?" Pearl asks while giving him a hug.

"Oh, I feel really loose tonight. Loose enough to evade an entire defensive line."

"You show those ruffians what for!" Rarity screams out.

"Ah, there's my little darling. How ya been kiddo?" Magnum asks as he sweeps his daughter off her hooves, planting kisses on her cheeks and tossing her into the air, both of them laughing all the while.

"The ritz was out thick tonight, so I found a few routes we could take on the way out to avoid them. Also you can assure that your family won't be harassed like last week." Orion spoke up.

"Thanks, Captain. Don't know what I'd do without ya." Magnum replied while putting his daughter back on the ground as she begin to tap his shoulder. "What is it, sweetums?"

"Daddy! That colt over there said I am the cutest filly he ever seen!" Rarity declared loudly.

Shining began to blush profusely as he tries to find an escape route for himself. But before he could think of a way out, his father pushes him to the heavy-framed unicorn stallion in front of him.

"Yeah, you lost fair and square on that bet. Now introduce yourself. Don't be rude." Orion instructed his son.

Shining began to shift his hooves and look away as he quietly spoke his name out. "My name is Shining Armor."

"Louder." His father commanded.

"My... Name is Shining Armor."

"I can't hear you cadet."

"MY NAME IS SHINING ARMOR, SIR!"

Both Orion and Magnum look at the stallion with surprise and awe. Shining Armor stood tall at attention. His eyes remained forward, and his chin held up high. Orion spoke up first.

"...Well damn, son. I didn't know you had it in you. You'd make a fine commander one day."

"That... was the best, damn introduction I've ever seen. You raised that boy up right, Captain." Magnum stated. "When I grow up, I wanna be just like you, Shining Armor."

Orion took a moment to laugh as Shining looked to his favorite athlete in confusion. Before he could speak, Magnum cut in.

"And since you seem like a good, young lad, I want you to keep an eye on my little cheerleader right here. Make sure nopony gives her a bad time, ya hear?"

Shining tried to process what Magnum just asked. Not only was his idol approving of him, but also trusting him to look after his own flesh and blood. With little to no thought, Shining responded. "SIR, YER SIR!"

"At ease, cadet." Orion called out.

Before long, Magnum's family made their way to the press box alongside Shining Armor, who was their 'escort' for the evening. Shining looked over to Pearl and Rarity and questioned himself on how did he manage to receive such an opportunity. As he continues his thoughts, a small voice calls out to him.

"Bet you can't cheer louder than I can."

Rarity called him out on a challenge, and Shining wasn't the one to refuse a challenge either. He looked at the young filly with a smirk on his face as he gave his answer.

"You're on!"

ACT 1: "1, 2, 3, BREAK!" [CLOP FILLER]

Warning: This chapter contains Male/Male/Female sexual content, cunnilingus, analilingus, fellatio, anal sex, pegging and a surprise ending. Those who do not like this kind of thing, please feel free to mark this chapter as already read. A new chapter will be written soon. There will be a lot of stallion on stallion action as well as mare on stallion action. If you feel as if your sexuality is being questioned by reading this chapter, then this chapter is not for you. Those who just don't give a high-flying fuck, feel free to read on past this little warning. Remember: ignorance is bliss and knowledge is painful. You can even ask Rarity.

"OH CELESTIA! WHYYYYY!!!"

As I said, ignorance is bliss. So if you have a disdain for anything that involves a stallion having sex with a stallion, then please feel free to leave it at this break. Reader's discretion is well-advised.

Don't say I didn't warn you.

"Wait a minute. Can't we talk about this?"

"Oh it won't be as bad as you think, dearie. Now open wide."

"Take it like a mare, Custard!"

Custard looked at Pearl, who donned a large device strapped to her pelvic region. As his eyes trailed downward, he took notice of a phallus the size of the stallion who thrusted into him. Each and every inch looked as intimidating as the real thing with the only difference being the ridges that covered the rubbery length. Pearl smiled as she ignited her horn, stroking the faux organ as she prepared herself to be devoured by the intimidated stallion who could only pant in a mix of pleasure and fear.

"I know what you're thinking." Pearl began. "The first thing on your mind is this: what is this monster I'm holding onto?"

"Actually, I kinda have an idea on what it is." Custard replied as Pearl giggled while she proceeded to close the distance between her and the panting stallion.

"Well yes... and no." She added as she stood mere inches away from the maw of her make-shift cock slave. "This is an exact copy of Magnus' male bits, down to the last vein. The only difference is that it can only attempt to make up for his tip flaring up as he gets close. The ridges are good for getting me close, but when it comes to getting me off the way I like, it just doesn't get the job done quite well enough." Her magic aura dissipates into thin air as the rubber doll falls short of his lower lip. "Now worship this cock."

"Yes, ma-"

"Call me ma'am, and I will see to it that you will never get off." Pearl chided. "Call me... mommy."

"Yes mommy." Custard whimpered.

"Good boy. Now, I have something else that will keep you in check." The pink mare snided as her horn glowed once more. Her light managed to grab something from the shoe box that concealed the device she had strapped and dangling below her dominant form. A dark brown riding crop levitated out of the box and quickly managed to find it's way to it's summoner. As the mistress was reunited with her instrument of instruction, Custard rushed himself backwards in an attempt to back away from the eager mare who wore a sinister smile on her face. His attempt at freedom, however, was thwarted as Magnus gave one solid thrust forward, hitting the prostate of the retreating stallion below him. His eyes grew wide as he managed to reach that spot that he desired to feel after all these years. Abandoning what was left of his sanity, he gave in to his bliss. Leaving his dignity to wither in the barren wastelands of debauchery, he leapt from Magnus' grasp as he slithered and groveled on the wooden floor of the bedroom. He crawled without a care of how he looked as he placed his muzzle on the fake phallus below the heavily breathing mare.

Pearl could not understand what she was seeing at that very moment. A large, strong stallion crawling to her nether region as he pleas for her approval, praising her and her husband for the performance that they provide. Magnus slowly trotted to the worming stallion as he whimpered and coiled himself onto Pearl's instrument of pleasure. Turning his head sideways as his eyes shined brightly, Custard eagerly opens his muzzle, the saliva still clinging to the roof of his mouth as his tongue becomes the first thing that greets her. He tastes the wood of the floor below him due to the current position he has placed himself in as well as the cherry latex lubricant that coats the surface of the rubber strap-on. He clasped the surface with his right forehoof as he drug his tongue to the back of Pearl's falsified stallionhood.

Pearl tried everything she could not to take off her strap and clop herself silly, but she knew that it had became increasingly difficult as Custard panted and moaned as he swore his fealty to his false idol. Magnus resisted his urge to jerk himself just so he could blow his load onto the ass of the 'monk' who continued to chant incoherent babble. Much of what the receiver was saying could not even be translated by any normal pony, but a few words were made out as he slobbered and drooled on the cock of his wife. Words within the gibberish such as 'slut', 'whore', 'cock sock', 'jizz' and 'face' surfaced along with numerous variants of the word 'fuck'. Custard was too far gone to care about what he looked like in the eyes of his hosts. He knew of only one thing; that he would do anything to please his hosts, regardless of gender. Custard began to think to himself.

"I should be ashamed of this. I am a father to a growing daughter and yet here I am. A cock-hungry slut interrupting somepony else's marriage. I am a stallion, and yet I can't stop myself from wanting to ride a hard slab of meat. It's only for just this time, just this once. I want to suck her as I get reamed deep in my ass from behind. Is that too much to ask??? NO! I've been alone for so long without any romance or any means of getting off. I deserve this... this... Mommy, please fuck me like I've always wanted." Removing himself from the tip of the strap-on, he looks upwards to plead to his mistress. "Mmmmmhmmm-*pop*-aah. Can I... Can I please suck your dick mommy? It looks so yummy!"

"Taking this role-playing thing seriously, isn't he" Pearl thought to herself while she holds a hoof to his cheek. "My poor baby. Have you missed the feelings of pleasure?"

"Haa- yes. So much, momma."

"Ooh! I like that one! Momma." "Then tell you what, prove to me that you've been a good boy and I'll let you suck me and lick me. But not at the moment, dearie. Dinner's almost ready."

"Aww!" Custard stallionhood throbbed mercilessly as his mind ran at a million miles an hour, trying to find a way to please somepony so he can finally get himself off for the first time in a long time. He looked for various methods to prove to his hosts that he can be a good guest, that is until he saw that Magnus was slowly rubbing his hoof against the large mass of flesh that flicked up and back down with each tease of his own touch. The needy stallion looked to his sexually frustrated host, thinking of ways he could serve him. He imagined that he could take the large mass inside of his throat. He wanted to prove to himself on how much he can take and how deep he could take it. His mouth watered at the very thought of the taste of his skin. He knew EXACTLY what he wanted. "Daddy, can I suck you too?"

Pearl saw through his little ploy to override her decision. And just as quickly as she saw it, she levitated the crop to the stallions pinkened plot, giving it a quick swipe at the curvature between his haunches and the cheeks of his flank. "NO! BAD!" She scolded Custard as she swatted him once more to emphasize her point. "You can only suck mommy."

And as a foal, he pleaded with his angry mother to not punish him. "I'm so sorry momma!"

Custard backed away in fear when suddenly he felt the absence of the ground that stood below him. "So you think you can ask me something and then ask him after you get an answer? That's not how it's going to be, not in this house!" Using her magic, she placed the colt facing away from her and raised his plot in the air.

"Please mommy! No!" He begged, not wanting to feel the sting of the crop against his hide again. But once again, his peas for mercy were denied and she continued to tease the hide of his backside with the riding crop, teasing the tan, pink and red posterior.

"Bad little colts need to be punished. Therefore, it is my duty as your mother to correct you the proper way." Pearl swung the crop without leniency against the crying colt.

With each swing, the stallion yealped like an injured dog as he was being abused. One by one, the licks mounted up until the stallion could stand no longer. By then, Pearl would grab the base of his tail to place him back into position to whip him again. After the third time he fell, Pearl pulled his tail once more but this time she would appreciate the beauty of the canvas she has wrought her expression upon, more specifically, to appreciate the beauty of the puckered ring that sat underneath the base of his tail. She even took notice on how clean he was. She observed every inch of the fleshy ring as she slowly brought her hooves to the cheeks of his flank. Soon, her mind filled with many lewd thoughts.

"My oh my! You have been keeping yourself clean for this moment. But what's this? It would seem you've missed a spot."

"I'm so sorry momma."

"It can't be helped. But I can clean it for you."

"But how are you going to do that mo-MMMMAAAAAAHHHH!" Custard was taken by surprise as Pearl's tongue dug into him, penetrating slightly, but enough to make it's presence known. Pearl knew of various methods to please a stallion and she knew a lot more on how to please a mare (being that she is one herself). But when it came to the fierce competitions she had to face when she was in college, she took in all of what she could possibly learn in the years she attended so she could keep Magnus on a proverbial leash. Much of what she desired was in Magnus and she wasn't just going to let it all go. And to that very day, she always took the time to perfect her craft. Custard was just a mere practice dummy, but that didn't mean she wouldn't offer her best.

Custards moans filled the room as she tickled his insides, causing a tingling sensation to shoot throughout his body. He knew that it was wrong but at the same time, that very thought was what made it feel more than 'just right'. Magnus could not resist the cries of his friend any longer and ran to him.

"Magnus, what are yo- AAGK GULUK!"

"Take this in as far as you can go."

Magnus held himself as he guided his stallionhood deep and forcefully into the maw of his friend. Custard, who was taken by surprise once again, accepted his challenge and rapidly bobbed back and forth. Magnus could not resist fucking his best friend in his mouth, thanks to his unusual skill level in blowing his slab of meat. In a bold attempt to prove his stamina, Custard drove the large lob of flesh as deep as he could take it into his throat. Magnus looked down briefly before he slowly threw his head back into the air, panting praises to his more-than-accomplished friend. Soon, the gag reflex kicked in and Custard tried to make his hasty retreat, but Magnus held him there as he felt the pleasure quake throughout his body. As the host continued to hold fast, Custards world started to collapse in on itself. His mind sent signals of panic and worry to the rest of his shaking form. In his eyes, he saw the stallion he was serving standing on his hind legs as the world around him tunneled into black. Magnus thrusted fiercely into the muzzle of his friend, not caring about the fact that he needed air to breathe.

However, Custard didn't care about the fact that he was choking. He didn't care that his loss of oxygen was going to cost him his life. In fact, it only made him more excited. Greedily, he arced his neck back and forth as quickly as he could. His tongue swirled around the large obstacle that continued to deprive him of his air supply. The darker his vision got, the harder he sucked. Magnus was at a loss for words as he was frozen stiff upon seeing the intense determination of his beneficiary. No matter the cost, Custard was going to get somepony off tonight. He would do so, or at least die trying. Magnus decided that it would be in the best interest of all parties if he renewed the gluttonous stallion his air. He pulled out about halfway when suddenly, Custard lunged forward trying to keep his throat tight. As a result, he did what only Pearl could ever hope to achieve; he took the entire mass of the two pounds into throat, stopping at the hilt. Custard smiled to himself as he grunted aloud, still deprived of the air needed to live.

"Nnn? N nnnm NNM nm nm mn! (See!? I took ALL of it in!)"

Seeing that he had achieved his goal, consciousness began to fade from his grasp. He could no longer keep his flank raised nor could he keep his head suspended in order to fellate his endearing host. With a large thud he fell to the ground, releasing the captive Magnus and relieving Pearl of her clean-up duty. Soon the world around him took to the darkness that once engulfed everything within it's reach, everything except the center of his attention. With one final sigh, he took to the dreams of seeing his beloved wife once more.

AND NOW A WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR.

AND NOW BACK TO YOUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED READ. ENJOY THE SHOW :pinkiehappy:

*SPLASH*

"Bluukuk kugakuuh. Ahhhgh *gasp* Where... Am I?"

"I'm not gonna let our new toy break just like that. So get up here, NOW!"

He awoke in a state of confusion as he tried to identify the shadow like forms that towered over his body. As he laid on the floor, he tried to piece together the details on how he managed to get into this position. To his left was the two forms that stood above him as well as the ceiling. To the right was the floor. Upon revealing a variety of faint details, he ultimately concluded that he passed out as he was blowing his best friend. Despite the fact that he remembered what he was doing, he could not trace out the intricate details prior to his collapse as he continued to slob on his best friend's knob like corn on a cob. Being unconscious makes one lose their sense of time and Custard was not exempt from that fact. As a result, he soon realized what his next question would be.

"How long have I been passed out?"

"Three minutes, tops." A masculine voice who was identified to be of Magnus' possession answered.

"Was there a better way of waking me up?" He asked as he laid in the puddle on the floor below him, soaking wet and clueless on what else they did during those three minutes. A feminine voice that he immediately identified as Pearl's answered him.

"Well, we wanted to be really naughty and do all sorts of nasty things to you as you slept. I wanted you to wake up as we continued to fuck you and each other and eventually-"

"Well why the hell didn't you go with that plan!?" Custard interrupted as his arousal rekindled itself into the inferno it was before he passed out.

"Because of that." Pearl answered as she pointed to the rising rod of meat that took to it's peak appearance.

As his visuals refocused the faces of the two, his mind was set out to finish what was started. And what was started was the fact that Magnus was humping him silly. He immediately tackled Magnus to the ground, panting with anticipation. Magnus looked up to his eager friend and then looked to the large rod that pointed directly for him. Custard smiled coyly as the two lengths laid against one another.

"I'm still longer than you."

"Length is good and all, but what can you do with a footlong frank in a hallway?"

"Still insist on being cheeky, I see?"

"Seeing that I'll be in between yours."

As Custard raised himself to place Magnus into position, he grinned as he offered his rebuttal. "I'll let you take that one."

He slowly descends on the proud-standing erection of Magnus as he moans softly. He stops a little further than the halfway point before he rises once again. Pearl stands above her husband as she adjusts the strap to reveal her dripping marehood to the open air. She takes a hoof to herself as he slowly rubs the top of her nectar-laced lips, sliding slowly until she reaches the bottom. With each moment Custard rises, Pearl rises with him. With each moment he falls, she sinks her hoof deeper into her eager lips. She's desperately clamoring for his attention as she notices the motion of the whirling hunk of meat as it jolts freely in the air. She promised to Magnus that she would practice self-control, but at the moment, she was not having it.

"Her hoof speeds up, mismatching the tempo of the rising and falling action of her riding partner. Magnus saw that she was losing control of herself and decided that the best course of action was to be the one to constrain her pleasure. His hooves shoot upward for his wife, pulling her in as she falls in response. Magnus face was no longer visible as he laid underneath his wife. His tongue became the only feature that made it's visual presence known. Swirling his tongue into her neathers, he pressed himself into his rider. Pearl cringed in pleasure but she still saw the freely moving Custard as he rose and fell on top of Magnus. She did everything she could to stop herself from sucking him like a mad mare until his swaying cock accidentally found it's way to her nose, booping her as she looked at it with bulged eyes.

She couldn't take it anymore. As the lopping junior made it's way into the air on an upstroke, Pearl denied it's freedom for the first time of the session by casting her aura around him and placing him into the jaws of the enraptured mare. Taking a free hoof to his cock, she wrung it gently as she bobbed back and forth, ensuring that every inch was accounted for. The feeling of simultaneously diving on a rock hard cock and a mouth tending to his own stiffness was enough to send him over the edge, but he did not want that. Not yet.

"Wait!" Custard exclaimed, not wanting to cum just yet. As he rose from his saddle, Pearl relinquished him from the depths of her slimy embrace. He rose until he managed to reach the tip of his best friend. He would attempt to readjust to himself until one of his hind legs slips on the sweat that dripped on the floor. Not long after, Custard fell back on top of Magnus, taking him to the root and rocking his prostate all at the same time. Shockwaves of pain shot across Magnus from the fall, but it was the exact opposite for Custard who sat frozen in time as he felt the orgasm of a lifetime. His moans became that of a mare as the pleasure activated a self-destruct on the floodgates, pumping his arousal to a peak. His stiffened cock shot straight into the air as his tip flared wide. The blood continue to pump throughout his erection but soon found that something else would pump from within.

Three throbs later, a fountain of white fluids shot to the ceiling above, some even hitting him in the face. With a loud scream, he drove himself into a state of psychosis, pumping himself up and down forcefully as he tried to milk his prostate of every fluid ounce of protein it had left. It took a full 45 seconds before he would subside his relentless assault on the pelvis of Magnus. He, on the other hand, was on a bridge between pain and pleasure. His pelvic region was in pain from the fall but he was just as guilty as he contributed his own thrusts to his friends climax in an attempt to seek his own. Pearl saw that her husband was unfinished, just as she was. She levitated the panting Custard out of the way and leaped to her husbands rescue. Pearl sinks herself onto her husband's cock as she makes an attempt to save her husband from ruin.

With her marehood now filled, she starts herself at a moderate pace in anxiety of getting herself off. Custard, who comes to, takes notice of Pearl's toy, swinging in either direction. His eyes follows it's trajectory without missing a single beat. Weak from his recent ride, he crawls over to her in hopes of being able to take another ride. Pearl rose and fell at an even faster pace, her pussy emptying and refilling itself in rapid succession. The fact that she was interrupted earlier caused her to become sexually frustrated, not to mention that Magnus has been edging her all evening. Pressure inside of her built up once again. Her orgasm approached slowly and she wanted to get off as soon as she could, but she could only get there if she was rubbing herself. Clearly, this would not be the case, thanks to the strap-on she was not using. She knew that this toy was of no contribution unless somepony was riding on it and she knew that Custard had already had his share of pleasure. So she opted to take it off, that is until...

"Momma, I wanna ride it."

A voice mumbled out to her in earnest hopes of being attended to. She looked down to see that a flushed Custard was located in between her haunches. Wanting to ride himself silly once again, he nuzzled the toy that in-turn applied enough pressure on her clit for her to be teased towards the pleasure she persistently sought. She stopped herself to readjust to a position that she could grow accustomed to being able to thrust as well as receive. Crouching over her husband and placing the strap-on inside of Custard, the three continued their synchronized movements. Custard screamed with jubilee of having been awarded the task of being an accessory to Pearl's orgasm. Pearl was more than happy of giving out to Custard but she was even more excited of the fact that she was rapidly approaching her long-desired orgasm. Magnus was just happy to fuck somepony. His desires were more simplistic, more licentious than the average pony. He wanted to cum, but he would often hold out as long as he could each time.

All three felt an inevitable climax coming upon them. Custard gave way first, screaming out thank-yous and praises to his hosts as he unleashed himself across the bedroom floor, reaching as far across as the other side of the room. Pearl soon followed, hopping off her husband to finish herself off. She rapidly circled her hoof across her aching lips until a powerful torrent of juices jettisoned from within her, causing her to twitch wildly. Magnus, however was the only one that didn't cum as the others did, so he was left to jerking himself with his magic. He thrusted himself into his green aura in desperation, but soon found assistance in the forms of two mouths.

Custard tended to the left side, working his way up the pulsating shaft to the tip. Pearl directed herself to the right side, guiding herself downward as her tongue followed every vein until she met with the scrotum. She caressed every ridge of him, working each individual testicle carefully as she engorged them, savoring the sweat and taste of the flesh of them. Custard licked the tip once again before he kissed it, causing a violent twitch to occur. He dove down upon it, swallowing much of it's length, slurping much of the excess. He can still taste Pearl's essence as well as the flesh that it was adorned upon. Soon the two met halfway once again, only this time to meet their tongues. The meeting soon turned passionate as the dominant mare and the submissive stallion lips crashed against each other, warring for the no-mare's land. The sight of the femcolt and the tomboy made Magnus lose all control and he gave a mighty thrust. After a single twitch, ropes of cum landed on the faces of the two partners in crime. As he finished, Custard and Pearl licked him clean as they toyed with each other.

The room was an absolute mess. The sheets were in disarray, the curtains were banged-up, the lamp was knocked over to the floor and the floor itself was covered in a mix of water, sweat, saliva, vaginal secretions and semen. If there was an addition of blood, it would look like a crime scene. The three ponies remained laid out across the floor, panting intensely as they had the sex of a lifetime.

"I can't believe we did this again." Pearl stated.

"Did what again?" Custard asked, confused as to what she was referring to.

"The angry sex that then turned into a threesome." Magnus replied, still remembering what all has transpired.

"So, this isn't the first time this has happened?" Custard asked turning to Magnus.

"Nope."

"Kay... Explain???"

"Pearl and I got into it about something stupid. And needless to say that it was all forgotten after we had our fun, with a guest of course."

"I know that a gentleman isn't the one to kiss and tell, but I have to know, who was the third wheel?"

"Oh you didn't know, dearie? It was Red Velvet."

Custard's eyes shot open as he wrung his neck to Pearl in disbelief of the answer he just received. "M-My... MY LATE WIFE!?"

Author's Note

FUK DA POPO!!! I'M BACK BITCHEZ!!! LOLOLOLOL

*Ahem* Sorry about that. If you haven't been keeping up, I've been out of commission due to my CPU fan acting up. And by the visual evidence of the appearance of this chapter, you can conclude that I'm back once again (for now). Hope you liked the chapter. :twilightsmile:

PS: I watched SOOO much porn in order to write this chapter.