What You Believe In

Prologue

Dear Princesses of Canterlot,

Brutal rampages have recently took place around my Kingdom, and I find it most troubling that they may affect its growth. This is no mere band of renegades, that much I assure you, rather, rumours have been circulating that a sadistic Unicorn is amassing an army to assault and take my Kingdom. My forces are strong but they still have yet to grow in number. That is why I have taken my time to honour you with my words, I foresee that it won't just be my Kingdom up here in the Frozen North, I predict they will strike at the Crystal Empire afterwards, then they will aim for Canterlot. To avoid ruination, I propose an Alliance, I can offer my own troops to bolster Canterlots defence and ensure the safety of your Kingdom, I shall do this to guarantee my reliability. To ensure a permanent alliance between our Kingdoms though, it cannot be through mere agreements or an exchange of military power, I will leave the methods of an alliance to you, I'm sure you will make the smart decision.

Prince Dusk

Celestia let out a low sigh as she finished reading the scroll, her sister, Luna, was the first to speak. "It does sound most troubling, in my opinion though, it sounds more like a demand than a proposal."

"Some ponies have their ways with words my sister..." Celestia replied before using the magic of her horn to open up a blank scroll. "Even so, I shall send him a reply."

Luna narrowed her eyes as she looked down at her hoofs. "I don't like it...why would he willingly offer his own troops to us and risk the destruction of his own Kingdom? Something isn't right here..."

"Please sister..." Celestia replied softly. "I don't want him to think that we are ungrateful for his generosity."

"Hmph!" Luna turned her back to the white Alicorn and walked off. "Do as you like Celestia, but leave me out it, I dislike that overconfident fool."

Upon watching her sister leave the royal hall, Celestia finished her letter and used her magic to make it vanish into thin air, sending it to the Frozen North. "A rising force...if this is true then I believe Twilight Sparkle may play a most important role in the events to come, in fact, it may just be her first step as a Princess. I can only hope my letter satisfies the Prince of the North, I'm all too aware of his short temper."

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A blue Pegasus, covered from neck to hoof in gleaming silver armour marched through the dark halls of the castle towards the throne room, several silver armoured ponies at his rear.

The large doors opened for him, revealing the dimly lit throne room and a golden throne at the end. Sitting on the throne was a younger looking Unicorn, his coat was a dark tan colour with a short fiery yellow mane and tail. He wore gold armour around his torso and hoofs and his cutie mark was concealed by the armour that covered his flank.

Upon reaching the bottom of the throne staircase, the silver armoured Pegasus bowed. "Your majesty..."

"Magister...I trust this is important?" Prince Dusk asked in a clearly bored tone.

The Magister slowly approached and handed a scroll to the Prince. "A reply from Princess Celestia."

Dusk raised a brow. "So soon? Unexpected...I just hope her words are worthy of my time." He stated as he used his magic to open the scroll. "Let us see..."

Dear Prince Dusk,

It saddens me to hear of the events that are transpiring around your Kingdom and I am deeply sorry for the trouble you are enduring, you have my sincerest condolences. I agree that the rumours of this force in the North is most troublesome, and an alliance would be most beneficial. I am deeply touched that you are showing more care for my Kingdom than your own and I am eternally grateful that you are providing us with your own troops, I shall treat them well upon their arrival. I am unsure of which methods would be suitable to ensure a permanent alliance, as such, I ask that you give me some time to consult with my sister and the newly crowned Princess Twilight Sparkle. I hope this does not trouble you.

Yours sincerely,

Princess Celestia

As he finished reading the letter out, Dusk remained silent. The Magister gave him a concerned look. "Your majesty?"

Dusk narrowed his piercing red eyes at the Magister. "Such words are not worthy of my eyes, let alone my voice..."

"What is your command? Shall I send a reply?" The Magister asked.

With a wave of his armoured hoof, Dusk said, "I will send another letter when I deem it worthy of my time. Celestia should be honoured enough that I bothered to waste my words on her."

"You, already know what your reply is?" The Magister replied.

"But of course..." Dusk said with a smirk. "Now, Princess Twilight Sparkle was the new one, am I correct?"

The Magister brushed back his short orange mane before speaking. "Yes your majesty. Twilight Sparkle is the name of the newest Princess, she's much younger than Celestia and Luna but she is bright and smart."

"I shall be the judge of that..." Dusk replied. "An arranged marriage is what I will suggest to Celestia...this is what must be done if she wants to keep her Kingdom safe." He turned back to the Magister. "Sky Shadow, I've already wasted enough of my glorious time exchanging my superior words with her, I command you to write the letter in my place."

With a disappointed look in his eyes, the Magister bowed and walked away. "As you command."

As soon as the silver armoured Pegasus was no longer in the throne room, Dusk lay back against his throne and looked down at the silver armoured ponies. "Guards, I require entertainment, bring me the dancers."

"Sire!" All guards said.

__________________________________________________________________________________

"Come on Twilight! You can be faster than that!"

Twilight Sparkle glared at her friend Rainbow Dash, who was flying ahead of her. The cyan Pegasus asked the newly crowned Princess to fly with her to test out how fast she was with her new wings, suffice to say, Twilight wasn't nearly as interested as her friend. To her, Rainbow most likely wanted to see just how fast she was, but the princess wasn't as interested in the race as her friend was, even then, she really had nothing to prove, as the cyan Pegasus was still clearly faster.

"Yeah! I win!" Rainbow shouted out as she reached the finish line.

Twilight slowly landed next to her and gave a friendly smile. "You sure did Rainbow Dash."

"And I'm STILL the fastest flier in Equestria!" The cyan Pegasus added with a very overconfident tone.

Upon listening to Rainbow boast for a few more minutes, Twilight went back into town to look for the rest of her friends, she was surprised by the greeting she received.

"It's Princess Twilight Sparkle!"

"Good day your highness!"

"We're honoured to be in your presence."

Twilight's smile lowered as she looked at all of the ponies who bowed to her as she walked by, as much as she appreciated their loyalty and the kindness they were showing towards her, it didn't exactly make her feel happy. If she were to say a good time ago that she was to be a Princess, nopony would believe her, not even her friends.

As her thoughts drifted to her friends, Twilight Sparkle saw Fluttershy's home just up ahead. Considering everypony had been treating her like a princess all day today, it would be a large relief to be treated just like everypony else for a change.

"Who knew becoming a princess would change so much?" She said with a sigh. As she got closer, she could hear a faint voice singing.

As usual, Fluttershy was singing while flying around and taking care of the animals, as she always does.

Approaching her from behind, Twilight said, "Hey Fluttershy!"

"Eep!" The princess wasn't surprised when the Pegasus jumped into a nearby bush.

"Relax Fluttershy, it's just me." Twilight said with a giggle.

Fluttershy slowly came out of the bush with a nervous look on her face. "Oh...I...I'm sorry, I hope I didn't offend you..."

"You could never offend anyone, you're better than that and you know it. So, what are you doing?" The princess asked.

Finally managing a smile, Fluttershy said, "I was just doing my usual routine, making sure all of the animals are well fed, making sure they're doing fine, you know. Speaking of which..." She started looking around.

"You lose something Fluttershy?" Twilight asked in curious tone.

Fluttershy shook her head. "Oh, no...I was just looking for-" She was cut off as something fell from above and landed right on Twilight. "Starlight!" She finished.

A red pony with a short brown mane and crystal blue eyes, Starlight sat up and shook his head and smiled. "Hey Fluttershy!"

"So how are the birds doing?" The cream coloured Pegasus asked.

Starlight chuckled. "Well the birds are doing great, I organized their nests so the parents babies have more space to sleep in, I even made sure to build several spare nests in case something happens to ones they're using!"

"Oh that's wonderful! Thank you for your help Starlight!" Fluttershy said in her usual soft tone.

Starlight smiled cheerfully. "Don't mention it! I'm always happy to help out a friend!" He laughed again.

Upon setting her eyes on Twilight, Fluttershy said, "Oh my, Starlight, please step back!"

Starlight gave her a confused look but finally understood what she meant when he looked down to see he was sitting on top of the princess. "T-Twilight?!" He jumped off of her and bowed. "Oh my gosh, I'm so so sorry, I didn't mean to fall on top of you!"

Twilight got to her hoofs and wiped the leaves off before giving him a friendly smile. "For the last time, it's ok Starlight, even though you've fallen on me like several times in the past, I know you didn't mean any harm. Really, you've got to stop being so apologetic for the most littlest things."

Starlight looked up at her, upon seeing her smile, he quickly got to his hoofs and nodded. "Phew, well thanks Twilight, I can only imagine how furious Princess Celestia would be with me if she found out I accidentally hurt you."

"You didn't hurt me at all Starlight..." Twilight replied with a giggle. "Speaking of which, what were you doing in the trees anyway?"

"Well umm..." Starlight tried to think of the right words to say. "I decided to help Fluttershy out with the animals because I was really bored and had nothing to do at all today, thankfully she let me. I was just taking care of the birds in the trees..." He pointed to the tree he fell out of. "This was the last tree by the way so no more falling for the rest of the day."

Twilight chuckled. "I can see...but why?"

"Well...you know, I'm just...trying to be helpful." Starlight said nervously.

"No I mean, why are you climbing up the trees when Fluttershy can just fly up? Wouldn't it have been more easier for you if you handled the animals on the ground?" Twilight replied.

Starlight remained silent at her words, noticing this, Fluttershy spoke for him. "He said he didn't mind Twilight. He just wanted to prove he was able that's all..."

"Y-Yeah! And, atleast this way Fluttershy doesn't have to waste her wing strength. Right?" Starlight said.

Twilight nodded. "Right...well, I'm going to go back into town, good luck with the animals."

"I'll go with you! I'm done for today anyway, is...that ok Fluttershy?" Starlight asked.

Fluttershy smiled and nodded at him. "Sure, I can handle the rest, thanks again for your help Starlight."

The two walked away leaving Fluttershy to tend to the animals.

"So how are things going in Canterlot?" Starlight asked.

Twilight shrugged. "Oh you know...same as always, things have been really nice and peaceful lately. Everypony can finally go outside and enjoy their lives without having to worry about any trouble heading their way."

"That sounds great! I'm assuming Princess Celestia is planning on holding a celebration in honour of your coronation?" Starlight asked.

"I wouldn't know...I think the coronation itself was more than enough of a celebration. I wouldn't want her to spoil me by throwing another..." She stopped and took in a deep breath. "To be honest with you Starlight, ever since I became a Princess, everyone's been treating me like one."

Starlight gave her a confused look. "You say that as if it's a bad thing."

"It is..." Twilight sighed and looked at him. "I mean, it isn't really it's just...I don't really like how everyone treats me like I'm their superior, it seems a little, unfair."

"Oh..." Starlight gave her a comforting smile. "I see what you mean, you think everyone treats you as if you're above them all and it's making you feel uneasy..."

The Princess replied with a simple nod.

Starlight's smile lowered a little. "Well...if it makes you feel a little better, we can still act like friends if you want."

"That..." Twilight started before smiling back at him. "That would be wonderful."

As the two Ponies saw Ponyville just up ahead, they could feel the ground shake beneath their hoofs. "What is that?" Twilight asked as she looked around.

A faint sound was heard, coming from Ponyville, the sound of metal clanging. "Over there!" Starlight pointed to something moving around Ponyville.

There was a large line of ponies, fitted in silver armour around their chests and hoofs and silver helmets, marching around Ponyville, heading in Canterlots direction. "Who are they?"

"Twilight! Twilight!"

The two Ponies turned to see Spike rushing towards them. "Twilight...you have...a message...from...Princess Celestia." He said between breaths as he handed her a rolled up scroll.

"A message...?" Twilight replied as she used the magic from her horn to open the scroll. "I wonder what it says..."

Dear Princess Twilight Sparkle,

Something really important has come up and I ask that you return to Canterlot as soon as possible so we may discuss our course of action. It involves a situation that has recently taken place in the Frozen North, please return as soon you can.

Princess Celestia

Twilight blinked in confusion. "It must be important if the letter is really short..."

"A situation in the Frozen North? The only situation over there is that idiot Unicorn who thinks he is a Prince." Starlight said.

Turning to her friend, Twilight said, "I can't ignore this, I'm sorry Starlight but I have to go." She said before flying off towards Canterlot. "It was great talking to you again!"

The red pony let out a depressed sigh, earning a concerned glance from the small dragon next to him. "What's the matter Starlight?"

"Nothing, I'm just a little upset that Twilight no longer has time to hang out with me. We only ever get to spend like, a few minutes together before she gets called back to the castle, it happens all the time." The red pony said in a clearly sad tone.

Spike smiled and patted the ponies front leg. "Hey, she's a Princess now, she's going to be really busy from now on. But if you're lucky, she may decide to give herself a day off just so she can spend time with us! What do you think of that?!"

Starlight managed a smile. "Yeah, that could work, thanks Spike..." He stopped and looked at the marching line of armoured ponies. "So they're from the Frozen North?"

"Yeah, I'm assuming Prince Dusk sent them to reinforce Canterlot for some reason. Which I think is highly unusual because I heard he's quite a jerk." The small dragon said.

"He's no Prince." Starlight said. "I'll never see him as a Prince, he just appeared one day and founded his Kingdom in a place where nopony could possibly challenge his rule."

Spike gave him a nervous look. "I kinda agree with you Starlight, but...you might want to make sure nopony hears you say things like that, you could get into trouble."

Starlight shrugged. "I'm just speaking the truth Spike, you know I'm right. He's just a pretender with a small piece of power in his hoofs, he'll never be on par with leaders like Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, and of course, Twilight Sparkle."

Spike rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say Starlight..." He turned his back to the pony. "Well, I'm heading to Rarity's place, you wanna come?"

"I'll catch up." Starlight replied.

With another shrug of his shoulders, Spike ran off back to Ponyville.

No matter how many times he tried to forget about her, his thoughts drifted back to Twilight. While he was grateful that Spike tried to cheer him up, he still couldn't help but be a little upset at the lack of time he got to spend with the new Princess. He did everything he could to push the thoughts out of his head and turned back to the marching line of armoured Ponies, who were all just about gone.

"A situation in the Frozen North..." He said before turning to catch up with Spike. "Well, whatever it is, atleast it's all the way over there and not down here in Ponyville."

The red pony however would soon find out just how wrong he was.