Bundle of Joy and Surprises
Author's Note
Please give me your constructive criticism on this story, especially if you dislike this story. I would love to hear what you have to say. Other then that, I hope you enjoy this story. Enjoy!
Bundle of Joy and Surprises
June 4th, 1057 of the 4th era, Canterlot Castle
Today is the day. It had to be today didn't it? Shining Armor and Princess Cadance had travelled to Canterlot to see Twilight and the rest of Shining’s immediate family. It had been two years since Tirek's defeat, and in that time Cadence became pregnant with Shining Armor's foal. Eight months had passed with numerous visits to the Doctor, and it was predicted that in just one more month she would give birth. At least... that's what was supposed to happen. The Princess’s water broke during their stay at Canterlot Castle. There was a large commotion as Celestia summoned one of her throne guards to find a doctor as quickly as possible, with express orders to bring him to the castle. Nearly an hour passed before a doctor burst through the doors to Princess Cadance’s chambers, immediately setting up his medical equipment to administer care to the soon-to-be mother. Cadence’s screams of pain echoed through the bedroom doors even though they were firmly shut, beginning to draw a crowd of various members of the castle staff.
"You're doing good, just breathe in and out… in and out..." The doctor’s voice trailed off in conjunction with Cadance’s screams before the Princess began again with renewed vigor.
Shining Armor stood outside the bedroom chambers nervously pacing back and forth, his heart beating at a million miles per hour in his chest and his brain running just as fast. Would the child be alive? Would his wife be okay? These thoughts flashed into his mind as his hooves began to wear down the varnish on the marble floors. Luna took one look into his tear-rimmed eyes and placed a hoof onto his back, stopping his motions.
"Princess Cadance will be alright, we are sure of it. And you will be an incredible father." Luna calmly whispered. Shining took a deep breath, closing his eyes. After what seemed like an eternity, he nodded.
Luna was the only one to keep him company during this time. Princess Celestia was at a meeting with diplomats from Griffonia and sadly could not be taken away from the negotiations, Twilight Sparkle was inside the bedroom holding Cadence’s hoof, and the rest of Shining’s family were still on their way.
Three hours passed, three long, grueling hours for both mother and father, but suddenly the Princess’s screams ceased completely. As soon as the doors opened slightly Shining pushed himself into the room, startling the doctor on the other side. On the bed Cadence, sweating with tear-stained cheeks, was smiling while holding a small bundle in her hooves. Shining Armor’s hooves slowly carried him to the side of the bed, and he gazed into the sleeping face of his firstborn colt. Shining felt the hooves of his little sister wrap around his barrel as she pulled him close.
"I'm so proud for you, Shining!" Twilight said to her older brother, congratulating him.
"Shining..." Cadence’s voice cracked slightly as she looked with joy at her husband.
"Yes, Cadence?” Shining asked, leaning in.
"I love you, really I do, but... We are not having sex ever again!"
Those words were like gryphon talons on a blackboard to him.
“Why do you have to ruin the moment, love…?” Shining thought, laughing slightly.
Luna said nothing and trotted off to go get her sister. It didn’t take long for Luna to make the trip to the Day Courtroom, where
Celestia was currently presiding. With the sun starting to set, less and less ponies were entering the castle, so Celestia could now see the child. As the two trotted back together, Luna spoke up.
"It must be nice,” Luna began, “to be a mother.”
"Indeed sister, indeed it must." Celestia replied, sighing.
"Can I be honest with you, Sister?"
"Of course, what is on your mind?"
"I cannot help but feel some bit of... envy towards sister Cadence," she spoke quietly, her face obscured from Celestia’s view by her mane.
"You're not the only one who feels that way."
Many ponies wondered why Celestia and Luna had never bore foals. It was more understandable to the general population that Luna—who had been imprisoned in the moon for a thousand years—had not found a suitor yet. But the bigger question was why Celestia had bore no foals in her life. She had many suitors over the years, coming and going, all being rejected by the Princess herself with no explanation. Mares and stallions alike vied for her hoof, so the thought that the Princess was only attracted to one specific sex was out of the question. The truth, however, was something not many ponies knew. Alicorns are inherently barren.
Pureblood Alicorns have a ‘grace period,’ a short period of time in which an Alicorn can bear foals, spanning roughly one to two years. Princesses Celestia and Luna, being the only two pureblood Alicorns in Equestria, were the only barren Alicorns. Princess Twilight and Cadance were able to continue their menstrual cycles as they ascended to the Alicorn state after birth. Back when the world was ruled by Alicorns, the grace period was the evolutionary reason purebloods could not synthetically alter the population as they were immortal. Now, however, pureblood Alicorns were a remnant of the past. The vast majority had died in the war that marked the end of the 3rd era, The Dracon-Equine War. The war left both Draconequus and Alicorns all but extinct, leaving only Celestia, Luna, and Discord.
Princesses Celestia and Luna were entrusted with ruling the fledgling nation of Equestria at the age 27 and 25, which for a pureblood is still at foalhood until full maturity at 50. In their first years ruling the nation, they devoted everything to rebuilding a torn land, leaving them very little time for courtship. What little they could get was spent on making love in the hopes of children so that they could have their own joy of motherhood. However, before either Celestia or Luna could be conceived, Nightmare Moon invaded Luna’s mind. When Luna was banished in the year 54 of the 4th era, the workload was doubled on Celestia. All of Luna’s tasks fell squarely on Celestia’s shoulders; raising and lowering the moon, diverting traffic from Night Court to Day Court, and appointing cabinet members were simply a handful of the shoes she had to fill. By the time attitudes in Equestria were beginning to return to a calmer state, it was already too late for Celestia to ever have children of her own, and as for Luna—trapped on the moon—there was no hope of her ever having the chance to conceive either.
And so, with no other options, Celestia waited for Luna’s return without the option of having a son or daughter of her own to train and teach in the ways of the Princesses, instead throwing herself headlong into her new responsibilities.
The sisters made their way back to Princess Cadance’s quarters. Opening the door, Celestia trotted to Cadance’s bedside to get a long look at the newborn colt, then turned to Shining Armor, smiling.
"Congratulations, General." Shining Armor’s mouth curved into a smile, nodding quickly and bowing his head.
"Thank you princess,” he breathed. “I'm humbled that you gave me the position."
"I would not give it to somepony that could not handle it. But I'm getting off topic.” Celestia turned her attention to the newborn foal. “What is his name?"
Cadence and Shining Armor looked at their child. "His name is Corinthian Hoplon." Cadence spoke.
Corinthian Hoplon, a half Unicorn, half non pureblood Alicorn. He maintained the appearance of a unicorn even though he was part Alicorn. His coat was white like his father's, his mane was light blue with a light yellow accent running down the center, and his eyes were the color of lavender like his mother’s.
"He's beautiful," Celestia commented.
"Excuse me, your Majesties,” the doctor butted in, “but may speak for a moment about the condition of the foal for one moment?" He adjusted his glasses as the occupants of the room turned their attention to him.
"He's, he's alright… isn’t he?" Cadence’s voice rose nearly an octave by the end of her sentence, her eyes becoming dinnerplates.
"The foal is fine as of right now,” the doctor explained, “but a premature foal could develop some problems later on, I would like to stay here for the night to keep an eye on him... if that's alright."
"Of course, doctor. I will have some attendants prepare a guest room for you," Celestia responded. "Guards?"
A second passed and two guards in full bronze armor entered the room.
"Yes, your Highnesses?" the guards stood ready to receive their orders.
"Would you kindly show the doctor to one of the guest rooms, please?"
"Yes, of course, Princess." They bowed down then stood back up, one of them gesturing with a hoof for the doctor to follow them. "Right this way, sir." With that, the guards showed the doctor out, shutting the doors in the process.
"With your permission, your Majesties, would you be so kind to give our son your blessings?" Shining Armor asked the Princesses. Celestia answered by closing her eyes and smiling as she began to lit her horn, stepping close to Corinthian and placing her horn on his forehead.
"With this blessing of mine, may your days always be bright so the darkness will never harm you." Celestia stepped away from Corinthian to make room for her sister, who touched her horn onto the newborn foal’s forehead as well.
"With my blessing, may your nights always be peaceful, and your dreams filled with wonder." Luna stood up, smiling to the new parents, before stepping back from the side of the bed.
"I have a blessing to give him as well," Twilight spoke, lighting her horn and placing it where her fellow Princesses had.
"My blessing I give to you, little nephew, is one day you will meet your true friend who will always look after you, and who you will always look after for in turn. The two of you will be separable only by death.”
Once all three of the Princesses had given their blessings to the newborn colt, Princess Celestia gazed out the window to the horizon.
“I’m afraid I must depart,” Celestia said, “it is time for Luna and I to bring in the night.” Saying their last farewells, Princesses Luna and Celestia left the room, trotting up to their balcony to raise and lower their respective celestial bodies. Once the night was brought, Celestia bid her sister goodnight before turning in, leaving Luna to preside over Night Court.
A few uneventful hours had passed and Luna was getting bored. There was a surprising lack of nightmares tonight plaguing her subjects, however this left her proud of herself as she was doing an exceptional job at dispelling them. Unfortunately, this did nothing to abate her severe boredom, so she decided to visit the Royal Observatory.
Not many ponies came to Canterlot Castle during the night, but Luna preferred it this way. When there were no nightmares to dispel, she preferred admiring her night rather than dealing with the problems of her subjects, that responsibility she gladly gave to her sister. Of course it didn't mean she didn't enjoy helping helping her subjects, it only meant she hated dealing with problems such as land and labor disputes, taxes, and—the one she despised the most—dealing with the Dukes and Duchesses of every province in the country. She preferred to help her subjects on the more personal level, entering their dreams and meeting their problems headlong.
However, her nights did get lonely at times. She still felt they were still somewhat unappreciated, what with not many ponies out enjoying them. Sure, there was nightmare night, but that was only once a year. Luna mentally kicked herself. The Princess had to stop herself from feeling those jealous urges that got her banished before. Maybe it wasn't jealousy... maybe it was simply Luna wanting somepony she could share her night with.
During her stargazing that night, something unexpected happened, something nopony could have expected or could understand.
An Aurora Borealis formed above the castle; blues, greens and purples intertwining to make a masterpiece of color, floating in ethereal winds above the city below.
“Impossible!” thought Luna, “There is no scientific way an Aurora can form this far South!”
Luna knew that this was not natural, only magic could have created it. But as suddenly as it appeared, it was gone. Luna quickly grabbed a piece of parchment, a quill, and an inkwell, beginning to record everything she had saw.
Date: June 5th, 1057 of the 4th Era
Today, at 2:17 A.M, a strange sight appeared in the night sky of Canterlot, an Aurora Borealis. For one to form this far south is unheard of in Equestria. While observing I noticed that the aurora was abnormally large, as it covered the entire night sky. I also noticed that one of the stars, particularly the Northern Star, was shining brighter than usual. For fifteen minutes this went on until the Aurora disappeared. I know that this was not natural by any means, I suspect that this could be the work of powerful magic. I will consult my Sister and the other Princesses about this.
After she finished recording the event, she heard a shout from elsewhere in the garden.
"A MONSTER!" That voice could only belong to a member of the Royal Guard. Luna turned her body in the direction of the commotion, eyes widening.
"GET AWAY FROM US! JUST GET BACK!" That voice did not belong to a guard, but to a mare.
"SOUND THE ALARM!" A bolt of red magic shot into the air, travelling several hundred feet up before exploding in a vibrant display of color.
“An emergency flare…?” thought Princess Luna, her eyes scanning the gardens for any sign of commotion.
Warning bells began to ring all over the castle. Guards could be seen with iron-tipped spears in hoof rushing towards where the flare was fired. Luna figured the worst and flew into the air to assist the guards in whatever they were up against. But when she arrived at a cluster of guards, Luna was shocked. A strange looking, bipedal creature that stood much taller than an average stallion was standing in the middle of a ring of guards. She wore a white gown complete with a blue silk sash and pendant that hung from her neck. Her eyes were the color of hazel, her skin color was olive, and her long, brown mane was kept in a braided bun. In her arms, she was carrying something wrapped in a red blanket and holding a short blade in her right hand. She pointed the sword to the guards who were reciprocating by pointing their spears in her direction. Luna looked at her and saw that she was bleeding profusely from the right side of her abdomen, staining her gown blood red. However, it could not have been one of the guards that hurt her as there was not a drop of blood on their spears.
"What in Equestria?" Luna thought aloud. “First the Aurora, and now this? This cannot be a coincidence…”
The female swung the blade in her right hand in front of the guards.
"Get back! Don't you whorses dare think I won't use this!" She shouted, using a racial slur on the guards.
One of the guards fired a bolt of magic at her armed hand, disarming her and causing the creature to yelp in pain. She fell onto the grass and the sound of a crying child could be heard... it was a child that the female was carrying, bundled in her left arm. She held the child close to her and began to cry. The guards started to move in towards the creature, ready to subdue her.
"Shhh…” the creature cooed, “it's ok my baby, it will be over soon..." She closed her eyes and waited for the spears to come.
"Guards! Stand down!" Luna ordered, the Royal Canterlot Voice shaking the guards to the bone.
"But Princess,” one of them protested, “this creature could be dangerous!"
"Do not make us repeat ourselves!"
The guards moved their spears into a more neutral position, though their hooves were firmly grasping at the handles of their spears. Luna took a few careful steps towards the creature, getting closer. She knelt down to meet her eyes.
"You do not have to be scared,” the Princess whispered, “we promise we will not harm you."
"Liar!" the creature shouted. "If you want to kill me then just kill me!" The creature’s eyes were clamped shut and tears began to roll down her cheek. Luna had to think of something to calm her down.
"If we wanted to kill you, then why did we tell our guards to lower their weapons? That would not make sense if that is what we wanted." Luna had punched a hole in her logic. The female was starting to calm down a little bit.
"But, why?” the woman gasped. “I thought King Cosmos wanted me dead. Or, did Prince Astrum convince him otherwise?" Luna stood back up, shocked by the names she had just heard.
"How... how do you know those names?" Luna asked, her eyes widening.
"What do you mean?” the creature asked, eyebrow raised. “Of course I would know the heads of the ruling Alicorn family…?"
“Father… grandfather…” Luna thought to herself, scanning the ring of guards around them. “What in Tartarus is going on?”
The names the creature had mentioned were her father, Prince Astrum, and her grandfather King Cosmos. Astrum had told Celestia and Luna stories about their grandfather, King Cosmos, long ago. Unfortunately, Cosmos had died before Celestia was born.
"What is going on here?!" came a shout from behind Luna. Princess Celestia broke through the circle of guards with Princess Twilight and Shining Armor.
"Princess... what is that?" Twilight asked hoping to get an answer. Both Celestia and Luna looked towards the creature, their mouths shut tight.
It was at that very moment the creature collapsed with the child in her arms, held close to her stomach. Princess Luna gasped and leaped into action.
"Sister,” Luna cried, “this mare is hurt! She needs help, now!”
Celestia did not ask questions, turning to her guards. “You three, take her inside and go find the doctor. The rest of you prepare a room for her. You are dismissed.”
"Yes, your Highness!" came the immediate reply. One team of guards picked up the creature while the other went to find the doctor. Princess Luna picked up the child with her magic and headed inside, followed closely by her sister and Princess Twilight.
After two hours had passed, the doctor stepped out of the room and trotted in front of the Princesses.
"How is she?" Luna asked.
"I was able seal the wound and stop the bleeding. But... her wound was badly infected. The bacteria has already spread to the rest of her body."
"Meaning what?" Princess Celestia demanded.
"She only has a few hours at best. I'm sorry I couldn't have been more of an assistance..." Celestia sighed, bringing a hoof to her face
"You did what you could. You’re dismissed, doctor."
"I'm truly sorry." The doctor bowed and left.
"Well... now what?" Shining Armor asked.
"We need to see if we can get any information from this mare, we have no idea what is going on here, and she is the only source of information we have.” Celestia’s magic grasped the doors, ready to pull them open. “Sister Twilight, General Armor, I ask that you allow me and Sister Luna do the talking." Celestia then opened the door to the bedroom and walked in with her entourage.
The creature was in bed, resting as the group of ponies trotted towards her. When they got closer the female looked up, noticing them in the room for the first time.
"How are you feeling?" Luna asked, putting a hoof on the bedframe.
"Tired... Were is my son?" she demanded.
"Do not worry, my niece Princess Cadence is keeping an eye on him. She is a mother as well, so you do not have to worry about him." Celestia's tone of voice was enough for the female to trust her.
"... thank you."
"We did not get the chance to properly introduce ourselves,” Luna spoke. “My name is Princess Luna, what is yours?"
"My name is... Theodora, Theodora Elissa ˈKaisar."
“What a strange name,” Luna thought, looking about the room. By the looks on the other’s faces, they were thinking the exact same thing.
"It's nice to meet you... Theodora, my name is Princess Celestia, and this is Princess Twilight and General Shining Armor."
"Hehe…” Theodora laughed, “I still don't understand why ponies have the weirdest names."
“And yours isn’t?”
"Why did you people, oh... sorry, you ponies help me?" Theodora asked.
"You were hurt, what kind of ponies would we be if we had not?" Luna responded.
"But our country is at war with you." Celestia raised an eyebrow.
"War? What war?"
"The war between Ponies and Men."
"Men? As in humans? Like... from ancient mythology?" Princess Twilight began. Once she saw the look on Celestia’s face, she blushed. “S-sorry…”
"It's fine Twilight,” Celestia breathed. “Theodora, can you tell me what year the war began?"
"July 28th, 1914 of the 2nd era." That shocked everypony in the room. That was a date more than three thousand years ago.
“This would explain why she knows of our father and grandfather,” Luna thought.
"Where exactly do you come from?" Luna asked, diverting the conversation in a different direction.
"I was born and raised in Dido, one the largest cities in Polaris. Why are you asking me these questions?"
"I know that this is going to sound strange but, the year is 1057 of the 4th era." Luna informed her.
"What? But that's..." Theodora’s eyes travelled to her bedspread and she gripped it violently for a moment.
"Theodora,” Celestia asked, “can you tell us how you arrived here?"
"Um... Yes. I was with my husband, Alexander Julius ˈKaisar, he is... was... a senator and a general back home. We came to this continent by sea from the East to settle a city for our empire. The Emperor and the Senate gave my husband the task of finding this fairy tale called The Tree of Harmony."
The occupants of the room shared a meaningful glance before allowing Theodora to continue.
"But... we never found the tree, so my husband decided to use the city as base for his armies to try and end the war. I was with child at the time, and after a few months after my son was born on March fifteenth, the city we had settled in was sacked. The ponies came in and burned everything down. I barely made it out alive with my son... my husband was not so lucky." A few tears rolled down her cheek as she recalled the events she went though. "I went up a mountain to try and get away from the bloodshed. But when I summited the mountain… the last thing I saw was an extremely bright light coming from the Everfree Forest."
"Sister...” Luna began, “is it possible for the elements to send away an entire race?"
"It's possible, however I would never have thought the elements would be able to do that," Celestia answered.
"Princesses,” Theodora caught their attention, “I may not know what is going on nor will I know... but I do know that I'm dying."
"No, do not talk like that, you will make it out of this." Luna lied, placing a hoof on the human’s shoulder.
"You’re a bad liar, honest people always are. You know that I don't have much time to live. Before I pass from this world, can you
promise me something? I know we've only just met, but you’re the only ones I can turn to."
“Of course,” Luna answered without hesitation, “what is it?”
"It's my son... Nicholas Octavius. When I'm gone he will have no one to protect him. Please, I beg you, look after him for me."
Celestia and Luna looked at each other trying to read each other's thoughts. Luna nodded to her sister and Celestia nodded back.
"Very well, we have heard your wish. We shall do our absolute best to look after him." Celestia's words eased Theodora's suffering beyond measure.
"It's strange, having to trust you, but I no longer have a choice... do I?" She then took off her pendant. "Give this to him when he's old enough to understand." Luna took her pendant. It was shaped as an eight pointed star. Luna knew the eight-pointed star motif could only symbolise the Northern Star. "Thank you, you put a mother's heart to rest. I can sleep easy now." And with her final words, Theodora closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep for the last time. Princess Luna lit her horn and casted a spell over the sleeping human.
"Luna...?" Twilight began.
"We gave her a dream spell,” Luna preemptively answered. “In her last moments she will experience the most wonderful dream she will ever know. We do this to ponies who die in their sleep to help send their spirit off. You would not know about it… it is not something we enjoy speaking of."
"I think it's time we should leave,” Shining armor spoke, turning her back on the sleeping human. “Let her rest." He opened the door and trotted through, sneaking one last gaze at the human before departing.
The rest followed, leaving Theodora to pass away peacefully. None of them saw the human smile.
Glimpse of The Road Ahead
June 5th, 1057 of the 4th era, Canterlot Castle
The Aurora Borealis that took place—and the event that followed it—made it near impossible for anypony in the castle to get any sleep. Even worse was the two crying foals, whose wails and screams echoed in the minds of the castle staff even after the foals themselves had fallen asleep. As soon as Princess Celestia rose the morning sun, everypony was back in Cadence’s chambers, standing in a semicircle around her bed. The room was silent as everypony looked at each other, unsure of how to broach the topic of what occurred the night before. It was not until a hoof was heard knocking on the chamber doors that anypony spoke.
“You may enter,” Princess Celestia spoke, turning her head slightly as to address the pony behind the door.
The hinges squealed slightly as the door was pushed open by a royal guard, immediately bowing in turn to each of the Princesses.
“Your Majesties,” the guard addressed the princesses, “the mare has passed away.” Princess Celestia acknowledged the information with a nod, turning her gaze to meet Princess Luna’s. “What should we do with the body, your Majesties?”
“Have her cremated,” Princess Luna answered, not acknowledging the raised eyebrow that her sister was giving her, “and then have her ashes scattered on a flower bed.”
“As you wish.” The guard lifted himself back up and turned to leave before stopping. "There is another issue, your majesty,” he said, addressing Princess Celestia specifically. “Letters from the neighboring kingdoms have arrived, they are requesting an explanation of last night's event. Also the diplomat from Griffonia has returned and is requesting an audience with you about last night.”
"Letters have arrived already?” Celestia exclaimed, rubbing at her head with a hoof. “Did any of the letters mention anything about… strange creatures?"
"We've looked over the letters, and they don't mention anything regarding aforementioned ‘strange creatures,’ your majesty."
"I see.” Princess Celestia quietly hummed to herself, thinking for a moment. “Tell the diplomat to wait for me in the throne room. I will join him shortly."
"As you wish." The guard bowed down one more time before he trotted out the room, closing the doors behind him.
“What a terrible mess this is,” Luna began, “how are we going to explain this to our subjects?”
Princess Twilight took a step forward, clearing her throat. "Wouldn't it be best if we just tell everypony the truth?"
"Twily," Shining Armor started, his face downcast. "I'm not sure if that's the best thing to do right now."
"What? But why? The ponies deserve to know."
"It would be best to wait until we understand enough about what has happened to try and explain it clearly to others." Shining Armor picked up Theodora’s sword in his magic and brought it to his face, his eyes examining the blade closely. “Remember what she said about her country being at war with ponies? We can’t risk telling the nation yet. You know the stigma against war in this nation. It might encourage some ‘hero’ to try and make contact. We can’t afford someone getting hurt… or worse.”
“But the last war was ages ago,” Twilight argued, “before any of us were even born. Surely things are different now. Maybe we can befriend these creatures, like we have with other races.”
“Twilight,” Cadence spoke up, coughing slightly to clear her throat. “Given what little we know, I think it would be best to wait until we have some answers. Then we can make a sound decision on what to do. Until then, making sure nopony knows anything true will keep everypony safer.”
Twilight took a deep breath, looking out the window as she tried to find a way to formulate her argument. She certainly did not enjoy keeping secrets, much less a secret that could lead to potential breakthroughs in science, medicine… all kinds of fields. However… she could see where her brother and sister-in-law were coming from.
“Do we have any records that predate the 3rd era?” Twilight asked.
“No,” Princess Celestia answered, “unfortunately most of the records that predate the 3rd era were lost to us during the Dracon-Equine War. Starswirl the Bearded was able to preserve most of the historical records of the 3rd era but... there was only so much he could preserve.”
Twilight sighed, before remembering something that could answer their questions about what predated the 3rd era. Something that she herself had used in the past…
“... Celestia?”
“Yes, Twilight?” Celestia spoke, raising an eyebrow.
“I don’t know why I hadn’t asked this earlier, but... is there a memory potion or ingredients to make a memory potion inside the castle?”
“You are referring to the memory potion that only responds to alicorn magic, correct?” Luna broke into the conversation, knowing exactly what conclusion Twilight was headed towards.
Twilight nodded. “Yes, that’s the one.” Princess Luna nodded, turning towards her older sister.
“Tia, is there one we could use? It could very well give us the answers we seek.”
Princess Celestia thought for a moment before smiling and nodding, turning towards the doors.
“Guards?” Celestia called, watching as the doors opened and the two guards who had been standing watch outside entered. They holstered their spears and bowed.
“Yes, your Majesties?” The guard on the right side spoke.
“I need one of you to fetch something for me,” Celestia ordered. “It is a purple colored potion in the Meadowbrook section of the Magic Wing. It should be on shelf three in Section C. You will need authorized clearance to obtain said potion, but as it is the only potion residing on shelf three, you should have no trouble finding it.” The Princess gestured to the guard on the left side. “Guard, please retrieve this potion at once.”
“I’ll be quick, your Majesty.” The guard on the left side bowed down and left to get the potion from the magic wing while the guard on the right side bowed and returned to his post outside the door. Ten minutes of nervous conversation passed until the guard returned with the potion carefully held in his saddlebags.
Princess Celestia took the potion with her magic, examining it before nodding at the guard. “Thank you, we will call upon you if we need anything else.” With her dismissal, the guard bowed down, opening the bedroom doors and returning to his post.
Everypony in the room took a look at the potion, Princess Twilight noticing that the vial looked quite similar to the one that she had obtained from Zecora. The only difference was that instead of the mouth and bottom being made of gold they were fashioned out of silver, emeralds taking the place of rubies on the neck of the vial. Celestia took a moment to concentrate as she began to channel dark magic in her horn, her eyes leaking black smoke as the contents of the potion turned from a grape like purple to a milky white. When the potion was completely white, Celestia cut the flow of magic from her horn then rubbed her temple, taking a few deep breaths.
“Are you alright, Sister?” Luna asked, placing her hoof on her sibling’s back.
“I'm fine,” Celestia breathed, blinking. “Just a little lightheaded. Is everypony ready?” The occupants of the room all nodded before Princess Celestia turned to Shining Armor. “I am sorry, General Armor, but the potion will not affect you as you are not an Alicorn.”
Shining Armor looked downcast before shrugging. Princess Celestia went first, lifting the vial to her lips and taking a couple gulps. The potion had no taste save for a slightly strange aftertaste, not too different from distilled water. Celestia passed the vile to Princess Luna, coughing a few times to help the liquid down her throat. Luna passed it to Princess Cadence, and Cadence passed it to Princess Twilight. Once Twilight had finished drinking, the vial only had enough liquid inside for two more uses of the potion. For a moment, everything was silent.
“... Is that it?” Princess Cadence asked, blinking. “I don’t feel anything.”
“Give it some time to kick in, this potion takes a li-”
Before Twilight could finish her sentence, the eyes of all four Princesses glowed white and they stopped moving.
“Oh wow...” Shining Armor said as he looked at each of their eyes, “Twily? Cadence? … your Majesties?”
His words fell upon deaf ears, as the Princesses were all in a deep trance that nothing could break until the potion wore off. Shining could do nothing but wait and wonder as to what the Princesses were seeing.
The princesses found themselves in a large white room. They took a moment to collect themselves, blinking as they looked around at the rows of columns on the far sides of the room. Large vases and statues stood in between them. A large, open ceiling hovered above the centerpiece of the room; a large, multi-tiered fountain complete with a surrounding flower garden. Water spewed from the top of an obelisk funnel, cascading down multiple levels before being collected on the lowest tier. The rest of the room was relatively sparse; chairs, rugs, recliners and fruit bowls were scattered around the space in simple patterns.
"Where are we?" Princess Cadence asked, the first of the Princesses to break the light silence.
"We are not sure," Princess Luna spoke, taking another look around the room. "This place looks as if it is the home of a very wealthy pony.” Her eyes settled back on Princess Celestia, who was still looking around the room with a bewildered expression. “Does anything look familiar to you, sister?"
“No... but take a look at the statues.”
All four pairs of eyes settled on the sculptures on the sides of the room, noticing that none of them were of mares and stallions, but rather a collection of different humans males and females. Each one was scantily clad in different suggestive positions.
“How interesting,” Princess Cadence thought, peering closely at one of the closest statues. “I don’t think I have seen statues that show off both the stallionhood and the marehood so... obviously.” Cadence trotted closer, inspecting the statue and the strange features on the sculpted humans’ bodies. “I wonder what humans think about love and lovemaking.” She examined the statues for another minute before turned to the rest of the princesses, who had wandered off amongst the recliners and rugs. “I wonder who’s the human that lives in this home.”
“Welcome home, Dominus.”
Cadence’s question was answered by the voice of a young mare. All four Princesses whirled around and gazed towards the far side of the room. “And good evening to you Praetor.”
Cadence saw three figures emerge from the outside, moving into the room. To her surprise, the mare speaking was actually a mare, not a human. The mare was wearing a gray tunic over her ivory coat, and a scarf white cloth that covered her black mane. Her cutie mark was a large hairbrush, but at closer inspection Cadence noticed a strange mark next to the hairbrush; a laurel wreath with the letter ‘K’ inside.
“What could that mean?” Princess Cadence wondered to herself, taking a step back.
The two humans, on the other hoof, were wearing white tunics with gold trim and red togas. The first stallion had nearly immaculate white skin, brown eyes, and a short cut brown mane. The other also had white skin but instead had blue eyes, a short cut black mane, and a short beard.
“What’s with their manes?” Princess Twilight thought. “Why is it so short?”
“Is there anything I can get for you, Dominus?” The mare asked the first stallion, smiling.
“No,” the human replied, smiling down at the mare, “but thank you, Ivory Brush. Just give the Praetor and I some privacy, if you would be so kind.”
“Of course.” Ivory Brush lowered her head and bowed before leaving the room. Once she was out of earshot, the second human spoke as the two of them moved towards the center of the room, taking seats on two inward-facing sofas.
“You give your slaves to much freedom and treat them too kindly, little brother.” The human threw a backwards glance towards the door. “Especially her, your pony servant.”
“Ivory Brush has not given me cause to whip her,” the stallion spoke, shaking his head. “She’s been a perfectly fine servant to my wife and I.”
“Slave!?” Princess Cadence shouted, “Was that mark on that pony a brand mark?!” Cadence galloped across the room towards the door, seeing Ivory Brush trotting down a white hallway. As she was walking away, Cadence inspected the mark from a much closer distance, finding that it was indeed a slave brand. “Oh, sweet Equestria...” Cadence whipped her head around with a scowl on her face, directing it towards the two humans in the room who were now deep in conversation. She could see that the other Princesses were listening to their conversation with varying levels of interest.
Princess Cadence hated slavery, of course, what pony didn’t? But Cadence’s hatred for slavery was much more personal ever since she had taken over the role of Princess of the Crystal Empire. The pain and humiliation her subjects had to endure under the rule of King Sombra made her swear that nothing like that would ever happen to the Crystal Ponies ever again.
As the Princesses continued to watch the the two humans the second stallion spoke up again.
“Well, Alexander? Will he join our cause?” The princesses ears perked up at the name that was spoken.
“Alexander?” Luna exclaimed, “Is that not that the stallion the mare Theodora was in wedlock with?”
Princess Twilight nodded, “Yes, it is.” She answered, taking in the room with new eyes. “This must be where they lived.”
“Is he with us?” The second stallion asked again, much slower than before. Alexander paused for a moment.
“No,” Alexander spoke, refusing to meet the other’s eyes. “He will not betray his father. He is against us I’m afraid.”
“And yet, you allow him to live.”
“I promised him that he would be reunited with his family.”
“Is that so?” The second stallion put his hand on Alexander's shoulder, smiling softly. “Well, little brother, I hope your friendship with Prince Astrum does not beget your destruction in the war that is now upon us.”
The two sisters looked at each other, bewildered at the new information they had overheard.
“Father…” Celestia thought to herself, “why did you never tell us anything about this? Did mother know? What else were you hiding from Luna and me?”
“Your sentiments are appreciated, Marcus.” Alexander replied.
“Without his help, then we must stick to our original plan to save the empire.” Marcus stood and moved towards a fruit basket, picking up an orange and beginning to peel the skin off. “With Dido taken, Polaris has lost her major trade port. Cosmos and rest of the Alicorn lords will now most likely head East, to Ramesses.” Marcus grabbed an orange slice then placed it in his mouth.
“Where is this place?” Twilight Sparkle thought, “I have never heard of these cities before.”
“A natural target,” Alexander explained. “Ramesses holds three fifths of the wheat grain supplies. If they cut off the grain the people will starve, and then there will be riots.”
“Exactly, the Senate is pissing themselves at the thought of it, and the Emperor will do anything to keep the Polarian mob from burning his palace to the ground. Which is why they will come to us...”
“Eighteen legions to divide—”
“Equally…” Marcus cut in, seeing Alexander nod.
“Between all three of us.”
“This could be our best opportunity yet, little brother, there’s nothing like a good war to make a lot of money. Won’t do our family's reputation any harm either. All we have to do is kill Cosmos and the Alicorn lords, then you and I shall become Consuls within a year, and our eldest brother David the Pontifex Maximus.” Marcus took another orange slice and ate it. “We will finally be able to fulfil our father’s last wish; our family name taking over Polaris.”
“Easier said than done, brother,” Alexander critiqued. “I heard that the Alicorn lord of the pegasi, Troposphere, sunk five quinquereme all by himself when Dido was taken. And you know that the Senate will resist us at every turn, you know how they get when their power is threatened.”
“So what? The Senate is nothing but collection of strutting fools and old women. We 'Kaisars are the only true Polarians. We saved Humanity, We drove out the Shades, We made the Empire! The family deserves respect for that; respect and obedience. We know what is best for Polaris: new lands, living space, territories, slaves! We know what must be done. The Alicorns… they look down on their perfumed noses at all humans, and they hate us. We’re going to give them a reason for hate, when we’ve crushed them. Polarian steel, that’s the answer; Polarian steel, in the 'Kaisar fist. And the other ‘great’ Polarian families... The Wei’s; trash! They have no respect for proper Polarian ways, for us! The Bluetooths prostitute themselves. As if the other aristocrats mattered… Bah! We 'Kaisars, must lead Polaris.”
Marcus continued to pace around the room, Alexander watching from his seat in complete fascination.
“But first we must kill those Alicorn profligates. Taking them all at once would be suicide, but if we divide and conquer, killing them one at a time then we have a chance...” Marcus spit a seed out his mouth and into the fountain, “Our eldest brother David wants you to take care of Troposphere while I kill Tectonic and he deals with Hydrosphere. When that’s done, Cosmos will have to choose between fleeing or dying, and the people will cheer our names and give our family their undying support once more.”
“Troposphere, Tectonic, Hydrosphere?” asked Princess Twilight, “Who are those ponies?”
“This is the first we are hearing of these names.” Luna answered, “Our father did not talk about our grandfather’s reign as king, or about the leaders of the the three tribes of that time.”
“How old was he then?”
“We remember our father saying he was more than two hundred years during the final years of our grandfather's reign.”
Marcus swallowed another orange slice, “How is your wife holding up by the way? Dido is the city she grew up in, I would imagine that she’s fairly shaken up right now.” He continued to pace around the room, circling Alexander’s chair.
"She is concerned for her friends and family back home; ever since she heard the news she's been having trouble sleeping. I'm not sure how she will react when I take command of one third of the eighteen legions tomorrow at the forum."
"Alexander, how old are you?" Marcus changed the subject.
"I will be turning twenty-nine by the end of this month. You know that, you’re my brother. Why do you ask?"
"And how long have you been married to Theodora?"
"More than six years…?"
"I am concerned about the current status of your marriage. I'm concerned that your wife has yet to bear you an heir to your household."
"Yes, it is true. We have been trying to conceive a child ever since we've been married. So far we have no luck, despite our efforts."
"Alexander my dear little brother, has ever occurred to you that your wife may be infertile?" Alexander narrowed his eyes at his brother, fidgeting in his seat. "It will do our family no good if she does not produce any sons to keep our family name running. We are the last living men in our family, do you want the 'Kaisar family to die out?"
“What are you getting at Marcus?” Marcus walked up and placed his hand on his brother’s shoulder, angling his head downwards to address Alexander.
“You know my mistress has always fancied you. I could let you take her as a second wife for you to have your-”
“Stop,” Alexander said, lifting his head higher and flicking his brother’s hand away from his shoulder. “I will not betray my wife a second time. I suggest you drop this topic.”
“A slave owner and a cheater, you are certainly making a good impression on me.” Cadence thought sarcastically to herself, scrunching her face in disgust.
“If it pleases you, Alexander, I only wanted to help my little brother.” Marcus turned around and started to walk away. He walked a few feet before stopping and turning to face Alexander, “I must take my leave now. I will see you at assembly tomorrow.” Marcus began to leave the room, talking more to himself than his brother. “These degenerate ponies will regret stepping foot on Eden, when we’ve crucified them all…” And with those final words, Marcus turned the corner, disappearing from view.
“Eden?” Twilight Sparkle thought, “No that’s impossible, no pony can live in such a wild environment...”
Alexander closed his eyes, sighing deeply. "How long were you there?" he asked to the room.
"The whole time..." A mare’s voice spoke.
"Come here, please."
From the far corner a mare stepped out from hiding and the ponies instantly recognized her as Theodora. She was wearing a green dress and her long, wavy mane was loose, falling far past her shoulders. She walked towards Alexander and sat down beside him, head hung low and tears on her cheeks.
Alexander gently grabbed her by the chin and lifted her head to meet her eyes, "Don't let his words get to you,” he softly spoke, shaking his head. “You have enough on your mind worrying about your family. So please don’t cry."
“That’s not why I’m crying,” Theodora sputtered, clinging closer to her husband.
“Oh,” Alexander thought for a moment, “you are upset that I will be leaving you to go fight again.”
She shook her head again. “No, that’s not why either.”
Alexander was confused. “Why then?” Theodora grabbed his hand placed it on her belly.
“I’m with child.”
“What…?” Alexander froze in place, before staring back into his wife’s eyes. “Are you certain?”
Theodora nodded, forcing herself to smile. Alexander gazed into her eyes a moment more before pulling her into a loving embrace.
Cadence looked at the couple and smiled. While she did not like the two male humans she had seen—Alexander and Marcus—she could not help but be happy for Theodora. She reminded her of the day she herself learned she was with foal. The overwhelming joy and happiness that came from it. As she looked at the couple a thought came across her mind. "Maybe having another foal would not be so bad. Maybe it could be a filly next time..."
Princess Luna stole a glance towards her older sister, noticing a forlorn expression plaguing her countenance. She wanted to ask what was troubling Celestia, but it didn’t feel like the right time to ask.
As soon as Alexander and Theodora pulled away from each other the room began to glow bright, signifying the end of the vision.
The Princesses awoke from their trance, still in the same place they were before. Princess Twilight shook for a moment on unsteady hooves before righting herself, shaking her head slightly to reinforce her center of balance.
“You're back!” Shining Armor exclaimed, “I was wondering when you’d come back. Did you find anything?”
“Yes, we… certainly did.” Twilight trotted to a nearby bookcase and reached out her magic, pulling out an Atlas of the world. She put the book down on the bed in front of Princess Cadence, opening to a page that had a complete map of the known world. “Okay,” she began, “so here is Equestria.” Twilight pointed to the landmass that everypony was familiar with, then traced her hoof Eastward on the map, “and here are all the lands East of it.”
“There is nothing but a bunch of deserted islands that stretch out for miles until you reach the Komodobbean islands,” Shining Armor stated. “Past that are the lands that belong to the Minotaurs, Cyclopses, and Satyrs. But none of their letters said anything related to ‘strange creatures.’”
“That’s because that continent is not the home of the strange creatures, nor are they on any island in the Komodobbean…” Twilight traced her hoof towards a collection of three continents, all packed closely together. “This is where they are.”
Shining Armor looked at her little sister in disbelief, “No... that’s impossible… There’s no way any Pony, Griffin, Minotaur or even Zebra for that matter to survive there! Let alone a nation!”
The landmasses Twilight pointed to was a place nopony had ever dared to go, the forsaken continents of Eden. The three continents contained all of the known biomes of the world, all in different regions. The Northernmost continent contained grasslands and hills in the South while sporting tundra, forests, and mountains in the North. The Southernmost content contained seemingly endless stretches of desert and badlands with the exception of grassland near a number of rivers that ran along the landscape in the North, as well as plains and rainforests in the South. The Easternmost continent contained a mix of both contents excluding the plains.
Eden is place known for being identical to the Everfree Forest in regards to having animals and plants flourish in the wild and where weather manifested itself without the intervention from sapient beings such as ponies. The only difference between Eden and the Everfree is that Eden is on the continental scale, making the animals and plants much more wild, and the weather much more dangerous. As a result, visiting Eden is strictly forbidden for all races, for it’s said that all who go there never return.
“It makes sense if no one has seen anything else besides the Aurora from last night,” said Twilight. “All the humans are in the one place that nopony wants to be in.”
“It’s still too early to tell,” Shining Armor argued, “maybe no one has seen a human yet or perhaps the letters have not arrived yet.”
“That would be unlikely,” Twilight retorted, “we have to assume that their population is the millions just like every other race. Somepony somewhere should have noticed by now. And you know how fast a letter covered in dragon powder can arrive to it’s destination.”
Shining Armor did not want to believe that any sane pony would dare call such accursed lands home. But it would certainly explain why there were no sightings of humans anywhere else in the world.
Shining Armor scrunched his face in thought. “What kind of race could carve out a nation in a place that they have no control over?” The General glanced at the short sword again. “How dangerous can they be in fight? I must run a test on this weapon.”
“Guards!” Shining Armor called towards the doors.
The doors opened again as the same two guards for before stood ready, quickly bowing to the Princesses before returning their attention to the General.
“Yes, General?” one of the guards asked.
“I need to borrow your helmet.”
“Excuse me, sir?” The guard asked, cocking his head to the side.
“Just give your helmet to me.” As ordered the guard took off his helmet and gave it to Shining.
Shining Armor took the bronze helmet and placed it on a nearby table. He then took the short sword in his right hoof and angled the blade for a downward slash on the helmet.
“Shining? What are you doing...?” his wife asked him, however he ignored her.
Shining Armor then—with all of his strength—slashed the helmet with a downward slash making everypony flinch from the noise of metal on metal. He lifted up his hoof again and slashed it twice more. When he was done he placed the sword to the side, picking up the helmet to inspect the damage made by the alien weapon. What he saw made him gasp in awe of the weapon and cringe from the pain it could induce.
The helmet had taken incredible damage, a large imprint ran across the helmet penetrating and denting the metal, rendering it unusable. Shining Armor took a look at the blade and found that it suffered little to no damage, still holding an incredibly sharp edge.
“Incredible...” Shining Armor was stunned by this craftsmanship. Never in his military career had he seen such weapon.
“General,” Princess Celestia called out to Shining Armor, “can you explain what just happened?”
Shining Armor looked at the princess then put the blade down next to the helmet.
“This sword is unlike any weapon I’ve seen before,” he explained. “The metal must be stronger than the metals we use for our own arms and armor.”
“What is this metal?” Twilight asked, walking beside her older brother. “Is it on table of elements?”
“I’m not sure,” Shining lost himself in thought for a moment as he inspected the weapon. “But I have heard of a unique form of iron that is harder and more sturdier than regular iron. A famous Minotaur smith used this special iron and created weapons just like this one here. When he died, he unfortunately took all of his secrets with him, but he had a name for this special iron. He called it steel.”
“Are you saying that that weapon is made from this ‘steel’ metal?” Princess Celestia asked.
“I think so, and I hope I’m wrong about this but—given what I’ve seen so far—it might be that human technology is far superior to our own. As the stallion in charge of protecting this nation, I must inform you that we must proceed with caution, should we have a hostile encounter with them.”
Princess Celestia took a mental note in the back of her mind, “Thank you for your imput general. I will remember what you said.”
“Sister,” Princess Luna spoke, gaining the attention of the room, “we need to decide what we plan on doing given this new information.”
“Little sister, I think you already know what the decision is.” Princess Celestia turned her back on the others, walking towards the open window and gazing towards the castle courtyards. “Everything that has happened must remain secret. All who know the truth of what happened must swear an oath of silence to keep this a secret.”
All the occupants save for Luna looked at Celestia.
“How could that be your decision...?” Shining Armor asked, taken aback. “We must let the other races know this. We must renew our defensive pact with King Haliaeetus of Griffonia to protect Equestria from this potential threat! There is no reason why this should be kept a secret, Your Majesty!”
Celestia gave out a deep sigh, “There is a reason general...”
“What could it possibly be?”
“The foal...” Luna spoke softly, her eyes widening as she understood her sister’s position.
“The foal…? The human foal?”
“Yes… Luna and I made a promise to a dying mother that we would look after and protect her child. As the two ruling princesses of Equestria, our word is our bond, We dare not break it.”
“I don’t see how the foal changes anything.”
“If we let the other races know of this race’s existence, then it would be a matter of time before the human foal is discovered as well… And then what? Everypony would try to take him away, especially the magic guilds who would experiment on him like some rat. I will not risk this foal’s life, not when I swore to protect him.”
“I can’t believe this. You want to risk the safety of Equestria, your subjects, for the safety of a foal whose race more than likely killed thousands of ponies!”
“That blood is not on his hooves, General. This is my decision on this matter, and you will follow it.”
Shining Armor paused for a moment, thinking on his commander’s words. “Fine,” he relented. “I will obey your command, but this is a mistake Princess.”
“I understand your frustration General. I wish there was a way to keep my promise while protecting my subjects.”
“What are you going to do now, Princess?” Twilight asked.
“I’m going to meet with the diplomat and create a convincing cover story, and then… well... we will have to see what happens next.”
“Um… excuse me princesses?” Two young maids stumbled into the chamber, bowing clumsily before standing up again.
“Yes, what is it?” Celestia asked.
“The two foals are hungry and need to be fed, but we don’t have any milk to feed them with. Princess Cadence, can you nurse the foals so they can stop crying?”
Cadence blushed slightly, “Um… I am not sure if I am ready to wet nurse yet...”
“Your Highness please!” She begged, “None of the staff members got any sleep, and the crying foals aren’t making it better!”
“Isn’t there any formula?” Cadence’s eyes shifted around the room, seeing none of her fellow Princesses come to her rescue.
“No, there is no other way to feed them Your Highness.”
“But, but my milk is… sour.” The mother still attempted to worm her way out as the castle staff approached.
“What are you talking about? Your milk is sweeter than honey. I’ve tasted it myself.” Shining Armor cursed himself as soon as the words came out, slapping a hoof onto his forehead as he swore under his breath.
Cadence face was now red as beet as the rest of the Princesses looked at them. Twilight in particular had stunned look on her face.
“I had no idea you two were into that… Thanks for putting that in my head...” Twilight thought as she shivered at image that was now in her head.
“Why do you have such a fat mouth?!” Cadence screamed in her head.
“Still enjoy warm milk, eh, General?” Princess Celestia said with a mischievous grin on her face.
Now trying to hide the burning red on his face, Shining Armor turned his head away from everypony else.
“Oh... alright then...” Cadence finally caved in, “Bring them to me.”
“Oh thank you princess! This means the world to all of us. We’ll will bring the foals right now.”
The maid when off to get the two foals, it took no more than five minutes but the maid returned holding Corinthian with another maid behind her holding Nicholas. The two maids trotted to Cadence’s bedside and gave the two foals to her. Cadence took both foals in each fore leg and took a looked at them. First, she looked at her own son, Corinthian, then at looked at the human foal, Nicholas. At a closer look at Nicholas he had a light olive skin color, hazel eyes, and a brown mane. He also had a birthmark on the backside of his right shoulder.
Cadence took in a deep breath, “Ok, here goes.” Cadence lowered the two foals so their mouths were near her teats. A few seconds passed until the foals latched on and began to suckle on Cadence’s milk. Cadence slightly winched at the new sensation.
“I believe it is time for me to go meet with the diplomat.” Princess Celestia said, “Luna, do you want to come with me?”
Luna turned to her older sister, “We are afraid not big sister, this night was long and we feel that we need to retire to our chambers now and get some rest.”
“Very well then, I shall see you later in the afternoon little sister.” With that, Princess Celestia left the bedroom and headed to the throne room to meet with the diplomat.
Celestia headed to the throne room where the diplomat was waiting. She made it to the doors of the throne room, then the two guards that stood by opened the large doors and the princess trotted inside where she saw four gryphons in the center of the room. Two were bodyguards to protect the diplomat, they were wearing boiled leather armor and had talon gauntlets made of iron and leather, weapons worn on the griffon’s front legs. They also had razor wings, thin blades that stack on top of each other that run down the length of their wings, a common weapon used by nearly all winged races. The griffon next to the diplomat was wearing a saddle bag that hanged on top of his back. The diplomat’s entire body was black, save his beak which was yellow and some his feathers at the tips of his wings that were white. Lastly his eyes were pale yellow.
Over the years Griffonia and Equestria have been fateful friends and allies thanks to Griffonia's current leader, King Haliaeetus the wise. King Haliaeetus was the first gryphon king in over four hundred years to make deals with Princess Celestia and Equestria after Griffonstone's defeat in The War of Fallen Feathers. The defeat marked the beginning of the end for Griffonstone and eventually the nation split into many gryphon kingdoms. Haliaeetus meet with Princess Celestia at the age of fifteen in the year 1013 of the 4th era to end longstanding hostilities between Griffonia and Equestria. When Celestia first met Haliaeetus, she was thoroughly impressed with the young stallion, and two became fast friends. When he was at the age of consent, the two monarchs began to have a more intimate relationship with one another, he even asked for her hoof in marriage at one point, but like all of her other lovers that came before him he too was turned down. As the years went on the two individuals have maintained their close relationship with one another to complement the strong alliance between the two kingdoms. Haliaeetus was in such good terms with Celestia that he would believe anything she told him for he had absolute trust in her.
As the diplomat took notice of the princess, he walked up to her and greeted her with bow.
“Greetings to you,” he greeted, “goddess of the sun and ruler of Equestria.”
“Greetings to you as well, Prince Ictinaetus.” Celestia returned the greeting. “It’s good to see you again.”
Prince Ictinaetus stood back up, “I do not want to drag this on for very long so I will get to the point. My father asked me via express mail to ask what was it that caused the Aurora Borealis from last night. That’s if you know that is.”
“Straight to the point, just like your father.” Celestia thought as she trotted past the gryphons and made her way to the throne. “I do know what caused the Aurora Borealis.”
“That’s great to hear.” Ictinaetus turned to the gryphon with the saddle bag, “Make a note of this for my father.”
The gryphon opened the saddle bag and took out parchment, ink, quill, and a small stand for him to write on.
“The Aurora was made by me and my sister, Princess Luna.” Celestia lied to the gryphon.
“Really?” Ictinaetus widened his eyes as the scribe began to write down the information, “May I ask why?”
“As you may have heard, my niece Princess Cadence has given birth to a son, the future prince of the Crystal Empire.”
“Yes I have heard, My father does not know this yet, but allow me to congratulate your niece on his behalf.”
“That is most kind of you, thank you. Now when he was born, me and my sister used our magic to create the Aurora to celebrate the occasion.”
“Forgive me for being blunt Princess, but is that not a bit excessive?”
“We were originally going to have the Aurora be small, however my niece’s son was born a month early before his due date. So the Aurora me and my sister planned ended up being bigger than we originally wanted it to be”
“So there is nothing that should concern my father or our kingdom then?”
“No, The Kingdom of Griffonia has nothing to worry about.”
“Thank Aquila, my father was very worried when he saw that. Something about a ten year war in our old mythology books.” The diplomat turned to the scribe, “Did you get all of that down?”
“Yes, your Highness,” he answered, “would you like to send the letter right away?”
“Yes, I would like my father to know that nothing is wrong so he can stop worrying.”
The scribe folded up the letter then grabbed two small containers from his saddle bag. He grabbed the first container and poured hot red wax onto the letter then used a stamp on the hot wax to imprint the Griffonia royal seal. When that was done he grabbed the second container and covered the letter with a substance known as dragon’s powder on the letter . Dragon’s powder being a substance that when poured on to parchment then burned, can be sent anywhere in the world, however the substance is very expensive and can only be afforded by the wealthy elite. Finally the scribe grabbed a match, lit the match, and burned the letter. The letter burned green till it was ashes, the ashes flew away to it’s destination where the gryphon king would receive it.
“Well now that’s all cleared up, it is now time for me to return home.” Ictinaetus bowed down to Princess Celestia one last time, “I will look forward to seeing you again in a few months at my father’s sixtieth birthday.”
“Till then, and I will make sure that Cloudsdale sends some rain clouds to help with Griffonia’s drought.”
“Thank you again Princess, till I see you again in August.”
The gryphons left the throne room and would soon leave Canterlot altogether. The lie was set to protect the human foal, and Celestia could only wonder what the future had in store.
Author's Note
Thanks to all of you guys who have liked and commented on this story so far, especially those who gave out constructive criticism.
