In Praise of Twilight

Chapters

Spike's Journey
Gibraltar's Story
Interlude - Into Darkness
Cadance's Story
Shining Gets A Visitor
Shining Armor's Story
Afterward: Roleplaying
The Little Filly That Could (Fidelitas' Story)

Spike's Journey

Dear Princess Celestia,
Although I have yet to learn something about friendship this week, I am writing anyways as I have become aware the short term financial arrangements to support my time in Ponyville will soon come to an end. I am sending Spike alone back to Canterlot temporarily in order to facilitate negotiations with the Finance Minister for a longer term support. I'm sure you would hate having my friendship lessons be cut short over a simple matter like money, and hope you can persuade that tightwad Finance Minister to extend the monetary support for a longer term.
- Your faithful student Twilight Sparkle

It was such little Spike the Dragon found himself on the overnight train to Canterlot, alone and silently nursing his anxieties in a train car. He both liked and hated the loneliness - liked because it gave him a break from the chores Twilight would constantly give him as well as the curious stares of other ponies in Ponyville. The residents of Ponyville still hadn't quite gotten used to the sight of a "baby" dragon living among them, and honestly even with what little Spike knew about his kind at the time he couldn't blame them.

It also worried him that he got those same curious, and often hostile, stares from the other train riders, and he was sure if it wasn't for the "royal correspondence" badge Twilight had given him before leaving he would not have made it onto the train at all. Spike often didn't have much alone time, but here it certainly focused his mind of being a young dragon living among ponies.

On the one side, he knew he was naturally hatched with abilities that would make many a pony jealous - scale armor, extremely sharp claws and teeth and fiery breath. On the other side, all those natural "weapons", plus the then-vague awareness of his true draconic nature and the perception as being nothing more than a glorified servant or pet of Twilight that just happened to be able to talk, seemed to balance if not outright overshadow the "radicalness" (to use a term he'd heard from Rainbow Dash once) of those abilities.

That ambivalence about his existence and purpose always became amplified whenever he was alone, hence why he hated being alone. Even when he understood why he was being left alone, as when Twilight went with the five other ponies she now called friends to find the Elements of Harmony, it still irked and upset him, even if he didn't show it at the time. He felt he deserved the respect a dragon should have, despite his young age and relative lack of power compared to a full-grown dragon.

Oddly though, he found some comfort in looking at what was now called "the untainted moon", referencing the official position that the moon had been "tainted" by Luna's exile over the past one thousand years. Propaganda spin? Yes, but certainly there was at least a grain of truth to it - Spike certainly didn't think Princess Luna would argue with it.

Why did it comfort him? Perhaps because it was who he was - he certainly took pride in being the "number one assistant" of the pony who'd unlocked the power of the Elements of Harmony to save Equestria. It was a cheap source of comfort, but it comforted him nonetheless. And slowly, under the moonlight and the rhythms of the train traveling in the night, he drifted off to sleep...

When Spike awoke, it was well into the morning and the train had already arrived in Canterlot, forcing him to hurry as fast as his short legs could carry him off the train and to the castle, all the while drawing stares that added to his unease. By the time he neared the castle gates, Celestia's sun had already climbed fairly high in the sky.

The first obstacle was the gate guards - Spike was vaguely aware that the guards may not recognize him because of the turnover that had occurred following Luna's arrival in Canterlot. Nevertheless, the showing of the message addressed to Princess Celestia was enough to get him past that pair of guards and into the castle proper. Whatever ease Spike picked up by clearing this first obstacle went away when he discovered that most of the once-familiar hallways had changed as a result of the reorganization following Luna's arrival as well, leaving him to make guesses as to where to go next.

He dare not ask for help, considering all the confused, surprised and sometimes hostile stares he was getting from passers-by. By the time he finally finds his way to where Celestia is currently in a meeting with some members of her Royal Ministers, he is quite frustrated and muttering under his breath about why Twilight couldn't have just have him send the message the "normal way".

Spike requests entrance to the chamber from the two pegasus guards posted in front of the door, hoping against hope he would be recognized. They simply exchange looks, and one of them says "The princess shall not be disturbed while in the meeting."

"But I have a message for her!" the exasperated dragon shouts out, holding up the scroll with the message and unrolling it so that it could be read by the guards.

Like before, the guards exchange strange looks before replying. This time, however, the answer Spike got was "We can't admit you without consulting the Lieutenant Captain first. Please wait here."

Spike lets out a low growl of frustration as one of the guards leaves to go to the Lieutenant Captain's office, resisting the urge to just barge his way into the room to deliver the message...

A FEW MINUTES LATER...

"What? How did it even get in here?! Send it right back where it came from!" Lieutenant Captain Aten rages in his office after getting the report of Spike attempting to get into Celestia's meeting.

"But sir, it has a message for Princess Celestia!" the pegasus guard objects.

"I don't care what message it has for who, the rules are very clear Guard! No dragons are allowed in Canterlot! Eject it from the premises immediately, and summon the Lieutenant over the gate guards here to my office." Aten continues ranting.

"Yes sir." the pegasus guard answers, but as he turns to leave he comes face to face with Captain Gibraltar, who had overhead what was going on from his office across the hall.

"What's all this about dragons I'm hearing?" Captain Gibraltar asks, giving a very serious glare at the pegasus guard.

"There's a small purple dragon that has a message for Princess Celestia, sir." the guard replies with a salute.

Gibraltar pauses for a moment of thought - to him, it had to be Spike making the delivery, because what other dragon could it logically be? But what was he doing here himself when his usual "delivery system" seemed to be doing the job just fine? He would have to get answers from Celestia herself afterward.

"Guard, tell your partner to let the dragon in." Gibraltar orders, much to the guard's subsequent confusion.

"Sir, you can't be serious! The rules from the city's founding have prohibited..." Aten starts objecting from behind the guard.

"It's probably Spike, Aten, and Spike has long been the exception to the rule. His assignment to Ponyville with Twilight Sparkle has not changed that status, however much you may would like to think otherwise." Gibraltar counters with an indignant tone, looking past the guard into Aten's office and at Aten's annoyed expression.

"Sir, he's still a walking, talking safety hazard!" Aten objects again.

"That's enough Aten. I'm countermanding your order. Guard, let the dragon in to talk with Princess Celestia."

The guard looks back and forth between the irritated Aten and the stern Captain Gibraltar before nodding at Gibraltar and heading away back to his partner. After that, Gibraltar walks into Aten's office, past a display of "replica ceremonial weapons", and stopped in front of Aten's desk.

"Sir, with all due respect I must protest your decision. The original agreement allowing Spike to stay in the castle ended when he was reassigned to Ponyville. He's no longer an exception, sir." Aten says to Gibraltar, refusing to be intimidated by the Captain's presence.

"I want none of your guff, Aten. I know that you, and many other of my subordinates for that matter, have never been comfortable with his presence here. But Celestia has him in her service for very good reasons, and I'll tell you a story about that so that you won't have any more excuses if something like this happens in the future. Understood?" Gibraltar firmly replies.

"Oh goodie, storytime..." Aten thinks to himself as he rolls his eyes, realizing he was not going to get much more work done this shift...

Gibraltar's Story

"Now listen up Aten, this took place back when you were still just one of many pegasi in the lower ranks... 6 years ago now, I think it was." Captain of the Guard Gibraltar says to Lieutenant Captain Aten as the two sit in the former's office.

"Yes sir." Aten replies, resisting the urge to roll his eyes.

From time to time, Aten would find himself drawn into what he called "storytime", which he was sure was a codeword for "a reason why Twilight Sparkle and anypony related to her were the best ponies EVAR!" Not only did this go against his general worldview in principle, he felt it was insulting to his intelligence and competence to be "lectured" in that manner, no manner how many times he was subjected to it.

This time would be doubly bad because it would have Twilight Sparkle as a cute, eager young filly and her big brother as the very model of a young officer in the Royal Guard. Whatever the truth actually was Aten didn't really care - if it made him gag from sweetness, he wanted nothing to do with it...

6 YEARS AGO...

"You nervous?" Gibraltar was asked by the pony he was replacing, the previous Captain of the Guard in Canterlot who had hit mandatory retirement age and thus had been forced to resign his post, as the two traveled to a meeting with Princess Celestia - what would be Gibraltar's first with the sun princess.

"Not so much nervous as trying to deal with a bunch of new stuff. The only other time I've ever been in Canterlot was Academy, and that was many years ago." Gibraltar replies as frankly as possible.

The other Captain chuckles before replying: "It is different here than in the field. You can serve with honor at every point of the compass in the field, as you've done, and you still won't be prepared for serving in Canterlot. It's a slower pace here - mostly just policing the city and castle."

"I'll be honest, that sounds much better for an old stallion like me than long, dirty patrols in desolate wilderness." Gibraltar says.

"That's probably why you're following the long tradition of honored Captains spending the last years of their careers here. Nice and quiet, and you even get a cushy office! Nothing like that in the field, that's for sure!"

"With my sore and worn joints, I'll be glad for a cushy office chair instead of a hard sack at the end of the day!"

The two Captains share a chuckle as they approach the office of Princess Celestia, only stopping and assuming a serious expression again when they stop in front of the office doors.

"The Princess has been expecting you." one of the guards in front of the doors says to the pair of Captains. The doors are slowly pulled open by the unicorn magic of the guards, and the two Captains slowly step into the office of the sun princess...

Out of so many "new things", what Gibraltar saw in Celestia's office surprised him most of all. He was expecting it to be as sumptuous as the throne room, but instead it looked rather like the office of a business executive - albeit one with a more historical taste, judging from the historical artifacts mounted on the walls.

Shortly afterward was the first image Gibraltar ever saw of the living, breathing princess of the sun, also looking rather like the overworked and worn-out executive as she shuffled papers with bright yellow magic across her desk. He was certain his staff record was among them, so he stood as straight as he could manage as he and the other Captain stopped in front of Celestia's desk.

Looking up from her work, Celestia flashed a glimmering but too-brief smile indicating an obvious long day. Like all other Equestrians that had opportunity to meet their ruler, Gibraltar was awestruck and filled with questions, but military protocol dictated he remain stone silent. He also found himself attracted to her in a manner he was sure was inappropriate, and hoping against hope his mate would understand...

"At ease, gentlestallions." Celestia says to the two Captains, and as he shifted to the at-ease pose Gibraltar found to his mortification he was attracted to even the voice of the princess. He was an old and married stallion, he shouldn't be feeling these things!

"As you two are well aware," Celestia begins to explain in a manner consistent with a military briefing, "Captain Castile here has reached mandatory retirement age and I have chosen Captain Gibraltar of the Western Field Command to replace him as Captain of the Guard in Canterlot. I trust Castile has been rigorously detailed in his explanations of how things work around here, Captain Gibraltar?"

"Yes, Your Majesty." Gibraltar answers, nerves not permitting him to say anything more.

"Now, as is traditional for every new Captain of the Guard in Canterlot, you are permitted to ask one question of me. Do not rush, take your time." Celestia continues with another tired smile.

Captain Castile looks over at Gibraltar as the latter shows a surprised expression - clearly the latter had not been expecting this to happen, and it would take a few moments for Gibraltar to compose a question.

Gibraltar sweats for a moment as he tries to compose a simple, and hopefully good, question to ask the sun princess. Finally, he manages to push it out before his nerves cause him to swallow or stammer it out: "What do you consider the most valuable thing in your kingdom?"

Celestia gives a thoughtful look at the question, then smiles - with more energy than before - and gives a bit of a nod to Gibraltar as she slowly rises from her position.

"Follow me, Captain, and I will show you your answer." was all the princess said, speaking in a tone of cryptic knowledge that Gibraltar would eventually become all too familiar with...

Thus began what Gibraltar would later call the "most bizarre tour of his life", as he slowly followed a princess who seemed determined to cover every section in Canterlot Castle in no particular hurry. As time went on, Gibraltar became more and more confused as well as convinced the princess was deliberately leading him on a circuitous path between places - as Gibraltar would eventually learn, it was unusual for "Princess Celestia" and "straightforward" to be in the same sentence.

Even years later, Gibraltar remembered crystal clearly some parts of the tour. First, they traveled through the royal zoo and aviary, passing incredible birds and creatures - including the phoenix Philomenia in all her bright plumage majesty - that Celestia admired in passing, but did not stop in front of all. In fact, her golden shod hooves never stopped moving the whole trip, which added to Gibraltar's confusion and unease.

Next, they passed the Royal Treasury, showing gold bits and bars of precious metals stacked high as well as artifacts of ancient history, some predating the founding of Equestria itself. There was also the "Luna Vault", the impromptu museum which held many of the birthday gifts that had accumulated during Luna's exile, as if Celestia herself still treated "Nightmare Moon" as something more than a legend. Again, Celestia admired in passing but did not stop.

Gibraltar followed Princess Celestia past the Canterlot Guard barracks, where hundreds of stallions worked in faithful service to her. They were representatives of patriotism to the utmost, the most visible arm of an army that would've fought and died in her name had she asked them to, even though Gibraltar already knew she hated war. Celestia admired the stallions arrayed in rank but did not stop.

Gibraltar followed the sun princess past the Royal Kitchens, the smells of the greatest chefs of Equestria at work tickling his nose and adding to the surrealism he was experiencing. He caught a glimpse of a towering cake several ponies were working on, then a glimpse of Celestia smiling at their work. But her hooves did not stop in their tracks and soon he was out of range of those hunger-inducing smells.

After several more minutes of seemingly-aimless wandering, Gibraltar began to wonder exactly what point Celestia was trying to make to him, and at first he thought that the point was that she treated everything in her kingdom was equally valuable. But as he tried to figure out how to initiate a conversation with the princess without looking rude, he was surprised to hear the clear, refreshing laughter of a little filly at play.

More sounds of play entered Gibraltar's ears as he followed Celestia onto a balcony overlooking a little courtyard. It was only once on the balcony looking on the courtyard that her hooves stopped moving, and she gestured to Gibraltar to look down over the balcony. He gives a very confused sidelong glance at the princess, who acknowledges his uncertainty by nodding and gesturing to look down again.

Gibraltar moves to the edge of the balcony and propped forehooves on the railing. He looks down to see the source of the laughter he previously heard: a young unicorn filly with a bright purple coat, being held up and swung around in a circle by a stallion of a pure white coat standing on his hind legs. The stallion wore a uniform of a guard with the rank pin of an Upper Class Guard - Gibraltar thought he had seen this stallion in the arrayed ranks at the transfer ceremony an hour or two earlier. The stallion gets dizzy and stumbles down onto his back, both he and the filly laughing with great mirth as they lay on the grass.

Both the stallion and filly roll over and look up at Princess Cadance - the only pony Gibraltar knew about at this point of those down in the courtyard - chuckling and shaking her head at the antics of the two unicorns. Beside Cadance was a small purple shape that shocked Gibraltar completely - he had seen a picture of a baby dragon in an Academy guidebook long ago, but an actual dragon in Canterlot, even a baby one...?!

Gibraltar's expression mixes shock and confusion as he looks back at a gently smiling Celestia. The sun princess lets out a small chuckle in response - she must've anticipated his confusion.

"There are many things I value highly in this kingdom, but those four down there are who I value most of all." Celestia begins explains in a soothing, almost maternal tone to Gibraltar. "They are the ones chosen. There is great power yet untapped in all of them, most of all in the filly. One day, they will save this kingdom, yes even the baby dragon will be a hero."

"But... I can't imagine keeping a baby dragon in the castle would be... safe, Your Majesty." Gibraltar rambles out, unable to contain his confusion any longer.

"The dragon has a purpose in the future. He is still a little too young yet, but one day he will have a part to play. That is why he is here, and why they are all here now, so that they may play their part."

"Their part in what?"

At this question, Celestia looks at Gibraltar very somberly, with almost a haunted look in her face. When she does answer the question, it's a very low and serious voice: "We all have our own terrors that need to be faced. Mine will need to be faced in your lifetime and maybe in your service time here, Captain. That is why they are here, and why they are not to be disturbed. You understand, Captain? Perfectly clear?"

"Yes, Your Majesty." Gibraltar replies, giving a very somber salute as he speaks.

BACK IN THE PRESENT DAY...

"Sir, I've heard all those stories about Twilight Sparkle and her brother being 'chosen ones' a thousand times before." Aten says to Gibraltar after the latter finishes his story, clearly (and somewhat uncouthly) making a big show of trying to stifle a yawn. "Tell me something I don't already know."

"The only thing you need to know, Lieutenant Captain, is that the dragon is not to be disturbed while here. Now come, we'll see how he's doing." Gibraltar replies as he rises from behind his desk and moves to leave the office.

"Right now? But sir, I have paperwork to do yet before the shift's over!" Aten objects, hoping that excuse would get him out of the situation he'd found himself in.

"Yes, right now. You're coming with me, and that's an order!" Gibraltar answers, cutting off any hope of easy escape for Aten.

Aten hurries to catch up to the already-moving Captain, and an unseen snarl briefly crosses his face. The paperwork excuse was legitimate, but mostly it was that Aten did not like being treated like a cadet needing to be corrected. His conceit of being deliberately "counter-cultural" was blinding him to the truth, and as long as his conceit remained so would his blindness...

Interlude - Into Darkness

Lieutenant Amarna looks up from his typing work in Lieutenant Captain Aten's office as the latter stomps into the office, his face smouldering with indignation as he moved to perform necessary paperwork behind his desk. This sight was nothing new for the Lieutenant, a pegasus chosen as Aten's secretary when Aten was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Captain, but a quick glance at the clock in the office suggests a cause for Aten's grumpy mood.

"Another lecture, sir?" Amarna suggests casually, resuming his typing on the hoof-powered device.

"Yes, and now I'm very behind on paperwork for the afternoon shift." Aten grumbles out. "I trust you've been keeping busy while I was out?"

"Yes sir."

"Good stallion. I promise you one day you will be richly rewarded for your faithfulness. They will pay, soon all of them will pay."

Aten did his work in an office decorated with replica weapons. Most of the replicas were from pre-unification pegasus tribes as well as a few from the early days of Equestria, when the army reflected the "raw glory" of the pegasi and had not yet been "neutered" by unicorn and earth pony influences. A disturbingly blood-red variant of the pegasi tribe banner hung over the wall behind the desk where he shuffled paperwork and conjured up schemes under the snout of the Captain of the Guard.

Aten styled himself a "spiritual reincarnation" of a pegasus war tribe leader, but most of that was bluster and lies of his own making, supported by a small group of pegasi "yes-stallions" that were really no more than glorified thugs. Their sole purpose was to enforce his "affirmative action" policy of equal numbers between pegasi and unicorns, although interestingly earth ponies were completely factored out of the equation of calculating proportions of ponies in the shift. (Aten excused this apparent hypocrisy by saying it was "impossible due to low enrollment to enforce a true affirmative action policy which includes earth ponies", but his opponents simply argued it was because Aten hated earth ponies even more than unicorns.)

In the end, Aten's power and position depended not just on total adherence to the "ideals" he championed, but the tribal sense within and between pegasi members of the Royal Guard. The half-dozen or so pegasi Lieutenants could draw in the support of lower ranks because those Lieutenants could promise loyalty and future reward to those lower ranks if they placed higher allegiance to a fellow "winged one" over a "horned one" (i.e. a unicorn), and in turn these lower ranks were disgruntled enough to keep the unicorn officers - particularly the ones in the morning shift - from trying to get Aten replaced.

Aten was also convinced that because of the supposed "zero-sum game of popularity" within the Royal Guard, the only way his command would survive, and his dream of being Captain of the Guard to come true, would be to get rid of Shining Armor. It was common knowledge among the Canterlot Guard that Shining Armor was Princess Celestia's "anointed successor" to Captain Gibraltar as well as likely future consort to Princess Cadance, and his assignment to lead in Princess Luna's recovery and reintegration only encouraged this belief to be strengthened and spread.

Luna's arrival in Canterlot indirectly produced an alarming number of "defectors" from Aten's support base, most of them either because of assignment to the Shining Armor-commanded night shift or the opinion that not supporting Luna's recovery was one step removed from treason. Aten's paranoia-addled mind instead suspected a conspiracy against him, somehow and some way, and he would tell wild yarns to anypony that was willing to listen.

Most of all though, he had faith that the Agents of Chaos, despite all their setbacks, would still succeed in their master plan to revive "the chaotic one". It was everything they were working for, because nothing else would matter once that goal was accomplished. "The chaotic one" would end the reign of the alicorns and Aten would be free to become a real war leader, not just play a pretense of one in a castle...

A snarl and growl passes his lips as Aten finds in his paperwork another setback to his ambitions. Captain Gibraltar had just denied a selection to fill an important vacancy in his shift, which would surely be interpreted as him starting to lose control over events. And it made Aten mad as a bull, indicated by the snorting noises he made behind his desk.

The incident with Star Dancer had resulted in the forced demotion and transfer of Ventas, one of the few unicorn supporters of Aten's vision of equality, to the night shift, producing a critical hole in Aten's ranks of Lieutenants. His public stance on "equal numbers" and suspected antipathy to unicorns demanded another unicorn be commissioned or transferred to replace Ventas, but Gibraltar had denied Aten's choice of replacement. Instead, he recommended Lieutenant Troilus as the replacement for Ventas.

Lieutenant Troilus was a morning shift unicorn, but precisely the last unicorn Aten wanted to have fill Ventas' slot. Before that year's Summer Sun Celebration, Troilus was a marginal figure on the morning shift, at least partly due to his race, and Aten usually didn't have much trouble with him. That changed when Troilus and his squad were assigned to that ill-fated Summer Sun Celebration where "Nightmare Moon" returned, and Aten subsequently suspended Troilus from active duty while a "performance review" was undertaken.

Ultimately, Troilus was cleared of any wrongdoing by the "performance review", but this took a few weeks to get through (and it was suspected that Aten had stonewalled the process as much as he could) and after he was cleared Aten marked him as "reserve", meaning he was intended to fill-in as a last-minute backup for anypony else that went AWOL for some reason. Although this act in and of itself was perfectly within Aten's right to do, it also prevented Troilus from being transferred to another shift to be put back on active duty - and Aten's critics thought that fact was precisely why Troilus was put straight into reserve instead of back onto active duty.

Not surprisingly, this treatment brought a good number of calls among the unicorn component of the Royal Guard for Troilus to be immediately put back onto active duty, all of which were hampered by the fact that Aten had kept the letter (if probably not the spirit) of the Guard's code of conduct in putting him in reserve and that Gibraltar would set a very bad precedent by simply overriding his choice. Gibraltar was now forcing the issue though because of the vacancy, which made any ponies in "reserve" the recommended (but not required) choice to fill the gaps.

Aten didn't see it that way, though. He felt the Captain was pushing him into further weakening his inner circle by activating a unicorn Lieutenant that had become quite popular with his fellow unicorns. If Aten approved this choice, he would be seen as "caving" to popular demand, further weakening his position. Denying the choice and trying to find another unicorn instead would not improve the situation, as any other choice would almost certainly be subject to the same treatment as the previous one, only adding to the frustration and costing time and resources in the process. Aten was being forced into approving Troilus, and he did not like it one little bit.

Aten redoubled his anger as he stamped his approval of Troilus' appointment and continued on to finish his paperwork. He liked the anger within him, and he would let it grow inside of him because it made him feel like the superior being he wanted above all else to be. The magic of friendship refused to move him - he would not be saved by it, but instead swallowed by destruction.

Aten said no words during his work, but snorting and fuming indicated his bad mood plenty well enough. Lieutenant Amarna was glad Aten was not interrupted during this time, or an explosion of anger would've been guaranteed. Only Aten rising from his chair allowed any kind of relief to enter the room.

"Lieutenant?" Aten asks of his secretary, who looks back at the Lieutenant Captain when he hears the question.

"Yes sir?" Amarna replies quietly, well aware of Aten's bad mood.

"If anypony comes by, tell them I'm in my quarters and will be there the rest of the day." Aten commands.

"Yes sir." Amarna replies again.

Satisfied, Aten now turns and heads towards a door in his office marked for maintenance use only. Amarna is not moved by this seemingly strange behavior, and only looks up again when Aten closes the maintenance door behind him. For you see, Amarna was well aware of the dark secret concealed behind that innocuous door, a secret linked to the great enemy within of the Canterlot Guard...

Cadance's Story

"Goodness, what's Spike doing here? And you look like you've just been through a war, Aunt Celly!"

"I'll explain on the way, Cadance, don't worry."

Guards clear out of the way and give proper salutes as Princesses Celestia and Cadance traverse through the hallways of Canterlot Castle, Spike behind them running on his short legs trying to keep up with the much larger equines.

"The Finance Minister really said that?" Cadance was asking of her aunt, who nods slowly in response.

"He seems to have it in his head that anything I have to negotiate with him is a backdoor toward augmenting the 'sweets budget'." Celestia wearily replies, giving a vaguely irritated look as she speaks. "Now that Luna is becoming as bad with 'junk food' as I am, he's unhappier and more intransigent than ever."

"Even for something as important as Twilight learning friendship?" Cadance asks again.

"Even for something that important." Celestia answers with another slow nod.

Cadance shakes her head sadly in response, and there is a brief moment of silence before Cadance speaks again: "There's a lot of ponies that don't understand how important Twilight is, even now!"

"They are blinded by their own conceits, and I fear that they always will be. Do you remember the day she became my apprentice, the day Spike was hatched?" Celestia returns to Cadance's comment.

"Of course I do. But is it a good idea for him to hear it?" Cadance asks, pointing back toward the young purple dragon still struggling to keep up with the two alicorns in front of him.

"I've never told him about it. And I don't think Twilight has either. He's old enough now, and he has right to hear it eventually. Go ahead Cadance." Celestia affirms with a weak smile.

"Alright, Aunt Celly. Spike, you listening?" Cadance turns back to ask the struggling Spike.

"Sure, just... slow down a little bit, OK?" Spike replies through panting in his struggles to keep up, a gesture which prompts a brief chuckle in the two princesses before the story begins in earnest...

Butterflies were in Cadance's stomach as she was rushed back to the castle in her royal carriage. Her afternoon had been interrupted by the disturbance of the event that would later be referred to as a "Sonic Rainboom", and then she received reports of a further disturbance at the Canterlot castle. Immediately she cut her plans short and had the carriage hasten her back to the castle at the full gallop of the pullers.

Part of the butterflies were from the fact that Cadance knew that Twilight was at the castle taking her entrance exam to Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns - even her influence could only go so far in trying to get her fillysitting subject into that prestigious school, and there was genuine worry Twilight would not be able to live up to the extraordinarily high standards set for entrance.

Cadance also felt it was partly her own fault for hyping Twilight up so much to her aunt. Although Twilight was far from her only fillysitting subject, it was the one she was most impressed with, although she feared that it was because his attraction to her older brother - who was currently in Guard Academy not far from the castle - was clouding her judgement.

There was also another factor - the spectre of Sunset Shimmer's abandonment that haunted both her and her aunt like ghosts. Twilight did not know and would not know for a long time about that previous failure, but it spurred Cadance into the fillysitting business in the first place, in hopes of finding a replacement. And just maybe, absolution for that failure...

As the carriage traveled through the city streets of Canterlot, Cadance could see the event had agitated the entire city - many ponies were busy chattering away, some others looked around with nerves and confusion, some even were excited - more ponies than the future Element Bearers had gotten their cutie marks either directly or indirectly from the event. Cadance also noticed that some ponies were pointing in the direction of the castle - not a good sign in her mind.

It was only as they got closer that Cadance could see why ponies were pointing at the castle - there were several pegasi workers looking around a huge hole in one of the castle towers! Whatever made it, it was big, but apparently not there now judging from the pegasi trying to take notes and measurements around it for purposes of repair.

"There, that tower. Take me as close as you can to it." Cadance orders through a voice that shakes slightly, pointing a hoof toward the castle tower with the hole in it.

The carriage quickly changes its course, the lurch adding to the unease in Cadance's stomach. The butterflies feeling intensifies, and her heart leaps into her throat. The only explanation she can think of for all the events that have unfolded is an intense burst of magical energy, but who did it? And how? And why?

All Cadance has is questions without answers as the carriage continues speeding on toward the castle, and revelations that would shape the future course of Cadance's life...

Once at the castle, Cadance abandons all pretense of princessly decorum - something that she generally only did during her fillysitting time - and speeds at full gallop to the tower where she saw the roof damage. Startled guards and servants, already agitated by the recent events, are further upset by Cadance speeding through, and Cadance has to profusely apologize for each pony she ends up running into, further frazzling her nerves.

By the time she arrives at the tower she saw damaged, her ability to process the events around her has been overwhelmed and all she can do is stare in lack of comprehension at the scene in front of her: Celestia talking with several other teachers in her school, a good number of other ponies (including Twilight Sparkle's parents) looking around and up to the damaged ceiling in stunned silence, and a very excited Twilight bouncing around her cadet-uniform-wearing big brother. The filly very quickly spots Cadance and goes galloping off to her while the junior alicorn princess is still trying to process the scene.

In her excitement, filly Twilight is talking rapidfire, bouncing up and down as she speaks: "CadanceCadanceCadanceI'msogladyoucame! It'ssoawesome! IgotinIgotincomeseecomeseecomesee!"

"Wait, Twilight, where are we going?! What's going on here?!" Cadance exclaims as she finds herself being pulled along by Twilight in her enthusiasm, and there are no more words as Cadance desperately tries to keep herself from tripping over her own hooves as she's pulled along by the eager young filly.

When the pulling finally stops, Cadance finds herself looking straight down into a hay-filled cart. Resting in the hay is a small purple creature that sucks on the end of its tail, looking back up at Cadance's confusion in much the same manner a newborn foal does.

Meanwhile, Twilight is going rapidfire in her speech again: "It'sababydragon! PrincessCelestiaisgoingtonamehimSpike! Isn'tthatagreatname?"

"Yeah, great name, Twilight..." Cadance weakly replies as she looks across the cart to its minder - the then-Guard Upper Class Cherry Fizzy - who just shrugs back in response to the look she gives him.

Cadance looks down into the cart again at the baby dragon, hoping this would provide some insight she hadn't gotten yet. Instead, she got filly noises and a chuckle showing sharp baby dragon teeth from the newborn Spike, the latter of which causes her to be startled again and recoil back away.

Before Cadance can recover from this surprise, Twilight starts in on the rapidfire speech again, although this time there was at least a space between the words: "He hatched from the test egg! I put all my might into trying to hatch the egg and I thought I wasn't going to do it but then there was this big BOOM outside and I lost my focus and lots of weird stuff happened after that, that's where the hole in the roof came from! Princess Celestia was able to calm everything down and she said I had lotsa magic power and that I was going to be her personal apprentice from now on! I got my cutie mark too, you can see it right there, can't you? Aren't you so excited for me, cause B.B.B.F.F. is and my parents are and everypony else is..."

"Yeah, real excited for you..." Cadance replies in a flatness that surprised her - she was so confused at this point, looking up and down and all around, that she lost track of whatever else Twilight was saying to her and was focusing all her brainpower on trying to figure out what in Canterlot was going on here...

Fortunately, the voice of Cadance's adoptive aunt sounds a clear call through the fog of confusion to Cadance's ears: "I'm so glad you could come so soon, Cadance. I need to talk to you in private for a minute."

"Hmm? Oh, yes, Aunt Celly, I'll be right over." Cadance slowly replies, hoping she would get help for her confusion-addled mind.

As soon as Cadance gets to beside the elder alicorn princess, the two travel side-by-side into a side room in order to converse more privately. Along the way, Cadance finds herself blushing for reasons she can't quite figure out - maybe it was because she hated Celestia having to explain things to her, and after all the unique challenges of her young alicornhood could she really be blamed for thinking that way?

When the two finally stop deep in the side room, door closed, Celestia chuckles at Cadance's continued puzzlement before speaking: "I'm not surprised you're confused. I still don't know yet what's fully going on, hopefully as more reports come in from the guards on patrol I can get a better picture myself of what's actually happened."

"Twilight was running off a mile a minute, something about her exam, a baby dragon... I can't remember the details..." Cadance replies, shaking her head vigorously as if it would help jar her brain into functioning properly.

"That filly hatched the dragon egg, Cadance. Her power is beyond any non-alicorn I've ever seen!" Celestia states in a tone mixing surprise and wonderment as a response to Cadance's confusion.

Celestia's statement cuts through the fog of confusion, but immediately she also suffers the intellectual equivalent of running into a brick wall, and the only response Cadance manages to get out is a very skeptical look back at her aunt.

"Cadance, I know you probably don't believe me, but I saw the explosion in the sky Twilight's talking about and how the hole in the ceiling was made. Your old fillysitting subject is telling the truth. Her raw power is greater than any unicorn I've ever seen before!" Celestia continues on with a gracious smile.

"Even more than Sunset Shimmer?" Cadance asks, and Celestia nods in response. Both of them had seen Sunset Shimmer try and fail multiple times to pass the test Twilight had just passed - in the last few months before her disappearance, it became an obsession point for Sunset, even though each attempt risked the life of the baby dragon inside.

"Your intuition was right, Cadance. She IS powerful, and her brother probably too. Today, I've found the replacement for the student that disappeared, but I still need your help with her." Celestia replies proudly, looking down at Cadance affectionate and putting a forehoof on one of Cadance's shoulders.

Cadance smiles back up at her aunt, and she finds her eyes misting up with pride and relief - relief unspoken over atoning for the failure of Sunset Shimmer, but relief nonetheless. Today would be a good day, indeed, but just the beginning of the journey.

"Twilight's going to stay here in the castle with me now, as my personal student. Your work with her is not done, Cadance. You must continue investing in her life as much as you can. You must also help with the newly-hatched dragon, even I do not properly know how to care for such a creature. Today is the start of a new phase in your journey, and you must be as strong and joyful as you have been before. You understand?" Celestia asks.

Cadance nods, although she does not fully understand what her aunt is speaking of. She generally assumes the "journey" is the one of growing up a princess, full of future promise and triumphs, but whenever Celestia used it in that context, she would drop unusually somber and serious...

BACK IN THE PRESENT...

"Geesh, all that fuss over my hatching day? Twilight never gave me any idea about that..." Spike says to interrupt the narrative, looking up confused. He is now beside Cadance, looking up at her and Celestia - during the storytelling, both of the alicorns maintained a slower pace to be sure Spike didn't fall out of earshot as they were speaking to him.

"No, she wouldn't have Spike. She didn't really know about it. I didn't know about it then either. Only Aunt Celly would've had a clue." Cadance gently explains to the young purple dragon beside her.

"Twilight's full understanding of the events will come in time." Celestia begins to explain to Spike. "At first, it was to replace the student that was lost to me. Then she was my hope - my hope that disaster could be averted, my hope that a thousand years of pain and loneliness could be ended, my hope that my sister could be restored to me. There is still work to do and plans for her yet, but already she has done immeasurable good to me, to my sister, and to this entire kingdom. And anypony that refuses to see it that way is blinded by their own conceits and vices - friendship will not sway them, so oblivion is their fate."

The last statement was meant more-or-less as a direct condemnation of any that did not fully appreciate what Twilight and her friends had done, as Lieutenant Captain Aten and his allies as well as the Agents of Chaos tended to do, and a warning that any who decided to continue on this path would be punished without mercy on the day of judgement for their crimes against Equestria...

Shining Gets A Visitor

"Fun fun fun until Daddy took the T-bird away, fun fun fun until Daddy took the T-bird away... Awoo! Awooooooooo!"

"Shining, did anypony ever tell you you're terribly off key?"

"You don't need to be on key to properly sing a Beach Colts song, Cadance. And I'm trying to enjoy my nice hot shower here!"

"Whatever, you have a visitor."

Princess Cadance and Spike the dragon stood in the doorway to the bathroom of Shining Armor's officer suite as steam came pouring out the open door. This, alongside the curtain drawn across the shower stall and sounds of spraying water, was indication of the stallion in question freshening up before his nightly duties.

It was not considered wholly improper for Cadance to let herself and Spike into Shining's suite. Officially, it was royal prerogative for a princess to visit a member of her guard, at any time and with or without stated reason - rumor was this was proclaimed to add to the healthy fear of the princesses or allow discrete affairs. In recent practice, this prerogative usually only applied to the seniormost officers, Cadance's visits to Shining being treated as a "grandfathered" acknowledgement of a relationship that pre-dated Shining's enrollment in the Royal Guard. There was great dislike of the princesses "dropping in", however, and several attempts to convince Celestia to abolish the practice that (unsurprisingly) went nowhere. As Lieutenant Captain Aten lead one of the attempts, the debate over the practice became caught up in the Guard's internal politics and was now a rather hot-button issue, particularly as Cadance had become less reluctant to exercise her option in visiting Shining.

Cadance was vaguely aware of the general distaste of her special visits to Shining, and her aunt Celestia had advised her to be as discrete about it as possible, but Cadance also knew word got around of a visit no matter what she did and she might as well play it to her advantage. More specifically, she found it very amusing how Aten would complain - and then very quickly get brushed off - about how Cadance "never visited him". It served her purposes - and those of her aunt - to get him riled up and ranting, as it weakened his position each time he did that.

What Cadance was not aware of, though, was that it was also storing up trouble in the future. Aten was determined to not back down on his rumor-spreading of Cadance starting out as a pegasus (only acknowledged to be true much later) or him determined to capture her as "a prize", which fueled his resentment and hatred of the current order...

"Visitor? Who?" Shining asks from inside the shower, magically levitating a bottle labeled "coat conditioner with bleach" behind the still-drawn shower curtain. As the conversation continues, the steam continues to pour out of the bathroom and the water continues spraying.

"Spike. Just Spike, though. He's here on business." Cadance replies.

"What, it couldn't be done through remote burning and barfing of messages?" Shining asks, the crude but humorous wording of Spike's usual method of doing business prompting a chuckle from Cadance and an indignant exclamation from the dragon in question.

"No, because it involves the Finance Minister." Cadance answers when the chuckle subsides.

"Oh, that explains things then. Stupid tightwad Finance Minister, no way sending messages back and forth would've worked..."

"Stallion's grumpier than ever, considering all the new expenses surrounding Aunt Luna..."

"Tell me about it! Just getting Luna the same Donut Joe-and-coffee service Celestia has was a big pain. Spike might look the part of the dragon, but I'm convinced that the Finance Minister has a dragon's spirit."

"I can't tell if that's supposed to be a complement or not." Spike comments cynically to Shining's comparison.

"Spike, be nice. You wanted to stay here overnight so that you didn't have to sleep on another stranger-filled train, remember?" Cadance points out.

"As far as I'm concerned, he can stay as long as he doesn't leave the room. He'll probably have to be heading out by the time I get back from my shift, correct little buddy?" Shining asks, the sounds of scrubbing behind his echoed speech.

"I promise. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!" Spike exclaims, repeating something he had recently learned from Pinkie Pie.

"... Why would you want to stick a cupcake in your eye, even if you broke a promise?" Shining asks in a confused tone, having not heard of the Pinkie Pie promise.

"It's a figure of speech! One of Twilight's new friends taught it to me." Spike exclaims again.

"Oh? Which one is it?"

"Pinkie Pie. She's an earth pony that helps at a bakery in Ponyville."

"Well that explains the cupcake... weren't there five other fillies that got the Elements along with Twily?"

"Yep. Pinkie Pie got Laughter, Applejack Honesty, Rainbow Dash Loyalty, Fluttershy Kindness and Rarity Generosity. I like Rarity best of all, she's so lovely..." Spike wistfully replies, looking up to the ceiling with a goofy smile on his face.

"You know what's wrong with him, Shining?" Cadance interrupts, looking down at Spike in confusion.

"Nuh-uh. You really ought to ask Twily that question. Last I heard, it was Moon Dancer that he was attracted to. I really hope Twily got the letter about her..." Shining answers, trailing off as he speaks.

"Anyway, while Spike and Aunt Celly were dealing with the Finance Minister, there were stories being told about Spike here in Canterlot." Cadance says in an attempt to change the subject.

"Oh? Did they include the day Spike was hatched?" Shining asks as a squeak is heard and the ambient sounds of water, as well as the clouds of steam, disappear.

"Yeah, but I only told my side. I don't know if Twily has given him the whole story..." Cadance answers in an uncertain tone.

"Well, there's two sides to everything. You wanna hear my side, little bud?" Shining asks Spike, whipping sounds heard as he performs a "fast-dry maneuver" (i.e. shaking water out of his coat and mane, the shaken-out water shielded by the curtain from spattering all over the place).

"Huh? Yeah yeah, because you got there before Cadance..." Spike replies absentmindedly while a white towel surrounded by magenta-colored magic floats over his head. The sight of the towel snaps him out of his absentmindedness, as he already had too many experiences of being yelled at for interrupting Twilight's shower no matter the reason for the interruption, and briefly thought he was back in Ponyville standing in the bathroom of Twilight's residence there.

The towel disappears behind the curtain, and a few seconds later the shower curtain is pulled back by the magenta-colored magic to reveal a still-wet Shining, wearing both a cheesy grin and the towel draped over his withers. Cadance starts chuckling at the sight, and Spike rolls his eyes - he's seen this "schtick" often enough that it's gotten quite old for him.

"Remember Shining, not everypony can pull off the wet look as well as you do." Cadance says affectionately, giving Shining a peck on a cheek afterward and causing Shining to blush a bit as a result.

"Can we move on?" Spike asks in annoyance, his eyes rolled upward as he is speaking.

"He's right. I still need to dry and dress, I'll tell you my side of the story while I'm doing that, OK Spike?" Shining asks in return.

"OK." Spike replies, perking up his attention for the story to come...

Shining Armor's Story

ON THE DAY OF THE SONIC RAINBOOM...

Cadet Shining Armor sighed as he looked out the window toward the gleaming castle of Canterlot. Crammed as he was into an uncomfortably small seat and with his teacher droning on and on about nothing in particular he cared much about, Shining could hardly be blamed for his attentions being focused elsewhere.

Today was the day his precious little sister, Twilight Sparkle, was taking the entrance exam to get into Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, the cream of the crop of schools for unicorns. A number of ancestors from both sides of his family had learned and taught at that school, and he probably would've followed that path himself had his talent not so obviously meant he was better placed to go into the Royal Guard. He had begged and pleaded with his teachers to be excused so that he could attend the entrance exam, even trying to call in a favor with Princess Celestia (the test's administrator) via Cadance to get an exemption, but all attempts had failed.

His parents certainly understood why he couldn't be there, and even Twily might be able to understand, but it didn't make him feel any better about the situation. Until he knew whether Twily got in or not (and Cadance had made it clear that Celestia would not pass her just because of him), he would be on pins and needles, completely distracted from the lesson of his droning teachers.

With his mind flitting here and there, it took the bright colors of the Sonic Rainboom spreading across the sky to snap him back to attention. He vaguely heard the buzz of some other students which were presumably looking in the same direction and had seen the Rainboom as well, as well as the drone of the teacher stopping, but what he saw next caused his heart to leap into his throat.

"DRAGON!" Shining shouted at the top of his lungs as soon as he saw the head of the temporarily-enlarged Spike sticking through one of the towers of the castle - he correctly reasoned that something that big could only have been a dragon - and, naturally assuming the worst, begins trying to rock out of the seat he had jammed himself into.

The details of the upset class and whatever words were said were lost in the rush of adrenaline Shining was experiencing as he continued rocking his seat back and forth. Eventually the seat toppled over, nearly knocking into another seat, and Shining pushed down on the desk with his forehooves to get his hind legs free. Once the legs were free, he was up and out the door before anypony could even get his attention.

The adrenaline kept Shining running at full gallop, speeding down hallways and sliding around corners. He frequently had to dodge to avoid headlong collisions and constantly was shouting back apologies to those he whizzed by, but he refused to let that deter him - the fact his family was near where the dragon had appeared. He later heard a rumor he was moving so fast he broke an Academy record for fastest travel between the Academy and Canterlot Castle, but of course nopony could verify the truth of that rumor.

Like Cadance, Shining noticed in fleeting glimpses the agitation the Sonic Rainboom had caused, although in his haste he didn't much appreciate it. To be fair though, he wouldn't have fully appreciated it then, and only later when Shining had been charged with leading Luna's rehabilitation did he begin to appreciate it and the reach of its effects rippling across Equestria...

Once at the castle proper, the second thoughts began to set in as he blew past guard after guard, not even bothering the pretense of apologizing. What would his teachers think? What would Celestia think? Could this behavior even be justified?

The only thing keeping him from stopping in his tracks and turning around shame-faced was the concern he felt for his family, the younger sister in particular, and the fact he'd already made too much of a spectacle to pretend to be able to deny it. He'd already picked up a bit of a reputation for not "doing things halfway", and he realized to his chagrin this would further add to that reputation.

He only allowed himself to stop and catch his breath when he arrived in the testing area, painfully aware of his unprofessional posture and rumpled cadet shirt as he looked around him. The sight of both his parents - seeming rather shellshocked at what had transpired from what he saw of their expressions - and a very excited Twilight put his mind at ease temporarily, but the next sight of Princess Celestia caused the worry to flare up again. What would she say or do?

Before he could do or say anything else, the angry tirades of several guards behind him burst forth. Basically, they were trying to order him taken away for being outside his classes without explanation, but before they can lay a hoof on him Celestia raises hers to stop them. Shining looks back and forth between Celestia and the confused guards.

"I know of this cadet." Celestia speaks to the guards firmly. "His actions are very understandable, if somewhat misguided, and he is not to be treated too harshly for it. If his drill sergeant comes around, tell him I will deal with it myself and meet with him later about it."

After Celestia finishes speaking, Shining looks back at the guards, who exchange what seem to be shrugging motions before backing away from the situation. Shining then turns his attention back to Celestia and reflexively gives a salute in her direction.

"At ease, Cadet. I already have guessed why you're here." Celestia replies with an amused smile, which is the cue for the filly Twilight to excitedly run up and bounce around her big brother.

"I got in B.B.B.F.F! I got in, and I got my cutie mark too!" Twilight exclaims excitedly, stopping for a moment to let Shining see the new mark on her flank.

"Well that's great Twily! Looks a bit like mine..." Shining comments, the first words he's able to get out while his mind is still trying to process the scene around him.

"The princess says she's never seen a unicorn like me before! I'm going to be her personal student! Isn't that great, big brother?!" Twilight continues exclaiming, the eagerness in her shining eyes undeniably powerful.

"Wow, really?" Shining asks down to his little sister, not quite believing what he was hearing.

"Yes indeed son, she's going to be here in Canterlot full time from now on learning from Princess Celestia." Shining's father, Night Light, answers in stead of his daughter, causing Shining to look up and over at his approaching parents.

"I just wish it didn't cause so much drama. I don't think I'll ever look at potted plants the same way again..." Twilight Velvet - Shining's mother - adds, her expression changing to a freaked-out briefly before resuming the excited smile she shared with her husband.

"Potted plants?" Shining asks back in confusion - as he had not witnessed the event for himself, it took some time before he learned the details of what had happened during his sister's moment of power incontinence that caused the hatching of Spike.

"Excuse me, but I need to speak with the cadet privately for a few moments." Celestia interrupts, drawing the attention of the entire family to her. The sun princess beckons Shining to follow her, and with great reluctance Shining begins to follow her.

"Just a minute Twily, the princess needs to talk to me about something first, OK?" Shining says to his sister, holding a smile briefly before turning back and showing his true uncertainty to Celestia...

It is only when Celestia and Shining are in semi-private that the former feels at ease to speak freely: "In a way, I'm glad you bolted from class. Cadance will probably be here any minute - her carriage has to come from the other side of the city - and I won't be able to say anything to you once she gets here..."

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty, I saw the dragon sticking out of the tower and I acted on..." Shining interrupts, but is stopped by Celestia placing a shod forehoof right on his mouth.

"You really have nothing to apologize for, Cadet." Celestia quietly replies. "That dragon came from an egg that was a test I set up for your sister. I'm still trying to get all the details, but she managed to hatch the egg and then magically grow the hatchling temporarily! That's unprecedented for a unicorn, let alone one of her age! That's why I am taking her on as my apprentice."

Celestia pauses to let the facts sink in for Shining, and he temporarily turns away to see Twilight and his parents around a small purple shape - the same color as the dragon he saw, but much smaller - that was the baby dragon soon to be named Spike. He then turns back to Celestia with an expression that shows even he is quite surprised by his younger sister's power.

"Cadance was quite right about her after all." Celestia comments, daring to show a smile to Shining.

Once again Shining looks back and forth between the sun princess and the rest of his family gathered around the newly-hatched dragon, and says something that surprises even him: "Make me a warrior."

When Celestia's look changes to one of confusion, the pleading emotions come pouring out of Shining: "Make me a warrior. That's my sister, my family there, and I love them. Make me a warrior so that I can protect what I love."

After Shining finishes his plea, Celestia's look changes to one of thoughtful consideration, then somberness, giving an impression of a storm cloud passing over the face of her sun in the sky. When she does answer, the tone is heavy and somber: "Yes, young stallion, you will be a warrior. But I fear you do not know what you are really asking..."

BACK IN THE PRESENT...

"She was talking about Luna. It was always with Luna front and center." Spike comments to break Shining's narrative.

"Definitely, Spike." Shining replies, putting the final adjustments on his uniform and armor. "Celestia had a lot of faith in Twily, even then."

"Twily had a part to play, and play it she did. Now Celestia has other plans for her, for us. And we have to do our best to fulfill those plans." Cadance adds in commentary, and several seconds of somber affirmation follow.

"Come on, Cadance and I gotta get going. Spike, you remember the castle rules? They'll apply in here." Shining says to break the silence.

"No fire breath without permission, avoid use of claws and teeth, sweep out any scales you see." Spike replies, "counting" on the claws of his arms to help remember the rules that had applied while he lived in Canterlot castle and for the most part still applied in Ponyville.

"Good. Make sure you get some sleep, Twily will understand why you had to stay a second night. Hopefully, Cadance and I will see ya before you have to head back to Ponyville in the morning."

"Don't worry, I will. I promise." Spike replies with a shy smile.

"See ya later then, little guy." Shining replies, giving a bit of a noogie to Spike in the same way he had with younger Twilight in the past - the greater durability of Spike's draconian body compensated for the extra squishing force applied.

"Bye!" Spike calls as he waves after the leaving Shining and Cadance. Shining closes the door to his officer's suite behind them, and once again Spike ends up alone with his thoughts.

And boy, what thoughts they were! There would be no shortage of excited conversation once he got back to Ponyville, that's for sure!

Afterward: Roleplaying

"Who knocks upon door?"

"The Lieutenant Captain, brightest star in the night, accompanied by the princess of the crystalline heart."

"... You have permission to open the door. We will be along in a minute."

Lieutenant Captain Shining Armor and Princess Cadance waited patiently at the door to Princess Luna's royal suite. The sun was still fully in the sky - it would be at least an hour yet before Celestia's time to set the sun - but all were already awake for a session of Oubliettes and Ogres.

Although the club was "officially" for LARPing (essentially treating it as a theater club under castle regulations, so that the paper-pushers that organized usage of castle space had an idea how to manage it properly), in practice most activity involved intense tabletop sessions of Oubliettes and Ogres which then used as the basis for a LARP "script" to be performed later. Despite attempts to get it shut down by Lieutenant Captain Aten (who publicly called it a "vanity project of Celestia's favorite"), most approved of the club's presence simply on the principle it was helping Luna.

And make no mistake, it was helpful to Luna, who now had a productive outlet for her natural dramatic streak and was helpful in strengthening and forging new friendships. This was counterbalanced by what Shining told his old gaming friends was "symptoms of early-stage munchkinism" present in Luna and her characters - the first facehoof-inducing sign being the obviousness (particularly to the experienced players, who had seen young Twilight act in a similar way before) of her having read the manuals cover-to-cover. Between dealing with Luna's budding munchkin tendencies and having to train the inexperienced players in the group, DM Shining Armor had his hooves full on game night, and often it seemed like an exercise in futility to even try to convince Luna of anything.

Still, the game went on, because it would've been worse to stop it. As Shining couldn't really do anything to curb Luna's "misbehavior", he felt he was only storing up trouble for later DMs (including his own sister, as it turned out) that he could do nothing beyond facehoofs and arguments to deal with...

"Well this is different. Usually I've had to look a different angle - you've gotten taller, Aunt Luna." Princess Cadance says when the primped Princess Luna stops near the door, the latter gently smiling at the other two.

"We take it as evidence of progress of our powers returning." Luna explains. "We still are not at our full height yet, and the coat has not deepened in coloration either, but it is certainly progress. Particularly in combination with the flow of our mane and tail."

"Well I'm sure the other members of the group will be eager to hear the news. Shall we?" Shining Armor comments.

"Indeed we shall." Luna affirms, and the three set off for the room where the game would be played...

"The guard that awoke us told us Spike is visiting here." Luna says to Shining Armor as the trio travels along.

"Yes, but we don't have time to arrange a meeting with him now. He took all morning with the Finance Minister and because of all the trouble he caused I've had him stay in my quarters over the night." Shining Armor replies.

"You mean the stubborn-as-a-mule Finance Minister. That's why Twilight couldn't just send messages back and forth from Ponyville." Cadance comments.

"Cadance, that's still not nice." Shining says, turning to Cadance as he speaks.

"I'm just repeating what Aunt Celly calls him." Cadance replies unapologetically, which provokes a sigh and eyeroll from Shining and a small chuckle from Luna.

"We certainly agree with sister about the stubbornness. Particularly as he dragged his hooves about financing the supply of such wonderful things as Neigh's potato chips and Nut-ella." Luna comments afterward.

"'New-tell-ah', Your Majesty." Shining Armor gently corrects - it seemed to have become a running gag that Luna would always mispronounce the extremely tasty spread of hazelnuts and chocolate, and at this point Shining had begun wondering if Luna was doing it on purpose to get a reaction out of him, in the same way Celestia and Cadance engaged in occasional metaphorical leg-pulling at his expense.

"'Tis not how it is spelled on the label." Luna replies in a flat literalism, meaning now it was Cadance's turn to chuckle at Shining's eyeroll.

"More seriously though, we can understand the dilemma of Twilight Sparkle and her young dragon companion. We had hoped to communicate with the young dragon to send a message back to Ponyville, but it appears that it will not be possible this time." Luna continues on, unable to hide the disappointment in her tone.

"You had really had hoped to talk with him?" Shining asks in response to the disappointed tone.

"Indeed. We... I had hoped to communicate my gratitude and hopes to Twilight in a more frank manner than would normally be possible." Luna answers, dropping quieter as she speaks.

Shining noticed the pronoun change dropping the royal we as well as the quieter tone and used those facts to carefully couch his next statement: "I don't doubt for a minute that one day she will at least visit in Canterlot, or you visit Ponyville, and at that time you will be able to communicate your gratitude and hopes unfiltered. Until then, we must abide by the plans Celestia has for us all, and hope we can fulfill them as best we could. Celestia has her reasons for keeping Twily there and you here, and we all have to trust she knows what she's doing."

Luna is quiet for a moment, then nods in acknowledgement. "You're right, you're very right, we all have to trust in my sister's plans and what she has in mind for the futures of us all. I've already suffered immensely for breaking harmony, I dare not disrupt my sister's plans." she acknowledges.

"That's a good idea for all of us. Now come on, we're all waiting for you in here." the voice of Lieutenant Aldebaran interrupts, the source being from a nearby doorway the Lieutenant peaks out from.

"Sorry Lieutenant, we got distracted." Shining Armor comments as he, Cadance and Luna make their way to the doorway. Aldebaran clears out of the way to let the other three pass through unimpeded.

Inside the room are the other members of the roleplaying group: Gaffer, 8-Bit and Buck Withers (all Guards Upper Class) as well as the previously-mentioned Lieutenant Aldebaran. Including Shining Armor as DM, Princess Luna and Princess Cadance as a recent addition to the club, that made a group of seven, which was about the practical upper limit for a game of this type. Instead of chairs, all would sit on specific cushions - the ones for the alicorn princesses were colored to match their coats, Shining's was purple colored (a traditional color for a DM in a group), and the rest were a variety of other colors.

The rest of the group was already arranged around the table, snacks and drinks placed conveniently nearby and the graph paper map with figurines as well as character sheets for the players already there deployed as well. Even with a big round table usually reserved for formal events to work with, it would end up quite crowded once play was going fully.

"I appreciate everypony showing up on time. We only have about 45 minutes before the night shift comes on duty, so we'll get started right away." Shining addresses to the crowd as he and the princesses with him take their positions. Shining puts up the privacy screen which had previously been placed face down on the table, and the princesses deploy their snacks, character sheets and figurines of their characters on the map.

There is a brief pause as Shining shuffles some items behind the DM screen, then he speaks from behind the screen: "We ended the last session with the end of the last turn, so we'll start the next turn now. Roll for initiative. Luna first, as usual."

"Thank you, Lieutenant Captain." Princess Luna replies, her face changing into an eager grin as she picks up the dice bag (rolling by dumping dice out of the bag was a standard anti-cheating-by-unicorn-magic measure), shakes it a bit and then dumps a pair of D10s on the table.

"HUZZAH, A NATURAL 20!" Luna exclaims, accompanied by a sudden gust of magically-generated wind. Her excitement was very quickly tempered by the realization that the gust of wind was strong enough to blow around everything on the table, spilling drinks and tipping over figurines in the process!

Luna blushes a deep red as a chorus of groans and eyerolls spreads across the table. As Shining adjusted his knocked-over DM screen, he very quickly realized that not much was going to get done this session...

MEANWHILE, IN THE CAVERNS BELOW CANTERLOT...

Agent Snake smiles down upon the seven pegasi arranged before him in the underground meeting room. Snake, in his usual cloak disguise, stood on the elevated section of the cave floor to address the other pegasi at attention before him. Most of these pegasi knew each other, or at least worked together. The flickering torchlight around the room gave the atmosphere of a grand plan being formed in secret, which was mostly a correct impression.

"Greetings fellow Agents." Snake began, pacing back and forth as he speaks. "A critical point in our operational history is in our near future, as Operation Whirlwind begins drawing closer. This operation must succeed, or the sacrifice of our fellow Agents will have been for nothing, and this organization will cease to exist. You have been called here because I trust you to lead important parts of this operation. Remember, our task is not to destroy the rule of the alicorns, but rather to resurrect the chaotic one that will accomplish that purpose instead. The spreading of chaos and destruction is paramount to the success of the mission."

The pegasi remain in rapt attention as Snake continues after a brief pause: "There are six facets to Operation Whirlwind, and you Agents will be redesignated with the facet you will be assigned to command. Agent 4, you will now be 'Animosity', against Twilight Sparkle's 'magic of friendship'. Agent 6, you will now be 'Treachery', against the Element of Loyalty. Agent 7, you will be 'Greed' against the Element of Generosity. Agent 9, you will be 'Deceit' against the Element of Honesty. Agent 10, you will be 'Cruelty' against the Element of Kindness. Agent 11, you will be 'Sadness' against the Element of Laughter. Acknowledge?"

The six Agents Snake had previously mentioned all give salutes, leaving only one - Agent WA aka Misty Fly - remaining standing still at attention. Snake makes a most evil smile under his cloak in response to the salutes - he was sure their real loyalty to the Agents of Chaos would be the means of achieving his goal of resurrecting the chaotic one.

"Information regarding details of Whirlwind must be trickled out slowly, Agents, for security reasons." Snake starts up again. "It is highly recommended you have a Plan B for your operation ready fullcloth to be executed at the appropriate sign. Understood?"

"Yes sir!" the saluting pegasi reply, the words echoing off the cavern walls.

"Good, you are all dismissed except for Agent WA. Keep your ears and eyes open for the sign and for the plans. Glory to the chaotic one!" Snake affirms, giving a raised-foreleg salute as he speaks.

"Glory to the chaotic one!" the other pegasi repeat in unison, also performing the same salute as Snake had done.

Misty Fly watches as the other pegasi around her begin to filter out of the room into the tunnels of the caverns below Canterlot. She turns her attention back to Agent Snake and notices he's gesturing her to follow him. She does so, the two only stopping in a little nook of the room.

"It's important you know about Whirlwind, Agent WA, but you will not be directly involved in it. Instead, I have other work for you." Snake explains.

"Oh? What is it?" Misty Fly asks.

"There are many disgruntled rejects from Wonderbolt Academy out there. Your objective is to find them and promise them they will have their revenge for the ending of their dreams by Captain Spitfire. They will be your Wonderbolts beside you, and you will be their Captain. You will use them, if they are willing, to destroy the Wonderbolts as they currently stand and rebirth them like a phoenix. Reborn, they will be freed of the outside corrupting influences and return to their origins as for displaying the glory of the pegasi race. You understand, Agent?" Snake tells to Misty Fly.

"Yes sir, I do." Misty Fly replies with a salute, taking his words at face value and not knowing of the lies hiding behind them.

"Good, you may go. Do not fail me, Agent." Snake says, keeping hidden motives tucked away.

For you see, Operation Whirlwind needed more than just loyal Agents. It needed an army, an army to cause the chaos he hoped would release the chaotic one to bring down the alicorns. And Misty Fly would be one way to build this army. As before, she would learn in due time his words to her were empty promises, and that she as well as Captain Spitfire were tools for the purpose of reviving the chaotic one.

As soon as everypony else was out of earshot, Snake lets slip a final, chilling line: "Not even the great Twilight Sparkle will be able to stop us!"

The Little Filly That Could (Fidelitas' Story)

"Man, look at them going at it! The Finance Minister seems to be more reluctant than usual to give Spike's request any serious consideration..."

"Well, sir, considering he suspects Princess Celestia's sponsorship of this year's National Dessert Championship is a backdoor excuse to fuel her habit of..."

"Aten, you know Celestia's dessert-eating is a topic that should not be discussed in public!"

"Captain, what other reason would he be so upset today?"

"Aten, shut up and watch. That is an order."

"... Yes sir."

Lieutenant Captain Aten rolls his eyes again, unseen by Captain Gibraltar, as he is forced by order to watch the argument between Princess Celestia and her Finance Minister, with Spike sitting between them in mortified silence, over how much of the budget can be afforded to pay for Twilight Sparkle's time in Ponyville learning about friendship. Apparently the Finance Minister, as usual for him, wanted to pinch bits while Celestia insisted on a certain pay level.

The Finance Minister had a love-hate relationship with his job. On the one hoof, he was one of the few ponies that could say "no" to Celestia and get away with it. On the other hoof, he had developed a bit-pinching paranoia about everything, particularly Princess Celestia and her rumored sweet-bingeing habit. The fact that Luna was rapidly also following her sister in this supposed bingeing did not help matters, and Gibraltar sensed Spike's request had turned into a proxy issue over the larger "sweets budget" problem.

Aten, being forced to watch the whole argument by order, really cared nothing for budgets - it was rumored he did not bother budgeting for his command and used backroom extortion to balance his books - and just wanted to be back in his office doing his paperwork. Sneaking a peak at the ticking clock, now with the morning shift drawing to a close, only made him even more irritated.

Relief from this professional purgatory came in a bittersweet voice Aten recognized as his afternoon shift replacement: "Captain? Is everything ready for transfer from the morning shift?"

Both Captain Gibraltar and Lieutenant Captain Aten turn to see Lieutenant Captain Fidelitas approaching, escorted by two Upper Class Guards. Gibraltar shows a slight degree of mortification, Aten a bittersweet relief.

"Sorry Fidelitas, we've gotten distracted. I should've told Lieutenant Biro to send you here." Gibraltar replies with undiluted honesty and a smirk on his face, pointing toward what was going on between Princess Celestia and the Finance Minister.

Fidelitas stops next to Gibraltar and Aten and looks in on the argument. After a brief moment, his eyebrows go up in surprise and he turns to face Gibraltar again.

"What's Spike doing back here in Canterlot?" Fidelitas asks, pointing in the direction of the young purple dragon. Spike himself, perhaps because of the distraction of the argument, does not seem to be aware of the officers watching him.

"Renegotiating the terms of Twilight Sparkle's financial support for staying in Ponyville, apparently. I guess Spike went by himself to make that kind of thing easier on all involved." Gibraltar explains in response.

"Does he need to be watching? I've got to get some reports from him..." Fidelitas asks again, pointing toward Aten as he speaks.

"Yes, I do have reports that I need to give Fidelitas before he can take over for the afternoon, so if you'll excuse me sirs..." Aten quickly replies, turning to leave with obvious relief on his face.

"I did not dismiss you yet, Aten. Sit back down." Gibraltar commands, stopping Aten before the latter had gotten more than a step or two away. The latter returns to his former position, his look changing to a sour glare.

"Something wrong, sir?" Fidelitas asks Gibraltar again after seeing Aten's sour expression.

"Aten here tried to use the old rule about dragons to get Spike tossed out of the castle. He's watching the meeting as punishment." Gibraltar explains again.

"Heh, I see Aten's dislike for him hasn't waned with absence. Not that I blame him, though. I remember almost doing the same thing first time I met Spike, during one of the early sparring sessions with Shining Armor..." Fidelitas comments through a chuckle.

"Oh great, Round 2 of storytime..." Aten thinks to himself, fuming internally as he realizes he's going to get another dose of "young Twilight propaganda"...

In the Canterlot training hall, two unicorns stallions were testing their strength in the castle training hall. It was sword against shield, spectacular sparks of magic energy flying out whenever the two spells clashed against each other. These sparks were accompanied by flashes of light and sounds of fizzling and crackling, rather like sparks of electricity humans would've recognized.

The "sword" was Fidelitas, then freshly promoted to leading the afternoon shift in the Canterlot Guard. The "shield" was a younger Shining Armor, then a Guard Upper Class having just been assigned to Fidelitas' new command from the night shift. Fidelitas had heard much of Shining Armor's strength - rumors were that only an alicorn could break his shield when he applied it at full power - and wanted to see the effort for himself. Shining had been challenged by other stallions before, but the difference was they weren't his new CO and Fidelitas was.

Unbeknownst to the two stallions, their sparring match was being witnessed. Princess Cadance, along with the young Twilight Sparkle and a Spike not much different from his hatching day, still burbling and sucking on the end of his tail. And sometimes, to the annoyance of everypony involved, burp up a fireball - usually aimed at the worst possible angle at the time it came up.

But Spike was well-behaved at that event, mostly sucking away at the end of his tail as he lay in a carriage that would normally be used for newborn foals. Filly Twilight Sparkle beside the carriage bounced up-and-down in eagerness in seeing her brother "at work", while Cadance was more restrained in her excitement - she was more curious about whether Shining could yet maintain his undefeated record in these informal duels of strength, partly a holdover from "duels of honor" that were performed in the pre-Equestrian times between two different stallions.

It was only during a lull in the action that the watchers made themselves known, through Cadance's hoofstomping applause and Twilight's excited bouncing. Both stallions, panting with exertion, found the flush of effort amplified by their embarrassment at being watched unawares. Both Cadance, using her magic to pull along the carriage with Spike sleeping inside it, and Twilight chuckled heartily at the blushing of the two stallions.

"Your Highness, I wish you had informed us you were watching, we would have put on a better show for you..." Fidelitas awkwardly tries to explain to Cadance.

"Lieutenant Captain, please. You two were entertaining enough, not like some stallions graced with four left hooves." Cadance replies with a practiced grace doubtless copied directly from Celestia.

"Unbeaten record, B.B.B.F.F.?" Twilight excitedly asks as she excitedly bounces over beside Shining Armor.

"Still unbeaten, Twily. He never broke it." Shining replies as he lays down to hug his much-beloved younger sister.

"Yes, I must say, harder than any stone I've ever come across. I think you would need to be an alicorn to break it." Fidelitas adds with a chuckle, looking in Twilight's direction as he's speaking.

"Cadance can make a shield too, she showed me once." Twilight proudly exclaims in response.

"Oh please, don't ask me to try to break an alicorn's magic shield. She probably could cut a horn clean off with that thing!" Fidelitas dismissively waves off with another chuckle, prompting both Shining Armor and Cadance to return nervously laughing in kind.

"I can make a shield too! I learned the spell from B.B.B.F.F. long ago, so I've had lots of practice with it. You wanna try to break it, sir?" Twilight asks with a bright eyed excitement on her face.

"Well, you are a filly of many talents, if all the rumors about you are true. But is it safe to be doing that?" Fidelitas asks with not unjustified concern.

"No more unsafe than keeping a baby dragon around the castle." Twilight points out in return, gesturing with a forehoof toward Spike in the carriage.

"That's true. Technically, he really shouldn't be here, against rules of both the city and the Royal Guard." Fidelitas carefully points out.

"Celestia has her own reasons for keeping Spike here, sir, even if she won't say what they are. And her will is..." Shining replies.

"Supreme over all others, yes I know. It is not necessary to keep reiterating that point, Shining." Fidelitas says with a smile, his expression making it clear he was not being too rough on the stallion that was technically his subordinate but was increasingly regarding as a friend.

"Good, now that that's out of the way, you wanna try? Pleeeease?" Twilight begs Fidelitas with the biggest puppy-dog eyes she can make.

"Well... Celestia doesn't have to know about it, right?" Fidelitas asks, looking over at Cadance.

"Not a word. I want to see her try, anyway." Cadance replies, using her unicorn magic to back the carriage to a safe distance. Meanwhile, Shining backs up beside her.

As soon as the others watching are at a safe distance, Twilight makes her most determined face and her horn glows a magenta color. An energy bubble of the same color quickly surrounds her, and she shifts to an almost cat-pounce posture, as if daring the stallion to do his worst. Fidelitas obligingly activates his own magic talent: a glowing silver beam of magical energy emanating from his horn, and prepares to test the strength of the filly's shield...

"I hate to interrupt this riveting story, but it's time for the shift change, sir." Aten says with an edge of sarcasm back in the present, pointing to a clock hanging on a nearby wall.

"Spoilsport! I didn't even get to the best part!" Fidelitas indignantly exclaims in response.

"Sadly Fidelitas, Aten is right." Captain Gibraltar points out, looking back and forth between the clock and the still on-going argument between Princess Celestia and her Finance Minister. Aten shoots a smug smile at Fidelitas, who responds with a very dirty look.

"Sir, permission to return to my office to finish paperwork?" Aten asks the Captain, Fidelitas continuing the dirty look as he speaks.

"Granted. Easy, Fidelitas, you can finish your story another time." Gibraltar replies, first to Aten and then to Fidelitas.

Aten can't resist shooting another smug look at finally getting free back at the other two officers, which again produce dirty looks. Turning around, he steps off back to his office, holding snout in the air in the manner of many Canterlot aristocrats. He didn't care how the story ended, or even if he ever learned how it did...