Culture Shock

by way_2_spooky_4_u

Rating: teen
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Death, Alternate Universe, Thunderlane, Main 6, Romance, Original Character, Cutie Mark Crusaders, Rumble, Violence, Profanity, Gore, Slice of Life
Length: 135112

Celestia comes to Twilight with a strange request: to help a social awkward and eccentric noblepony fit in with the rest of Equestria and to repair his damaged sense of sympathy.

While celebrating Ponyville's new found fortune, Twilight receives a letter from Princess Celestia. The noblepony that is to inherit control over the province where Ponyville resides is an eccentric pony with a severely hampered sense of sympathy. Celestia hopes that Twilight, her friends, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders can work together to help this misunderstood pony see the value in the average equine life. Though this task seems as easy as it is strange, the stakes quickly rise as other members of the Equestrian Nobility set their sights on Ponyville and the young lord's life.

Published 2016-05-18 04:20:01 UTC
Last updated 2018-09-27 11:42:34 UTC

Chapter 1: Call to Canterlot

“And so, the movement passes,” said Mayor Mare, announcing the Ponyville Town Council's decision on the topic at hoof. “On the 52nd of Spring, Lord Noblesse Oblige: heir to the Counties of Vanhoover and Everfree Province, will be allowed to establish his Provincial Capital here in Ponyville!”

All Ponies who cared enough to show up at the Ponyville Courthouse to hear the Town Council's verdict, started to stamp on the ground and cheer out. A member of the Equestrian Nobility choosing a settlement for his or her Provincial Capital is a big deal. The Provincial Capital is the bureaucratic heart of the province. This comes with many advantages to whatever settlement is chosen for this honor. In addition to total tax exemption, there is massive incentives for organizations to open branches of their companies in the lucky location that becomes a Provincial Capital. There is also incentive for Parliament to oh-so-slightly change the domestic trade routes so that the Provincial Capital becomes a hot-spot for these trade routes. This commonly means a slight increase in business for cities as well as other small perks. But for a small township, like Ponyville, it means a huge influx in wealth as well as development.

Of the Ponyville populace who was in attendance for the town meting, there was of course the local businessponies. Among these businessponies there was arguably the richest pony in Ponyville: Filthy Rich, his wife would have been standing next to him but his wife, being the head of the school board, was one of the councilmares standing next to the Mayor. Mr. and Mrs. Cake, the proprietors of the most popular shop in Ponyville: Sugarcube Corner, were also in attendance and probably the most excited about the upcoming influx of population, business, and overall capital that Ponyville was about to experience.

Not all of the important Ponies who were at the town meting were businessmares of course, some of them weren't even Ponies. There was Zecora, the Zebra shaman and one-time hermit, who had recently cured many bizarre aliments that had afflicted the residents of Ponyville. And much to chagrin of every living thing in sight, there was Discord, the recently reformed chaos-incarnate who may or may not have cause those aforementioned aliments that the resident striped mystic had dealt with.

Even the most exalted of Ponyville's residents were present at the town meting, the Elements of Harmony. Rarity, Fluttershy, and Twilight Sparkle all stood next to each other celebrating with the town (some more sedately than others). The other three would also be celebrating, but Pinkie Pie had to foalsit the Cakes' twins during the meting. Applejack and Rainbow Dash, being the respective heads of the Agricultural Union and Ponyville Weather Team respectively, were also councilmares who were currently standing in proximity to the Mayor and (much to their discomfort) the head of the school board.

“Oh this is just. The. Best. Possible. Thing!” cried out Rarity, not being blind to the upcoming business opportunities or the fact that Ponyville could easily become another high class city like Manehattan or Canterlot. Fluttershy did say something, but it was drowned out in all of the cheering, stomping, and the celebrating.

Mayor Mare motioned for the attendees to quiet down, in the hopes of more good news, the populace gladly obeyed, if only just enough for the Mayor's voice to be heard. “Though Ponyville won't officially become the Provincial Capital of Everfree Province for another two months, Lord Noblesse Oblige will be granting our town the honor of his presence next week to discuss development plans with the town council in person, as well with the intention of connecting with the people our fair town!” The excitement in the Mayor's voice was clear as day and barely contained as the Mayor was almost hoping in place, though this was a sentiment the whole town shared in. “And so, this meting is adjourned!”

At that statement, everypony would be headed home, but with all of the good news and it just being past noon, everypony headed for their favorite eateries to celebrate. Most would have went to Sugarcube Corner, but it simply wasn't big enough to serve so many ponies, though that could easily change in the coming months.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash immediately joined their friends as soon as Mayor Mare had ended the meting. “I don't think I've ever seen a meting be so short!” Said Rainbow Dash, all while giggling. “Ah'll say, Ah'm pretty sure the council has never been in total agreement before today!” Replied Applejack, more jovial than usual.

“You would be right in that regard Applejack,” Replied Twilight Sparkle. “When I first arrived here in Ponyville, I did some research in the town archives, and this is the first time that a Ponyville Town Council has come to a unanimous decision.”

“Well, I for one, am glad that the Town Council was able to agree for this occasion,” Said Rarity, still giddy about the prospect of Ponyville evolving into a critical Equestrian metropolis. “And just think: with Ponyville being so close to Canterlot, Twilight's connections to the royalty, and the Count-to-be and his connections to the Twin Thrones, Ponyville will be a prospering city in no time!”

Twilight, being naturally studious, knew exactly what Rarity meant and simply nodded in agreement. Rarity did lose Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and even Fluttershy when she mentioned the Count.

“Um,” Fluttershy started to speak, but had a nasty habit of using her vocal cords before she fully thought out her statements or questions, only adding to her innate social awkwardness. “What do mean by 'Count-to-be?'”

Rarity actually stopped, and turned to look at her friends. Rarity lost her composure when she saw the confused looks on her friends' faces, and was left flabbergasted. So it was Twilight who explained.

“Lord Noblesse Oblige is the same age as your sisters, so while he isn't old enough to say serve in Parliament, his 'noble privilege' still gives him the ability to exert power over his family's holdings if he is the eldest member.”

The less political inclined of the group stopped and gasped. “Y-you mean he's an orphan, the same age as the Crusaders?” Asked Fluttershy, shock apparent on her face. Fluttershy's horror was made even more obvious by the fact that she spoke in a tone of voice that could be considered an 'inside voice.'

“That's rough.” Was all that Rainbow Dash could say in response to this revelation, Applejack's reaction while sedate, was still some what of a surprise.

“Ah can relate.” Was all the resident farm filly said, catching her studious unicorn friend off-guard.

“Wait! What!” Twilight had never met Applejack's parents, but with how wide spread the Apple Family was, she simply thought that Applejack's parents were helping a cousin's less successful orchard. But the possibility that Applejack, and especially young Apple Bloom, were orphans had never crossed the unicorn's mind.

“Oh Applejack, I had no idea. I am so sor-ghh.” Twilight would've continued her apologetic rant, had Applejack not stuffed her hoof into Twilight's mouth.

“Listen sugarcube, it don't bother me no more. Just don't mention it Apple Bloom. There were complications with her birth, there were no Medi-Mages on hoof, and Ma' didn't make it. Ah can't be certain, but Ah think that Apple Bloom is still hard on 'er self about it.”

Applejack removed her hoof when Twilight nodded in the affirmative. Sugarcube Corner was in sight at this point, and of course, that meant the group of five was in sight of an eccentric pink mare.

“What can I get for you all today?” Asked Pinkie Pie, holding a notepad with the limited telekinesis that can be used by all pony kind via hoof, and a pencil in her mouth.

The group of five had been a good one-hundred meters away from the famous bakery. But in the blink of an eye, the group was seated at a table inside of Sugarcube Corner. It was these antics that Pinkie Pie was famous for, and it was something that everypony accepted about Pinkie Pie and did not bother questioning.

Everypony gave their orders and Pinkie ducked beneath the table and came back with a tray of fresh baked goods. “Pinkie, you're so random.” Was that Rainbow said in amusement.

Roughly fifteen minutes had passed while the Elements of Harmony spoke about recent events in their lives and about what the future held for the town. The group of five, six when Pinkie didn't have to see to other customers, was happily engaged in converse when a familiar purple wyrmling and three well known foals came into the store.

“Twilight!” Was all Spike could say, as he was clearly exhausted. The founders of the Cutie Mark Crusaders were all obviously concerned for the well being of their drake friend.

“Geez Spike, you ran all of the way here from the schoolhouse.” Scootaloo spoke with amazement and worry in equal volumes at the dragon's stamina and seeming lack of thought towards his own health.

“Spike? What has you so worked up?” Asked Twilight as she came to her number-one assistant’s side, horrified at Spike's condition.

All Spike could do was hold up a letter as he wheezed. This sparked Twilight's curiosity.

Few ponies could send letters with their magic through Spike, among those few were the ruling Princesses of the country. Usually Celestia: Princess of the Sun, Twilight's mentor and effectively her second mother.

While the princess and Twilight did send casual letters to each other, Celestia would not usually interrupt the celebrating as she knew best how Twilight put the solar diarch's opinion before everything else, which meant this was emergency.

After taking a brief moment to make sure that Spike was alright, Twilight took the letter in her light purple magic and read aloud.

Too my beloved student,

An urgent matter has arisen concerning the noblepony that is to inherit the county you and your friends call home. I would prefer to not bother either of you, especially when you are probably celebrating your township's luck, but I feel that you and your friends are best suited to deal with the issue at hoof. As such, I request that not only yourself, but your friends, and the “Cutie Mark Crusaders” come to Canterlot. A royal transport carriage is en route for Ponyville as you read this letter, I will explain the problem to your group when you arrive.

Your friend and mentor, Celestia von Equiss.

Author's Note

Hello everyone reading! You can call me Spooky. This is my first story, but I hope that everyone rates honestly and fairly. Feel free to ask me questions about my story, and if you notice any typos please point them out to me in a polite way. I can't make any promises about up-date rates, but I will try to submit new chapters, frequently until the story is finished.

For the purposes of this story, everything that happened after "Games Ponies Play" is non-cannon. However, that does not mean that some events in this story won't mimic that of episodes that come after "Games Ponies Play."

Chapter 3: Play Date

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 4: After Canterlot

After our protagonists spent the night in the family housing-tower of Noblesse Oblige, the group headed for home. Everyone would've taken a two hour train raid back to Ponyville, but the group was surprised to find that the lord's staff had been to given orders to take everyone back to Ponyville. This caused Applejack to only grow more suspicious, though she kept silent.

Rarity was approached by Aloe and Lotus a hour later in her boutique. It was hard to miss the royal carriage swooping down into town square to take the exalted Ponies to the capital, meaning nearly everypony knew that they had missed out on the town wide celebration. Aloe and Lotus came to offer Rarity and her friends an on-the-house session of grooming at their spa, it was only fair since the Ponies who had been most deserving of a free day had missed out on it.

It was at the Spa where the Elements of Harmony were at now. Spike would have come, but the Maretonian twins didn't know how to pamper a Dragon without the magical gems that natural grew in the Equestrian soil and were cultivated in Equestria's 'Rock Farms.' While the Crusaders would've not only enjoyed the grooming session but the free time spent with their idols, the Crusaders had to attend school that day.

“So tell us about this stallion that you've arranged for us to meet,” Rainbow Dash had arranged to meet some of her friends from the weather team at the Spa today, and Rarity's imagination went wild when she learned that one of said friends was a stallion.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes the her high society wannabe, “It's not like that Rarity. Hay, I'm not even sure that Thunderlane is even in to mares.”

“Ah will admit, it's not everyday you find a stallion wanting to be groomed like this, outside of them hoity-toity types in Canterlot 'er Manehattan,” While Applejack had nothing against Ponies who swung that way, she wasn't sure what to think. If the captain of the town guard was gay, it wasn't a big deal. But Applejack was practically praying to the sun and moon that he wasn't an arrogant hotshot, like Equestria's stuck up nobleponies.

“Why did your friend want to come here then?” Rarity had pretty much dismissed Rainbow Dash's comment. Though if Thunderlane was into this kind of thing, he might be willing to model for her. It was very rare that she could find a colt or stallion that was willing to model for her fashion designs.

“His brother graduated Flight School a couple of days ago, with the highest grades of anypony who had ever graduated I might add. So Thunderlane decided to take him, and his favorite foalsitters here to celebrate,” Explained Rainbow Dash.

“Why are your friends coming so late? We've already been here for twenty minutes,” Twilight hated it when Ponies were late to anything, it also antagonized her that one of the Ponies in question was in charge of Ponyville's town guard.

“'Lord' Noblesse Oblige” Rainbow Dash started giggling. After having such a fun time with the colt, she thought it was hilarious he was apart of a group of Ponies that was stereotypically arrogant, “called for meeting with relevant members of the Town Council. Apparently there are some issues he needed to hammer out urgently, and Thunderlane being the local guard captain, is most relevant to what ever Noblesse's concerns are. So he, Flitter, Could Chaser, and Rumble are coming by later.”

The bell affixed to the to top of the door in and out of the Spa started ringing, indicating that somepony had just entered the Spa. Rainbow Dash turned her head to see who it was, “Speaking of the Draconequus, hey Thunderlane! Over here!” Called out Rainbow Dash.

A group of three adult Ponies and a light gray filly came into view of the rest of the group. The Stallion was fairly easy to pick out. Unlike his companions, Thunderlane had a deep gray coat with a strike light blue and white mane and tail with a thunder cloud and lightning Cutie Mark. The older of the two mares, albeit only slightly, had a bluish gray coat and shared her mane and tail color with Thunderlane. The older mare also had an unique Cutie Mark, a sun shining through a cloud. The younger Mare had a coat a shade lighter than her sister's with her mane and tail being a slightly darker blue color than her sister's, with three dragon flies in an upside down v-formation on her flanks. The filly was a 'blank flank' with a gray coat so light it was almost white, though still clearly gray. Her mane and tail were darker than Thunderlane's coat, and nopony could tell if it was a dark gray or if her mane and tail were actually black in color.

“Hi everypony!” Pinkie was about to greet their new guests, but the younger mare beat her to it, “My name is Flitter, a pleasure to meet you,” she was clearly the most energetic of her group, though nowhere near Pinkie Pie's reality bending joy.

“Easy there Flitter,” the older mare who was apparently Cloud Chaser lectured, “I'm sorry about my sister.”

“Ha!” Exclaimed Rainbow Dash, “We're friends with Pinkie Pie of all Ponies, Flits is practically dead compared to her,” The three mare started to laugh at Rainbow's joke as the stallion and the filly were giggling, apparently being able to keep better control over themselves than their friends.

“Hi everypony, My name is Thunderlane. It's a honor to meet you all,” Thunderlane bowed his head.

“Rainbow said that ya were bringing yer brother, who's this little filly?” Asked Applejack, confused as to why a filly would be here if Thunderlane was supposed to be congratulating his brother.

“I am Thunderlane's brother,” Said the foal in a voice too deep to belong to a filly. Though as opposed to being insulted at Applejack's mistake like most colts would be, Rumble seemed to be amused.

Everypony started laughing at Applejack's expense, even Ponies who weren't weren't of their group.

“Oh, uh, sorry 'bout that Rumble,” Applejack apologized with an embarrassed blush and a sheepish smile on her face.

“Think nothing of it miss Applejack, you are not the first Pony to make that mistake,” said Rumble, waving a dismissive hoof at Applejack's error.

“My my, modest, polite, and adorable!” Squeaked Rarity, “I would love to work on a gentlecolt such as yourself.”

“I would love that too miss Rarity,” Rumble had a wide smile on his face, “Though you'll have to pay me for any dresses you put me in.”

Thunderlane playfully whacked his brother's head with his wing as he rolled his eyes, “As you can see, my brother really doesn't care about what anypony thinks of him.”

“Oh leave him alone Thunder, modeling could get him a lot of bits,” said Cloud Chaser.

“Yeah! Besides, I would probably look better in miss Rarity's clothes than any filly would,” Rumble playfully raised his snout in the air, mimicking the very ponies that Applejack feared Thunderlane would be like.

Rainbow Dash would've fallen to the ground laughing, had she not been standing on the edge of one of the mineral baths, and above of Pinkie.

The shouts of the two mares were drowned out by the splash that Rainbow made, and the whole Spa filled with laughter. Even Aloe and Lotus, who made a point of being absolutely professionally at all times during business hours, couldn't keep in the laughter at the absurdity of the situation at hoof.

“Ha ha ha! I svear! You Ponies are a viot!” Aloe started to pound one of the counter tops with her hoof.

Rarity spoke when she got a hold of herself, though she was still giggling at the whimsy of her new friends, “You all are great fun! Though there's no reason to call me 'miss,' it makes me sound old.”

Rumble went up to Rarity with foalish mischief plastered all over his face, he whispered so nopony else could hear him, “I was serious about the dresses, though I'd do suits for free,” Rumble playfully winked at Rarity.

Rarity started giggling at the colt as she sent him back to his brother, though she was tempted by his offer.

“Excuse me, Captain?” Twilight would have continued to ask her question, but Thunderlane interrupted.

“There's no reason to hold formality with me, not after everything you girls have done for Equestria. Dame Twilight Sparkle,”

Twilight gave a sheepish smile as she laughed, “Alright, Thunderlane, Rainbow Dash said that she knew you from the Weather Team, but also said that you were in charge of the town guard. Can you explain how that works?” When Shining Armor became head of the Royal Guard, she of course studied how Equestria's pseudo-military worked. Though those studies only gave her insight on the Royal Guard itself and a general overview of the smaller town guard organizations, so when Twilight learned that this Pegasus worked two jobs that were supposed to be very demanding, her curiosity ate at her as it did whenever she heard of a topic that she was previously ignorant of.

Thunderlane slid himself into a mud bath and put cucumber slices over his eyes before he answered Twilight's question, “The occupation of Guard Captain is entirely a desk job, and the paper work I have to do is generated by arrests, investigations, etcetera. So with Ponyville's almost non-existent crime rate, there's nothing for me to do in the office. This means that I have an incredible amount of free time, time that I'd rather spend being useful. And the extra bits certainly don't hurt when you have a family of four.”

“Oh, so you and Rumble live with your parents then?” Rarity's question wasn't that odd. Though she was surprised when she saw her new friends wince at her question.

“Uh no...” Rumble trailed off as Aloe started to message him, rendering him unable to talk.

“There's me, Rumble, and the sisters,” Thunderlane gestured in the general direction of Flitter and Cloud Chaser. He tried to at least, you could only be so accurate when you have pieces of plants blinding you to your surroundings.

“So you all 'er siblings?” Applejack asked confused. While she didn't care about a Pony's sexual orientation, it was rare that siblings stayed in the same home when they got older and moved out of their parents' house, she was also raised to believe that one should only love a single Pony romantically.

“Not by blood, but we're close enooouu-” Flitter trailed off as Lotus started on her message with a number of pops.

“Meine Gotter! Vhat did you do to yourself?” It had been a long time since a Pony needed messaging this badly.

“Flitter is a gymnast. So she has to hold and move herself in odd and unnatural positions for long periods of time,” Cloud Chaser knew there more to her sister's back problems, but she didn't want to give away Flitter's medical history to Ponies who were still basically strangers. Cloud Chaser also couldn't remember everything her sister had shared with her about the down sides to her job.

“Vumble, you must tell me how you make yourself look so good,” Aloe said trying to make conversation with one of the new Ponies she hoped would become regulars, if only for the antics that seemed to follow them.

“Don't get me started on that!” Exclaimed Thunderlane, agitated by the topic at hoof, “I spend three hours every day to make sure my mane, tail, and coat are perfect. My little brother here, gets up two and half hours later than me, gets in the shower, dries off, and looks perfect for the rest of the day. And it drives me crazy,” Flitter, Cloud Chaser, and Rumble couldn't keep themselves from laughing at the gray stallion's expense.

“Um, Rumble?” Fluttershy had finally managed to gather the courage to speak in spite of the number of strangers currently in the room, “Would you mind telling us if you'll start to go to school here? If that's okay with you.”

Rumble nodded in the affirmative as he got off the message table, “Yeah, I do. But I technically just transferred from Cloudsdale's Flight School, so I don't start until next Monday.

After spending Thursday night in Canterlot, courtesy of Noblesse Oblige, the Crusaders had to go back to school on Friday. Today was different however, instead of Ms. Cheerilee teaching today, it was a new stallion named Limitless Potential. Mr. Potential was an emerald green stallion with a dark gray mane and tail. His Cutie Mark appeared to be a ruler tapping against a whiteboard, said whiteboard had an exponential graph drawn on it.

At the beginning of the day Mr. Potential addressed the foals' confusion and explained that the lord had brought him here to deal with the influx in school age foals that was to come.

If Mr. Potential was to be believed, then Noblesse Oblige had gotten permission from Celestia and Luna to use the Castle of the Royal Pony sisters as the seat of provincial government as well as his new home. This was relevant because of all of the serving staff that Noblesse was bringing with him, and much of his personal had foals of their own that needed to go to school. In all, there would simply be to many foals for Ms. Cheerilee to deal with on her own.

Most foals dreaded Fridays at the Ponyville Foalhood Education Center as it was science day. Ms. Cheerilee had divided the four main subjects into the five day school period with Monday being a free study day, for the sake of foals who were still adjusting after the weekends.

Apple Bloom was probably the only foal in the noon time class that enjoyed science day. She had always been fascinated at how things worked on the material level as opposed to the magical level. This reflected itself in the private potion sessions she had with Twilight and Zecora as well as the vast blueprints she had made for constructs she planned to use for her friends 'Crusades.'

Today however, Apple Bloom did not feel good. She was still adjusting to the new teacher, but her current discomfort came from the regular school bullies. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon had been giddy to the point of being called out on by Mr. Potential for disrupting class. That wasn't unusual as the two were always excited when they thought they wouldn't have to do as much work as usual, but what was strange was that they were shooting Apple Bloom jovial looks like they couldn't wait to share something with her. Apple Bloom couldn't rid herself of the sense of dread that the two rich fillies forced upon her soul.

The school bell ringed to let out for recess. The school day was almost over, after recess the teacher would usually do a review of everything that the class covered that day. Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle were about to discuss what game to play, when a familiar voice called out to them and the rest of the class like hoofs on a chalkboard.

“Hey everypony! Gather 'round for we have to story to tell!” The excitement in Diamond Tiara's voice only reenforced the dread that hung over Apple Bloom.

Limitless Potential was grading papers when he heard Diamond Tiara's voice. As Mr. Potential was new to Ponyville, he did not know who was and was not to be watched with a close eye. He and Ms. Cheerilee did not have the chance to talk about the student group dynamic, meaning that Mr. Potential could not accurate read the signs that calamity was about to strike.

“What do you want Diamond Tiara?” Asked Scootaloo agitated that her friends' tormenter was successfully keeping everypony their recess, despite the fact that they had all day before class and all of the time afterwards to play.

“We need to tell everypony about the tale of the story between one you blank flanks and a young mare named Sugar Cookie,” Said Silver Spoon with a vicious smile on her face.

Apple Bloom froze at the mention of the mare's name. Sugar Cookie was the name of her late mother, “Ya didn't,” was all that Apple Bloom muttered as she realized how bad this was about to turn out.

“You see, Sugar Cookie was Apple Bloom's mother,” Explained Diamond Tiara, “I say was because unfortunately, she's dead.”

The gather foals were muttering among themselves at this point as Limitless Potential exited the building and started walking towards the group of foals.

Though Limitless Potential was ignorant to the reputation of these two fillies, he knew that no good come out of mention another foal's parents.

“She died giving birth to this worthless hayseed,” Diamond Tiara's tone was casual and dismissive tone of voice. Her 'news' was so shocking that everypony stopped, even Limitless Potential halted his advance in lieu of the news.

“So not only can you not get your Cutie Mark or speak correctly, but you are also the reason your mommy's dead,” Silver Spoon advanced towards Apple Bloom while talking loud enough for everypony to hear.

“What do you have to say for yourself blank flank?” Diamond Tiara was just waiting for the rivers to flow from her nemesis' eyes.

Apple Bloom quickly formed tears in her eyes as she turned and ran. She knocked into Scootaloo as ran out of the school yard and into the distance.

“Apple Bloom!” Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo yelled as they ran after their crestfallen friend.

All the while, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were laughing at the heart broken filly, “Ha ha ha, what a cry-” Silver Spoon was interrupted by a furious stallion's booming voice.

“Diamond Tiara! Silver Spoon!” The class turn to see their new teacher marching towards them with unspeakable anger plastered on his face.

Ponies could fuse with their magic whenever they felt strongly enough. Luna become one with her angst and became Nightmare Moon. Unicorns could become so furious that their coats turned white as scolding metal and their manes and tails literally became tongues of flames. Pegasi could cause other creatures to become paralyzed in fear at their gaze.

Earth Pony magic revolved around building up life and promoting plant growth. So Limitless Potential caused the ground beneath him to tremble at his disdain. The grass died at his hoofs, turning into an ugly brown color from their once vibrant green. And his muscles put themselves on full display as his pure disgust weighed down on the two fillies.

“Inside now, and don't you dare come out until I say you can leave,” Mr. Potential's voice was at an inside voice, though it was still filled with fury and hostile magic waiting to be unleashed.

As the two fillies ran off in fear, Limitless Potential gathered his thoughts, “Class, we will not be having the post-recess discussion to day. Archer, Sky High, front and center.”

The two Pegasi quickly moved in front of their teacher, afraid of what would happen if they further upset him, “Archer, go to the guard station. Sky High, go to Sweet Apple Acres, and tell the Ponies there what happened today. Class dismissed!” Limitless Potential turned back to the schoolhouse fully intending to yell at the two bullies as harshly as he could. The fewer Ponies that heard the exact words that he was going to use, the better.

Chapter 5: Reunion

Rumble and Thunderlane were playing a game of hoofball in the skies above a vacant field close to Ponyville. Though they both enjoyed the spa session with the Elements of Harmony, they were Pegasi, and Pegasi were all about movement and bettering themselves in any way they saw fit. And while sitting around for two to three hours being pampered was great, they felt the need to exercise their bodies, particularly their wings.

Rumble had just caught the ball and was about to throw it to his brother, when he heard something. The sudden noise brought Rumble to a halt.

“Big brother,” Called out Rumble, “Do you hear that?”

Thunderlane brought himself to a halt as he focused on his surroundings instead of his brother and the ball they passing to each other.

The two started to look left and right until they realized they were at least fifty meters in the air, possibly higher, and looked down.

The duo clearly saw a yellow Pony with a red mane and tail against the bright green grass they were hovering above. Though they were too far away to tell the Pony's age or gender, but they could tell that the Pony was crying.

The brothers descended slowly as to not scare the Pony. As they got closer they could tell that it was a cream colored Earth Pony filly with a red mane and tail, they could also see the dark pink bow in her mane that complemented her natural colors.

Immediately Thunderlane's thoughts went to a dark place. In his time a guard pony, both in Ponyville and his home city of Cloud Spire, he had seen things like this. Strangely enough, the only rape cases he had every worked in his decade long career were all in Ponyville. As few as they were, Thunderlane knew what signs to look for.

By the time the brothers landed, the distressed yellow filly had fainted. The guard captain took this opportunity to examine the filly's hindquarters, in hopes of either disproving or confirming his fears. The wind had moved the filly's tail out of the way, but the exact position that she had fallen in concealed the inward sides of her hind legs as well as her privates. Though Thunderlane could see that her rump wasn't bruised or bloodied, he wasn't ready to dismiss the negative thoughts going through his mind.

Rumble had laid down beside of the unconscious filly and spread one his wings over her, this both provided a little comfort as well as partially shielded her from the the chill of the wind. Thunderlane smiled at the quick thinking and compassion his younger brother showed just now.

While Thunderlane's examination of the filly hadn't dismissed his worries, he had gathered much information from the filly's physical condition.

Whoever this filly was, was most likely a farm filly given her impressive muscular structure (impressive for a filly her age any way).

“Rumble, I need you to look over this filly while I go get help, okay.” Thunderlane words suggested that this was a question, the worry and authority in his tone did not.

Rumble nodded and Thunderlane took to the air.

Thunderlane was thanking fate that he had just made a friend who was both outgoing and the head of the Agricultural Union. If Applejack didn't know who the filly was in person, she would probably know who she was by her description. It's not like there were many Ponies with cream colored coats, even fewer that constantly used fashion accessories in a small farm town like Ponyville. With that, Thunderlane headed for Sweet Apple Acres as fast as he could.

It was well known that the most sensitive part of any Pegasus’s anatomy was their wings. So even as Rumble watched his brother fly off to destinations unknown, he found himself admiring the filly's well defined muscles.

The filly had obviously spent countless hours exercising the muscles throughout her body. Rumble looked over the filly he was tasked with safeguarding. Noting that her most impressive muscles were clear on her hind legs.

When Rumble realized he was staring at the filly's hindquarters, he looked away with an embarrassed blush turning his near white face scarlet.

Rumble then examined the filly's the face. Rumble could see the darkened lines down the filly's cheeks from where she had been crying. But aside from the tear tracks darkening parts of the filly's face, Rumble could tell that the filly was not only impressive in musculature but in appearance as well. Rumble couldn't help but admire her natural beauty. Who is this filly? The question quickly consumed Rumble's thoughts as he awaited for his brother's return.

Loud cracks echoed throughout the orchards of Sweet Apple Acres as Applejack and Big Macintosh got to their chores.

Applejack had thought it was a waste to so quickly undo Aloe and Lotus' efforts, but there was work to be done.

Fluttershy had accompanied Applejack to their farmstead as their dog, Winona, was expecting puppies soon. Though Fluttershy had another reason to visit her friend.

Though Fluttershy had not been the only one to notice Applejack's concerns with Noblesse Oblige, she had been the only one to notice how the farm filly was brooding during the ride back to Ponyville from Canterlot. And despite her nervous nature, she was determined to get to the bottom of it.

“And um, why does his generosity concern you?” Fluttershy had been asking her friend questions after she had finished examining the dog.

“'Cause if he could've just had 'is servants fly us back to Ponyville, why didn't he do that in the first place? The sun hadn't even begun to set when he offered to house us and even the Princesses were surprised at his offer. Ah think he wants something from us,” Explained Applejack.

“Uh, by us, do you mean Apple Bloom?” Thanks to her friends' efforts, she had become slightly more bold and was willing to make jokes. Though her question was serious.

Applejack struck the tree next to her and she thought about how to articulate her response as the fruits of her labors rained down into strategically placed baskets, “Maybe,” Was all she could say.

Fluttershy giggled at how obvious her friend was being. Just then a familiar gray stallion landed close to them.

“Hey Applejack!” Thunderlane called out urgently.

“Oh, Hey Thunderlane,” Applejack called back wondering what was so urgent, "What's wrong?"

“Well, Rumble and I were playing together out in a field west of here, when this filly came out of nowhere crying,” Explained Thunderlane, “I am almost certain that she either works or live on a farm and thought you might know who it was.”

While Applejack wasn't familiar with every foal that worked in their families' farms, she did know that very few had fillies old enough to do any actual work, “'aight, what does she look like?”

Thunderlane had opened his mouth to speak, but was silenced by somepony's yelling.

“Applejack! Applejack!” A pale brown Pegasus colt with a red mane and tail landed in between the adult Ponies.

Applejack instantly recognized Sky High as he was one of few Pegasi born into the farm families of Ponyville, “What is it little one?”

“Today at recess, Diamond Tiara said something really mean and made Apple Bloom run off crying.” The colt was quick to explain as he understood the urgency of the situation and was still afraid of the emerald green teacher.

This caught the attention of the adult Ponies instantly, “Applejack, what does this Apple Bloom look like?”

“Have you seen a school age filly run by here? She has a light yellow coat, red tail and mane, and a pink bow?” Time Turner had been question passerbies on the streets of Ponyville for the last fifteen minutes with most of the town guard.

An orange colt with a dark blue tail and mane rushed his way into the usually quiet guard station and was quick to explain what happened at the schoolhouse.

As Lieutenant-Captain of the Ponyville Peacekeeper Corps, Time Turner quickly organized several teams of search parties to look for the distraught filly.

“Of all of the days for the Captain to be out,” Muttered the brown stallion as looked down an alleyway in hopes of finding the famous filly.

Thunderlane usually stayed in the office seven days a week in case something like this happened. And of course the one day he takes off to spend time with his little brother, those rich brats would go too far. The Captain would have words with their families after they found the poor filly.

In addition to Apple Bloom, the town guard was also looking for the other two Cutie Mark Crusaders as they disappeared going after their heart broken friend.

There was one team looking inside the town itself as the other ten looked in the surrounding areas. Though they weren't making as much progress as they hoped too. Time Turner ordered the only five Pegasi in the town guard into the same squadron and sent them to the boarders of the Everfree Forest in case the filly aimlessly ran into the notorious forest and became lost, or worst.

“Apple Bloom! Apple Bloom!” Called out a pair of foals.

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle quickly lost track of Apple Bloom as she was the most fit of their group, and thus left them in the dust. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle doubled back to the schoolhouse to retrieve the Cutie Mark Crusaders' transport wagon and raced down the direction that Apple Bloom ran down.

They had been outside of the city limits and had been systemically looking for their friend in the areas both inside and outside of Ponyville. The adults who had seen them before just thought they were on a Crusade as they were ignorant of the situation at hoof.

When the guard asked them where the Crusaders were, they got nothing but conflicting reports. Scootaloo was an engine of flesh and bone that could rival those of steel and steam when carrying light loads, this forced the search team inside of Ponyville to go around in circles.

Because the two foals were on wheels and the town guard currently had no Pegasi actively searching the surrounding areas, the Crusaders had made much more progress than the guard search teams. It didn't hurt that they knew what general direction that Apple Bloom had run off in the first place.

The foals found themselves deep in the western fields of Ponyville as they searched for their lost leader and friend.

“Who's that?” Asked Scootaloo. There were in the middle of nowhere, so the only Pony they should have seen was their lost friend who ran this way.

Sweetie Belle turned her gaze directly in front of them. She saw a light gray Pony looking away from them. At this distance, they couldn't even tell if it was a Pony they were looking at.

Excited that they had found someone who might have seen their friend, Scootaloo sped up rapidly.

“Scootaloo! Waaiiit!” Screamed Sweetie Belle, afraid of hitting whatever it was they had come across.

Rumble turned his head in the direction of the screaming he had just heard. While he did see the orange Pegasus driving and her white Unicorn passenger, Rumble was more focused on the scooter and wagon barreling towards him.

While the meridians (spiritual blood veins that carry magic throughout the body) in Scootaloo's wings were undeveloped, they weren't quite useless. Scootaloo channeled her magic through her wings in conjunction with her front hoofs to break almost instantly, as she had done many times before.

Rumble however underestimated the orange filly's magical prowess and sent heavy gust of magically agitated wind towards the wagon, not realizing it would've stopped on it's own.

Rumble accidentally used too much mana in his haste and fear of being run over so the gust was visible to the naked eye, meaning that it was much more powerful than it should've been.

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle saw a gray wall headed towards them and bailed in opposite directions. The magical gust totaled the Crusaders' wagon and Scootaloo's scooter.

The two fillies were horrified at how close they just were to being hurt. But Rumble was more horrified at how close he came to hurting two Ponies that didn't do anything to him.

“I'm sorry,” Started Rumble, “I didn't mean to use that much power. You two aren't hurt are you?” Rumble left Apple Bloom's side to check on the two new fillies.

When Rumble left, Scootaloo and Sweetie could see the unmoving form of Apple Bloom, “Apple Bloom!” The two fillies went from their prone positions to racing past Rumble and to their friend.

Rumble was genuinely concerned that he hurt the two fillies, and his young mind was still trying to comprehend how those two could have gone from being completely still staring aghast at some wreckage they were almost apart of, to being blurs rushing past him.

The yelling and the two forms that had just rammed into Apple Bloom had started to wake her from her slumber, “Ugh, what?”

“Apple Bloom! We were so worried!” Sweetie Belle was grappling Apple Bloom with a hug that would've crushed her bones if her muscles were any less defined.

“Gaaah, air-” Though Apple Bloom wasn't instantly crushed by her white friend's hug, she still couldn't breath.

Scootaloo being less openly affectionate than her two friends, didn't instinctively hug her found friend and immediately saw Apple Bloom's distress, “Let go of her Sweetie Belle, or you might actually kill her!”

“Who are you three?” Rumble asked, totally not ready for the incoming explosion.

The three fillies got up off of the ground and introduced themselves in the manor that most of Ponyville was familiar with, “Who 'er we?” Started Apple Bloom.

The three then put their heads together, “WE ARE THE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS,” as the three of them yelled at the top of their lungs, Rumble was overcome with an inexplicable sense of dread. He wasn't the only one of course.

Applejack and Thunderlane were on their way to where Thunderlane had left his brother and Apple Bloom. The pair of them heard the Crusaders' yell, and the two of them winced.

Though Thunderlane had never meet either of the Crusaders before, he being the Captain of the town guard knew the three by reputation.

Applejack adjusted her hat before speaking, “We aint go much time.”

Oh gods, Thunderlane warned me about these three. For the three years that Rumble was at Flight School, his brother had of course wrote to him from Ponyville. So Rumble knew well who the Crusaders were.

“Hey! You don't have your Cutie Mark!” Sweetie Belle pointed out excitedly, “Do you want to join our club?”

“I think a better question is what she was doing with Apple Bloom,” Scootaloo spoke in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.

Rumble had opened his mouth to speak when he was interrupted by a farm matron in the distance, “Apple Bloom!”

“Big sister!” Apple Bloom shot past Rumble just as quickly as her friends had and she collided with Applejack.

Thunderlane flew over to his brother and picked him up, “Thanks for watching her for me, but it's getting dark and we should head home.”

Rumble nodded and the two brothers were off.

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle didn't see the two fly off as they were more concerned about their friend. The three told Applejack what had caused her sister to run off in the first place, “Girls, Ah want you to get Apple Bloom home. Ah have two fillies to put intah line,” Applejack practically stomped off towards the Rich estate.

When Applejack arrived at the home of her oft business partner, she saw something she did not expect. Ponies in armor escorting the two fillies she sought away, “Please, they're just children!” Screamed Diamond Tiara's mother, Spoiled Rich.

Applejack recognized the Ponies as being members of Ponyville's town guard as indicated by their tan colored metal armor with pink highlights. The Pony leading them however, was a stranger in a different set of armor. The Pony in question was a faded purple Unicorn mare wearing dark silver armor with royal purple highlights. The armor colors belonged not to any town guard heraldry, but to the knights sworn to the descendants of House Platinum.

“I apologize for the inconvenience Miss Rich,” Said the armored mare in a neutral tone of voice, as though she really didn't care, “But Lord Noblesse Oblige has already made his decision. His court found these two guilty of verbal assault, illegal use of private family information, and knowingly endangering the life of a minor. Had Dame Apple Bloom actually been hurt, I can assure you that my master would have ordered their execution,” The mare turned away from the distraught mother as Filthy Rich stepped from the side of his wife.

“Then what is to be done with my daughter?” Filthy Rich spoke with a shaky voice.

“As ordained from the Lord, these two are to serve two weeks in community service and will only be let off to eat, sleep, and attend school. These two will also be sleeping in the dungeons of the newly named Everfree Palace for the duration of their sentence,” The guard mare didn't even stop walking away as explained the bullies' court ordered punishment.

With her business at the Rich estate done with she went on her way. She noticed Applejack close by, “Ah, Dame Applejack. It is an honor to meet you,” The mare politely bowed her head.

“Er, nice to meet ya'll too. But who are you?" Asked Applejack.

The mare raised her head, and in the moon light, Applejack could tell that the mare's mane was a deep blue. The mare finally introduced herself, “I am named Top Priority, and I am the Commandant of House Platinum's mares-at-arms.”

“And what 'er ya doing here?” It was a reasonable question, as most of House Platinum resided in Canterlot.

“I had the honor being hoof picked by Lord Noblesse Oblige to serve as both the head of his honor guard and the palace guard,” the mare replied with gusto and pride.

“Ah heard ya mention some'in called 'The Everfree Palace?”

“When the Diarchs gave the Lord permission to use the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters, they also went ahead and gave him the deed. And my master saw it fit to rename the estate as it no longer houses our honored Princesses,” Priority spoke with a cold yet jovial tone that chilled Applejack to the bone.

This mare seemed to be more loyal to Noblesse Oblige than to the Princesses. And Applejack did not know what to make of that.

“Please excuse me, I have to return to my master. I will leave you to whatever business brought you here,” The cold and happy mare left for the 'Everfree Palace.'

Applejack scoffed. Even if Noblesse Oblige lacked the sense of self-superiority that most nobleponies had, he still had eccentricity in spades.

Applejack approached her friends and business partners to comfort them. Despite coming here to discipline those two brats herself, she now found herself felling sympathy for them both. Applejack then recalled Top Priority's words. 'Had Dame Apple Bloom actually been hurt, I can assure you my master would have ordered their execution,' Those words sent caused Applejack's fears to redouble. This colt not only lacked reservations in taking another Pony's life, but had an army of loyal knights to do it with, and it didn't look like the town guard was in a position to resist them. Ponyville was in a heap of trouble, and there was nothing anypony could do about it.

Author's Note

And chapter 5 is complete! I know that this story has centered on Applejack a lot recently, but I promise to remedy that starting next chapter. Speaking of Applejack she has valid reasons to fear Noblesse Oblige and to fear for her friends and family, yet only time will tell if her concerns are valid. And if Applejack wasn't so afraid of the colt, she would probably remember that the Princesses of Day and Night asked to help fix all of the problems with Noblesse Oblige. I'd love to hear the input of you, the readers. Tell me if love my story so far or if you hate it, I don't care as long as you tell me why.

Chapter 6: Rules of Engagement

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle spent the night at Sweet Apple Acres to be with Apple Bloom. Big Macintosh had left to go tell their legal guardians where their daughters were at and why they hadn't come home to ask for permission as they usually did.

Applejack left the Rich estate and came home late. The fillies were already asleep, which suited Applejack perfectly as she wanted to talk about what she saw and heard with her grandmother and brother alone.

“Ah don't see why that's got ya all twisted up,” Said Granny Smith as she drank her tea.

“It don't bother you how our 'Lord' sentenced two foals to serve both jail time and community service, or how about the fact that he doesn't seem to care about Equine life?” Applejack was shocked to see that her family was not as bothered as she was about Noblesse Oblige's behavior.

“It hadn't occurred to you that this Top Priority mare just said that to be intimidating did it?” Big Macintosh was as stone faced as ever. Though he could become quite talkative at the dinner table.

“Okay, lets say that she was just talk'in outa her plot. He still has the ability to prosecute Ponies without trial,” Pointed out Applejack.

“That's not how it works Aj,” started Granny Smith, “When something like this happens, the noblepony and whatever members of 'is cabinet present try the defendant themselves, actin as both judge and jury. Ah would be bothered by how those two weren't allowed to go to their trial to defend themselves, but with so many witnesses and the danger those two could've put Apple Bloom in, Ah'd say this Noblesse Oblige went easy on 'em.”

Applejack was stunned at how her grandmother was not only not up in arms about this, but seemed to be defending the strange noblepony.

“They wouldn't have gotten a trial any how,” Big Mac started to explain, “As our family sowed it's seeds throughout Equestria saw only to our family business, the Rich family concentrated on it's social standing. They were actually granted the title of Baron because of that. Hadn't you ever wondered why those two got away with so many minor offenses?”

“And those bullies used their family connections to dig around our family medical history, with us being nobleponies since yer knighting, that's a very serious crime in of it's self. When two lesser noble families in the same province start commitin' crimes against each other, the next highest ranking noble in the Province is granted total judicial power over the fightin' families. And given how much you have done fer Equestria, Noblesse Oblige could be makin' em'self look bad by going easy on those fillies.”

“Huh,” Was all the response Applejack could articulate at that. If everything her brother and grandmother had said was accurate, then Noblesse Oblige was being much more merciful than he probably should have been. If Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were nobleponies, then much more severe action was called for.

Not another word was spoken by Applejack until she said goodnight to her family and went to bed. Not that Applejack got much sleep that night.

The next morning at Golden Oaks Library, Twilight and Spike had just finished their breakfast and were about to open the library when a knocking sound came from the door.

“Huh that's weird, we don't usually get patrons this early,” Said Spike as he went to answer the door.

Twilight was actually a little excited at the prospect of a Pony coming by so early in the morning. A depressingly few number of Ponies ever came to the library. While Twilight could easily live comfortably from the stipend granted to her as both a knight and Princess Celestia's protege, it would be nice to see more Ponies reading.

Twilight's excitement was cut short as Spike called from the front of the library, “Uh, Twilight! You need to come over here!” Spike's voice was somewhat shaky, as though he were scared.

Twilight rushed to the front door, wonder what could cause her number one assistant such distress. Twilight understood Spike's worrying as she saw who was at the door.

“Dame Twilight Sparkle,” Said one of the three blindfolded Bat-Ponies at the front door, “Lord Noblesse Oblige hast summoned thee to appear in his court today at noon, we trust thou shant be late.”

The three Bat-Ponies were dressed in dark silver colored leather armor with royal purple highlights. Their colors suggested that served House Platinum directly. The fact their armor was made from leather and not metal, meant that they were a noblepony's couriers as opposed to their knights.

Twilight stood there in surprise for a few moments before she realized the messengers were awaiting a response, “Of course, where is his court currently being held?”

“In the old of the Castle of Royal Pony Sisters, now named the Everfree Palace, as ordained by his majesty,” The Bat-Pony's voice was robotic and professional.

The lavender Unicorn and near infantile dragon watched as the three Bat-Ponies spread their leathery wings and took flight. They flew in the direction of the Everfree Forest as though they could see it in the distance, despite the fact that they were blindfolded and shouldn't be able to see a thing.

“Spike,” Twilight spoke in a startled tone of voice, “Can you watch the library by yourself today?”

Twilight left her home four hours later and headed to the Castle of the- and headed to the Everfree Palace. It was going to take some time to etch into her mind that the ancient structure had been renamed.

Most Ponies would think it strange to put your seat of government in a forest where nature ruled itself, like most of the lands outside of the Equestrian continent. But most Ponies weren't as scholarly as Twilight Sparkle, it also didn't hurt that she spent the majority of her life at the side of the Sun Princess.

Celestia had told Twilight why she and Luna had lived someplace that was supposed to be unspeakably dangerous. Celestia and Luna had established magical wards that repealed both the weather and the wildlife of the Everfree Forest. Since nopony had removed the wards when Celestia relocated to the Canterlot Palace, all somepony needed to do was refuel the wards with their own magic.

Twilight arrived at the once abandoned structure to see that it was still in the middle of 'remodeling.'

The desecrated bridge that once connected the artificially constructed pillar that the castle stood upon to the rest of the forest, was replaced with an ornate stone bridge. On the decorative posts that stood on either side of the bridge, sat small Gargoyles looking outwards from the bridge.

Across the bridge Twilight could see an 'unique' statue that must have been inspired by Under-City culture, because Twilight could not put a name or origin to what she was seeing.

The statue sat in a fountain set in the center of the palace courtyard. The statue depicted a beetle performing a threat display. A snake coiled itself around the beetle with it's unhinged maw opened wide, Twilight could tell even at this distance that the snake's mouth also served as a torch sconce. Perched on top of the snake's head was a bat with it's wings spread wide.

When Twilight crossed the bridge she could tell that the water in the fountain flowed from the limbs of the beetle part of the statue.

Even though Twilight could see only one side of the building, the style of the 'restored' architecture was clearly Gothic overall. Though there were multiple motifs to the building both complete and in progress that must have been taken from Under-City architecture, as Twilight couldn't recognize many of the bizarre designs.

Twilight walked in a half circle around the fountain and approached the guards at the gates. Twilight knew that there was something off about the guards just from looking at them. The parts of the guards' coat that she could see didn't seem to made from fur, but it also couldn't possibly be their skin. Their helms were also made to completely obscure their eyes from sight, meaning that they should have been blind while wearing them.

“Good morrow Dame Twilight, our lord is awaiting you in his throne room,” One of the Earth Pony guards said, despite the fact that he shouldn't have been able to see her coming.

“Uh, th-thank you sir,” Twilight rushed as quickly as manners would allow as she passed the strange guardponies, she found something about their very presence unsettling.

As Twilight made her way through the palace she saw servants and guards alike, and now she knew something was wrong.

Over half of the Ponies she saw had their eyes occluded in some fashion. Though the servants were most distressing to the exalted mare. Without the guardponies' armor to cover the majority of their coats, she could see that these 'Ponies' lacked coats. There were Bat-Ponies who looked normal except for their leathery wings, bestial ears, and blindfolds. Though it were the Unicorns and Earth Ponies that really upset Twilight. Twilight could see their skins perfectly, and that they were too different to belong to an Equine of any kind. In place of the Unicorns' pelts were rows of scales. The Earth Ponies' skin were more akin to stone than flesh as they reflected light and appeared to be harder than steel, yet they still flexed like muscle.

When Twilight finally reached the throne room, she thought that she was going to faint at the sight of so many unnatural looking Poni- No! They didn't even look like Ponies! Twilight could tell that her skin was as white as a sheet and she could barely stand on her four hooves.

“Oh dear, I was afraid this would happen,” Spoke the voice of the noblepony that had summoned Twilight Sparkle to the Cas- to the Everfree Palace.

Medical staff went to Twilight's sides as they cast spells that repressed the oncoming fainting spells and helped Twilight regain her balance. The medical Ponies also helped Twilight to one of the chairs in the room, that was grotesquely comfortable, given the oppressive Gothic atmosphere of the building.

Now that Twilight wasn't going to fall unconscious, she could look around the throne room. The Diarchs' old thrones still stood at the back of the room, though even these relics had been 'refitted.' Each of the thrones had statues of armored Alicorns rearing back on their hind legs with their wings spread wide. The Alicorn over Celestia's throne was made out of marble with golden armor. The Alicorn over Luna's throne donned silver armor and was made out of obsidian.

Before the original Twin Thrones, there was a long table with a dozen chairs on each side and a single chair on opposite ends. All of the chairs were made from stone, though they had cushioned with pillows that seemed to be affixed to the chair themselves as opposed to being simply placed on them. The chair at the far end of the table, the same side of the room that held the Twin Thrones, sat Noblesse Oblige in his throne. The obviously eccentric noblepony's throne was made from cushioned bronze.

There were no windows in the throne room, but there was a large sky light that light the room without the use of torches. Twilight could see the dozens of mares-at-arms loyal to House Platinum on opposite sides of the room, awaiting either a disturbance or their master's orders. And standing next to Noblesse Oblige was a light purple mare with a dark blue mane, Twilight could also see the golden stripes running perpendicular along her armor's royal purple highlights, indicating that she was in charge of security in the Everfree Palace.

“Wh-what, what was wrong with those Ponies?” Though the spells the medical Ponies used on Twilight eliminated the physical fatigue caused by her mental distress, they did not relieve her of her mental fatigue.

“There is nothing 'wrong' with those Ponies Dame Twilight, I simply imported some Ponies loyal to my family from the Under-Cities,” Noblesse Oblige was only too happy to explain.

It was at that moment, everything clicked together for Twilight. The grotesque statue in the courtyard, the Bat-Ponies, the Earth Ponies with stone like skin, the Unicorns with scales on their flesh. Twilight also remembered the blood rituals that her mentor had mentioned only a few days ago.

Instantly, Twilight's fatigue was washed away in a deluge of curiosity as a single question enveloped Twilight's mind, “How? How do those blood rituals work?” In Twilight's studies under Celestia, she had of course learned about many types of magic. Blood Magic though, was one topic that Celestia had purposefully ignored.

Noblesse Oblige simply laughed quietly at how Twilight went from almost fainting to practically bouncing in her seat, “I will explain when the rest get here.”

A few minutes later, the Elements of Harmony and their sisters entered the throne room. Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and the Crusaders had been in awe at the alien design of the building that was to become the bureaucratic heart of their province. Rarity had especially been amazed at the banners and other fabric relics they saw in palace. Instead of throwing the old fabrics away, Noblesse Oblige had ordered that they be restored to their previous beauty and hung throughout his fortress. Pinkie Pie had excited at the prospect of being asked to host some kind of party. Fluttershy had been taken with wonder at how most of Noblesse's staff were Ponies that had seemed to have been fused with different exotic animals, she was also curious about the statue in the courtyard as she couldn't put a name to the breeds of animals it depicted. Applejack had seen the strange Ponies and foreign architecture as terrible omens of things to come, though she did an admirable job at hiding her concerns.

“Welcome Knights of the Diarchy and the Realm, and Scootaloo,” Noblesse Oblige stated out loud.

“Gee, thanks,” The simple response from Scootaloo invoked the head of security to begin gathering her magic, though she dispelled it when her master tapped her peytral as he nodded his head in the negative.

“Thank ye all for answering mine summons on such short notice,” The noblepony started again, “I have called you all to discuss an urgent issue.”

“I will be attending school at the Ponyville Foalhood Education Center starting Monday at the request of mine greatdam and great aunt, and I need'st thou to keep mine identity a secret.”

“Wait, what?” Applejack exclaimed, “Why would we need to keep yer identity a secret?”

“The Diarchs have asked me to try to make friends mine own age, that will be hard to do if everypony believes they must go out of their way to please me,” Explained Noblesse Oblige.

“Will you be using a pseudonym?” Asked Sweetie Belle plainly.

“A pseudo-what?” Said Rainbow Dash.

“A fake name, Dame Dash,” the noblepony said with a deadpanned expression, “And nay, I shant need it. Mine name is common amongst the citizenry of Canterlot, so I need thou to only keep mine ancestry and rank secret.”

“Hey, can I ask ya a question?” Apple Bloom continued when her lord nodded in the affirmative, “Will the new foals that 'er 'bout to come here gonna be like them servants outside?”

“Aye, they will Apple Bloom. I apologize in advance for any 'difficulties' the Under-City Ponies cause, I must also warn thou that they are fanatic in their worship to the Diarchs,” Noblesse Oblige held a solemn expression as he spoke.

“What are the Under-City Ponies?” Asked Rainbow Dash, “They seem to be closer to being other animals than they do Equines.”

Noblesse Oblige nodded in acknowledgment before he spoke, “When the Ponies under the Diarchs a thousand years ago migrated in penance, they needed to change themselves in order to survive in their new environment. For guidance the Earth Ponies looked to the beetles that harvested plants and prey from the stones, the Pegasi looked to the bats of the underground that stalked without sight, and the Unicorns looked to the ancient serpents that offered advice freely in their dying breaths. The result were the Beetle-Ponies who navigate by channeling their magic into the ground, the Bat-Ponies who hunt with their hearing, and the Serpicorns who use their sense of smell to stalk the chasms. These creatures became known as 'Totem Beasts' and objects of worship in their own right. The Under-City Ponies used their blood, that of the Totem Beasts, and the magic found in themselves and the subterranean leylines to fuse with their Totems to become what they are today.”

“Is there something wrong with their eyes?” Asked Pinkie Pie, “They all wear blindfolds.”

“They have spent their entire lives underground, and the Blood Rituals gave them the eyes of nocturnal creatures. The light of Celestia's Orb is too harsh for their sight, it is only under the Dream Warden's Pale Light that they can see without going blind,” Noblesse Oblige looked up and into the sky light as he caught his breath.

“I noticed things being moved out of Ponyville's courthouse and into here on my way, what are you going to do with the courthouse?” Twilight's question wasn't that strange, if Noblesse Oblige was going to hold court in his estate then what was to be done with the courthouse?

Everypony waited patiently as the lord caught his breath, curious as to what his answer was going to be, “It is the decision of the Town Council, though I did give the suggestion of turning the building into a Festival Hall of sorts. Speaking of which, I must ask that you hold off on welcoming parties for the influx of Ponies that will be moving Dame Pie.”

“WHAT!” Pinkie yelled as her mane and tail flattened, “But why?”

“Several migrants will be moving here soon, and the courthouse's conversion will be complete shortly there after. I think that a massive party for the new comers is the perfect opportunity to use the new Festival Hall, don't you agree?” Noblesse Oblige looked to Pinkie Pie with an expectant smile on his face.

Everypony in the room watched Pinkie Pie carefully as she processed the information given to her. After a few moments, Pinkie's mane and tail regained their poofy quality and Pinkie shot towards Noblesse Oblige as a pink blur, “Oh thank you! That is wonderful idea! I need to get to planning,” Pinkie released Noblesse from her bone crushing hug as she seemed to faze out of existence.

“My lord! Are you all right?” Top Priority and the medical staff in the room were at Noblesse's side in an instant.

Noblesse got up off the floor slowly, “Yes, I just need to realign my spine," Joked Noblesse, "I will not be issuing an arrest warrant for Dame Pinknamina,” The guardponies who were about to leave the room paused at their lord's statement before they went back into position.

The medics in the room started to channel the magic through their horn and onto their master. Twilight couldn't help but chuckle as she recognized the spell. The spell was used by Medi-Mages to examine patients' skeletal structures without cutting them open, it seemed they really were concerned that Pinkie Pie had damaged his spine.

One of the medics went behind Noblesse and grabbed him in a bear hug. As she did so, the room filled with the sound of cracks and pops, “Ahh, thank you Malpractice.”

The ponies at the table laughed at Noblesse's first real encounter with Pinkie Pie, though the guardponies and medics glared at them for seemingly dismissing their master's well being.

“Heh heh, hey Noblesse, are you doing anything today?” Scootaloo asked, still laughing at his expense.

“I'm too young to participate in court and I have nothing to do with the renovations, so no. Why dost thou ask?”

“Well, the girls and I are going to be host a club meeting to welcome some new members. And I thought you might want to join, if only to make new friends,” Scootaloo explained happily.

Noblesse needed no time to consider her offer, “That's a grand idea Scootaloo, I'd love to accompany thou.”

“Should I organize an escort your grace?” Asked his head of security.

“Nay, an escort would give away mine identity. And I think the guards would be better used deterring any looters or wildlife,” Said Noblesse.

Noblesse left his throne and started walking as he spoke, “This meeting is adjourned, thou may do what ye will.”

Four of the Elements of Harmony left for home as the Crusaders and Noblesse went to Sugarcube Corner to meet with their new Crusaders. Though Applejack decided to follow the Crusaders and Noblesse Oblige at a distance, for the Crusades' sake of course.

Chapter 7: First Encounter

“And you're certain of this?” Said a distorted voice.

“Yes ma'am,” The messenger was quick to reply, “We have confirmed sightings of Lord Noblesse Oblige in Ponyville, he is most certainly no longer in Canterlot.”

“How is that possible?!” The distorted voice was equal parts upset and confused, “We had eyes on him at all times, what did my spies have to say for themselves?”

“They were never able to get eyes directly inside of the House Platinum Housing-Tower, he managed to get past our checkpoints without detection by unknown means,” The messenger was as upset as his mistress, he and the other servants had been keeping an eye on the young noblepony for a long time.

The colt had proven to be unexpectedly cunning in avoiding anypony sent to keep track of him. Not even Celestia had picked up on the carefully arranged accidents of late, thinking them to be mundane in cause. But Noblesse Oblige had shown incredible paranoia even before they had tried to put an end his life.

The messenger had more vital information to give to his employer, “He has taken residence in the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters and instead of servants from his family's on-hoof staff, he imported servants and guards alike from the Under-Cities. By the time we realized he had escaped to Ponyville, there was no room to sneak in double agents.”

“Damn, he must be taking advantage of the security wards the Princesses etched into the leylines,” The distorted voice paused, pondering what orders to give, “Keep an eye on him and his new estate, try to find any vulnerabilities in his schedule or security measures and report to me. Ensure that my agents know not to take advantage of any such vulnerabilities without my say so.

“As you command Milady,” The magic in his amulet dispelled itself as his mistress cut her magic from her end.

'Calling Stones' were common magical artifacts that could be used by Ponies to talk to each other from great distances. They could be used as accents in clothing, disguised as gems decorating ornate mirrors, or even be used in jewelry. They were also untraceable, which made them invaluable assets when dealing with delicate issues that required urgent attention.

The inner magic in Calling Stones could also be attuned to distort the voice of the Pony on either side of the call, so anyone listening in wouldn't know who was on the other side.

The messenger recalibrated the magic in his Calling Stone to give the spies in Ponyville their mistress's orders. That monster will die at our hooves, thought the messenger darkly, We shall save Equestria and her peoples from that abomination.

Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle left the Everfree Palace with Noblesse Oblige in tow. Unknown to them Applejack was following them as well, though she knew to keep her distance.

The group of foals were walking to Sugarcube Corner when they heard urgent shouting, “Hey! Look out!” The voice was familiar to three of the foals as they were going to Sugarcube Corner to meet Dinky Doo.

The four foals turned to see what the new Crusader was shouting about, but their focus was taken by a wagon speeding towards them.

Applejack poked her head around the corner she was hiding behind to see what the shouting was about herself. Applejack cursed the distance she had used to follow her sister as she rushed to save her. Applejack knew that couldn't make it, but she still tried.

As the three founders of the Cutie Mark Crusaders were paralyzed in fear, Noblesse Oblige assumed a pensive look on his face.

How best to deal with this? thought the noblepony. I'm not good enough with telekinesis to catch the wagon, and I would rather not save myself at their expense. Noblesse looked to his terrified companions.

It might be moving to fast for me to catch it, but that doesn't mean I can't use telekinesis to stop it. A smile came his face when he realized there was a way he could not only save himself, but the three fillies he had become found of.

An inky black aura encased his horn. Not to soon either, the speeding wagon was mere feet away from his group at this point. But before the wagon could hit either of the foals an ebon bolt of eldritch power fired from Noblesse's horn, obliterating the wagon into tiny pieces that exploded in every direction. Every direction except for the direction it was speeding towards when Noblesse Oblige had stopped it.

Ponies nearby who were watching the event unfold in horror started to duck to the ground in hopes of dodging the shrapnel from the wagon. Even Applejack had to duck as a wheel speed over her, taking the hat she had worn that day.

A scream could be heard from behind Applejack as the wheel that nearly brained her smacked into a stallion, “Argh, My leg!” Noblesse Oblige looked in the direction of the scream and paused as he saw Applejack, “Sorry!” Noblesse decided to address the stallion he had inadvertently hurt, he would deal with Applejack later.

Applejack sped like an orange bullet to grab Apple Bloom, “Oh Apple Bloom! Are ya okay?” Applejack didn't care about secrecy any more, her sister's well being came first.

“Applejack?” Asked Apple Bloom, brought out of her terrified stupor by her sister's embrace and voice, “Yeah, I'm fine. But what'er ya doin' here? Ain't there a bunch of stuff at the farm ya have to do today?”

Noblesse Oblige was looking at Applejack with an unamused look, mentally berating the orange mare for stalking him. His attention was brought to two fillies as they raced down the street the wagon had been barreling down seconds ago.

One filly was a gray Unicorn with a blond mane. Noblesse Oblige also noted that this filly's coat was colored like a light storm cloud in contrast to his metallic coat. The other filly was a light pink Unicorn with a two-tone pink mane, it should also be noted that her coat was a different color from either tone of her mane.

I wonder if this filly has any blood ties to Dame Pinknamina, thought the incognito noblepony. It was rare for a pony to only be a single color, and those are things that are easily inherited.

The two fillies completely ignored the uniquely colored colt as they raced to their friends. This gave Noblesse Oblige the opportunity to look at their Cutie Marks, or lack of rather. Were these the fillies we were supposed to meet? It wasn't an unreasonable question. Noblesse Oblige already knew what the purpose of the Cutie Mark Crusaders was, and these fillies clearly knew the original three well.

“Ah need to get somethin' Ah fergot in town, Ah'll see you girls later,” Applejack set down her confused sister as she raced off to parts unknown.

“Well I'm glad only one Pony was hurt,” Noblesse's voice caught the attention of the five fillies, namely the two that had overlooked his existence in their haste.

Ruby Pinch and Dinky Doo paused at the colt's unusual appearance, though in silent agreement they refused to let that color their perception of him. He had just saved himself and their friends from a predicament that they had caused.

“Though I must ask, what happened?” Anypony reading the colt's thoughts would have been surprised that question had not been among his first.

“Oh! Uh,” Dinky Doo started, already embarrassed by her blunder, “Ruby and I were taking that wagon with us for one of our Crusades, and the harnesses broke off our backs and it raced down hill.”

At that moment Ruby Pinch and Dinky Doo realized that they had never seen this Pony before. Though what captured their curiosity was why out of all of the Ponies their friends were, they were with a colt.

Ruby started to giggle at how easy it was going to be to tease three of her friends, “I don't think I've seen you before, my name is Ruby Pinch. It's nice to meet you,” Ruby stuck out her hoof expecting a hoof shake.

She was surprised when the colt took his hoof in hers and kissed her pastern, “Mine name is Noblesse Oblige, a pleasure to make thy acquaintance.”

Ruby didn't know what to think of the colt's behavior or the way he talked. Dinky Doo however, noticed the colt's name, “Isn't that the name of the noblepony that's going to be living here?”

Noblesse Oblige nodded his head, “Aye, 'tis a common name in Canterlot. May I ask for thy name?”

Dinky blushed in embarrassment when she realized that she still hadn't introduced herself, “Oops, my name's Dinky Doo. It's nice to meet you Noblesse Oblige,” Dinky stuck out her hoof to the colt.

Dinky momentarily forgot the colt's behavior from before, so she was still surprised when he took her hoof and kissed her pastern, “A pleasure.”

“Now that's out of the way,” Ruby spoke with an excited voice, “Why were you three out and about with a colt?”

Dinky and Ruby started to giggle at the blushes of Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle. Though he wasn't making noise like the two newer Crusaders, he knew that he was going to enjoy listening to the solid rounds of teasing that were guaranteed.

“I hate to interrupt,” Noblesse started, “But I don't think either of us will want to be here when the town guard comes.”

The five fillies looked around their surroundings to see damaged buildings and sidewalks from the pieces of the wagon that Noblesse destroyed. Many windows were either cracked or broken, their were pieces of metal and wood sticking out of the wooden structures. Even the concrete the sidewalks and road were paved with were not spared the damage, as jagged nails and wood poked like wartime caltrops.

“Crusaders!” Said Apple Bloom knowing how much they could get in, “Lets reconvene at the clubhouse.”

Nopony objected the movement as they followed their leader to Sweet Apple Acres. Noblesse Oblige followed as well. Though he wasn't a Crusader like the five fillies were, he had been invited to join in on their activities and he had nothing better to do.

Thunderlane and Rumble landed the courtyard of the cloud-house. In truth. 'house' was a severe understatement. The cloud-house the brothers had just landed next to was easily six stories high, maybe higher given who lived here. The identity of the owner was given away by the large waterfall of synthesized rainbow flowing into a recycling system similar to how a fountain recycles water.

“Are you sure that Rainbow Dash is going to be okay with me working with you today?” Asked Rumble, concerned that his big brother could get in trouble.

“That's why we're going to ask her. I don't think she would mind, especially sense you insist on doing it for free,” Thunderlane jovially replied.

Flitter and Cloud Chaser both had busy days today. Meaning that Rumble would be by himself all day. He was too new to Ponyville to have friends to play with, and Pinkie had been forbidden from hosting her usual welcome parties until work on the new Festival Hall was complete. While Rumble was more than old enough to look after himself, Thunderlane still didn't want to leave him alone.

Multiple businesses were increasing the work quotas for their employees in an effort to get them used to the work loads that would be expected of them. Given that Ponyville wasn't even on the map until the Elements of Harmony lived here little under a year ago, Lord Noblesse Oblige was most likely going to develop the town before more Ponies started moving here. This meant that businesses were going to see an increase in customers before they saw an increase in Ponies looking for jobs.

Noblesse Oblige had held a council meeting a short while ago. He revealed to the Ponies present that he had already arranged for construction workers to arrive in Ponyville shortly. The first thing that was going to constructed was temporary housing for said workers as Ponyville's only inn was no where near big enough to hold all of the workers and what few visitors that were already there.

Thunderlane, Mayor Mare, and Cheerilee in particular were giddy about what plans their new lord had already set in motion. The Town Hall was to be converted into a Festival Hall sense all of the local administrative staff was moving into the Everfree Palace. The lord had plans for an additional schoolhouse as well as additions to the current schoolhouse.

Noblesse Oblige had also arranged for the dungeon of the Everfree Palace to act as Ponyville's prison. This meant that Ponyville would no longer have spend enormous sums of money to send prisoners to the Canterlot Dungeons, it also meant that Thunderlane wouldn't have to delegate guardponies to watching over prisoner transfers or to guard prison cells. This would allow the on-hoof guardponies to watch over the construction workers, if only to deter saboteurs or looters. This ensured that Thunderlane would have enough guardponies for until Ponyville got late into it's upcoming development stage. That wasn't a problem as by that point, there would be enough untrained Ponies who needed jobs in Ponyville to recruit to the ranks of the town guard.

There was one thing that concerned Thunderlane, and he wasn't sure what to do about. Noblesse Oblige had told the Town Council about his plans to admit himself into the public education system. No one could deny him this as he had documentation that this was ordained by Princess Celestia herself. Thunderlane knew that Noblesse Oblige had been generous up to this point, but he didn't know how this young noblepony would interact with peasant foals. Thunderlane knew nothing about Noblesse's life up to this point, nor how his political opinions compared to that of his peers. Thunderlane would probably not think much of it, except that the only class Noblesse Oblige could be admitted to was the same class that Rumble would going to starting this coming Monday.

Thunderlane's thoughts were interrupted as his brother knock on Rainbow Dash's front door. Rumble knocked fairly hard considering the lack of urgency at the moment, yet at the same time Rainbow Dash's bedroom could be anywhere in six-plus story building.

Rainbow Dash woke up to obnoxiously loud pounding on her door. Rainbow Dash's bedroom was strategically placed on the first floor so she could get through her morning routine that much quickly. The next four floors of her mansion were mundane things like guestrooms, general storage rooms for what family heirlooms she kept, etcetera. The sixth floor of her cloud-house was dedicated to her shrine of the Wonderbolts. Everything from posters that she had collected to letters sent to her from Wonderbolt HQ were framed all throughout the sixth floor as well as other Wonderbolt related merchandise.

Anypony who grew up in a cloud-house would know that though the clouds could support physical objects, they were also thinner than paper. Who so ever was at the door was being incredibly rude and annoying.

Rainbow Dash didn't care much for manners, much to the chagrin of a certain white and purple Unicorn, but even Rainbow Dash had standards.

It probably wasn't a Unicorn or Earth Pony at the door because all of Rainbow Dash's close friends knew how cloud buildings worked, also you would still need a Pegasus to get up this high. Not even Twilight Sparkle would risk trying to teleport this high without somepony to catch if she fell, not the next time she tried anyway.

Rainbow Dash rushed to the door to tell whoever it was off using language that could land her in prison were she not a knight. When Rainbow Dash opened the door, she saw the two of the three Pegasi in all of Ponyville that had spent their entire lives living in homes of wood and stone.

Though Rainbow's anger had evaporated and she understood exactly why these two used so much force when knocking, she was still pretty annoyed as she glared at Thunderlane, “I was on the first floor.”

“I'm sorry Rainbow Dash,” Said Rumble, refusing to let Thunderlane take the rap for something he did, “I didn't know where in your house you were.”

Rainbow gave Rumble a surprised look, “There's no way a kid like you knocked that hard.”

Rumble raised his hoof to one of the walls of Rainbow's house, and started to knock obnoxiously again.

Thunderlane fell to the clouds laughing and Rainbow couldn't help smile and giggle, “Alright you smartallec, you knock it off.”

Rainbow Dash then turned to her friend and coworker and stomped him in stomach, sending him through the clouds her courtyard were made of, “So what did you two need to talk to me about?”

“Oh, Thunderlane wanted to know if it was okay for me to help at work today,” Explained Rumble as his brother plummeted to the ground.

Thunderlane caught his breath and shot through a different place in Rainbow's courtyard, “I could've been really hurt Rainbow Dash,” Thunderlane had an obviously fake hurt look on his face.

“Like that would've been a big deal,” Said Rainbow Dash dismissively, “Now Rumble, I don't care. Knock yourself out.”

“Thank you Rainbow Dash,” Rumble said plainly.

“Now if that's all,” Rainbow started, “I'm going to go back to bed,” She turned away from the two young stallions.

“I don't think so Rainbow Dash,” Thunderlane's tone of voice was amused.

“Oh, and why not?” Rainbow took Thunderlane's tone as being playful, “Why shouldn't I go back to bed?

Thunderlane gave his boss a deadpanned look, “Because you have work today too.”

Rainbow Dash took a moment to recollect the work schedule she herself had made, she also realized she was roughly a hour late, “Pony-feathers!” Rainbow Dash was off like a polychromatic missile.

“She left her front door open,” Rumble pointed out.

“Eh, not our problem,” Said the captain of the town guard ironically.

All the way to the Cutie Mark Crusader clubhouse, Ruby and Dinky ceaselessly teased Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle about how they've arranged to spend the evening with a colt. The two fillies tried to mess with Noblesse Oblige, but he simply laughed and went with it.

It wasn't until the group of six foals were actually at Sweet Apple Acres that they started before they started asking questions that weren't designed to embarrass or taunt their friends.

“So you meet him at the Everfree Palace and invited him to go with us?” Asked Dinky.

“Yeah,” Said Apple Bloom relieved that her friends had finally stopped teasing her, “The lord summoned us for something we can't talk about and saw this here colt. There wasn't anything for him to do at the castle since they just got a huge number of servants, and we thought it would be nice to have a new friend.”

Were Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle not looking away from their other friends, they would've seen their mouths agape in astonishment.

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were surprised at Apple Bloom. No matter how many times they saw or heard it, they would always be amazed at how well their friend could lie. Apple Bloom rarely lied but when she did, she could get away with acts of deceit that make the Flim Flam Brothers blush.

“So where are you from, Noblesse?” Ruby was interested in her superiors' new friend. He looked and acted so differently than anypony else she knew in Ponyville, and it fascinated her.

“Me?” Asked the colt, “I am from Canterlot, in fact 'tis why I speak'st this way. Among the palace staff, 'tis tradition for the servants to speak like this and so, twas how I was taught.

The colt was lying blatantly. Though he was raised by staffmares and he was taught to speak in Classical Equine, he didn't think it was a good idea to mention his life in the Under-Cities of Equestia.

“So your parents are servants?” Asked Dinky.

“Nay. Though the Ponies that raised me were servants, they were not mine parents,” The noblepony explained.

A pang of guilt went through Ruby Pinch and Dinky Doo, “I'm so sorry,” Said Dinky quickly with her voice full of worry, “I didn't know-”

“Calm thyself,” Said Noblesse, his voice silencing the light gray Unicorn, “I never knew mine birth parents and I hold no shame at being an orphan, I also find thy questions neither offensive nor invasive.”

Dinky and Ruby nodded, somewhat startled that this colt who had been fairly quiet and friendly could command such authority without raising his voice.

“What of thy families?” Noblesse Oblige asked, “I would like to know of thy lives, whatever thou would'st share with a stranger,” His voice lost whatever intimidating quality he had been using before and betrayed his genuine curiosity.

Dinky and Ruby exhaled the breath they didn't realize they were holding and were happy to give some details of their families.

“I live with my mother and my aunt, Cheerilee,” Said Ruby Pinch plainly, “My mom runs the local inn and brewery. My aunt Cheerilee is the headmistress of Ponyville schools.

“I live with my mom, my dad, and my aunt,” Dinky was strangely happy to talk about her family, “My mom and aunt work together as both weather Ponies and mailponies. My dad however, is the lieutenant-captain of the town guard,” Though they were simply professions, Dinky was still proud of her family.

Before they could talk about the other three fillies' families, they had reached the clubhouse and went inside to discuss what to do now that 'Cutie Mark Crusaders: Wagon Racers' was out of the question.

Applejack had almost started working in the orchards, when she heard her sister and her friends laughing and talking. A smile came to Applejack's face when she saw Dinky Doo and Ruby Pinch, it was about time Apple Bloom made some new friends. Ditzy Doo and Berry Punch were good Ponies, Applejack also liked their kids. Maybe they'd steer Apple Bloom away from the mad schemes she, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle were always coming with to get their Cutie Marks.

Applejack's smile faded instantly as soon as she saw Noblesse Oblige. She had forgotten that the Crusaders had invited Noblesse Oblige to be with them today, her usual focus centered around her work blurred as she worried about her sister.

Big Mac had been working in the fields close by when he saw his oldest sister seemingly staring off into space, that was very unlike Applejack. His worry over Applejack became annoyance as he traced his sister's gaze to the Cutie Mark Crusaders with a colt he'd never seen before. Big Mac started to go over to his sister to snap her out of her stupor, when he noticed that the colt had his Cutie Mark. Big Mac knew that his youngest sister had invited some new friends to 'Crusade' with her usual friend circle, but why would a Pony who already had his Cutie Mark be around the CMC. His younger sister was adamant about keeping Crusades between Crusaders, Big Mac pondered why Apple Bloom would invite a colt who already had his Cutie Mark to their Crusades.

Just then, the two older Apple siblings attention was draw away from the group of foals by a familiar voice, “Big Mac! Aj! What'er ya doing starin' off intah space?” Granny Smith's voice was not full of annoyance, but instead it was full of worry.

Granny Smith, though she older than the trees that stood in her family's orchards, was surprising fast and quiet. The older Apple siblings looked over to see their great grandmother (six or so times removed) standing on the other side of the nearby fence. Granny Smith walked through the gate of the fence as she approached her older grandfoals.

Big Mac was first to answer, “Apple Bloom's got some of 'er friends over, one of 'em's a colt that has 'is Cutie Mark.”

This seemed to confuse the elderly mare, “Well, so what? What's it matter if the colt's got 'is Cutie Mark?”

“Apple Bloom said that she'd be going on a Crusade today, and yah know how she is 'bout Ponies that aren't in her little club bein' apart of Crusades. Just strange is all,” Big Mac headed back to his work giving, his grandmother an apologetic bow of his head as he passed.

Unlike Big Mac, Granny Smith saw the horrified face on Applejack. Granny Smith traced her gaze like Big Mac had, and saw the metal colored colt. There was more to this and Granny Smith was going to get to the bottom of it.

“Aj!” Granny was right next to Applejack when she yelled.

“Gah!” Applejack jumped up startled and actually hit her head on a tree branch, causing some apples to fall into the buckets Apple Bloom set out early today.

“Land snakes girl,” Said Granny Smith, trying her hardest to hide her amusement, “Ah've never seen you this wound up over anythang befer'. What's wrong?”

“Well, yah see that there colt. He's the noblepony that's gonna rule Everfree Province, and Ah can't say I trust 'em to be with Apple Bloom, 'er any other foal fer that matter,” Applejack said, her worry doubling when she realized that she had lost sight of the group of foals.

“And why's that?” Asked Granny, trying to figure out why Applejack was so worried, “Why are you so afraid that colt's gonna do somethin' tah Apple Bloom?”

Applejack explained to her grandmother everything. From Celestia and Luna sharing the colt's past and their fears for his future, to his cold personality and his the magic he possesses.

The Friendship Express had stopped at Ponyville Station for the sixth time today. It was only recently that Ponyville would rarely see the intercontinental train stop more than once a month. Since the heir of Vanhoover and Everfree Province declared that he would be establishing his Provincial Capital in the small farming community, Ponies had been traveling to the town to see why the young lord would use such a small town as his Provincial Capital while others came to try and get ahead of the competition and secure plots of land in the town for housing and business alike.

Five of the Ponies who got off the train were indeed here for business, though not the kind of business that others were here for. No, these Ponies were here for mission. There was a creature residing in the town that needed to be purged, not just Equestria, but existence in general.

Many would call this murder or assassination, but this 'Pony,' if you can call it that, was an abomination to all Equine kind and a danger to the world.

The five Ponies walked in close formation. Their leader was in the front as his four subordinates followed in two lines slightly behind his flanks. They had joined the Royal Guard to protect Equestria from all that would threaten it's lands or it's people. Their quarry was in possession of dangerous magics and their Diarchs refused to do anything about it. Whether they under any one of the damned thing's illusions or if they planned to use for something later did not matter, either possibility was frightening and they would not allow either to come to fruition.

These five soldiers didn't seem different that any other Pony, they lacked armor or weapons, they didn't appear to have any muscle of scars that would give them away. The only clues that even hinted to their true ranking among the guard was the formation and the unreadable poker faces they kept.

“Sergeant,” Said one of the underlings, “How are we going to fight him? If he can use illusions that have taken the minds of our fair Princesses, then what chance do we have?”

It wasn't an unreasonable question. Only one of them was a Unicorn, two Earth Ponies and two Pegasi, “Her Radiance most likely didn't realize how dangerous the creature was until it was too late, she did see him as an infant after all, and that extra time only gave him unlimited opportunities to improve himself,” Explained the Unicorn, “We can brace ourselves before we engage in conflict, and if we can sneak up on it we won't even have to worry about it's magic.”

The Unicorn stopped to face his subordinates, his face filled with the wrath and resolve of the battle hardened and the righteous, “We slay the abomination this day. 'Lord' Noblesse Oblige will die at our hooves.”

Author's Note

Woohoo! Chapter 7 is complete! I'm sorry this took so long for me to get to. I go to online school, and it can be very demanding sometimes. Though I didn't actually plan it, this chapter is long than the other ones that have come before it. I hope that makes up for the long wait.:twilightsheepish:

Now what is the deal with these five Ponies? If religious believes are confined to Equestria's underground, then why are these Ponies acting like zelots after heretics? Guess you'll just have to wait until I get around to posting the next chapter.:rainbowlaugh:

Chapter 8: Conflict

The Cutie Mark Crusaders and Noblesse Oblige entered the Cutie Mark Crusader Clubhouse to discuss what to do today now that wagon racing was out of the question.

“And I though it was nice from the outside,” Commented Noblesse Oblige, “Did you three really build it this place?”

“Nope,” Responded Scootaloo, “Just Apple Bloom.”

Sweetie Belle nodded affirmatively before speaking, “When we got it from Applejack, it was falling apart. Apple Bloom just needed one night to fix this place up, and we've been adding to it ever since.”

Apple Bloom was blushing, not used to being praised by Ponies other than her family, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle, “Oh, it wasn't that much. Mah sister built it from the ground up. It just needed some tender love and care, just like the barn.”

A sparkle went through Dinky's eyes as she saw the chance fate had given her, and she took it, “I wonder what kind of tender love you'd give to Noblesse if you were alone with him?”

Four of the foals started to snicker as an identical blush colored Apple Bloom and Noblesse's faces a deep scarlet. While Apple Bloom paused not sure how to respond at that moment, Noblesse was doing his best to not fall over laughing. He would have succeeded if Scootaloo hadn't pushed him over, “Gaah!”

“Ha ha ha! You remind me of my cousin,” Noblesse said addressing Dinky Doo. He was still on his back wiping a tear from his eye, his blush not fading, “She says it's hilarious when my dull full is suddenly given bright happy colors.”

“She's right!” Exclaimed Sweetie Belle while giggling.

Apple Bloom couldn't suppress the giggles anymore at this point, “Some times, Ah hate ya'll.”

“But then you remember all of the stupid stuff we do together!” Pointed out Ruby Pinch excitedly.

“Yep. That's exactly right.” Quipped Apple Bloom.

Everypony started laughing for at least ten minutes. If Pinkie Pie was near by, she would lecture that holding back giggles only makes you giggle harder, then most likely succumb to laughter herself.

“Welp!” Said Apple Bloom clapping her hooves to get everyone's attention, “Now that a whole week's worth of planning is down the drain, what do ya'll want to do?”

“I have a suggestion,” Said Ruby Pinch, “Why don't we check out the construction sites, maybe we can get a sneak peak at all of the new shops and homes being built.”

“That's a great idea! Any objections or other suggestions?” Asked Apple Bloom.

“Going once,” Started Sweetie Belle.

“Going twice!” Said Scootaloo excitedly.

“Sold!” Finished Apple Bloom, “It's decided, and Ah've been curious 'bout them new buildings mahself.”

“Cover your ears,” Said Ruby hastily.

Noblesse didn't know why he would want to, but he obeyed. He managed to cover his ears just in time for the founding Crusaders' yell, “CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS: CONSTRUCTION OVERSEERS! YAY!!!”

Noblesse was to disoriented to tell them that there were using the word 'overseer' incorrectly. Each one of the founding Crusaders grabbed one of their friends before racing out of the Clubhouse so quickly that they actually left scorch marks in the wood floor.

“Aj, yah dunce,” Was all Granny Smith said with a deadpanned look on her face. She thought that her granddaughter would have had a better reason to be paranoid. Granny Smith had though of logical explanations for every event behind Applejack's worries.

Applejack simply could not understand how her grandmother could not see things from her perspective, “How could yah say that Granny? Everythang fits together too well!”

“First off Aj,” Started Granny Smith, actually annoyed by how stubborn Applejack was being, “Yer judging that colt by his appearance. Yah go on and on 'bout how strange he acts, but if he grew up in an underground fortress city under what might as well be a military dictatorship, of course he's gonna act differently than yer average Pony. Speaking of his origins, yah talk about how he was about to blast yah, but you could've easily scared him by galloping right behind him like that, and if he stopped himself when he thought he was in danger, don't that prove he ain't gonna lose control of his own magic? Ah will admit that it's bad that he laughed immediately after he almost hurt yah, but he also saved Apple Bloom and her friends from serious harm. It's unfortunate that you almost got hurt, and really unfortunate that stallion got hurt, but yah can't go holdin' things outside of Ponies' control against them.”

Applejack couldn't refute any part of her grandmother's analysis of her own views on Noblesse Oblige. It's a shame that he was born with dangerous magic, but it's not his fault. Yet at the same time, she couldn't help but worry about what would happen if he went through a mental break like Twilight did during the 'Lesson Zero' incident. She understood why Apple Bloom was specifiably chosen for this task, she had defend Zecora when the rest of Ponyville, including Twilight, had turned against her.

Applejack didn't say anything as she fought a ferocious mental battle against herself. There was just so much that could go wrong with the Diarchs' plans, not matter how unlikely it was. Applejack didn't see her grandmother advance and hug her tightly.

“Yer worried 'bout yer sister,” Started the elderly mare, “Yer afraid of what could happen to her and yah want to protect her, but we could all be in danger if this plan doesn't work. Ah don't like it mahself, but Ah've never met the colt. And Aj, Ah'm not asking yah to stop worrying or to even stop keeping an eye on the foals, but yer worrying too much.”

Applejack returned the embrace, but didn't say anything. “Yer way too wound up to be workin' today,” Said Granny Smith, “Yah need to take some time to relax. And if Apple Bloom is gonna be spending a lot of time with this colt, yah should at least try to get to know him before yah drive yerself insane over what he might do.”

Applejack nodded silently and headed back to the house. Apples fell from their trees in a large area around Granny Smith as she watched her granddaughter walk back to their house. It had been years since she had seen her little Aj like this. It took Sugar Cookie dying and Apple Skin excessive drink to get her this badly last time. Granny Smith didn't mind working again, she had spent the last decade or so sitting in her rocking chair not doing much. As she slowly made her way to the next section of the orchard, she turned her head in the direction of Ponyville. She had a bad feeling about what was about to happen and it wasn't because she afraid of Noblesse Oblige. She couldn't say why, but she was afraid for Noblesse Oblige.

Time Turner was at his desk in the Ponyville Guard Station seeing to what paper work there was to be done. Ponyville had a low crime rate and a small population. The most exciting thing that ever happened was that somepony with a carriage would be caught using the wrong lane on the road or maybe Ponies arguing in the market district about the price of something.

Time Turner was still proud of the work he did, but sometimes it just seemed pointless. Unlike his coworkers and his superior, he was excited about all of the trouble that would follow Ponyville's exploding business and population if only so there would be something other than paper work to do. He didn't even care that that there would be more paper work to do.

“Lieutenant! Lieutenant!” Time Turner turned his head in the direction of the Pony calling for him. It was one of the new guardponies, still too unfamiliar to know the exact location of the administrative staff.

“Over here Sergeant!” Called Time Turner. Time Turner was a little jealous of this particular guardpony. New guardponies were hired when the Town Council agreed to let Noblesse Oblige establish his Provincial Capital in Ponyville in an effort to meet the expected increase in crime rate that would inevitably come with a larger town, maybe a proper city even.

Street Light was a Pegasus Pony from Whinnyapolis, the city in all of Equestria with the highest crime rate, and had distinguished herself multiple times in her two year career. Though Time Turner loved how quiet the town was, he just wished that he was given the chance in his seven year career to do something other than sit at his desk.

When Street Light flew over to Time Turner's desk she saluted, “I have something to report from my patrol, sir.”

Time Turner got up from his desk, “What is it?” He did his best to hide his excitement, though it must have shown given the strange look his subordinate gave him before speaking again.

“Five Ponies got off the train from Canterlot and have been moving in a military formation ever sense entering the town,” Explained the deep orange mare, “They have also been asking around town about the whereabouts of a colt, the description they gave matches Lord Noblesse Oblige exactly.”

“Oh? That is odd,” Time Turner thought about what this could mean, “Do we know anything about them?”

Street Light nodded, “Yes sir! They are members of the Canterlot Palace Guard, Captain Brass Shield forwarded their descriptions when they did not report for their usual patrol routes and found their names in the Canterlot Passenger Train Registry. They were not given instructions to deliver anything to the lord, and they are not in military formals or armor.”

Time Turner was putting the pieces together in his head, “So we have a squad of Royal Guard who have gone AWOL, who seem to be hiding the fact they are Royal Guard, they're looking for the lord,” Time Turner thought for a few moments longer before a light went off in his head.

“Sergeant! Round up what spare squadrons that are available, send out a APB on the AWOL guards, and inform all units that these Ponies are unarmed and extremely dangerous. We have reason to believe that these Ponies are either assassins or vigilantes, do you understand?”

“Sir!” Street Light flew out an open window so she could get to the top floor faster. Everypony in the room had heard Time Turner and Street Light and knew what to do. As everypony was donning their guard armor, they could hear a siren ringing out from the roof.

Pegasus Mailponies reserved by the town guard to act as messengers flew out looking for patrol units as six squads worth of guardponies flooded out of the guard station.

Thunderlane and Rumble were working with some other Weatherponies when a loud siren from Ponyville sounded.

“Gah! What is that?” Asked Derpy Hooves.

“That's the guard station's Emergency Siren,” Said Thunderlane wondering what could have possibly happened in the five hours of work he's missed today.

The Emergency Siren was a distress call reserved for only drastic circumstances. So drastic in fact, that even the Ursa Minor attack several months ago wasn't enough to sound it. It would take something a member of the nobility being attacked- Or a member of the Royalty! Thought Thunderlane, remembering that Noblesse Oblige was not just Nobility, but Princess Luna's closest grandfoal.

“Guys I need to leave to see what that is!” Yelled out Thunderlane as he raced towards the guard station.

Rainbow Dash flew to the small group of Weatherponies and Rumble when she saw black and blue streak of Thunderlane racing off through the skies.

“What's going on?” Asked Rumble, concerned that his brother might get hurt.

“Nothing serious I'm sure,” Said Rainbow Dash. I hope is more like it thought the mare darkly.

“Damn! We've been discovered,” Said one of the Earth Ponies.

“No matter,” Said the Unicorn dismissively, “Because I see the monstrosity over there,” He pointed a lime green hoof at the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

“Oh of course, the beast surrounded himself with fillies,” Said one of the Pegasi, itching to kill “Goes to show how depraved that thing is."

“He won't be anything for long,” The Unicorn started to channel magic into his horn.

He and his siblings at arms had been waiting for when their mistress gave the order to attack the House Platinum Housing-Tower. But the damn thing hid behind his great aunt. It sickened him that this mutant was descended from one of their benevolent Diarchs. It was only made worst by the fact that Noblesse Oblige was born a Unicorn, one that looked really different, but a Unicorn none the less. This thing wasn't a Pony anymore, not after what he did to himself.

The Unicorn lowered his horn at the group of foals as he channeled more magic into his horn, “For the Twin Thrones and for Equestria,” He fired a massive bolt of arcane energy at the group.

The Unicorn's underlings realized that not just their quarry, but the entire group of foals would be wiped out of existence. All the four could do was watch in horror as several young and innocent lives would be taken, their 'superior' would not see another day after this.

“They're building these structures pretty high, what do ya'll think they're puttin' here?” Apple Bloom turned around to see that all eyes were not on the buildings they came here to examine, but on Noblesse Oblige as his horn was coated in a thick black.

Before anypony could ask what he was doing, he sent out a magical shock wave. The shock wave did more than send the Cutie Mark Crusader several Pony lengths away, it also knocked back the guard Unicorn's arcane bolt back at him.

The Unicorn used his telekinesis on himself to launch upwards as one of the Pegasi flew up as well. His other three subordinates all went to topple their superior to ground to make it easier to kill him, so they didn't see his arcane bolt racing right back at them at a slightly different angle and were on top of each other.

The explosion not only vaporized the Pony Pile, but also did significant damage to the skeletons of the buildings around them.

The remaining Unicorn and Pegasus both looked on in horror at the colt. Not only had he somehow divined their location despite the silent casting and their more than discrete distance, he had just killed the majority of their squad with their own magic.

Noblesse Oblige adopted a battle stance with his muzzle close to the ground and faced the two assassins, all with the same unnatural motion. His horn still blazed like an ebon torch as balls of magic separated themselves from the aura around his horn. The balls of magic then fired themselves like ballista bolts at the pair, even more spawned for the noblepony's horn as he willed them to destroy.

The two did their best to dodge the black bullets as they raced past and came back around again and again like boomerangs. The didn't realize it until it was too late, but they found themselves being trapped in a sphere of black magic with several small holes letting in light. They both knew what was coming at this point, but that didn't make it any less horrible. The balls of magic sucked themselves inward into the center of the sphere, becoming a tennis ball blacker than the void that held the stars. When Noblesse Oblige dispelled the hostile magic, all that fell from the ball was ashes.

Noblesse Oblige stood back up on all four hooves. He looked around to see his friends unconscious, both down the road and in the skeletons of what would be alleyways. He let out a sigh of relief, he had never had to link multiple non-hostile spells together like that before and he was glad he succeeded. It would be hard to make friends with Ponies who had just seen you kill five Ponies at least twice your age, and they would most likely tell other foals or their families, making it harder to make friends period.

Two squads of Pegasus Ponies in Ponyville Town Guard armor landed close by. One squad separated to check on the foals their lord had knocked unconscious, while the other surveyed the scene and looked at the colt with terrified looks. They all knew that the assassins were trained members of the Royal Guard, even if they were just grunts, they were still the most highly trained guardponies in all of Equestria. And they all watched as a school age colt obliterated a whole squad's worth of Royal Guardponies.

The had seen the explosion from the arcane bolt that Noblesse Oblige sent back at the Unicorn and they had watch as Noblesse Oblige swarmed the two survivors with his magic like gnats, and subsequently reduced them to dust. Nopony was going to enjoy writing the reports for this incident.

Noblesse Oblige turned himself into a large cloud of black smoke and whisked himself to his palace.

Noblesse tunneled his way through the ventilation shafts of his home and into his throne room. His guards dropped their stances and saluted when their lord reformed himself in his throne.

Noblesse raised a bell from the table with his hoof and rang it. The bell was enchanted so that the sound went through walls as though they didn't exist and could only be heard by whoever the person ringing it wanted to summon.

A few minutes later, a blindfolded Bat-Pony with his metal helm in his hoofs, “You called M'lord?”

“Aye,” Said the noblepony, “I have instructions for you and five squads of guards. I want you all to go to Ponyville General Practice Hospital, and wait for the families of five patients to leave. Do not stop them when try to enter, wait for them to enter and leave. Make sure that they come here as soon as they leave the hospital. The patients are named Apple Bloom, Dinky Doo, Ruby Pinch, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle, are there any questions Lieutenant Echo?”

“Nay my lord,” Responded the Bat-Pony, “I shall do exactly as you ask,” Lieutenant Echo put his helmet on and left the room.

Noblesse Oblige used his magic to summon and ink well and a piece of paper from his room. Noblesse quickly wrote a letter to his great aunt and grandmother explaining what happened and used his magic to send to the Diarchs similar to how Spike does.

Celestia was holding her royal court a half an hour later. She was listening to her subjects, both peasant and noble alike. Some came for grants for research, construction, even suggestions for new trade routes.

Celestia had enforced an extreme isolationist policy immediately after her sister's banishment. Without Luna, Equestria was down one Alicorn guardian and the people were demoralized. With Equestria's abundance of natural resources and unusually active leylines, Equestria would have been a perfect target for any ambitious neighbors. Celestia was primarily concerned with Maretonia and the Byzitame Empire at the time. But now that Luna was back in her proper state of mind, Celestia was faced with pressure from all three houses of the Equestrian Parliament as well as her own sister to reestablish foreign relations.

Celestia had to keep herself from rolling her eyes at the current audience however. Gilded Chalice: Margrave of Trottingham and Manehattan Crescent, and at least a dozen other titles that Celestia didn't care for in the least. Celestia particularly loathed this grandfoal of hers. Though his ancestors were honorable advisers to her court and kind overseers of their holdings, Gilded Chalice was certainly the least favorite member of her family.

Gilded Chalice did increase his family's holdings all over Equestria, though he used the one shortcut through the stacks of bureaucracy that Celestia wrote even before she established the First National Parliament of Equestria. He claimed his 'earnings' as reparations for duels he more than likely incited.

If two nobleponies, no matter their rank, come to a serious disagreement they could duel and the winner would be able to claim a prize from his or her opponent. It could be the losing family's coffers, their holdings and titles, the winner could even claim a family member of the losing family, before Celestia convinced Parliament to change the laws.

Unfortunately with the pride of today's nobleponies swelling like a balloon, duels between nobleponies were more common than in the past. In centuries past, it would take serious circumstances for a noblepony to call for a duel. Today though, it could be anything from a petty insult to not wiping your hooves before entering one's home. Parliament changed the law so that reparations could only be claimed if the noblepony being challenged won, of course if somepony was as rude as possible at all times it didn't really matter.

Gilded Chalice was petitioning the 'Radiant Court of the Blazing Sky' for the Sun Princess to pressure Parliament to ratify laws restricting the rights of non-Equine species. This would be illegal if the Equestrian Code of Law didn't specify Ponies when referring to people. Celestia doubted that Parliament would pass such laws even if both herself and her sister were encouraging these speciest ideals, not that either of them would so much as entertain the possibility.

If Gilded Chalice didn't think any amount of labor that didn't involve striking down another Pony was so beneath him, his holdings would give him nearly unmatched power over the House of Lords. Only her socially awkward metal colored nephew would be able to match his-

Celestia's thoughts were interrupted as her horn was covered by an alien black aura. With a large popping noise not dissimilar from a lightning strike, the black aura materialized into a letter baring an ornate golden seal depicting a horseshoe, the seal of the royal family.

Celestia was concentrating so hard on ignoring Golden Chalice that this event caused her to lose her composure for a moment as she spoke, “Speaking of Discord.”

Celestia wrapped the letter in her magic and opened it. The first thing she saw in the envelope was a playing card, the Ace of Hearts. Playing cards were left in envelopes by members of the royal family and the Royal Order of Knights to signify importance. The lowest ranking card in this alert system was the Ten of Clubs, the Ace of Hearts was the highest ranked card and was reserved for a select few circumstances.

“I'm sorry my little ponies, I must close court for the day. I will see to it that your petitions are redirected to the Serene Court of the Starry Skies,” Celestia spoke with full authority as she flashed the Ace of Hearts to all Ponies present.

Not even Gilded Chalice, a Pony famous for his sense of self worth and blatant hubris, so much as sighed in annoyance or disappointment as he took three hasty steps back before rushing out of the room.

Celestia retrieved the letter from it's envelope and began reading it.

To my dearest Aunt,

Earlier today, I was attacked by a group of Ponies. They were using guard formations and the only Unicorn of the assailants used the 'Expanding Flame Sphere' spell, which as you know is a Pyromancy spell only the Royal Guard are trained to use. Captain Thunderlane of the Ponyville Peacekeeper Corps will be sending a detailed report directly to you as soon as he can find Lord Spike. I fear this assassination attempt was preformed by the fundamentalist groups that have been harassing you about myself and other Under-City Ponies. If this is the case, I would to petition your court for siege equipment and permanent ROoK agents to be placed in Everfree Province in the event that these fundamentalists wage a 'Crusade' into Everfree Province. Some bystanders were hurt in the assassination attempt, there were no fatalities, but one filly was severely hurt. I would like to petition your court to also write off the medical expenses of all five bystanders that were injured in the event. If you are unable too, I can expend my own funds to pay for their injuries.

Lord Noblesse Oblige: heir to the Counties of Vanhoover and Everfree Province and Prince of Canterlot

Time of Sending: 14:26

Chapter 9: Aftermath

It wasn't for another two hours after sending the letter to Celestia that Ponies had started coming Noblesse Oblige's throne room. First was Apple Bloom's family, not really surprising seeing as their jobs was a family run business that could stand to be dropped for long period of time. Next came Dame Rarity, Noblesse's sources couldn't exactly confirm why Sweetie Belle's parents were gone so often or even where they went.

Next was Scootaloo's father and Dinky's parents and aunt. Noblesse noted that Dinky's mother and aunt were identical right to their cutie marks. Finally was Ruby Pinch's rather young mother. Berry Punch was still crying at her daughter's injuries. Unfortunately, Ruby Pinch suffered fairly severe injuries considering that she was only shoved a long distance away. Grant it that Ruby Pinch was sent through the skeleton of what will eventually be a wall, but having your horn broken off is a much less serious injury than being turned into ash.

Lieutenant Echo Location, the the Bat-Pony guard Noblesse Oblige had put in charge of retrieving his friends' families, had made a point of showing their families the crime scene. Noblesse doubted that many of the parents were angry with him for hurting their children considering the possible outcome, but he couldn't gauge Berry Punch's feelings seeing that she was still crying into her fore legs.

Now that all of the families had been seated at his long table for at least ten minutes, Noblesse Oblige decided to speak, “Thank you all for coming, I have some matters to discuss with all of you.”

“First, I would like to apologize for-” Noblesse was interrupted by Berry Punch's angry yelling.

“You think you get to be sorry!” Yelled the mare, Noblesse noticed that she was almost a photo copy of her daughter.

“Because of you! My baby is not only unconscious, but her horn is broken! Do you even realize how much you hurt her?”

“Given that I wove an anesthesia spell with my shock wave, she felt no pain,” Noblesse Oblige spoke with a matter of fact tone of voice, “Your daughter and her friends will not awaken until Monday morning. And given that her horn wasn't completely destroyed in the conflict, your daughter's horn will be fixed by the time she goes back to school next week.”

Berry Punch didn't know how to respond. She was a first time mother that had just visited her daughter in the ICU she needed someone to blame, but this colt had done everything in his power to keep her child safe and out of pain. Even though he had directly hurt her daughter, he did it to reduce the possibility of her daughter being put in more severe condition. The only sounds that Berry Punch made from that point on were quiet sobs.

“Do you know why these Ponies would try so hard to kill you?” Asked one of the gray Pegasi mares, Noblesse Oblige didn't know them well enough to differentiate Ditzy Doo and Derpy Hooves from one another.

Noblesse sighed, “Yes, that is actually another matter I wanted to discuss with the lot of you. Though I will be the Count of Everfree Province, I will also be inheriting the County of Vanhoover. That includes the city of Vanhoover, five other prosperous cities, and several towns that are all bigger than Ponyville currently is. This makes the County of Vanhoover a very valuable province, so it is likely that one of my relatives sent assassins to kill me so they could inherit Vanhoover.” Noblesse knew that there was a more likely reason for these particular Ponies hunting him, but revealing that information could be detrimental to him at this point in time. If he ever became popular enough without Ponies knowing that he was a noblepony, they would most likely overlook that particular aspect of his life.

“Speaking of my ancestry, I must demand that you all keep the fact that I am a noblepony a secret,” Finished Noblesse with a serious tone.

“And why is that?” Scootaloo's father was a Pegasus with a reddish purple coat, a similar color to beets. His eyes were a stone gray and his mane was a deep green much like the trees of the Everfree. Noblesse also saw his Cutie Mark before he sat down, ornate scales with bits in one scale and a large multicolored gem in the other.

“It is my great aunt and great dam's will that-” Noblesse was interrupted by Time Turner.

“I'm sorry, but your damn what?” Time Turner was surprised that a noblepony would use swears so casually with so many Ponies in the room.

“Dear, he's speaking in Classical Equestrian,” Explained his wife, “The phrase used for one's mother is 'dam' in Classical Equestrian, without the 'n.' So his 'great dam' would be Princess Luna in this case.”

Several Ponies in the room adopted understanding looks as Noblesse Oblige tried to stifle giggles.

“Yes, Ms. Doo is correct. That's a habit I'll have to break eventually,” Noblesse took a moment to get control over his laughter before speaking again, “But the Diarchs have enacted an Executive Order, demanding that I attend school at the Ponyville Foalhood Education Center and make friends. Few Ponies would try to be my friend if they knew I was a noblepony.”

“Wouldn't that make them try harder to be your friend?” Asked Scootaloo's father.

“The problem is that they would try too hard and for the wrong reasons,” Explained Rarity, she was in the know as the Princesses of Day and Night explained their plans and worries concerning the young noblepony.

“Alright, but what is an Executive Order?” Asked Cheerilee. Her years in teaching school only covered general education. So while she had a basic understanding of how the Equestrian government worked, she knew very little about specific legal procedures and established contingency plans.

“Allow me to explain that,” Offered Time Turner, “An Executive Order is a procedure that the Diarchs can enact that allows them to enforce temporary commands over the Equestrian populace without consulting the over branches of the government. Not even the Parliament can supersede an Executive Order, of course they have the power to take the Diarchs out of power should they have reason too.”

“The Lieutenant is correct,” Said Noblesse after Time Turner had finished his explanation, “I should also mention that defying an Executive Order is considered an act of treason, you'll be lucky if you get a cell with a window,” The young noblepony had to hold back laughter at the fact that his great aunt had personally designed prison cells specifically made to break a convict's spirit.

While Noblesse Oblige was a long shot from his arrogant self-superior cousins, he still found humor at how vindictive their Sun Princess could be when she was angry.

“Neither of you will have to worry about medical bills, I have more than enough money in my coffers and your children were hurt in part because of my presence here. It's only fair that I do this much at least,” The tone of Noblesse's voice made it clear that this wasn't an offer that anypony in the room could reject, “I will also be apologizing to them personally as soon as they are conscious.”

At that moment, a thought came to the mind of Dinky's mother, “Do our children know who you really are?”

“Dinky and Ruby have no idea that I am a noble at the moment,” Answered Noblesse Oblige, “And I intend to keep that way until my fifteenth birthday in mid Spring, the fewer Ponies who know my secret the better.”

The parents of the current Cutie Mark Crusaders started to leave the Everfree Palace and head back to their various jobs.

Cheerilee was helping her sister home while doing her best to consul her. Despite her job revolving around foals, Cheerilee was good with Ponies in general. Rarity and the Ponyville branch of the Apple family (minus Apple Bloom) headed back to their homes as well, seeing as they worked from home.

Dinky's parents and aunt were headed back to their jobs as well, when they noticed their Pegasus friend staring at the ground deep in thought.

“Is everything okay Exchange?” Asked Time Turner.

“Huh, what?” The beet colored Pegasus turned to his long time friends, realizing that they were speaking to him.

“You look like something's bothering you,” Derpy Hooves spoke without hesitation, “What's wrong Quiver?”

Equivalent Exchange thought about lying to his friends, at least for now. He didn't want to insult the colt that had just saved his daughter and her friends, especially not so close to his home. But at the same time they were all involved as well, Exchange also had a very demanding job and didn't know when the next time he'd be able to talk to them would be.

Exchange decided to tell them here and now, “Something's bothering about the situation with the lord.”

“You know that it wasn't his fault that our kids were hurt, right?” Asked Ditzy Doo, concerned that her friend was holding something against Noblesse that he had no control over.

“I know, but that's part of what's bothering me,” Exchange still wasn't sure how to phrase his concerns.

The beet colored Pegasus had to readjust his position to not fall over. It was this behavior that had earned him his nickname. Whenever he was nervous or thinking really hard about something, Equivalent Exchange would start to lose his hoofing because he was shaking so much. So the name 'Quiver' just stoke, it was a nervous habit similar to how Fluttershy lost control of her wings whenever something scared her.

Exchange bit his lip in thought. He couldn't find a way to put this subtly, so he was blunt, “Why would the Princess order us to keep her grandnephew's identity a secret?”

This confused his three friends, “Uh, because he wouldn't be able to make real friends if they knew?” Answered Ditzy.

“Right, but why would she use an Executive Order?” Asked Exchange, hoping his friends would catch on so he wouldn't have to be insultingly plain.

“So we wouldn't tell our kids,” Said Time Turner, not understanding where his foalhood friend was getting his concerns, “I can only imagine how many parents would tell their kids who he was in secret and give them instructions on manipulating him. Why does this have you so worried?”

Exchange sighed in defeat, “It's too mundane.”

“Insuring that a colt has real friends is 'mundane' to you?” Derpy was shocked that her friend would so much as suggest such a thing, let alone flat out say it.

“Considering that an Executive Order is an emergency procedure reserved for only the most drastic of circumstances? Yes, it is very mundane and unnecessary! Celestia could've simply asked for our discretion, I certainly can't think of a single Pony that would even think of not doing the something the Sun Princess asked,” Explained Exchange.

Ditzy Doo was about to speak when she realized what her friend was on to. It was strange that their wise and benevolent princess would take such drastic means of achieving this particular goal, when her little ponies respected her word as law.

“Another thing,” Continued Exchange, “The Parliament has the power to remove the Alicorns out of power, and we've already established that this is a rather mundane reason to take such precautions. So why would the Parliament be allow such a common reason to issue such an order? Then we must consider that members of the Royal Guard came here to kill him, despite the fact that he kept his real identity a secret. How did they know to come here for the colt, why not look in Vanhoover or Canterlot? Those places have multiple safe houses for the nobility, and especially the royalty. Those guardponies should have been protecting Noblesse Oblige, not hunting him down like a dog.”

Dinky's family started to see Exchange's point of view. There were multiple ways for a noblepony to lose their inheritance, and all of them were much more discrete than murder. It would also be easy to catch the assassins sense they were members of the Royal Guard, it would also be a simple matter to figure out who sent them after the poor colt.

Exchange took satisfaction at the looks of revelation on the faces of his friends, “You see? There's more to this than we know, hay! There might even be more to this than the lord knows. I think he knows exactly why those Ponies came to kill him, and I doubt that has anything to do with inheritance.”

“But if Ponies are looking to end his life, then Dinky could-” Time Turner was interrupted by his wife.

“Honey, no. Now that they've made such a public display, it's unlikely that whoever is after the lord's life will try again so soon,” Ditzy was trying her best to stop her husband's train of thought, “Besides, it's not like we can keep Dinky from being his friend without breaking the law. And we shouldn't keep that poor foal away from potential friends because Ponies are going so far to kill him.”

“I'm sorry to leave on such a sour note,” Exchange started to speak again, “But I have to get back to work, I'll see you three next time.”

After Exchange flew off, Ditzy and Derpy flew off to the post office as Time Turner trotted back to the Ponyville Guard Station. Time Turner didn't like that his daughter could be in danger just by being associated with the noblecolt, yet he neither wanted to control his daughter's life or deprive a lonely colt of friends.

The four Ponies who were just talking didn't see the Bat-Pony that was carefully hidden in the treetops of the Everfree Forest, despite the fact that half of them flew right by his face. The Bat-Pony waited until the four Ponies were long gone before he so much as moved. The Bat-Pony took flight and headed back to the Everfree Palace, this was all information that his master would want to know.

“Are you serious?” Asked a distorted voice.

“I'm afraid not milady, some of our Canterlot agents got wind the colt's presence in Ponyville and took action themselves. They failed rather spectacularly and caused civilians to be wounded in the process,” The messenger was worried about how his mistress would react to the news.

The messenger heard his lady lord curse as she slammed her hooves on a hard surface of some kind. The mistress was so invested in making sure her Ponyville units didn't do anything rash, that she forgot to tell her agents in other provinces that they were not to do try anything with the colt.

“This complicates things,” Despite the voice masking aspect of the Calling Stones the messenger could clearly hear how upset his mistress was, “If civilians were hurt then Celestia won't bother with subtlety in her investigations, did those idiots forget that we're doing this for the civilians' sake?”

The messenger knew that was a rhetorical question and did not want to risk agitating his lady lord any further, “Orders milady?”

“Stay on standby,” Ordered the mistress, “We can't do anything until we get the Royal Guard of our backs. I will be sure that our other agents don't do anything to exasperate the situation, we probably won't get any more opportunities to get information and we can't risk further discoveries.”

“Understood milady,” Said the messenger in a drone like tone of voice, “I will see to it that our Ponyville agents stay low until you give the order.”

Noblesse Oblige was sitting in his throne room in the Everfree Palace, listening to his scout's report, “So it appears as though they have figured out more than what would be ideal.”

“Should we do anything about them your grace?” Asked the scout.

“No, not as long as they follow the law. I appreciate that you brought this to my attention, return to your post until your shift ends.”

“By your leave,” The scout swiftly left the throne room, leaving his master to his thoughts.

Noblesse's thoughts were interrupted as his horn glowed a bright yellow and a letter materialized itself in front of him. Celestia's reply came much sooner than he had expected.

While Ali/Unicorns could send each other letters with their magic, it took years of practice for it to become instantaneous. It was for this very reason that Twilight Sparkle and Celestia used Spike's magical flame to send letters to each other. While Twilight could probably send letters to Celestia faster than he could, it could still be ten to twenty minutes later, and it would cause a large amount of noise unless she spent a significant amount of time honing this particular skill.

Noblesse opened the letter without thought and began reading.

To my nephew and heir to the Counties of Vanhoover Province and Everfree Province,

While it pleases me to see that you have made friends so quickly and are willing to help them at your own expense, the Parliament and I have established Nation Emergency Funds for this exact scenario.

Regarding your suspicions about the assassins' motive, the guardponies that partook in the failed attempt on your life specifically requested that they be assigned to the patrol routes around the House Platinum Housing-Tower. It would seem that it was wise to import your personal staff from the Under-Cities. Though it troubles me that they found you so quickly, despite the precautions you took to ensure secrecy. This leads me to believe that the militant fundamentalists already had agents in Everfree Province before you announced that you would be establishing your court in Ponyville. I have personally assigned Check Mate to head the investigation him/herself, I refuse to let this act of treachery go unpunished!

Regarding your request for 'reinforcements,' I have seen it fit to grant you permission to house siege equipment and Check Mate will already be stationing spies in Ponyville to reduce any impact future incidents may otherwise incur.

P.S. The Parliament has given you the go ahead to make your own domestic trade routes between the settlements of Everfree Province and the Royal Librarians have finally made copies of all of the books for the 'Warding' spells Luna and I used for the Everfree Palace, and are all being sent to you. In short, you can realize your ambitions of having safe roads going through the Everfree Forest. Stay safe my nephew.

Your loving and trusting aunt, Celestia von Equis.

Noblesse set the letter down with a sigh of relieve. If Check Mate was seeing to the investigation him/herself, than there was no reason to so much as worry.

'Check Mate' is codename given to Equestia's Spymaster, to keep his or her identity secret. It fit perfectly seeing as ROoK was the Equestrian secret police and both were terms used in chess.

Now that Noblesse knew that he would the means and the rights to make trade roads thought the Everfree Forest, all he needed now was help ensuring that they were not in the way of the strange wildlife that called the foreboding forest home. Fortunately, Ponyville happened to have a Zebra shaman that lived in the forest and knew it's wildlife better than any other living being.

Chapter 10: Dawn of the First Day

Sunday went by fairly quickly for everypony. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were still unconscious from Noblesse's anesthesia spell, which was for the best considering their wounds, the Ponyville Weather Team was still in the midst of adjusting the weather schedule for the upcoming increase of population and industry, there were no more incidents that required the guards attention.

Noblesse Oblige, with the help of the local Zebra shaman, had laid out the road map for trade roads going through the Everfree Forest. One had to be careful with this kind of project as the wildlife in the Everfree Forest managed itself, and separating prey and predator would have dire consequences for the whole region.

Noblesse wanted roads in the Everfree Forest to better connect the settlements in Everfree Province. Trade Caravans could easily go around the forest, but there were many problems which discouraged trade between the settlements. Going around the whole forest required a lot of time, time which would increase how much caravan staff would need to be paid.

There was also the issue of the settlements themselves. A caravan constantly going through a settlement would attract the attention of thieves, gangs, and other criminal elements. Because of this local governments charged the caravan owners to go through the settlement, increasing the amount of which any trade goods cost. The only water route that the province could use was in the Everfree Forest itself, this meant that it could be smooth sailing one moment and deadly rapids the next.

But if one were to put security wards in the leylines, it would prevent monsters from attacking the caravan. Criminals could still technically ambush the caravan but that would require to wait outside of the cleared road, opening any opportunists to attacks from the wildlife.

When caravans started going directly to one settlement to another within the province, all settlements could obtain numerous goods for nearly no cost. And now that a noblepony was actually residing in Everfree Province, other provinces would send their caravans into Everfree Province. This would of course turn all of Everfree Province into the single largest domestic trade hub in Equestria, only cities like Vanhoover or Trottingham would be able to compete with the agricultural communities of Everfree Province. The economy of Everfree Province would actually overcome that of Equestria's other trade routes, both domestic and foreign.

Noblesse Oblige sat in front of the three paneled mirror in his bed room, looking deeply into his face.

While many of his 'peers' (implying they were actually his equal) would spend hours every day admiring how beautiful they looked, Noblesse had a much less vain reason to have this habit. Too see the changes in his appearance as the ancient magics worked.

Noblesse knew that he didn't have to take the Under-City blood rites, yet he felt like too much of an outsider without it. He also believed in the Under-City Ponies' means of penance: humility, combat, and even sacrificing some of his own Equinity because of his ancestors' hubris. Many of his critics would point out that Noblesse was different from the Under-City Ponies, they were born the infusions in their blood. They were born the way the were, Noblesse didn't care what critics thought of him.

The first changes were not in his appearance, but his heightened sense of smell. Next came the mutation of his bones. Instead of being single masses, they became countless vertebrae similar to one's spine. Noblesse could see his rounded pupils slowly becoming dagger like slits, he could also feel some of his teeth becoming fangs. Noblesse could also feel his muscles 'changing.' They weren't becoming stronger per-say, but certainly they were becoming more flexible.

The most noticeable change that would come would be his hide, or rather the lack of. He would still have skin but he would shed his coat and hide, and in their place would be rows of scales.

Despite his past, Noblesse couldn't help but feel giddy and excited at the prospect of going to a public school. He might still get stares at his unusually coloring, and there would certainly be comments about it, but he had a feeling that even the bullies at the Ponyville Foalhood Education Center would be more tame than anypony at his great aunt's school.

Noblesse used his magic to darken the magical 'Lighting Stones' mounted in his room and made his way to his bed. Most would have trouble with navigating the stygian darkness that encompassed his bedroom, but Noblesse was not most Ponies, not most surface Ponies anyway.

Noblesse tucked himself in his covers and drifted into his grandmother's domain as thoughts of his first day of school drowned his mind in excitement.

Rumble awoke as the Celestia's sun rose and shined it's blinding light directly into his face. Rumble removed his covers and yawned as looked to the clock mounted on the wall of his room.

6 a.m. Sharp, like everyday. Though Cloudsdale's Flight School kept the foals at attendance on a strict schedule, Rumble was already accustomed to the early rises that the school demanded. Sometimes, he woke up as one of the instructors entered the barracks for roll call and morning excises. One of many things that the other foals mocked him about, the most common one being his effeminate appearance.

Rumble left his room and went straight for the shower in his house. Flitter and Cloud Chaser were still asleep, and his brother would be messing with his tail right about now. So Rumble held no reservations about taking his time in the shower, not that he needed much.

Twenty minutes later Rumble headed downstairs and to his lack of surprise, saw his brother trying to make his tail perfect for the day.

“Come on!” Whined Thunderlane. Whining was some what of an exaggeration. But in Rumble's mind, his brother spent too much time on his appearance and simply couldn't understand why he spent hours on his appearance.

“Good morning Thunder,” Said Rumble happily as he went into the kitchen.

“Good morning Rumble,” Replied the elder brother, “Sleep well?”

“Like a foal...” Rumble's voice trailed off as he looked for something in particular in the cupboards.

Thunderlane had to struggle to keep his brother from hearing his giggles. Thunderlane would occasionally prank his brother this way, by switching the items in the fridge, freezer, and pantry respectively.

Thunderlane never put items in places where they would spoil or become ruined, but Rumble was none the wiser. The young gray Pegasus would recall something being in one place, and look in that place and adjacent areas over and over again. Five years of doing this and Rumble was still clueless.

“Are you looking for something in particular?” Asked Thunderlane.

“Yeah,” Replied Rumble plainly, “We're not out of cereal are we?”

Thunderlane had to suppress giggles once again before answering, “Three shelves from the top little bud.”

Rumble looked up and saw that every box of cereal he remembered being on the bottom close to the top of the cabinet, “Oh.”

Thunderlane had to force himself to wheeze to keep his brother from hearing his laughter as he flew up and grabbed one of the boxes.

Flitter came down the stairs and looked at her dark colored friend in confusion. Thunderlane simply pointed to Rumble close to the ceiling. Flitter had to keep herself from laughing as well. The two sisters were in on Thunderlane's prank and would even take part once in a while.

Flitter spoke to keep Rumble from noticing her laughing, “Good morning Rumble,” She said in a sweet song voice.

Rumble looked over to his left as he descended, “Good morning Flitter, how are you this morning?”

“Oh, I'm fine. How about you two?” Flitter went into the kitchen herself as she spoke.

“I'm fine this morning, can't say the same about Thunder though,” Rumble gestured with a spoon to his older brother, “Now, where are the bowls?”

Flitter couldn't help but giggle. She and Cloud Chaser had switch some of the tableware in the cabinets before going to bed, “Geez Rumble, you've only lived here for twelve years,” Flitter snickered as she realized what the effeminate colt said about his brother, “And what's this about you Thunderlane?”

Thunderlane was glaring at his hindquarters with a brush wrapped in his one of his fore legs, “I can't get my tail to cooperate with me today.”

A little known fact about Ponies: though most used the limited telekinesis through their hooves, they could all use limited telekinesis through their heels and into their knees, it was actually strongest in their cannons. It was this aspect of Pony magiology that allowed them to use polearms so well.

Rumble spoke again after he swallowed a spoonful of cereal, “Will you joining us today Flitter?”

Flitter had to think for a moment about what Rumble meant. It hit her like a hurricane, “Oh, today's your first day of school here isn't it?”

“Mm-hm,” Was all of the response Rumble could give with a mouth full of cereal.

“Well, I don't have work until nine today. So I would love to drop you off at school,” Flitter might have been worried about rumors and comments about the nature of the relationship between herself, her sister, and Thunderlane, but Ponies have been talking since the three of them moved in together.

“Do you know if that girl you meet the other day will be there?” Asked Flitter. Rumble was oblivious to it, but Thunderlane could hear the malicious intent in her voice.

“Girl?” Asked Rumble who his friend was talking about.

“The Apple filly that you watched over on Friday,” Flitter's eyes seemed to sparkle.

Thunderlane was not able to hold back giggles this time. He knew exactly where this was going, and he was not going to intervene.

“Oh,” Was all Rumble said, not realizing that he was being set up, “I'm not sure. Why do you ask?”

“I just thought you would like to have class with your fillyfriend,” Said Flitter calmly, though her eyes betrayed how much she was going to enjoy messing with Rumble.

“Fillyfriend?” Said Rumble as a blush erupted across his face, “I met her three days ago and I didn't even get to talk to her. I'm not even acquainted with her.”

“Then you should fix that little bro,” Thunderlane decided to join in, “I don't think that Applejack would mind her family had a few more seeds in it.”

Flitter and Thunderlane laughed at Rumble's expense as whole his turned scarlet.

“Knock it off you two,” Cloud Chaser spoke as she came down the stairs, “Lets at least wait until he's had his first day of school before we tease him.”

Rumble's blush died down some as he rolled his eyes, “Gee, thanks CC,” Rumble slid the box of cereal to the side of the counter Cloud Chaser was about to cross.

Cloud Chaser caught the box as she passed, “Thanks Rumble. So what's on the agenda today 'captain?'”

Thunderlane rolled his eyes at his friend and subordinate, “Well, we won't have any migrants until 24th of Spring. So unless it's behind a desk, we won't have any guard work to do until then.”

“So we're going to just nag at Rainbow Dash for jobs for the next month?” Asked Cloud Chaser. Everypony in the room laughed as Thunderlane nodded his head.

“What's the date today?” Asked Rumble.

“The 85th of Winter,” Said Flitter, “In six more days, you'll get to participate in your first Winter Wrap-Up!” Flitter's voice was jovial and excited.

Rumble was about to take his dishes to the sink, but Cloud Chaser intercepted him and grabbed his bowl, “Allow me,” Cloud Chaser took both hers and Rumble's dishes to the sink.

“Thanks CC,” Rumble's voice was genuine this time, “Will you be able to accompany us to school today Cloud Chaser?”

Cloud Chaser smiled sadly at her little friend, “Sorry Rumble. I'd love to, but I have to take inventory at the guard armory this morning,” She ruffled Rumble's mane some before kissing his head, “I hope you have a good day at school.”

“Is everypony ready?” Asked Thunderlane looking to Flitter and Rumble.

“I don't think Flitter has eaten yet,” Pointed out Rumble.

“I don't have work for like, another two hours. It'll be fine,” Assured Flitter.

“Rumble?” Asked Thunderlane.

“Yeah, I'm ready. Just let me get my backpack,” Rumble flew over to the coat rack by the door and grabbed his backpack. Most Ponies used saddle bags, but they were hard to get accustomed to if you didn't wear clothing on a regular basis.

“Alright!” Exclaimed Rumble, “Lets go!”

Rumble flew out the door as Flitter called to him, “Wait for us Rumble!” Flitter followed suit.

Thunderlane just rolled his eyes at his energetic family and followed behind his friend and his brother.

“How do you feel about facing your first day of public school?” Asked a light purple mare.

“I'm actually sort of excited,” Replied Noblesse Oblige, “I think I'll still get strange looks, but with the town's history with the zebra...”

“Oh right,” Top Priority knew what her master was talking about, “I think a creature of another species is a little more drastic than another Pony who looks strange.”

“According to Twilight Sparkle, they didn't know she was a zebra,” Pointed out Noblesse, “They just thought that she was a Pony who dyed her coat with stripes in lived in the Everfree Forest.”

“Really?” Asked Priority, “They made someone a pariah for something so mundane? Ponyville seems like such a friendly place.”

Before the two could continue their conversation, they saw an unpleasant scene. Two fillies the pair was familiar with, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. The pair of bullies seemed to have chosen a new quarry now that their favorite victims were... 'unavailable.'

“Oi! Knock it off you!” Yelled a small white Earth Pony colt, the pair noted the colt's unique appearance: namely, the natural blotches of brown all over his coat.

“Why don't you make us short stack?” Said Silver Spoon as she made the small colt trip.

“Woah!” The poor colt didn't just fall to the ground, he face-planted.

The two bullies were about to taunt their victim more when the witnesses became interlopers, “Hey!” Noblesse yelled with authority.

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon looked behind them. While the pair had spent the last couple of days in the Everfree Palace, Noblesse Oblige made sure that the two brats didn't know that they didn't know he was the lord presiding over the palace. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon took a few unconscious steps backward as they recognized Top Priority as the lord's right hoof and their captor, “W-what are you doing here?” Silver Spoon spoke addressing the head of security at the Everfree Palace.

Top Priority and Noblesse went over their cover story in length the previous evening, “I was taking my son to school when I saw you two brats,” She wasn't trying very hard to mask the disdain in her voice, “You two go to jail for bullying another foal, so you decide to pick on a different foal? I'll have to speak to my master if your cells are that comfortable.”

The two bullies brought their attention to Noblesse for the first time as he was helping their victim off of the ground. They noted his metallic gray coat and his light brown mane and tail. They also saw his unique Cutie Mark, a silhouette of an Alicorn posing in a mirror. The two flinched when his gaze meet theirs, his dark red-brown eyes full of furry, “I take it that you two are the daughters of Baron Filthy Rich and Margrave Gilded Chalice respectively?”

The two bullies could not say why they were scared of this strange looking colt, something in his voice and his gaze made the two want to run away screaming. Never mind that his gaze lacked the malice that his 'mother's' had, or the fact he was only speaking a little louder than Fluttershy, “H-how do you know that?” Asked Diamond Tiara, not liking that a colt she had never meet knew more than he should about herself and her cousin.

“My family has served House Platinum for generations. I am more than familiar with all of Equestria's noble families. The lord also made a point of stating how disappointed that some of the peers his age were worthless brats,” Noblesse held no reservations about giving his own opinions freely.

Noblesse started prowling towards the two infamous bullies, “Though I share my lord's name, I lack his mercy almost entirely. Thou had best watch thy own actions, for I shall ensure my master has a very detailed description of thy misconduct,” Noblesse crouched as though he were about to pounce.

Seeing the colt's predatory positioning, the two bullies started running to the school yard. Noblesse started to chuckle as he turned to the small colt behind him, “I'm sorry that you had to see that, I just thought it would be best if they were gone,” Noblesse stoke out a hoof to the colt, “My name is Noblesse Oblige, it's a pleasure to meet you.”

The small white and brown colt grabbed Noblesse's hoof in his and shook it, “My name's Pipsqueak, it's noice to meet you Noblesse. And thanks for helping me out there.”

“I hate to ask,” Started Top Priority, “But how old are you Pipsqueak?” Pipsqueak was clearly older than his stature suggested, but Priority didn't know how much older.

“I'm fourteen, 'nd think nothin' of it luv. I get questions like that all the time,” A thought occurred to Pipsqueak, “I don't suppose you two are head to the same school I am are you?”

“Is there more than one school?” Asked Noblesse wryly.

“Ha! Good point mate,” Pipsqueak had known this metallic colored colt for a grand total of seven minutes and he was already liking him, never mind that he could become a force of terror at a moment's notice.

The group of three started their trek to school. Top Priority smiled as she watched Noblesse and Pipsqueak talk like old friends, though it was only natural given all they had in common. They were both from different parts of Equestria, they both had 'unique' color schemes, and neither seemed to be afraid to snark at the nobility given their ongoing conversation. Ha, and to think the Diarchs were afraid that Noblesse wouldn't be able to make Friends thought Top Priority. He hadn't even been to school yet and Noblesse had already made at least six friends, Priority wasn't sure where Twilight's dragon assistant fell in the friend/acquaintance spectrum. I wonder how the other foals will treat him?

Chapter 11: Change of Plans

Chapter 11: Change of Plans

Rainbow Dash was waiting for the rest of the Weather Team in the skies over one of Ponyville's fields, tapping her hoof impatiently.

Rainbow Dash had just gotten a letter from her superiors in the Equestrian Weather Administration, and she was not happy with them at the moment. The established weather schedule for Ponyville had called for little to no snow for the region this year, meaning it would take literally no effort for Winter Wrap-Up. The letter Rainbow Dash had received informed her of sudden changes.

The colossal bureaucracy that dictated weather law and weather procedure made it take a large amount of time to get anything through. The Equestrian Weather Administration set up weather schedules for the whole nation years in advance to counter this. However, they didn't anticipate nobles holding their courts anywhere in Everfree Province. The Ponyville Town Council permitting Noblesse Oblige to establish Ponyville as his Provincial Capital meant that significant changes had to be made on a moments notice.

Almost everypony who was apart of the Ponyville Weather Team was present. The only Pony they were waiting on was Thunderlane.

“Geez, that was embarrassing,” Said Thunderlane as he flying the Weather Team's usual gathering point.

“Urgh, tell me about,” Was all Rumble said, still upset at his mishap.

Thunderlane and Flitter had accompanied Rumble to see him off on his first day of School in Ponyville. They had arrived at the schoolhouse just before seven, just in time for the morning time class. They were greeted not by Ms. Cheerilee, but a dark green stallion who introduced himself as Limitless Potential. Rumble was not on Mr. Potential's student roster. This is when Mr. Potential looked on the other period rosters, and saw that Rumble was in the noon time class. They had arrived a whole five hours earlier than they should have. Both Flitter and Cloud Chaser both had busy days today at their jobs, so Thunderlane decided to take Rumble with him on the Weather Team today.

“Huh, that's weird,” Said Thunderlane.

Rumble traced his brother's gaze and found a strange sight indeed. It looked like for whatever reason, Rainbow Dash had called for a full muster for the Weather Team. Both brothers quickly looked over to the Everfree Forest. Everfree Province was one of few Equestrian provinces that actually needed a whole Weather Team in every settlement. Most provinces simply held a single Weather Team in the provincial capital as the land's natural magic was usually enough to sustain the area for a long period of time, meaning that they didn't require much weather-maintenance. Everfree Province was an exception to this rule as it's namesake forest had a will of it's own. The weather in the Everfree Forest was random and uncontrollable, and it was this 'wild weather' that often bled out into the surrounding settlements. The Weather Teams in the Everfree Province were not just there to watch over their own towns, but to make sure the wild weather didn't leak out to the rest of Equestria.

Thunderlane and Rumble were confused as they saw that the weather over the Everfree was calm, so whatever called for the entire Weather Team's attention was most likely an administrative issue. “I have a bad feeling about this,” commented Rumble.

“Finally!” Yelled Rainbow Dash as she saw Thunderlane closing in on the Weather Team.

Thunderlane and Rumble seated themselves on the storm clouds that had been placed for just this kind of occasion. That's strange thought Thunderlane The weather schedule called for clear skies and cold winds for the rest of the week.

“Now that Thunderlane is here,” Exclaimed Rainbow Dash, “As you all have noticed, we have received a heavy shipment of storm clouds from the EWA. With all of the development that Everfree Province will be under going soon, there had to be last minute adjustments to Ponyville's weather schedule.”

“Why would development cause the weather schedule to change?” Asked Rumble, lacking the education the other weather-Ponies had.

“Because a larger population and larger industry affects how much magic the leylines exude,” Explained Rainbow Dash, “More Earth Ponies means more magic feeding into the ground, more Unicorns and Pegasi means there will be an increase in loose ambient magic, and this all means that the Everfree Forest will be more active. Had we known that Ponyville would be a Provincial Capital ahead of time, it wouldn't be that big of a deal. But since we didn't know for sure until the end of the year, it means that we need more drastic weather immediately to keep the Everfree from going wild and expanding over the whole province,” There was more to it than that, but Rumble would get a more in depth explanation of it in school in some point and this required urgent attention.

“So what are doing with the storm clouds?” Asked a mare that Thunderlane recognized as Blossomforth.

Rainbow cringed as she knew nopony was going to like this particular sudden change, “While we have put the leylines into a light rest as the EWA called for, the upcoming increase in Everfree Province's magical signature means that it is too light as is. So, we are going to have basically drown the whole Province in ice and snow.”

“You're kidding, right?!” Asked a random Pegasus in the crowd.

“I'm not,” Said Rainbow Dash, “It's not just us, every Weather Team in the Province has too work double time to deepen the sleep that the area is in. Or else the wildlife in the Everfree Forest will overcome the settlements in Everfree Province and endanger not just our nation, but the whole continent.”

Rainbow Dash could hear the whole Weather Team in front of her talking amongst themselves with a slight tone of panic. Rainbow Dash would've simply told everypony to get to work, but she still needed a moment to mentally prepare herself, “Blossomforth, take your company over to the Farming Districts. Derpy, your company will handle the weather distribution over the Ponyville Fields. My company will deal with the City Limits. Come on Team! Lets fly!”

Celestia was looking out of the balcony that went to her private bedchamber. Though one could see over half of Equestria from this viewpoint, the Sun Princess had her gaze centered on the pitch black clouds surrounding the Everfree Forest. Noblesse could have actually made Ponyville his Provincial Capital since the 'Canterlot Wedding Fiasco,' but Celestia had used every trick she could have to delay her young grand nephew.

Celestia was concerned that her nephew wouldn't be safe in Everfree Province, especially not Ponyville. While she was sure that the accidents that had plagued Noblesse since he moved into the Canterlot Palace from the Under-City of Whoanelliesburg, she couldn't deny the outcry of her more conservative subjects in Canterlot. Noblesse did not make it a secret that he had taken the Under-City Blood Rites, and this sickened many Ponies who kept themselves in the know. Many Ponies demand that Noblesse be sent back to the Under-Cities, others suggested banishing him to Tartarus, a disturbing number of Ponies had demanded that the colt be executed for witchcraft.

Celestia shared her nephew's vision of reintegrating Under-City Ponies into the surface and now that Luna was supporting the idea as well, the Under-City Ponies were willing. Many Ponies were concerned that doing this would 'taint' the populace of Equestria, others were concerned that allowing Under-City Ponies to migrate to the surface would undermine the security that the Under-Cities provided to all of Equestria, though most simply saw them as subequine freaks and mutants that had no rights.

Celestia's worries caused her to delay her nephew for his own good, but he insisted. Celestia eventually saw her nephew's point of view in this matter, though it came very late. And because Noblesse wasn't able to start with bureaucracy that went into choosing a Provincial Capital until late into the year, the whole Province was suffering for it.

“Sister?” Called a familiar voice, “Are you alright?”

Celestia was so deep in thought that she didn't hear the flapping of Luna's wings. She spun around to face her younger sister, “Gah! Luna, you scared me.”

Luna couldn't help but chuckle, “Hehehe, it's not too often that you're the one that's caught off guard.”

Luna walked to Celestia's side as Celestia turned to face the Everfree Forest. Luna traced her sister's gaze to their old home, “Are you still beating yourself up over that?”

Celestia turned her head to face her sister again, “A whole County is suffering because I kept Noblesse from leaving for as long as possible.”

“You had the best of intentions,” Countered Luna, “You always have every one of us in mind.”

“You mean like when I bani-” Celestia was interrupted by a slap to the face from her younger sister.

Luna reached up and hugged her sister before speaking, “Tia, we've talked about this. My madness was not your fault. If I wanted our subjects' attention, I should have been more outgoing like you.”

Luna let go of Celestia and turned to the Everfree Forest. Luna didn't need a magical affinity for the subconscious to know that something else was bothering her sister, and she would figure out what.

“I understand that you're worried about him, but there's something else,” Stated Luna simply, “Please Tia, what's troubling you so much?”

“Was I that obvious?” Asked Celestia with a sad smile.

“Only because I know you so well sister, and I haven't been able to get to you in the Dreamscape,” Admitted Luna, “What could have you so worried that you've losing sleep?”

Celestia debated dodging the issue or even lying, but Luna was probably the only person alive who could tell that she would be lying. Luna was also the only person alive she would be comfortable talking about this particular subject.

Celestia decided to give Luna the truth, “I'm worried that I've created yet another monster,” Said Celestia, “Only this time it won't negligence, but laziness that made it.”

“I beg you're pardon?” Though Luna knew her sister better than anyone, even more so than their parents, she still couldn't always decipher what Celestia was thinking without an explanation.

Celestia sighed, “I'm afraid that Noblesse will become a second Nightmare Moon entity,” Admitted the Sun Princess, “Only it will be worse because it won't be jealousy and neglect that takes him, but paranoia and disdain that will drive him to commit whatever acts of vengeance he does.”

Luna nodded, she had the same worries about her grandfoal that her sister did. But she wasn't as worried as Celestia was. Noblesse was in Ponyville, the town that made her feel loved and respected after twelve-hundred years of neglect. The best chance of healing his heart lays in Ponyville.

Luna wrapped one of her wings around her sister, as best she could anyway, and gave her sister as much company and comfort as she could.

“So why did your family move from Trottingham?” Asked Noblesse.

“My parents lost their jobs, so we either had to move to a different town or move into one of the less 'enjoyable' parts of the city,” Explained Pipsqueak, “I might have been against moving 'ere if my old schoolmates weren't such jerks.”

Noblesse nodded, “I can relate. Most Ponies in Canterlot didn't exactly approve of my appearance either, they used to call me 'Golem' because my natural colors are closer to metal than candy,” Noblesse rolled his eyes thinking about his 'peers,' “It wasn't all bad though, I made some friends in the Palace District.”

The two colts would have continued their conversation, but Top Priority noticed something odd, “Why are all of the foals outside of the schoolhouse?”

The two colts stopped and noticed that the schoolhouse was in sight, “That's odd,” Said Pipsqueak, “We're supposed to be workin' on math this week, phys ed ain't till next week.”

The three Ponies felt the bite of cold as snow started falling from the skies. The three looked up and saw dark storm clouds expanding over all of Ponyville, “Doesn't the weather schedule call for clear skies this week?” Asked Noblesse.

“Hey! You three!” The three Ponies looked up but couldn't see the dark gray stallion landing in front of them due to the dark clouds in the skies.

Thunderlane cleared his throat to get the attention of the three Ponies looking to the skies, “You three need to head home now. There have been some issues with the EWA and we're going to be having massive snow storms all week long.”

“What about school?” Asked Pipsqueak.

“School's been canceled to keep Ponies from being hurt in the coming storms,” Explained Thunderlane, “I can have some guardponies help you three home, but have to head back immediately.”

The snow storm was increasing in intensity as the conversation went on. Even Thunderlane, who had the benefit of being a Pegasus, started to become uncomfortable in the dropping temperatures. The meridians throughout the body of a Pegasus gave them magical insulation which usually kept them warm no matter how cold the altitudes the Pegasi flew in. If the temperature dropped or raised too quickly however, it required some time for a Pegasi's body to adjust to the sudden change in temperature.

“Noblesse, Pipsqueak,” Called out Priority, “Stand on opposite sides of me.”

The two colts did as they were told as Top Priority began channeling magic into her horn. A yellow aura coated the purple mare's horn and became brighter and brighter within moments. Thunderlane had to cover his eyes as a blinding light came from the mare's horn and loud popping noise came from the direction of the three Ponies he was just addressing.

When Thunderlane uncovered his eyes, he saw that the three Ponies were gone. Thunderlane would have been concerned about their well being, but the crack of thunder above him reminded him that he had more important things to worry about at the moment. Thunderlane flew back into the skies too help manage the raging storm above him.

There was a large yellow flash in the foyer of the Everfree Palace surprising everypony that was not wearing the protective blindfolds.

Noblesse, Pipsqueak, and Priority were dizzy from the teleportation and needed to take a moment to regain their balance.

“Blimey!” Exclaimed Pipsqueak, “I didn't know you could worp multiple Ponies at once.”

“Neither did I,” Admitted Priority as she nearly stumbled, “I only risked it because I know that teleportation spells can't directly harm anything. The worst thing that could've happened is that we wouldn't quite make it to our destination.”

“Considering we're in the Everfree Forest, that could be pretty bad in of itself,” Pointed out Noblesse.

“The Everfree Forest?” Pipsqueak looked around at his new surroundings, “Where are we?”

“Oh, I forgot that thou hast never been here,” Said Noblesse, “Welcome to the Everfree Palace Pipsqueak, the new house of Provincial Government and house of Lord Noblesse Oblige.”

As Pipsqueak looked around, he saw the strange looking Ponies with blindfolds. At least, he though they were Ponies, “Oi, what in 'ell er they?” Pipsqueak pointed to the Under-City Ponies.

“The lord thought that now was a good time to reintegrate Under-City Ponies into Equestria's surface,” Started Priority, “The palace was going too need a large amount of staff and this ensures that surface Ponies don't discriminate against them for their looks.”

“Under-City Ponies?” Asked Pipsqueak.

Noblesse facehoofed and started chuckling, “Pfft- hahaha, this is going to take a while.”

Chapter 12: Due Condolences

The next week saw severe snow storms all over Everfree Province. Noblesse Oblige took advantage of the situation to begin integrating the Under-City Ponies into his holdings. The Bat-Ponies helped manage the hoards of volatile storm clouds that were needed to cement the magical sleep over the Everfree Forest. The Beetle-Ponies used their deepened connection with the planet given to them by their affinity to the ground and lives spent underground to find animal dens beneath the mountains of ice and snow. The Serpicorns used their training in battle magic to evaporate the snow to ensure that the whole province wouldn't be flooded by oceans created by conventional Pyromancy.

Anypony who would have spoken out against the Under-City Ponies for being freaks of nature or having an archaic culture were silenced by how helpful these immigrants were for handling the dire circumstances they found themselves in. It also helped that the Under-City Ponies helped deliver supplies that were granted to Everfree Province by the Twin Thrones to Ponies trapped in doors by the sudden and severe weather.

The Under-City Ponies were so useful and unique in fact, that nopony cared that the construction sites all over Everfree Province were given priority when it came to designating areas of settlements for clearing snow.

Noblesse smiled in pride as he saw Under-City Ponies working all over Ponyville with other residents of Ponyville as though it were normal to have demi-Equines everywhere. For the past seven days, the Under-City Ponies had been helping the surface settlements of Everfree Province through the harsh Winter it found itself in. Of course, this is what happens when you have to cram two months worth of weather into a single week.

It was probably the first time in Equestria's history that an inland province found itself in the midst of unplanned weather. Sometimes wild weather would blow in from extra-Equestrian lands or from the unpredictable seas that surrounded Equestria and would cause trouble for coastal provinces. Whenever this happened, the Provincial Governments would have to petition the Parliament for aid and would see economical repercussions for whatever damages there were on top of the monetary debt that was owed to Parliament.

However, most provinces weren't hoarding subterranean immigrants that were used to handling wild and/or weaponized weather. Because Noblesse had used his numerous contacts in the Under-Cities and endorsement from Princess Luna, Everfree Province now had Disaster Relief Corps that put the Royal Guard to shame. Everfree Province also had this luxury at no cost, courtesy of House Platinum's treasury.

His thoughts about the Under-City Ponies brought Noblesse to his first destination of the day. He had promised Twilight Sparkle an explanation of how Under-City Blood Rites worked, an explanation Noblesse couldn't really give himself. So, Noblesse decided to do the next best thing.

Spike ran to the front door to answer it, not even needing to be asked too by his sister/mother/landlady... they never really worked out what the relationship between Twilight, her family, and himself actually was.

Spike opened the door and was surprised by what he saw, “Oh, hello Noblesse. Please come in.”

“Thank you Spike,” Noblesse entered the building with his strange attire, or rather the lack thereof.

Despite the below freezing temperatures, Noblesse Oblige wasn't wearing anything to counter it. While he was wearing a saddle, it clearly wasn't the kind used to keep warm during the colder days of the year. The saddle was equipped with several large saddlebags that appeared to be holding boxes or bricks or something of that general shape. Tied to the saddle was an incredibly large sack that could barely hold it's contents, whatever they were. Spike couldn't actually deduce what was inside of the sack, not that he was given much time as his customer/guest spoke.

“Excuse me, but do you know where Dame Twilight is?” Asked Noblesse.

“I'm right here,” Answered Twilight as she entered from the kitchen, “Er, how can I help you, your grace?”

“Please Dame Twilight, there is no need to hold such formalities with me,” Replied Noblesse immediately, raising a dismissive hoof.

“Then there is reason to call me 'Dame Twilight,' I'm fine with just being Twilight,” Noblesse might not have known Twilight well enough to notice it, but Spike could hear the discomfort in her voice.

“Now, how can I help you today?” Asked Twilight trying to get control over her nerves, and failing.

“I actually came to give thou presents,” Noblesse horn was covered in a stygian black as his saddlebags opened, to reveal the contents to be books. Noblesse magicked the books over to a nearby table, “I know that I promised you an explanation on how Under-City Blood Rites worked, a promise I cannot fulfill myself.”

“There's twelve books,” Pointed out Spike.

“Consider it me paying interest that is owed to thou,” Said Noblesse, “The others are books on Under-City culture, history, and copies of our religious texts.”

“Oh, thank you,” Twilight's worries were overcome with excitement at the chance to gain new books and knowledge, “I actually just finished reading my book on relations between the Japonese and the Zebras.”

Twilight read over the titles of the twelve volumes before choosing the ritual grimoire covering the Under-City Blood Rites in great detail, Twilight would also find that the book also covered the basics of Hemomancy as well as basic spells belonging to the school of Hemomancy.

“I'm glad you like it. I would stay and chat, but I have urgent business elsewhere today. Have a good day Twilight.” Noblesse politely bowed his head and left the library.

Twilight raised her head to ask her assistant to organize the other elven books in her personal reading queue when she saw that Spike was staring at the door, “Spike? What's wrong?”

“He said that these are all books that cover the history and culture of the Under-City Ponies, right?” Asked Spike with a slightly shaky voice.

“Yeah, so?” Twilight wasn't sure what could have spooked the little purple dragon so much.

“Then why did he refer to the religious tomes as our religious scriptures?”

Twilight almost spoke to try and dismiss Spike's concerns, it wouldn't be the first time he had a baseless fear. But this was different. Noblesse's words did imply that he thinks of himself as an Under-City Pony. While that wouldn't be bad in off itself, he had: arranged for a large number of Under-City Ponies to migrate to Everfree Province, waited for the perfect circumstance for the alien Ponies to be welcomed, and they knew that Under-City Ponies were militaristic zealots that revered the Equestrian continent to be Holy Lands and worshiped Alicorns as gods.

Twilight stopped as she pondered what this meant her home and the people within.

Ruby Pinch started to hear a constant beep as she slept, and it was annoying. Ruby had a serious headache that wouldn't go away. She knew that she wouldn't be able to get back to sleep. Then a realization came to Ruby, she didn't remember going to sleep.

The last thing Ruby remembered was that Noblesse used his magic to cause some kind of shock wave that sent her and the other Crusaders flying. She also remembered seeing a huge sphere of magic hurling towards Noblesse.

Ruby awoke with a start and sat up immediately, and regretted it instantly. Her headache was irritated from getting up too quickly, “Somepony's up early today,” Said a familiar voice.

Ruby opened her eyes and turned her head to see Noblesse sitting in a chair next to the bed she was in. Ruby looked around the room she was and didn't recognize it, “Where are we?”

“The hospital,” Replied the metal colored colt, “You got hurt because of me.”

“Because of you?” Asked Ruby, “I seem to remember you saving us from some kind of magic attack.”

Noblesse's eyes widened in surprise, “I'm surprised you remembered that, not that it's important. The Ponies that attacked us were after me, and just didn't care about collateral damage.”

“Why would Ponies be after you?” Asked Ruby.

“My master isn't exactly the most beloved member of the Nobility,” Answered Noblesse, “Attacking his servants might be a means of threatening him. There is also the matter of the immigrants that the lord has brought in.”

“Why would they care so much about immigration?” Ruby was still ignorant of the Under-City Ponies at this point.

“It isn't immigration that they're concerned with, as much as it is the immigrants themselves.”

“I still don't understand,” Said Ruby. Living in such a welcoming community her entire life made any kind of racial discrimination a completely foreign concept to the pink Unicorn.

“You'll see for yourself when you're let out of the hospital later today,” Said Noblesse cryptically, “Speaking of outside, I took the liberty of getting your Winter clothes from your family.”

“What? It's cold out, but not that cold.”

“Are you so sure?” Said Noblesse rhetorically as he opened the curtains in the room.

Ruby had to shield her eyes as a bright light came in through the windows. When Ruby opened her eyes again, her jaw dropped. Ponyville was coated in a thick layer of snow, the light reflecting off of the snow is what caused the harsh light that flooded the room when the curtains were opened.

“What happened?” Asked Ruby, “I thought we were supposed to have no snow this Winter.”

“We were, but the EWA had to change the weather schedule on short notice,” Explained Noblesse, “Because Everfree Province is going to be experiencing a sudden and drastic increase in population, we need harsh snows for the rest of the season so that the Everfree Forest doesn't drain too much ambient magic produced by the new Ponies.”

“Why would that be a problem?” Asked Ruby.

“Because if the Everfree Forest's growth is directly affected by how much ambient magic is absorbs from the environment and leylines. If it soaks up too much, it expands and will overtake the entire province.”

“Whoa,” Ruby thought how bad that would be before an important thought came to mind, “Oh! How long was I unconscious?”

“Just shy of a week actually,” Answered Noblesse, “And that's my fault too, I wove an anesthesia spell into my shock wave so you wouldn't suffer any pain from any wounds you suffered.”

“You say that like it's your fault,” Said Ruby.

“The Ponies that were attacked us were after me. If I wasn't nearby, you girls would not have been in harm's way,” Noblesse's tone was somber.

Noblesse got up from his chair and started to leave. It was now that Ruby could see his now empty saddle and saddlebags, “I'll understand completely if you'd prefer to keep your distance from me, if only to avoid being hurt again.”

“No,” Said Ruby obstinately, “It's not your fault that Ponies were trying to kill you, why would I act like it's your fault?”

Noblesse turned and gave Ruby a smile, “I'm glad you feel that way, I just hope you don't get hurt again because of it,” The colt left the room before Ruby could say anything.

Noblesse was thankful that nopony else was in the hallway at that moment, it would be awkward explaining how he exited five rooms at once.

The five copies of Noblesse became five clouds of black mist and swirled into one place in the middle of the hallway before they reformed into Noblesse himself.

Noblesse needed a moment to process all of the information gathered by his copies before he could leave the hospital. Noblesse smiled as he gave a sigh of relief. None of his friends blamed him for what happened and were perfectly fine with staying as his friend.

Noblesse started to walk out of the hallway before he realized that he was still disoriented from separating himself into copies. Noblesse had the good fortune of finding a hidden passage in the Royal Canterlot Library during his two year stay. In the passage way he found several books on magic, including his great grand mother (a dozen or so times removed)'s personal grimoire. Noblesse's best guess is that Celestia moved several dangerous or personal tomes into this hidden passage after Luna fell to madness and either forgot about them or hoped they would stay hidden. Noblesse returned all of the books he found to the Royal Librarian, after he read them all of course. Of all of the spells in his grand mother's grimoire, Noblesse had the most trouble with the 'Shadow Clone' spell. He could turn himself into a single cloud of mist, use several of Luna's battle magic spells with ease, but making himself into copies was still just beyond his grasp.

Noblesse finally got his orientation back and started to leave the hospital. As he took the first turn out of the hallway, he ran into two familiar Ponies.

“Oh, if it isn't Mr. Exchange and Lady Alignment. Are you here to check on your daughter?” Asked Noblesse as he ran into both of Scootaloo's parents at once.

“Wait,” Said Equivalent Exchange, “You two know each other?”

“Er, yes. Yes we do,” Answered his wife, “The young lord here was a frequent visitor to the Royal Observatory.”

“Please Lady Alignment, there is no reason to hold formality with me,” Said Noblesse, “Especially since I am supposed to be incognito.”

Planetary Alignment was the head of the Royal Observatory in Canterlot Palace. She was a surprisingly tall mare, standing at least two inches higher than the average stallion. Her horn was also much longer than the average Unicorn's horn, I wonder if she's ever poked anyone's eye out with that glorified spear thought Noblesse sarcastically. Though many wouldn't agree with him, Noblesse liked the dark gold color of her coat. Noblesse also liked how her mane and tail were made of red and white stripes, similar to how peppermint sticks looked. Noblesse also appreciated the uniqueness of her Cutie Mark: an orb with two slightly, though noticeably, bigger orbs behind it being reflected in some kind of lens.

“Though I appreciate how you are always polite,” Began Alignment, “There is no need to call me 'Misses' or 'Lady,' just call me Alignment. And yes, we are here for Scootaloo.”

“She'll be glad to see both of you,” Said Noblesse, “She's fine by the way, but she'll be still overjoyed to see you two.”

“Have a good day you two,” Said Noblesse as he walked around the pair and left their line of sight.

“I was sure he saw us before,” Said Exchange, “I didn't know Ponies could do that.”

“The first month he stayed at the Canterlot Palace, he discovered Princess Luna's personal grimoire,” Replied his wife, “If the stories about how Nightmare Moon tried to stop the Elements of Harmony are true, then I bet he learned that trick from her majesty's spell book. I wonder what other spells he learned from that tome.”

“That's something I'd rather not think about,” Quipped the beet colored Pegasus, “Lets get Scootaloo and get out of the cold.”

“This is heavier than I thought it would be,” Said Rumble as he was walking.

“Well, it's made out of actual metal. So of course it's going to be heavier than some plastic toy,” Said Thunderlane.

“It was really nice of you to do this, especially since you've never actually met Scootaloo before,” Said Rainbow Dash.

Rumble had felt bad about nearly hurting those two fillies and destroying their scooter and wagon, so he decided on buying a new scooter and wagon for them. After hearing why his brother wanted more money, Thunderlane insisted on buying the scooter and wagon himself.

Rumble had put the scooter in the wagon and was pulling it himself while Thunderlane and Rainbow Dash accompanied him. Rainbow Dash was on her way to visit her surrogate sister in the hospital when she spotted the pair. Rainbow Dash decided to go with the two since they were headed in same direction, it also helped that Rainbow Dash hadn't got a chance to talk with her friend since the EWA started sending shipments of storm clouds to Ponyville.

“You know, we can rest if you're tired,” Said Thunderlane, chuckling at his brother's expense and determination.

“Nah, I'm good,” Rumble's tone and slowing pace said otherwise, but he was instant on giving the scooter and wagon to Scootaloo personally.

“RAINBOW DASH!” An orange blur crashed into Rainbow Dash, forcing the cerulean mare to her haunces.

“Oof,” Rainbow Dash grunted as the filly caliber bullet hit her, “Hey Scoots,” Rainbow Dash wheezed, “My friends and I were just coming to see you.”

“Friends?” Scootaloo's eyes zeroed in on the polychromatic mane, so she didn't notice the dark gray stallion or the near-white colt she thought was a filly.

“I... I...” Rumble could barely make noises past his labored breathing.

Thunderlane and Rainbow Dash laughed at Rumble as Thunderlane removed the harness on his brother, “I think somepony needs to hit the hay, I'll see you two later,” Thunderlane held Rumble in his fore legs as flew off.

“Dammit Scootaloo!” Said her mother, “You've been conscious for less than ten minutes, and the Captain of the guard is already after you.”

“What? No! Not this time,” Said Scootaloo, turning around too face her mother.

Rainbow Dash couldn't help but laugh at how quickly Scootaloo's mother had assumed that she got into trouble, “The squirt is telling the truth, Thunderlane's younger sibling wanted to give Scoots a new scooter and wagon as an apology for breaking the first ones.”

“Wait, really?” Asked Scootaloo as she turned around again and saw the brand new scooter and wagon. They didn't have any fancy paint jobs on them, but they weren't cheap plastic replicas of actual equipment.

“Oh wow,” Said Scootaloo, “But I never got the chance to thank her.”

“Don't sweat it Scoots,” Said Rainbow Dash, “She'll be in your class the next time school's in session,” Rainbow Dash thought it would be best if the Crusaders found out Rumble was a boy on their own.

“Sounds like you actually have a reason to look forward to school Scoots,” Said Exchange, now that he had caught up with his family and Rainbow Dash.

“Say Rainbow,” Began Alignment, “I don't have to go back to Canterlot until this Saturday and we were about to go celebrate Scootaloo's recovery, I don't suppose that you'd like to join us, would you?”

Before Rainbow Dash could answer, Scootaloo looked up to her with puppy dog eyes. Rainbow laughed as she ruffled Scootaloo's mane, “I'd love to.”

“Yay!” Scootaloo was practically bouncing the rest of the way to Sugarcube Corner as Rainbow Dash spoke with Scootaloo's parents.

Chapter 13: Classroom Introduction

“Ah can't believe we have to go tah school today,” Said Apple Bloom as sat in the Cutie Mark Crusaders' new transport wagon.

“I know right?” Agreed Scootaloo, “Why wouldn't Ms. Cheerilee just cancel school today?”

“At least we only have to go one day this week,” Pointed out Sweetie Belle, “It's Friday too, so we get to have two whole days before we have to go to school again. Besides, aren't you fillies excited that we're getting two new students?”

“We already know one of 'em Sweetie,” Said Apple Bloom.

When he visited the co-founders of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Noblesse Oblige revealed to them that he would be going to school with other foals until his fifteenth birthday on the 52nd of Spring. He also reminded him that his status as a noblepony needed to remain a secret to everypony until then.

“Was I the only one who though it was weird that he had already gotten our snow cloths before he visited us?” Asked Scootaloo, “I wouldn't mind, except that he apparently did it without our families' knowledge.”

“Ah will admit, that's pretty weird,” Agreed Apple Bloom, “If he didn't get help from our families, then how did he know where to look?”

“And how did he do it without getting caught?” Pondered Sweetie Belle.

Their thoughts were interrupted by Scootaloo breaking with her front hooves and wings as they stopped in front of the schoolhouse.

Cheerilee sat at her desk as she greeted the foals coming and going to her class room. Most foals were coming for the noon class period. Some of the foals were already here, Cheerilee held study sessions in between class periods for foals who were either not comfortable that they understood the lesson they just went over or were just falling behind (or thought they were behind).

The noon time class was Cheerilee's favorite class period. While some Ponies are 'night owls' or 'morning Ponies,' Cheerilee was at her best in the middle of the day. The sun hanging in the middle of the sky, seeing all of the Ponies going to lunch before she came to work, having the time to appreciate everything in Ponyville without early morning/late evening grogginess, it simply made the purple mare happy to be alive.

Cheerilee was reminded that, paradoxically, the noon time class had her least favorite students as she saw them take their seats. Normally, a teacher wouldn't have a least favorite student, or multiple of them at that, but she made a special exception for two pairs of foals.

“Did you hear we're getting new students,” Asked a tall and skinny orange Unicorn colt.

“Yeah, what do you think they'll be like?” Replied a fat blue Unicorn colt.

It was hard to make Cheerilee dislike somepony, though these two were just loathsomely stupid all the time. Cheerilee also couldn't find it in her heart to forgive these two for bringing a giant magical bear to town that then ate ate a third of the attic and roof on her house, it was a huge pain to convince the insurance company that actually happened.

“Urgh, great,” Said a gray Earth Pony filly with glasses, “More losers in town.”

“When will we some decent Ponies in school?” Asked a light pink Earth Pony filly.

Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara were by far the worst Ponies Cheerilee had ever meet in her life. The two were spoiled rotten and their families' wealth and power kept anypony from hoofing out any real discipline, until recently.

Cheerilee had heard about what the two bullies had said to Apple Bloom. Sugar Cookie was a dear friend of Cheerilee's, and their actions made Cheerilee furious. She may have actually hit the two if she had been in class that day. Cheerilee, like many Ponies who had known Sugar Cookie and Apple Skin, had posted complaints to the noblecolt that had sentenced the two fillies for their crimes. Many of the townsfolk felt that the lord was too lenient when punishing the two bullies.

“Are you excited for your actual first day of school?” Asked Flitter.

“Sort of,” Said Rumble.

The increased work quota that businesses in Ponyville had implemented to counter the upcoming and sudden demand in everything in town, meant that there was less work for everypony to do until the population increased. This allowed both Cloud Chaser and Flitter to accompany Rumble to his first day of school.

“Are you nervous?” Asked Thunderlane.

“Y-Yeah,” Rumble looked down to the ground.

Thunderlane's smile dropped a little. Rumble had been nervous about interacting with other foals since his time in Flight School. The other foals had mercilessly teased Rumble about his naturally effeminate appearance and his lack of eagerness when it came to flying. Rumble was by no means a bad flier, the opposite in fact. All Pegasi experienced small bouts of magic induced flight early in their foalhood, but Rumble never actually stopped flying after his infancy.

When other Pegasus foals noticed that Rumble wasn't so much as eager to get off the clouds in Flight School, they insulted his apparent lack of flying ability. Students and instructors alike dropped their jaws when they saw that Rumble could actually fly better than anypony else at Flight School, including the instructors. While the instructors were loving and friendly towards Rumble and always praised his natural flying abilities, the other foals either insulted him further out of jealousy or were so eager to please him that they were closer to servants than buddies or friends.

“Cheer up little bro,” Said Thunderlane doing his best to alleviate his brother's nerves, “This is an Earth Pony town, they won't care as much about flying as Ponies in Cloudsdale.”

“Not even the Pegasi from here care about flying as much as other Pegasi do,” Said Cloud Chaser doing her best to help, “And that filly you protected will be there too.”

The three older Pegasi laughed as Rumble blushed. Since Rumble looked after the unconscious filly he later learned was named Apple Bloom, his brother and surrogate sisters had been teasing him relentlessly. Unlike his classmates at Flight School, they clearly did it out of affection as opposed to jealousy or hostility.

Flitter noticed two Ponies waiting outside of the schoolhouse as they approached, “Hey, who are they?”

The other three Pegasi looked to see a light purple Unicorn mare with a dark blue mane wearing metal armor and a Unicorn colt with an unique appearance. The colt's coat was metallic gray except for his hooves and cannons. The colt's hooves were pitch black and his cannons displaying a fleur-de-lis pattern of the same color stretching past his hooves and pasterns and stopping at his knees.

Neither Rumble, Cloud Chaser, nor Flitter had even seen either of the two Ponies before. Thunderlane however, knew exactly who these Ponies were. This was Noblesse Oblige and his head of security, Top Priority. Thunderlane was one of few members of the Ponyville Town Council to be told in detail the noblecolt's orders from Princess Celestia. Select members of the Town Council were kept in the dark about the colt's true identity, including Spoiled Rich, the notorious self superior and arrogant head of the school board. Thunderlane was just waiting for the moment when she found out who the colt actually was after being high and mighty with him, much like everypony else in the know.

“Art thou the other new student?” Asked Noblesse addressing Rumble.

“Yes I am, who are you?” Asked Rumble, completely arrogant of who the colt he was addressing so casually was.

“Mine name is Noblesse Oblige,” Said the gray Unicorn plainly, “No relation to the noblepony of course.”

“Wait, other new student?” Said Cloud Chaser, “Are you a new student as well?”

“He is," Stated Priority, "I was just walking my son here."

“Son!?” Exclaimed Cloud Chaser, “But you're so young.”

“Mother by adoption,” Corrected Noblesse.

Orphans were almost non-existent in Equestria. While there still were orphans in existence, there were so few that Parliament shot down any petitions to establish orphanages. Constant wages for staff and maintenance for such facilities would be a ridiculous use of tax money for the few orphans that lay within Equestria's borders.

“Uh...” Rumble had noticed something about Noblesse that his companions hadn't yet, “What's wrong with your eyes?”

The three adult ponies with Rumble looked closely at Noblesse's eyes and saw exactly what he meant. Noblesse's red-brown eyes had slit shaped pupils similar to that of a cat or Spike, but what really caught their attention were the whites of his eyes, or the lack thereof. The sclera of Noblesse's had a pink tint to them.

Noblesse chuckled in response, “There is nothing wrong with mine eyes,” Noblesse had to pause to think of the best way to explain the unnatural qualities of his eyes, “My eyes are simply different,” It wasn't the best excuse, but it was less time consuming and startling than explaining the dark blood rituals that went into his 'metamorphosis.”

“Oh!” Flitter exclaimed as she realized something, “We haven't introduced ourselves yet, my name is-”

Flitter was interrupted as the door to the schoolhouse opened to reveal a purple Earth Pony Mare, “Oh good, you're both here. And at the right time too!”

Rumble blushed in embarrassment as he looked down at the ground.

The foals in the classroom talked to each other as their teacher went to the door. Though some foals were just asking their friends what their did over their surprise Winter holiday, most were talking about the new students that they were supposed to get today.

“Oh good, you're both here. And at the right time too!” Cheerilee was having a hard time concealing her excitement, so much so that she didn't notice the strange features of Noblesse's eyes.

“Okay Captains, I'm going to ask you come inside for a short while with your respective foals.”

“What about us?” Asked Cloud Chaser.

“Sorry girls, I'm only supposed to let the legal guardians of the foals in with them on their first day here,” Nopony was really a fan of that particular policy, but it made for a perfect excuse to bring in other family members on Family Appreciation Day.

“Oh well,” Started Flitter, “We'll see you later today Rumble.”

“Will we see you this weekend Cheerilee?” Asked Cloud Chaser.

“If I can get away from grading papers and lesson preparations,” Said Cheerilee with a smile.

“Bye Rumble,” Flitter and Cloud Chaser spoke at the same time as they ascended.

“Bye girls,” Said Rumble with a wave of his hoof.

“I'll call you four in when I want you to introduce yourselves,” Said Cheerilee as she went back inside her classroom.

Cheerilee walked up to the chalkboard and grabbed a ruler in her hoof. Cheerilee couldn't help but smile as she turned to her class and saw everypony talking happily amongst themselves. Cheerilee grabbed their attention as she tapped on the chalkboard three times with her ruler, “Before we start class today, I'd like to introduce you all to your new classmates!” Cheerilee waved the four Ponies in with her hoof.

Rumble and Thunderlane walked in first with Noblesse and Priority coming in behind them. Thunderlane made a point of standing behind his brother and patting his shoulder reassuringly. Priority stood attention close to the door as Noblesse walked a few steps away beside of Rumble.

The class had their eyes on Rumble since he walked in first, and immediately started talking not-so-quietly, “Wow! She's pretty. I like her eyes. Her coat and mane are groomed so well.”

Rumble blushed and nodded his head, “Actually,” The loud whispering stopped as they heard Rumble's voice, “I'm a colt.”

Almost everypony in the room had their mouths agape. Even Cheerilee and Priority were surprised by the revelation. Noblesse rolled his eyes at the revelation as Thunderlane had concentrate on not falling over while laughing.

“How!?” Exclaimed Snips standing up in his seat, “You're pretty than any filly in class!”

He might have continued, but a well aimed book to the head by Sweetie Belle knocked him over his seat and he face planted, “Argh! My head!”

Some of the foals giggled at his expense, “Nice shot,” Commented Noblesse noticing that Sweetie Belle was three rows behind the overweight Unicorn.

“Sweetie Belle!” Said Cheerilee, “We're going to need that book today.”

This made the whole class laugh, “I will see you in my office today after school,” Stated Cheerilee when the laughter died down, “Ooooh,” Sweetie's heated rage became sadness as she realized that she was in trouble.

“This,” Said Thunderlane as he patted both of his brother's shoulders, “Is my brother, Rumble.”

“Would y-you like to introduce yourself?” Cheerilee stuttered when she noticed Noblesse's eyes.

Noblesse took a polite bow as he introduced himself, “My name is Noblesse Oblige.”

Several of the foals gasped as they noticed Noblesse's eyes when he raised from his bow.

“What kind of disease causes that?” Asked Diamond Tiara as she turned her head to Silver Spoon with a look of disgust on her face.

This was the sign between the two for when one wanted the other to join in. Silver Spoon opened her mouth to speak, but she stopped when she looked directly in front of Diamond's desk with an astonished looked on her face.

Diamond turned her head to face the front of the class only to have Noblesse's face in hers, “My appearance is not a symptom of a 'disease,'” What really shocked the class in silence was the fact that there were suddenly two copies of the metal colored colt.

Everypony who could see the Noblesse directly in front of the chalkboard noticed that they couldn't see his horn as it was wrapped in a black aura the same color as the pristine chalkboard. Noblesse laughed as the copy in front of Diamond Tiara became into magical ash that disappeared as it landed on the floor.

As Noblesse gained control of his mirth at Diamond Tiara's shocked face, he addressed the teacher, “Is the column of empty seats for us Ms. Cheerilee?”

“Uh, yes. Go ahead and sit where ever you like,” Cheerilee herself was startled both by the spell Noblesse used as well as the color of his magic aura.

Rumble took the seat in the front next to where Snails was sitting while Noblesse sat in the second seat from the back, next to Scootaloo.

“Would you two like to tell my students your occupations?” Asked Cheerilee.

“My name is Thunderlane,” Started the dark gray stallion, “And I am the head of the Ponyville Peacekeeper Corps. Some of you are already familiar with me, Crusaders,” The Cutie Mark Crusaders blushed in embarrassment and slid further into their seats as the class giggled.

“My name is Top Priority. I am Noblesse's adoptive mother and I am the head of security of Everfree Palace. Speaking of which, I must get back to my duty,” Priority left the building shutting the door behind her.

Most of the Ponies in the classroom just stared at the door for a moment at how cold Top Priority was in demeanor. She was all business and she didn't even say goodbye to the colt that was supposed to be her son.

“Forgive my mother,” Started Noblesse, “Recent events has put the lord's security detail on edge, my mother is especially anxious at the moment.”

Cheerilee started math class as soon as her new students were settled in and everypony was ready to begin the day, “Okay class, today we will be covering 'Higher Roots and Radicals!'”

Most of the class groaned, but some students like Apple Bloom and Twist were excited. Rumble himself winced at the mention of this week's subject. Rumble wasn't bad at math per say, but he didn't like all of the supplies and work it typically required for even simple problems.

It was a relief to the class when the school bell rang to let the students out for recess. Diamond Tiara was happier than usual despite the new faces in her class. Within the first five minutes of their introduction, she already had plenty of ammo to crush the both of them with. Diamond Tiara was especially ecstatic to at the chance to crush the colt that made her a laughing stock.

Author's Note

Hello readers!:pinkiehappy: Thank you for reading, I hope you're enjoying the story thus far.

I'll go ahead and say it now, the details for Noblesse's coping trick, namely how the copy dissolved into 'magical ash' was inspired by the teleportation rune from Dishonored.

Readers, please feel free to give your input on my story thus far. Theories on future plot points, comments on how the story is progressing, criticisms about anything that bothers you, anything! Please give me your input/opinions about this story, and I'll the best I can to reply without spoiling anything that happens in the future.

Chapter 14: New Friends

The foals of Cheerilee's noon time class were more relieved than usual when the recess bell rang. Even the more studious of Cheerilee's class were mentally fatigued by today's lesson, and were dreading the coming week as Cheerilee explained that today's topic would be covered be covered by the coming week as well.

“That,” Started Apple Bloom as she sluggishly made her way outside, “Was miserable.”

“Tell me about it,” Said Scootaloo in agreement with her friend, “I didn't even know there were more than two roots!”

Scootaloo looked down at the ground before she spoke again, “Will we even try Crusading today?”

Apple Bloom flinched at Scootaloo's suggestion, “Ruby 'n Dinky can do whatever they want today, but I won't be doing anything today. Even if I was exhausted from school, 'nd mah family is gittin' ready fer Zap Apple Season.”

“Oh,” The news that one of Scootaloo's favorite sweets were coming to town soon brightened her up slightly, “Any idea when they'll come?”

Apple Bloom nodded her head, “The Timber Wolves usually start howling within the next two weeks, sometimes sooner than that even.”

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo stopped and settled on their stomachs next to the tree where the trio usually gathered at this time.

Apple Bloom looked around the playground, “Where the heck is Sweetie Belle?”

Scootaloo rolled her eyes. Apple Bloom didn't handle mental fatigue very well. She had to concentrate so hard on not falling asleep on her hooves that she become forgetful of things she's known for her entire life, whether it's mathematics or where the dining room in her house was located.

“Don't you remember?” Asked Scootaloo, “She got D-Hall because she hit Snips with her math book.”

Scootaloo turned her head to face Apple Bloom, and facehoofed as she saw that the cream colored Earth Pony was sleeping like the dead.

Scootaloo rolled her eyes at the sight. She decided to look around the playground to pass the time since she and her friends wouldn't be doing anything today. Pretty much everypony was too tired to do anything. Foals were halfheartedly pushing each other on the swings, inching their ways to the line behind the slide as they went down it, even Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were too tired torment to their classmates.

Scootaloo noted that she couldn't see either of the new additions to her class. Rumble was a Pegasus, so he could've easily flew to a cloud to a tree branch. But Noblesse was no where in sight, that could be attributed to many things however. Scootaloo could only see so much of the playground from where she was. There was also Noblesse's strange magic to consider. Though neither of the Crusaders were in the throne room when the twin Alicorns that rule Equestria explained their worries concerning the colt, they knew he had uncommon magic.

Noblesse had generated that weird shock wave that not only sent them flying, but knocked them unconscious for a whole week. If Ruby was to be believed, then it also sent the magical attack his assassins sent used back at them. Then there was that cloning trick he used on Diamond Tiara, and the means by which he used to retrieve everyponies' snow cloths was most likely magical as well. Then there was his Cutie Mark to consider. An Unicorn's innate magic usually revolved around their special talent, though Scootaloo couldn't think of what a shadow in a mirror could possibly represent about one's self.

All of this thinking was making Scootaloo tired, so she elected to join her friend in the realm of sleep.

Noblesse could the see whole playground from his perch, save for what was behind the tree he was resting in. Noblesse had to consciously suppress chuckles at his classmates' expense. Noblesse hadn't found today's lesson hard to comprehend. The private education given to foals in noble families was on par with the curriculum of most universities in the country, when comparing their students anyway.

Noblesse had to feign tiredness for the sake of his cover. It was one thing to be slightly eccentric, and his display of magic didn't reveal anything as every Unicorn has unique magic from birth. Noblesse knew it would really make him stand out if he didn't at least act fatigued, given how the rest of the class handled today's lesson. And Noblesse would be standing out significantly soon.

Noblesse could feel it, literally beneath his coat and skin. Parts of him had already started to swell slightly and he had been shedding a lot more than a Pony should. If the doctors were to be believed, than the process would be complete by next Sunday.

Noblesse had waiting excitedly for this to happen ever since he took the blood rites, but now he found himself dreading it. Noblesse looked down to see the sleeping forms of his friends. By chance, they had stopped at the tree he was already at and fell asleep. Noblesse was some what worried about what his friends' reactions would be, then there were their families to consider.

In the past, Noblesse wouldn't have cared. Ponies shunned him for a lot of reasons: his appearance, the nature of his innate magic, his interests, almost all of the Ponies who knew about his real foalhood cursed his existence for it. Noblesse found himself noticeably worried about how his transformation would affect the relationships between himself and his... were they his friends?

Noblesse had friends of course. He found several of the Under-City Ponies to be jovial and pleasantly frank, he of course received a more cold reception by other surface Ponies. Was that why he found himself caring so much about these Ponies thought of him? The five of them had more than doubled the number of actually friends he had on the surface.

Legalese was always friendly with everypony and was one of few members of his family that actually cared about him. His uncle Blue Blood also gave him a warm reception. Princess Celestia was like Legalese in that she was friendly with anything she encountered. Princess Luna was simply happy that someone other than her sister was happy to see her returned, and didn't insist that she receive further punishment for trying to overthrow her sister in a fit of madness. Three of those four Ponies were his elders, could they actually be called friends?

Noblesse unconsciously scratched his face while pondering. He immediately stopped when he caught himself. He could see the hairs falling from his face as he forced his hoof away. Not only was it rude to scratch yourself in public, but any bald spots he etched into his coat would be very noticeable over the next week. It's not as though it would grow back.

Noblesse yawned to himself. While Cheerilee's lesson didn't tire him out, growing a second skin certainly did. Noblesse nestled his head on his fore legs and shut his eyes. Seeing that everyone he could have interacted with was barely awake, Noblesse decided that it would be best to join his classmates in his grandmother's realm.

Cheerilee went over the lesson at the end of the class period like she does everyday, but she knew it didn't stick. She didn't even bother getting after the students that fell asleep. It was at this point Cheerilee realized that she used this lesson much too early. The foals were usually bouncing in their seats waiting for the bell to let them of class. Today however, the entire class was absolutely exhausted.

Many foals had to concentrate so hard on staying awake that they most likely missed everything their teacher had said. Some foals actually did fall asleep either because they were so tired or because they put more focus into Cheerilee's words than they did staying awake.

No foal looked more devastated than Rumble. Cheerilee had forgotten than Rumble just come from Cloudsdale Flight School, an almost purely phys ed school. Anything that didn't involve flying was all weather related in Cloudsdale Flight School. This meant that anypony from Cloudsdale Flight School would be at least a year behind any other foal in all other subjects, maybe longer depending on how long the Ponies in question were enrolled in Cloudsdale Flight School.

Cheerilee was feeling guilty, but she wasn't used to having classes stay in school for this long. Most foals drop out when they legally become adults at age fifteen. With Ponyville being an farming community, most foals had to help their families on their farms. Other foals took apprenticeships under their parents to learn their trade. It was rare that foals in Ponyville had the intensive or ambition to get higher levels of rounded education. Never before in Cheerilee's entire career had this many students from a single class stayed in school for this many consecutive years. Only Dinky Doo and Ruby Pinch had dropped out of Cheerilee's class, and they immediately took apprenticeships under their parents.

Cheerilee sighed as she looked at her class today, “Class, I'm sorry,” Started Cheerilee. The students that were awake could hear the tone of disappointment in her voice, though they could tell that she disappointed in herself as opposed to her class.

“We will still be covering math next week, but it be this,” Cheerilee used her ruler to tap the chalkboard with today's lesson still on it, “I'm sorry about today, and I hope you all have a good weekend.”

Cheerilee timed her apology so that the bell would ring just as she finished speaking. Cheerilee watched her class leave her class more eagerly than usual. Normally, Cheerilee would just head home for the day as the entire evening class had dropped out the week before last. However, Cheerilee was deeply troubled by her failing today.

Cheerilee sat at her desk for an extra ten minutes longer than usually as she considered what to do. She didn't want to bother Limitless Potential as he had his own lesson plans to get to. Cheerilee looked out her window at the completed form of the new school building next door. It was smaller compared to the countless number of houses that were being built in Ponyville proper, so it was the first building to be completed. Cheerilee thought about who else she ask for advice. Her mother, Mayor Mare, was incredibly busy with the colossal bureaucracy that went into overseeing the near-instantaneous transformation of a modest town into a legitimate city.

Then, a thought came to mind. Cheerilee realized that there was a very well educated individual in Ponyville. Twilight Sparkle, the current proprietor of Golden Oaks Library, was tutored by the Sun Princess Celestia for most of her life. Cheerilee also knew that some of her students went to her for tutoring in numerous subjects. If there was anypony in town that could help Cheerilee, it was most definitely Twilight Sparkle.

With her mind made up, Cheerilee left the schoolhouse, locked up, and headed to Golden Oaks Library.

Rumble was out flying to pass the time. He went home and slept for a hour after school. Thanks to his time in Cloudsdale Flight School, he was not used to that kind of school work. Cloudsdale Flight School barely covers any academia, and what it does cover is very specific like Pegasus anatomy and the mechanics behind Equestria's manufactured weather.

Thunderlane, Cloud Kicker, and Flitter all were busy today. The Ponyville Peace Corps was called in to watch over the construction sites around Ponyville after several pieces of equipment went missing all at once at multiple sites. The dance studio where Flitter works was practicing a few new routines hoping to advertise it to attract more Ponies to the growing community while increasing revenue.

Rumble would just get in everyponies' way if he visited them or tried to help like he does when works with Thunderlane and Cloud Kicker on the Weather Team. So Rumble was systematically searching for something to do. Rumble figured that if he couldn't find something to do today, that it would take most of the day to look around all of Ponyville. Not to mention that this was the perfect excuse to explore his new home.

Rumble had flown slightly past the town limits and over one of the many fields around Ponyville. Rumble could easily see the colorful shapes of four Ponies against the grass. One Pony in particular caught his eye as his coat was a metallic gray color not often seen on Ponies. While Rumble thought Noblesse Oblige was a little strange -not just because of his eyes- he wasn't exactly hostile. Maybe I can make some friends here Rumble decided to at least try as he flew down.

“All right everypony,” Started Ruby Pinch, “What do you all want to do today?”

“You're askin' us?” Asked Pipsqueak, “Don't you girls usually have plans fer the weekend?”

“Usually we do,” Said Dinky Doo, “But Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle usually make plans for Crusades themselves. They ask us for our opinions of course, but they typically have the best ideas out all of us, so we just stopped bothering.”

Ruby Pinch started giggling, “Since they're gone today, maybe we can do something that won't get us lectures from the town guard.”

“Speaking of which,” Said Noblesse. Everypony turned to see that he was looking up, “We're about to have company.”

The other three foals looked up expecting to see the Captain of the town guard himself, but instead saw a very light gray Pegasus filly with a black mane and tail spread her wings to allow wind resistance to gently put her down on the ground like a leaf. The group noticed that she landed a polite distance away and landed so cleanly. They didn't need to be Pegasi to know that this filly was more than a decent flier.

“Hello Rumble,” Said Noblesse with a smile.

Rumble flinched at Noblesse's red and pink eyes, “Hello Noblesse,” Rumble noticed something slightly different about the colt before him. Is- is he taller? Rumble had only met Noblesse at school a little over two hours ago and he was concentrating more on Cheerilee's lesson than he was his fellow classmates, but he could've sworn that Noblesse was at least a whole inch taller.

Rumble didn't have much time to contemplate this as a two tone pink Unicorn spoke up, “Wow, I've never met a filly with such a deep voice before.”

Rumble blushed slightly, “Actually, I'm a colt.”

Noblesse and Rumble chuckled at the other three foals' reaction.

Rumble didn't speak until he overcame his mirth, “My name is Rumble, it's nice to meet you three.”

“Er, nice to meet you too mate,” Pipsqueak needed more time to become used to Rumble's appearance, “My name's Pipsqueak.”

“My name is Ruby Pinch.”

Dinky Doo was still staring at Rumble agape. Ruby jabbed her once with her elbow and she snapped out it, “My name is Dinky Doo, it's nice to meet you.”

Pipsqueak remembered Noblesse's words, “Oi Noblesse, what did you mean when Rumble flew down 'ere.”

Noblesse nodded once in acknowledgment at his friend, “Rumble is the younger brother of Captain Thunderlane.”

“Oh!” Said Dinky in surprise, “I didn't know Thunderlane had a brother.”

“How do you all know Thunder?” Asked Rumble.

“The Crusaders are quite... 'famous' in Ponyville,” Answered Ruby laughing nervously.

“Crusaders?” Rumble then hit upon the truth, “You mean the Cutie Mark Crusaders?”

Thunderlane had told plenty of horror stories about the Cutie Mark Crusaders in his letters. Rumble didn't know what to think of these foals. They never acted out malicious intent, but seemed to always cause so much damage.

Dinky Doo noticed Rumble's nervous demeanor, “It seems that the good Captain has said a lot about us,” Dinky laughed nervously.

Rumble flinched as a hoof touched his shoulder. He looked over to see that it was Noblesse trying to reassure him, “These are the more sedate members of the CMC, they're not as bad as their leaders.”

Rumble nodded before he realized what Noblesse's exact words implied, “Are you not apart of the Cutie Mark Crusaders?”

“That's a thoughy,” Said Pipsqueak scratching the back of his head.

“Noblesse already has his Cutie Mark, so we're not sure how he fits into our outfit,” Admitted Ruby.

“Say, what does your Cutie Mark mean?” Asked Rumble, not sure how to interpret the strange Cutie Mark emblazoned on the metal colored colt's flank. The other foals realized that they had no clue as to what Noblesse's Cutie Mark meant either.

“It represents mine passion for anatomy and psychology,” Answered Noblesse plainly.

It was strange for somepony to give such a vague explanation for their Cutie Mark, “Could ya be more specific?” Asked Pipsqueak.

Noblesse nodded his head, “The mirror showcases my fascination with how one sees themselves. The silhouette within shows mine desire for how one really is. The silhouette is a solid black to represent the mystery behind how the mind works and what lies within. The silhouette is an Alicorn posing to show how I obsess with how the body works, no matter the creature, and how I believe that one should keep themselves' as healthy as possible.”

The rest of the foals paused at Noblesse's explanation. It was rare for a Cutie Mark to lack representation like this. If Noblesse was correct about what his Cutie Mark meant, then it left so much to interpretation.

“How do you use your magic?” Asked Ruby Pinch. Her thinking was that the way he used his magic might show what her gray friend wanted to do with his life.

Noblesse visibly flinched at that. He had not anticipated that particular question, “I apologize,” Noblesse started, trying to stall for time as he tried to think of something to tell them as the truth wouldn't do at this stage, “But that correlates directly with how I express mineself, and that is too personal for how little I know you.”

“What do you mean by that?” Asked Rumble. He wasn't the only one weirded out by how Noblesse was avoiding these questions like the plague.

Noblesse cringed again, “Mine magic... is used in part to examine the mind, particularly my own. This means that I can't be more specific without giving away information about mineself that I am not comfortable with giving.”

“So like, self reflection?” Asked Dinky Doo trying to decipher Noblesse's cryptic words.

“Aye, exactly,” Said Noblesse, “So I would appreciate if thou wouldst cease questions of this nature.”

After several minutes of awkward silence, Pipsqueak finally decided to break it, “Sorry we put ya' on the spot like that mate,” While Pipsqueak was concerned with how Noblesse was acting, he understood that this was a personal issue for him.

“Apology accepted,” Said Noblesse trying to keep the tone of annoyance out of his voice, though not entirely succeeding.

“I have an idea,” Said Dinky Doo, “Why don't we go the old quarry and look at the magic gemstones.”

“Why would we do that?” Asked Rumble, curious about why that would interest the whole group.

“The gemstones are magical and actually grow like plants, as opposed to being created in deposits of varying sizes over millennia,” Explained Dinky, “I bet that Twilight Sparkle would loan us books on the gemstones and we can learn more about magic stones as opposed to terrestrial stones.”

Ruby shrugged, “Who knows, maybe we can earn our geology Cutie Marks.”

“Well, it doesn't look like anypony else has any ideas,” Said Noblesse, “It promises to be interesting at the very least.”

Ruby, Dinky, and Pipsqueak huddled together and spoke as one, “Cutie Mark Crusaders: Magi-Geologists. Yay!”

The three ran off towards the abandoned quarry outside of Ponyville. Rumble looked to Noblesse with a confused look on his face. Noblesse just shrugged and followed his friends.

“What have I gotten myself into?” Rumble chased after his new eccentric friends with a hastened pace, not wanting to be left too far behind.

Chapter 15: A Teacher's Lament

“Spike!” Called out Twilight, “I need another notebook and some more ink!”

“Sheesh, already?!” Asked Spike as he left the kitchen and entered the supply closet.

Twilight continued to read the book in her ethereal grasp. She had finished the Beginner’s Grimoire for Apprenticing Hemomancers, and had started Under-City History Vol. 1: Founding of the Colonies to the Discovery of the Gray Seas.

A loud thumping noise coming from the table Twilight was sitting at immediately stole her attention. Twilight looked over to see that Spike had deposited five notebooks and a gallon's worth of quick-dry ink.

“Oh Spike, I didn't need more ink and I only asked for one notebook,” Said Twilight with an amused grin on her face at her assistant's enthusiasm.

What Twilight didn't realize was that Spike wasn't eagerly helping her, he was in fact fairly annoyed, “Why don't you check your inkwell there,” Suggested the purple and green wyrmling.

Twilight checked her inkwell and was surprised at what she found, “What? It's nearly empty! Spike, how did you know I needed more ink?”

Spike rolled his eyes at his sister/mistress, “Because we have been doing this for nine hours,” To say Spike was upset was like saying the sun was lukewarm.

Twilight almost spoke, but Spike continued before she could, “It is three in the afternoon, and the dishes are only halfway done. That means I haven't had a chance to get to my other chores because I have to get something for you every ten minutes. I would have left a hooffull of quills next to you, but we're almost out off supplies thanks to this month's studying binge.”

Twilight adopted a sheepish smile and blushed in embarrassment as she hand Spike a generously sized bit purse, “Would you get more for me?” Twilight laughed nervously as Spike rolled his eyes and sighed bitterly.

“The things I do for love,” Muttered Spike under his breath as he took the bit purse.

Spike walked over to the door and opened it.

Cheerilee walked through Ponyville like everypony here does every day. But Cheerilee made a point of taking detours through the construction sites all around Ponyville to take in the sights.

Several of the buildings she saw were nearly done. Businesses from Ponyville and from other places in Equestria – the whole continent, not just the nation – had reserved buildings in the developing town.

Though the whole town was talking about the construction sites Noblesse Oblige himself had reserved. Noblesse had reserved a whole third of the planned development sites for a special purpose.

Noblesse had his criers emphasize the fact that he wasn't using these pieces of land for himself, but were reserving them for others. Cheerilee didn't know if she believed that however. Every noble that has tried to buy buildings in the reserved areas have been denied. Even when Princess Luna tried to buy a building to use as a vacation home, was denied use in the reserved areas. Though Noblesse kindly showed other areas close to the town that were equidistant from the important parts of town as the reserved areas, it was very unusual for a noble to actually deny one the ruling Diarchs use of specific parts of town. Ponyville was practically in an uproar about who or what Noblesse was reserving these areas for.

Cheerilee stopped as she realized she wasn't paying attention to where she was going and realized she had no idea where she was. She had been through town enough times to know where she was just by looking around however. In regaining her bearings, Cheerilee saw that the magical hollowed out tree she was heading towards was directly across from her.

Cheerilee headed to the front door of the Golden Oaks Library and was about to knock, when it opened suddenly.

“Oh, hello Ms. Cheerilee,” Said a familiar voice.

Cheerilee looked down to see Twilight Sparkle's Draconic charge, “Hello Spike, is Twilight in?”

Spike did his best to hide how upset he was, “Yeah, I was just heading out to go get something for her. She's in the living room,” Spike went past the teacher and headed for Sofa and Quills.

Cheerilee's experience with foals had hinted to her that Spike was bothered by something, but knew that he wasn't annoyed with her.

“Did I hear that right?” Asked a familiar, “What can I help you with Ms. Cheerilee?”

Cheerilee turned to face the resident librarian and savior within the hallowed out tree, “Why hello Twilight, can I talk to you about something?”

Twilight smiled and nodded, “Of course, come in.”

Twilight led Cheerilee to her living room and used her magic to levitate two cups of tea and their saucers over to the table inbetween the seats the two mares were now sitting in.

“How can I help you Ms. Cheerilee?” Asked Twilight.

Cheerilee had to stifle a giggle, “Twilight, sweetie, we're the same age. Please don't call me Ms. Cheerilee, Ms. Sparkle.

Twilight almost spat her tea out in laughter, “Ha! Okay Cheerilee, how can I help you today.”

Cheerilee nodded and adopted a serious look, “Today in my noon time class, I tried using new material. I have never had class where the foals stayed in Public School for so long, so I was basically in the dark when choosing a lesson for today.”

Twilight nodded but didn't understand what the problem was, “Okay, so what's the problem?”

Cheerilee sighed and an embarrassed blush started to creep onto her face, “Well, the lesson didn't go too well. It went right over their heads. And too make matters worst, I forgot that one of the students who transferred here was from the Cloudsdale Flight School.”

Twilight flinched as she realized how much that must have hurt the passionate teacher, “Ah, I see. How can I help you though?”

“It occurred to me that you have the most advanced education in all of Ponyville, if not the country,” Explained Cheerilee, “And I know that you often help some of the foals from my classes study. So I was hoping that you could me set up lesson plans for my older students.”

Twilight put her teacup back onto it's saucer. She had spent so much of her life learning that she didn't put much thought into anything else. Since coming to Ponyville, Twilight has learned that you don't need books or lectures to learn, but just interacting with others can teach you more than any book ever could. She also realized how much she loved teaching the Cutie Mark Crusaders and the other foals that came to her for help.

Twilight could feel the smile creeping up on her face, and Cheerilee could see the sparkles in her eyes. Twilight had keep herself from bouncing around the room like when she became Celestia's student, “I would love to help you Cheerilee!”

“Oh thank you Twilight, you've saved me!” At that moment, Cheerilee realized something that could make Twilight rethink her answer, “There's just one thing though.”

“Oh? And what would that be?” Asked Twilight, excitement gave way to curiosity as the Unicorn wondered what could possibly make Cheerilee act so hesitantly.

“We'll have to spend the weekends working on lessons, schedules, and the like. You won't mind will you?” Cheerilee was somewhat scared that this fact would chase the purple unicorn away.

“Pfft- HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Twilight started laughing hysterically.

Cheerilee watched in shock as the mare in front of her laughed so hard that she fell out of her seat. Cheerilee actually had to get up and use herself as wall to keep Twilight from rolling into the table and knocking the teacups into the floor. Twilight was going to enjoy this much more than she could have ever dreamed.

“I'm not opposed to the idea,” Started Noblesse Oblige, “But why would Dame Sparkle help us look at rocks? Surely she has better things to do.”

“Nah,” Answered Ruby Pinch, “Nopony ever goes to the library for the books. It's either foals looking for help with their homework, Ponies looking for Twilight to deal with a catastrophe, or Ponies asking Twilight out on a date.”

“Does Twilight have a coltfriend?” Asked Rumble.

“Not that I know of,” Answered Ruby, “She only goes out when Equestria is in danger or if her friends are doing something together.”

“What does she do otherwise?” Rumble simply couldn't imagine staying inside all day every day.

“Experiments,” Replied Dinky.

Rumble and Noblesse stopped at that answer, “Come again?” Asked Noblesse.

Pipsqueak poorly suppressed giggles at his new friends' reactions, “Twilight is always messing with things in 'er basement. Alchemy, Chemistry, and who knows what else she does in that basement lab of hers.”

Noblesse and Rumble looked at each with mutual concern on their faces. Then Rumble noticed something peculiar in the distance behind Noblesse, “What is that?” Rumble lifted a hoof and pointed at whatever had caught his attention.

The other foals traced Rumble's hoof to a large tree with windows and a door installed into it, “I believe that is our destination,” Said Noblesse.

Rumble stood flabbergasted at the sight before him. When his brother told him that the Golden Oaks Library was a tree, Rumble assumed that he meant the architecture had a tree motif, never in Rumble's wildest dreams would he have thought that the library was an actual tree.

Everypony laughed at Rumble's confusion.

“This surprises thou?” Asked Noblesse, “I would've thought that a Pegasus would be used to eccentric architecture.”

“What do you mean by that?” Asked Dinky.

“Pegasi are known for designing 'unique' buildings with the malleable clouds that they use for construction,” Explained Noblesse, “Dame Dash's massive cloud palace? That is tame compared to what most Pegasi make their homes into.”

“Huh, there was nothing like in Irrigation Square,” Replied Rumble.

“Oh,” Noblesse just realized something about the effeminate colt before him, “So you're from Cloud Spire?”

Rumble nodded while the other foals gave the Unicorn colt confused looks, “What's special about Cloud Spire?” Asked Ruby.

“Cloud Spire is what is known as a 'Unity City,'” Answered Noblesse, “Unity Cities are cities that were founded shortly after Equestria's founding to celebrate the new union between the Pony Tribes. These Unity Cities are meant to have the best of all worlds for all types of Ponies when their locations and architecture were decided upon.”

“So how does that differ from the Pegasi Cities?” Asked Pipsqueak, not sure what Noblesse's seemingly vague words meant.

Rumble decided to pick up where Noblesse stopped, “Since Pegasi can fly, they don't need conform to the same building requirement as the other Tribes do. The Unity Cities were made with all three Pony Tribes in mind, so even the cloud sections of the city are built like Earth Pony or Unicorn structures. I remember that few 'buildings' in the Cloudsdale Flight School had floors in them and everything that wasn't framed were inside of built-in draws inside of the walls themselves.”

The two Unicorn Fillies and the Earth Pony colt had to ponder that for a moment, buildings without floors? It made since of course. Modern Pegasi culture evolved from a military dictatorship, and to this day they value physical fitness over most other aspects of a Pony's character..

Rumble started twitching slightly. While he was disdainful of Pegasi culture and made a point of being different from your typical Pegasus, Rumble could hardly sit still and do nothing for more than five minutes, “Well come on, lets go!”

Rumble started shoving Noblesse with his head, an act that the metallic colt found amusing instead of insulting.

As the small group of foals approached the door, they could hear laughter. Rumble opened the door to the Golden Oaks Library. Since it was technically a public building, Rumble didn't think he would have to knock during business hours.

The foals entered the building and nopony was sure what to think of the sight before them. Cheerilee was doing her best to get Twilight to stop laughing as the color of Twilight's face had changed from a powdery purple, to a dark blue.

Cheerilee quickly turned to the Crusaders with a scared expression on her face, “I can't get her to stop laughing!”

Noblesse started thinking about how he could improvise the spells he knew to help while the fillies and Pipsqueak were hastily reading through the books on the shelves at random for anything useful. Rumble also started scanning the bookshelves, but with a different idea in mind. Rumble grabbed a large tomb from one of the ceiling high shelves and dropped it directly onto Twilight's stomach.

“HAHAHA-gack!” Twilight had the wind taken out of her and was groaning in pain, but she was actually breathing now.

“Rumble,” Cheerilee started speaking in a lecturing tone of voice, “I would normally admonish you for hurting somepony else, but your plan actually worked.”

“Thanks,” Wheezed Twilight as she started to get up.

Most of the people in the room winced as they noticed the dark purple bruise on Twilight's stomach, “I'm sorry about, but I couldn't think of anything else to do.”

Twilight took a minute to catch her breath before speaking, “Don't worry about. It's like Cheerilee said, I'm alive and I have you to thank for it.”

“What are you five doing here?” Asked Cheerilee now that the crisis was over, “You do know that we don't have any projects do this week.”

“We actually came 'ere for a Crusade,” Explained Pipsqueak.

“Why are you with them Noblesse?” Cheerilee was not so excited to have new students that she didn't notice Noblesse's Cutie Mark.

“It's an excuse to spend time with friends,” Said the gray Unicorn plainly.

No one else in the room caught it, but Twilight noticed something peculiar about Noblesse Oblige. Namely his eyes. While everypony noticed how the whites of his eyes had turned pink, no one noticed his pupils. The years Twilight spent on studying molecules with microscopes, the stars with telescopes, and insects with magnifying glasses, had allowed Twilight to see that Noblesse's pupils had become ovals instead of perfect circles.

Noblesse was still by the door when he found Twilight's gaze in his own. When no one else was looking, Noblesse raised his hoof to his mouth as though he was shushing someone. Twilight nodded her head in acknowledgment as she understood Noblesse's message: stay quiet.

“So how can I help you foals today?” Asked Twilight, curious as to what shenanigans the Crusaders were going to get themselves in today.

“We were wondering why the gems found in the old quarry grow on their own, like Everfree plants,” Answered Dinky Doo.

“Oh!” Twilight was surprised at the Crusaders. Normally they're Crusades involved something ridiculously dangerous or just plain illegal, so Twilight was only to happy to help, “I have a book or two on magical gemstones.”

The Crusaders had taken out only a tenth of the books on the shelves in their frantic search for ways to help Twilight. Twilight herself removed another eighty percent of the books from their shelves while looking for the books she was looking for. All the while Cheerilee stood aghast at how Twilight took out books without rhyme or reason.

“Ah, here it is,” Said Twilight when she found Gold Vein's Appraisal Guide for Magical Gemstones.

“If you want, we could go on a field trip to the quarry and examine the stones there,” Offered Twilight.

Twilight smiled as all of the foals happily took Twilight's offer, “Would you like to come with us Cheerilee?”

“That sounds lovely, I would love to come,” The teacher was only too happy to take a chance to see her students happy, especially since she made them miserable earlier today.

Spike walked into the Golden Oaks Library with his arms full of groceries and his tail pulling a small cart full of other groceries. Spike dropped everything – literally in this case – when he saw the mess Twilight left behind this time, stacked on top of his other chores that he was already behind on.

“TWILIGHT!!!” Spike screamed out so loudly that the library and other nearby structures shook under the wyrmling's auditory assault.

Chapter 16: Questioning

“Do either of you actually know why the gems grow in the quarry?” Asked Twilight.

Most of the foals shook their heads no while Noblesse strategically kept himself in the back of the heard so his companions wouldn't notice his lack of a response

“I have to admit that I don't even know why these gems grow here,” Said Cheerilee.

Twilight nodded her head in acknowledgment, “You know how Earth Ponies exert magic by interacting with the environment whether it be walking, tending to crops, rolling in the grass, etcetera etcetera?” Twilight rolled her hoof after she said 'etcetera, “Plants are partially grown by the ambient magic left behind in the soil. However, barren places like this how no plant life to soak up that ambient magic.”

“But Ponies rarely go out here,” Pointed out Dinky Doo, “I think the only Pony who comes out here is Rarity.”

Twilight's face gained an amused smile, “Magic works sort of like water in the leylines. So the magic put into the soil by creatures that are spiritually aligned with nature, flows throughout the whole planet. And since there are no plants to drain the land of the ambient magic that exudes from the leylines, the stones themselves can use the magic to purify themselves.”

Twilight's explanation made Cheerilee realize something, “Then why are gems so valuable? If you can just dig in the desert for gems, why pay so much for them?”

“Because they aren't the same as the gemstones we use as jewelry or money,” Explained Twilight, “They may look like gemstones, but they're still just stones. Stones with magic trapped in them anyway. Their appearance makes them perfect decorations for Rarity's dresses or any number of home items. The magic inside them is actually why Dragons and some other creatures use them for nourishment, it's also why those creatures have such long natural lifespans.”

“Wait, if these stones are basically worthless, then why do the Diamond Dogs value them so much?” Asked Pipsqueak.

“They're either con artists or idiots who thought they stumbled on veins of actual gemstones,” Replied Twilight.

“Wait! Diamond Dogs!” Exclaimed Ruby, “I completely forgot about those guys, we need to leave before they get us like they did Rarity.”

“Come down Ruby,” Said Cheerilee in an effort to calm the young mare down, “The town guard evicted those Hounds after they tried to enslave Miss Rarity.”

Twilight flinched when she heard Cheerilee's words. Captain Thunderlane told the public that the Diamond Dogs were removed from the caverns they dug underneath Ponyville, but they didn't go without a fight. Only Ponies who were with guard or were ranked as knights or higher on the Noble Ladder in Everfree Province knew for a fact they the Ponyville Peacekeeper Corps had to call the Royal Guard as reinforcements, and they were forced to kill every last Diamond Dog inhabiting the caverns.

“May I ask where you are guiding us Twilight?” Asked Noblesse. Noblesse had figured that Twilight would use a spell to detect gems directly underneath the surface so the group could dig them up and examine them with Twilight's instruction. They have been walking in the old quarry for half an hour and Twilight was clearly leading them somewhere.

“I came here with Rarity one time while she was collecting gems for her dresses so that I could gather some gems myself to study,” Explained Twilight, “We would've used those gems, but I got them a long time ago and my experiments spent all of the magic within the stones, so we have to get new ones. Fortunately, Rarity found entrances to the caverns left behind by the Diamond Dogs. This means we don't actually have to dig for gems.”

Princess Celestia stood at the balcony outside of her bedroom, looking over her and Luna's kingdom. Though she hadn't indirectly caused suffering for her little Ponies, Celestia noticed that her gaze often returned to the Everfree Forest where her nephew was staying.

Celestia wasn't upset about anything in particular this time like she was when her sister came to check up on her the last time she was up here. No, Celestia was expecting a visitor this time.

“You called for me auntie?” Asked a familiar voice from behind Celestia.

The Sun Princess looked behind her to see a Unicorn stallion who shared her coat color and had his mother's blond mane and tail. Celestia didn't need to look at her nephew's flanks to remember the compass rose that made up his Cutie Mark.

“Hello Blueblood,” Celestia said sweetly, “I didn't expect you come so quickly.”

“I ran into your messenger while tending to the Palace Gardens,” Replied Blueblood.

Were Rarity present, she would have noted that his voice sounded far less obnoxious and annoying than when she meet him at the Grand Galloping Gala. It was a trick Blueblood's third cousin twice removed taught him when dealing with people – Pony or otherwise – that were particularly bothersome.

“Do you know why I asked to meet with here?” Asked Celestia.

“Something to do with good old 'Golem' I imagine,” Guessed Blueblood, referring to Noblesse Oblige with the nickname palace staff and nobility gave him.

Celestia nodded her head solemnly, “Has Check Mate made any progress with the investigation?”

“ROoK uncovered three separate agents in Ponyville, two of which killed themselves upon discovery, and the third used magic on herself to erase her memories,” Replied Celestia as she turned her head back towards the Everfree Forest.

“I know it's a long shot, but what about outside of Ponyville?” Suggested the bachelor.

“Any spies outside of Ponyville had too much time to go to ground before ROoK began their investigation,” Said Celestia plainly.

Celestia turned towards Blueblood once again, “Do you have any idea why Noblesse was so desperate to use Ponyville as his capital?”

The question caught Blueblood off guard, “Uh, not particularly. If I had to guess it was just the closest settlement to your old castle. Why do you ask?”

A translucent yellow light covered the Alicorn's horn and beamed down into balcony floor next to them. Blueblood turned his head to see that Celestia had generated a map of Everfree Province.

“Noblesse has arranged for trade routes to go through the Everfree Forest itself and has used magic to keep the creatures at bay,” Explained Celestia, “He's done in such a way that the creatures couldn't enter or leave specific parts of the forest.”

“Is that a problem?” Asked Blueblood, not really sure what would have his aunt worried.

“The population of the creatures inside the sections of the Everfree Forest Noblesse has created should be increasing, seeing as the predators have been isolated in sections with quickly reproducing creatures,” Said Celestia, “Check Mate brought this to my attention when her agents noticed this anomaly while scanning the Everfree Forest for spies.”

“Could he have done something else to the land or water?” Asked Blueblood.

“The rivers that run through the forest feed into the settlements in Everfree Province, if that were the case we'd see it affecting the populace of the settlements,” Pointed out Celestia, “There is also a distinct lack of evidence suggesting hunting.”

Blueblood's blood chilled as he realized his aunt's fears, “Do you think he's doing taking the creatures themselves?”

Celestia nodded her head “The ambient magic produced by the Elements of Harmony have a pacifying effect on lesser creatures, Luna and I also enchanted the castle grounds with similar enchants when the two of us lived there.”

Blueblood brought his hoof to his mouth and bit down on his pastern, it was both a nervous habit and something he did while he was in deep thought.

“Can you think of anything that Noblesse himself would want with the creatures inside the Everfree?” Asked Celestia, almost desperately.

Blueblood sighed nervously, “During the short time he was enrolled in your school, the teachers came to me with a common concern regarding his free studying sessions and the way he dealt with bullies.”

Celestia waited patiently while waiting for her nephew to collect his thoughts. The headmaster of her school had actually brought some of these concerns to Celestia's attention. She discredited him then because he was a known fundamentalist with strict views on how magic was supposed to work. Celestia mostly ignored him on this matter because of his comments on the magic that came to Noblesse instinctively as opposed to anything he was learning.

“His studying sessions always revolved around the body and mind,” Said Blueblood after a few moments, “He would offer himself as an assistant to the anatomy and physiology teachers and he would interview Royal Guardponies and members of the staff while they were off duty.”

“Why was this concerning?” Asked Celestia. It wasn't uncommon for students at her school to do work for their teachers during their off time as it was a more interesting way to study than by reading books.

“Because of the papers that were born from this,” Replied Blueblood with a tremor in his voice. “It started as compare and contrast essays on the bodies of different animals. Then it, escalated.”

“How so?” Celestia's voice didn't betray how much she did not like where this was going.

“He started comparing lesser creatures to intelligent creatures,” Blueblood flinched at a particular memory that came to mind, “He once wrote a very detailed papes on the body of an Equine, specifically how the nervous system and brain worked.”

This news sent a chill down Celestia's spine. Books detailing the physiology of sentient creatures were not prohibited, but hard to get a hold off. All books of that kind were kept under lock and key and Ponies needed approval from Royal Guard Hierarchy to so much as look at the covers of such books.

To make matters worse, one could easily get a hold of cadavers without any one noticing. Half of Canterlot was a glorified tourist trap, it would be pathetically easy to nab someone without the Royal Guard catching wind of their disappearance.

Celestia remembered something Blueblood said earlier, “You mentioned something about how Noblesse would deal with bullies.”

Blueblood nodded, “He would use very private information about any one who antagonized him against them, information that isn't on record. There was also a few instances where bullies were... scarred.”

“Come again?”

“Noblesse managed to figure out advanced illusion spells without access to spell books,” Said Blueblood, “And one special circumstance where Noblesse seemed to have used telekinesis in an unconventional way.”

“Unconventional?” Celestia could no longer keep up her calm appearance.

“A medical examination revealed that something manipulated the bully's brain,” Blueblood paused again, “Physically.”

“He used telekinesis to mess with somepony's brain?” Celestia needed conscious effort to not use the Royal Canterlot Voice.

“We're not sure,” Replied Blueblood, “We know Noblesse did something with his magic, but we're not sure what. If he didn't manipulate the brain directly, he did something to cause it to react.”

“No charges were pressed?”

“Short of cracking open the bully's skull, we can't be certain about what he did. The only other witnesses were the bully's cohorts, and they were hysterical with fear. There simply wasn't enough evidence to get a conviction, then there's Noblesse's past to consider...”

“So we can't rule out the possibility that he's performing experiments on living creatures,” Said Celestia. After centuries spent dealing with catastrophes, she only needed a few moments to calm herself down.

“What's worst is that even if he is: he wouldn't be doing anything illegal. I had to research the laws surrounding the Everfree Forest to get my doctorate, and all Noblesse has to do is declare that he is doing whatever in order to keep the creatures contained, and no one could challenge him.”

“What do you think he's capable of?” Asked Celestia.

“It would depend on the circumstance,” Said Blueblood plainly, “He probably won't go around abducting Ponies from their homes or the streets. If he is mentally capable of experimenting on people, he will use Ponies that were convicted of crimes as guinea pigs.”

“Is there anypony that Noblesse trusted more than you?”

Blueblood didn't even need to think to answer Celestia's question, “The person he trusts the most is Legal Procedure.”

“Who?” Celestia had literally thousands of relatives over the course of her life, it would be nearly impossible to remember them all.

“Polished Gong's daughter,” Answered Blueblood, “If there is anyone with insight into Noblesse's ambitions, it's her.

“Are you certain you want to do this?” Asked the Unicorn stallion in the room.

“Yeah,” The young Unicorn mare share her father's teal coat and deep green eyes, “Besides, do you think anyone else will do this willingly?”

Polished Gong sighed, “No, I suppose not. I don't like it, but I can't keep you here.”

Legalese turned to face her father, “Come on dad, it's not like you're not ever going to see me again. Ponyville is only a short train ride away, and the Princess gives you, what? Ten minutes worth of desk work a week?”

Polished Gong smiled softly and chuckled some, “I just can't help but worry about my little filly.”

Legalese rolled her eyes as she walked closer to her father and hugged him, “Everything will be fine dad. I'm just going to be Noblesse's herald, nothing dangerous. And from what I've heard, he has guards crawling all over the place.”

Polished Gong flinched at the mention of Noblesse. He hated to think so poorly of his daughter's best friend, but by his ancestors did he give off more than a few bad vibes.

Legalese felt her father flinch and she let go of him, “You know he wouldn't try to hurt me. Besides, I'm curious as to what friends he's made, if any.

Author's Note

Hello readers, I hope you've enjoyed my story so far. I'm sorry if these last few chapter seem lack luster, but I'm mostly using them as set up for future events in the story. Would any care if I stopped giving names to my chapters? Instead of 'Chapter 16: Questioning' it would just be 'Chapter 16.' I ask because it's hard to think of names for some of these chapters and I spend way too much time on it.

P.S. Feel free to give any criticism, advice, or comments you people feel appropriate. I would love to get more input from anyone reading and I would only be too happy to answer questions you may have.

Chapter 17

The weekend came and went for the students of the Ponyville Foalhood Education Center. Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle spent their weekend at home, being too exhausted to do anything else. Apple Bloom especially couldn't do anything Crusading with the chores that needed to be done at her home.

The rest of the Crusaders studied the magical gemstones with the help of Twilight Sparkle over the weekend. While the founding members of the Cutie Mark Crusaders emphasized the need to try new things for one's Cutie Mark to the point where they never did the same thing twice in a Crusade, the others were happy to take their time with their Crusades and were more concerned about having fun and spending time with their friends.

The Crusaders sans the founding members, weren't too sure what to think about their new honorary member however. Noblesse Oblige, while not hostile, wasn't very welcoming either. He was more than happy to spend time with the other Crusaders, but was cold and distant. They didn't know if he had trouble interacting with other Ponies or if they needed to do more themselves to interact with metal colored colt, this was a problem that Rumble and Pipsqueak in particular wanted to solve.

Noblesse on the other hoof, was enjoying the Crusades he was apart of. While he wouldn't say he was friends with the other Crusaders like he was with the founding members, he could do more than tolerate their presence.

The foals streamed into the school building on Monday and took their seats as usual. While there were no seating arrangements that dictated who sat where, everypony had their own chosen spots. Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle always sat next to each other close to the center of the room. Diamond Tiara sat in the front row of the seats with Silver Spoon directly behind her. Pipsqueak, being as short as he is, had to sit up front and placed himself next to the window. The left most column of seats was a new addition needed for the class's new students. Noblesse sat in the second seat from the back and Rumble sat in the very front.

The class bell rang bringing everypony's attention to Cheerilee and the famous lavender Unicorn next to her.

“Good morning class,” Said Cheerilee in a sing-song voice, “Before we begin, I need to introduce a new addition to the class!”

Cheerilee gave the class a moment to talk among themselves. Cheerilee usually made a point of telling the class when they would be getting a new student, of course, they didn't realize that the 'new addition' was already in the room with them.

Cheerilee tapped her ruler against the chalkboard to get the class's attention once again, “Class, I would like to introduce you to my new teacher's assistant: Ms. Twilight Sparkle.”

“Hello everypony,” Said Twilight at her cue, “There's no reason to call me 'Miss,' my name will do just fine.”

The class talked excitedly amongst themselves once again, with two noticeable exceptions.

Diamond Tiara raised her nose into the air while Silver Spoon slumped in her seat. Twilight was unfortunately familiar with the two spoiled brats. Their first time at her library was also their last. These runts had mocked the other foals who came to her for help, insulted Spike, and worst of all, wrote in her books! After that, Twilight explicitly banned the two from entering her library and made sure their legal guardians understood why. Filthy Rich had punished his daughter and niece and had even offered to replace Twilight's defiled books. Safe to say that Twilight wasn't exactly their biggest fan.

“Alright everypony,” Said Twilight happily, “Open your math books to page...”

The bell rang to let the class out for recess. Today's lesson was much easier to comprehend than the lesson on last Friday.

“Rumble,” the light gray colt stopped short of the door as he heard the teacher's voice, “Twilight and I would like to talk to you about something before you go out to recess today.”

Rumble turned around to face Cheerilee and Twilight and saw the serious expressions on their faces, “Is something wrong?”

Twilight nodded her head in affirmation, “Yes, but it's nothing you could have helped.”

“Twilight and I are aware that you transferred here after graduating Cloudsdale Fight School,” Said Cheerilee.

“Is that a problem?” Asked Rumble.

“You see Rumble,” Cheerilee started to explain, “Schools like that mostly concentrate on a single subject, in this case Weather Manipulation and Physical Education, this means that you're behind the rest of the class in academia.”

Twilight was the first to noticed Rumble's worried expression and softened the look on her face, “If you're willing to spend some time after school, and maybe even during recess, Ms. Cheerilee and I would be more than happy to help study so you don't stay behind the rest of the class.”

Rumble's worries went away as he realized that he wasn't in trouble, at least not the in since he thought at first, “Oh, thank you. I would like that, I think?”

Cheerilee smiled softly, “You're excused for recess.”

Rumble nodded his head and went out the door.

“Do you think he even knows what studying is?” Asked Twilight as she turned to face Cheerilee.

Cheerilee chuckled, “At least in concept,” The two mares started laughing as they gathered worksheets to grade during recess.

“What should we do today Di?” Asked Silver Spoon.

“Ugh, I don't know for once,” Replied Diamond Tiara.

Silver Spoon readjusted her glasses as she looked around the playground, “Well, unless we want to chase the others away from the playground equipment, we could play on the slide, again.”

Diamond Tiara gave an exaggerated sigh to emphasize how bored she was, “We did that all recess yesterday, but I really don't feel like messing with just anypony.”

Silver Spoon's gaze on a particular group of classmates, “Whats going on over there?”

Diamond Tiara traced her cousin's gaze back to the schoolhouse as she saw all of the Cutie Mark Crusaders in attendance gathered around the door, all except for one notable exception who was just now getting out of class.

“Why is Filly Face only now getting out of class?” Asked Diamond Tiara.

“Maybe if we taunt her enough, we can get some dirt,” Said Silver Spoon excitedly.

Diamond Tiara nodded her head enthusiastically at Silver Spoon's suggestion. Though it was rare for Silver Spoon to bully their classmates as much as Diamond Tiara did, Silver Spoon was usually the mastermind behind all of their put-downs.

The infamous duo started making their way to the equally infamous group for their daily dose of fun.

“Hello Rumble,” Said Noblesse as the effeminate colt exited the building.

Rumble gave a yelp of surprise at hearing Noblesse's voice almost directly in his ear. Rumble looked around to see all of his friends sans Ruby and Dinky as well as Noblesse and the founding members of the Cutie Mark Crusaders sitting around the entrance to the schoolhouse.

“Looks like I owe'st thou four bits, Scootaloo,” Said Noblesse plainly, “I apologize, twas not mine intent to frighten thou.”

“Uhh, it's fine,” Rumble was close enough to Noblesse to notice how his pupils grew in length into form vertical slits, though you wouldn't notice it at a distance, “But what are you all doing here?”

“We wanted to check up on yah,” Explained Apple Bloom, “It ain't anthin' bahd, right?”

Rumble sat in silence for a moment as he deciphered Apple Bloom's accented speech, “Nah, Ms. Cheerilee and Twilight were just letting me know that I can go to them for extra studying sessions.”

“Awww, it's nothing juicy,” Said a familiar haughty voice from behind the group.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders turned around to see their usual tormentors: Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.

“Cheer up Di,” Said Silver Spoon patting her cousin's back, “He's still a filly faced blank flank.”

Rumble scoffed at their petty insults, the elitists in Cloudsdale were worse by leaps and bounds, “Is that all you've got?” Asked Rumble, more insulted at how they actually thought their words would be considered offensive as opposed to the words themselves.

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon looked at each other with surprised looks on their faces. Ponies had talked back to them, but never had they fought back like this.

“Whats wrong?” Asked Noblesse with a tone of voice that was either sarcasm or actual concern, no one within earshot could tell which, “Doth thou know'st not how to deal with pray that does more than squirm at your feet?”

Noblesse's exact words and his tone of voice sent shivers down everypony's spines, none more so than Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon thanks to the harsh glare the pair were receiving from the iron colored colt.

It was Diamond Tiara who first found her voice, but could not keep it steady, “W-what d-do you know?” Diamond Tiara was actually too scared to think of insults quickly, “Y-you worthless, ugly, freak!”

Diamond Tiara's voice had brought nearby foals to their attention.

“Ugly?” Asked Noblesse rhetorically, “I find that few can keep their eyes off of my unique appearance, and that it is you two whom others shy away from in disgust.”

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon flinched hard. It was true however. Ponies usually kept away from the pair despite their natural beauty, their words and reputation kept most away however. The pair of bullies knew this, but treacherous voices in the back of their minds said otherwise.

Silver Spoon's anger overcame her instinctual fear as she also found her voice, “At least our parents actually love us! I bet the mare that adopted you only did so out of pity!”

Several of the foals were about to speak in Noblesse's defense. Even Cheerilee and Twilight, who were listening through the closed door, were about to intervene when Noblesse spoke, “You're point?”

Everypony who heard him speak froze then and there, “W-what?”

The expected reaction to such an accusation would be to vehemently deny it, to viciously attack whoever so much as suggested such a thing, to run away crying trying your hardest to refute it, most certainly not treat it like it were a given fact.

Noblesse gave a smile that was simultaneously soft and cold, “Captain Top Priority did adopt me out of pity. She took a cold, starving, and uneducated colt out of the streets, and into the most luxurious place in Equestria with best education possible. I couldn't care less if anyone loves me or not, I'm set for life. And if I get lonely, I could easily hustle someone's love for myself.”

Everypony was horrified that someone could even think this. Even the Ponies who knew that this was just a cover story, were still horrified by how convincingly Noblesse told this tale. If they didn't know better, the Ponies in the know would think that this actually fit into his philosophy.

Noblesse slapped Diamond Tiara in the face with his tail as he left laughing. Noblesse walked sedately to the tree where the Crusaders usually hung out and climbed to the branch he usually rested in during recess while everyone decided what they wanted to do. The Ponies who were still watching the metal colored Unicorn were shocked to see how he climbed the tree.

Noblesse's entire body seemed to go limp all at once. Then, when his stomach hit the ground, Noblesse became an iron gray blur that up and around the bark of the tree and stopped in his tree branch. His friends were used to this by now, but the Ponies who didn't keep their eyes on him were absolutely shocked.

Legal Procedure walked into the throne room of the Canterlot Palace to answer the Sun Princess's summons. Upon noticing her rival, Celestia sent everyone who wasn't a guard out of the room so they could talk in private.

Legalese trotted cheerfully to Celestia's throne and bowed politely, “Hello grandma♪”

Before Celestia could respond, one of the guards at the foot of her throne raised his voice, “How dare you address Her Radiance in such an insulting manor!”

Legalese gave the guard a glare so harsh that it could have peeled coats of paint, “Listen here you worthless toad, my grandfather was Celestia's eighth husband. So I think that I know better how to address my grandmother, than some primary school dropout that just barely passed the academy exam.”

Legalese gave an annoyed sigh as she turned her head to once again face her grandmother, “How can I help you today grandma?” She just as cheerfully as she said hi.

Celestia needed a few moments to get control of her mirth over the look on her usually stoney guards.

Celestia wiped a tear from her eye before she spoke, “I need to talk to you about your cousin.”

Legalese tilted her head, “Which one?”

“Noblesse Oblige,” Celestia said plainly.

Legalese flinched slightly and her happy demeanor faded, “What about him?”

Celestia frowned at her granddaughter's reaction, “Do you think he's... dangerous?”

Legalese facehoofed and sighed. This obviously wasn't the first time somepony had spoken to her about this topic.

“No,” Answered Legalese, trying her best to keep the anger from her voice, “He is not a danger to anyone, until you give him a reason to be.”

Celestia was about to continue her questioning, but Legalese wasn't done, “He had nothing to do with the disappearances around Canterlot, I should also point out that those Ponies were last seen around the labyrinthine Crystal Caverns. Noblesse is not a serial killer, he is not a monster, and he is not a danger to society.”

Celestia gave the young mare in front of her a few moments to calm down before speaking again, “This isn't the first time someone has talked to you about Noblesse is it?”

Legalese sighed, “No, no it isn't.”

Celestia thought about how to phrase her next question for a moment, “What kind of person do you think Noblesse is?”

“There are two words that summarizes Noblesse Oblige in general,” Answered Legalese plainly, “'Pragmatic' and 'curious,' its why he has so many problems with his emotions.”

Celestia leaned back in her throne, “The populations of the creatures in the Everfree Forest has remained stagnant when they should be increasing drastically, do you think Noblesse has anything to do with this?”

Legalese scoffed, “Oh, I know he does.”

Celestia was taken back by her answer, “What do you suppose he's doing with them?”

This time, it was Legalese who needed time to think about how to phrase her words, “Research.”

“Too what end?” Asked Celestia more desperately than she meant to.

“Noblesse doesn't believe in the concept of 'Forbidden Knowledge,'” Replied Legalese, “He probably wants to study their anatomy and publish his findings for the public.”

Legalese's words confirmed some of Celestia's suspicions. From what Celestia could gather, Noblesse was somewhat like Starswirl the Bearded. Going out of his way to learn new things only to teach whatever he discovered. This means that Noblesse is indirectly dangerous, which will make him harder to deal with.

“If Noblesse were too be a danger to society, in what way do you think he would be dangerous?”

Celestia almost flinched at the glare her granddaughter was giving her, “The most dangerous thing he would do, assuming that no one attacks him, would be uncovering dangerous knowledge and sharing it without second thought as to who he was teaching.”

Legalese spoke again before Celestia could, “If you will excuse me, I have to get packing,” Legalese turned around without taking steps backwards, as was considered polite, and lashed her tail at Celestia in agitation, another rude gesture, and left the throne room.

Chapter 19

The bell rang to let the class out of school for the day. Young mares and stallions ran out of the schoolhouse like they did when they younger, and everypony went about their way.

“I want tah thank yah agin fer helpin' me Rumble,” Said Apple Bloom as the pair walked to Sugarcube Corner.

“Oh, it's nothing Apple Bloom,” Said Rumble politely.

For all of the teasing Thunderlane and the girls put him through, Rumble couldn't honestly deny their claims. Since the day they met, Rumble couldn't get the farm filly out of his mind. And now, Apple Bloom was the focus of his thoughts in his free time. She was beautiful, smelled like baked apples, and was the most kind Pony Rumble had ever met.

Her dark red mane and tail went so well together with her cream colored coat and dark pink bow. Shivers went down Rumble's spine when thought about her fathomless tangerine orange eyes, he could get lost in them for days and- “Ow!”

Rumble's focus was on admiring the filly he was walking with and not the walking itself, meaning he didn't see the lamppost.

“Oh gosh!” Exclaimed Apple Bloom, “Are yah okay Rumble?”

“Yeah, I'm fine. Just wasn't looking where I was going,” Rumble was glad that Apple Bloom didn't notice him looking at her. Rumble was even happier that she didn't notice that he was flushing slightly at her concern.

“How far away is Sugarcube Corner again?” Asked Rumble. Pinkie Pie was not allowed to host any welcoming parties until Noblesse Oblige turned fifteen. After all with the influx of Ponies migrating to Ponyville, Pinkie's parties would become more disruptive than they would be fun. Besides, it put the soon-to-be Ponyville Festival Hall good use.

“Yah see that ther buildin'?” Apple Bloom pointed to a building that looked like a giant ginger bread house.

“It's a fitting name,” Said Rumble admiring the building. Rumble was still new to Ponyville and hadn't had the chance to explore most of the town.

The two foals entered the famous bakery. The bell at the top of the door alerted Mrs. Cake to the presence of the two foals, “Oh, hello there Apple Bloom. Who's your friend here?”

“Howdy Mrs. Cake. This here is Rumble, I just it wald be nice tah have a friend halp with the twins. Yah don't mind do yah?”

“I don't mind at all deary,” There was a mischievous twinkle in Mrs. Cake's eyes, “But, are you sure she's just a friend?”

Both of the foals blushed, but Rumble was noticeably more flushed, “It ain't nothin' like that Mrs. Cake. Besides we only met recently, how could we even be crushin' on each other?”

Rumble was behind Apple Bloom, so she didn't notice Rumble's blush deepening more. Oh, she has no idea thought Mrs. Cake, “Alright deary, I left the list out for you if need help with the twins.”

“Come on Rumble, their crib is in the back,” Apple Bloom started to lead Rumble into the back of the store when she ran into Mr. Cake at the door.

“Whoops, sorry about that kids,” Said Mr. Cake as he stopped then moved around the pair.

“Come on teacup,” Said Mr. Cake, “Pudding's letter said that Red Velvet just went into labor. If we hurry, we can make it to Baltimare before our niece or nephew is born.” With that the married couple left their establishment with the door locking behind them.

“Oh my!” Said Apple Bloom, “Ah didn't realize that she was that fer along.”

“Wait, what's going on?” Asked Rumble slightly confused. He understood that one of their family members were going into labor. But didn't understand how they could know that if said family member was a three hour train ride away.

“Mr. Cake's sister, Red Velvet, got hitched to a Unicorn,” Explained Apple Bloom, “I guess he used magic to send 'em a letter. And she's just went into labor.”

“Speaking of labor,” Said Rumble, “Where are the cake twins?”

Rumble's question was answered by the crying of one of the aforementioned foals, “That answers my question.”

Rumble opened the door into the back of the building, only for an infant Pegasus to latch on to face and use it as platform to jump off and fly into the kitchen.

“Ow,” Said Rumble rubbing his muzzle.

“Are yah okay?” Asked Apple Bloom.

“Yeah, I'm fine,” Assured Rumble, “You go take care of the other one, I'll go get the Pegasus.”

Apple Bloom nodded her head and head into the twins' nursery as Rumble chased after Pound Cake.

After school, Noblesse went to find his older friends. Dinky Doo would most likely be helping her mother and or aunt with work, so his best bet was Ruby Pinch. The friendly – and frightened – townsfolk gladly told him that the bar that Ruby's mother owned and worked, was on the corner of Syrup Street and Maple Drive.

The Plastered Pegasus? Noblesse read the sign on the bar in front of him and laughed. What a fitting name thought the colt as he overcame his mirth and entered the establishment.

Noblesse enter the bar and looked around for his 'friend.' Though Noblesse didn't know much about this kind of business, it didn't take an entrepreneur to tell that today was slow day. Noblesse could see Berry Punch cleaning a shot glass.

Some of the patrons looked at the new comer, and were not expecting what they saw. The entrance to the 'Plastered Pegasus' was not as well lit as the rest of the bar, so all they could really make out was Noblesse's uncovered eye that seemed to be glowing in the darkness.

The gasps caused Berry Punch to trace their horrified gazes straight into Noblesse's one eye as he deftly made his way to the counter. Berry was startled like everypony else and dropped the glass she was cleaning.

“Let me get that for you,” Noblesse leaned over the counter as his horn glowed a stygian black. The pieces of the glass glowed the same color as they lifted into the air. If one could see into the black of Noblesse's magic, they would see that the pieces came together once again as a shot glass. The cracks in the broken the glass faded with Noblesse's magic and the shot glass was whole once more.

“T-thank you,” Said Berry Punch hesitantly, “Would you like something to drink,” Berry wasn't actually sure how old Noblesse actually was.

“Thank you, but I'm not old enough to drink,” Said Noblesse politely, though it was true, “I'm actually here looking for your daughter.”

“You mean me?” Called out Ruby Pinch as she came down the stair case.

Ruby stopped when she saw Noblesse's eye, but wrote it off as nothing, “What's going on?”

“I was hoping you knew where Dinky was,” Replied Noblesse, “Everypony else has plans for today.”

“Oh really?” Asked Ruby excitedly. Ruby turned to face her mother, “You wouldn't mind if I went with my friends again today, would you?”

Berry Punch did not like her daughter being around Noblesse. Never mind his appearance, the fact that highly trained killers were after him made Berry want to keep her daughter as fall away from him as possible. However, Ruby was legally an adult, and today was a slow day. Berry had no excuse to keep her daughter here and she couldn't legally keep her away from the noblepony.

“Of course not dear, have a good time with your friends,” Said Berry plainly.

Ruby thought that the lack of emotion in her mother's voice was strange, but made nothing of it, “Come on, I've memorized the mail routes both Dinky's mom and aunt work. Bye mom!” With that, the young mare and stallion went out to look for their friend, not noticing the distressed look on Berry's face.

Thunderlane was in the skies above Ponyville looking for Rumble. Up till today, Rumble had either gone home or looked out for Thunderlane on his own and made plans for the day from there. Neither Thunderlane, Cloud Chaser, nor Flitter had seen hide nor hair of Rumble since he left for school today.

While Ponyville's population was increasing, there had yet to be any unruly types. There had been a few pickpockets and party goers that needed to thrown into the drunk tank, but nothing too serious. So Thunderlane and Cloud Chaser only had some paper work to deal with and Flitter had the week off.

Thunderlane spotted a pair of familiar Ponies in one of the fields outside of Ponyville. The hawk like eyesight all Pegasi are born with, had allowed Thunderlane to identify the Pair as Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo.

With his destination set, Thunderlane glided down to the pair of surrogate sisters. If Scootaloo didn't know where his brother was, then she might possibly know who did.

“Alright Scoots,” Said Rainbow Dash ecclesiastically, “That was good effort. Resume the starting position and try again.”

Scootaloo crouched and spread her wings as far as she could in a similar manor to a formal Pegasus bow, only her wings were perpendicular to her body instead of parallel. Scootaloo leaped up and flapped her wings once before she started to hover, only fall back to the ground after a few seconds.

Rainbow Dash clicked her stopwatch, “Awesome Scoots, nine seconds! You've improved your hovering duration by three whole seconds this week.”

“Oh really!?” Said Scootaloo happily, “At this rate, it won't be long before I'll be flying.”

“You bet Scoots,” Said Rainbow Dash quickly, skillfully hiding her concern.

This just made no since. Sure, Scoots' wings were stunted, but that shouldn't hamper her flying abilities this much. Rainbow Dash could also feel the magic her wings exuded when she hovered or propelled herself on the scooter, so Scootaloo didn't have compromised meridians. Rainbow Dash was taking a moment to ponder what could be wrong with her little sister when another familiar Pegasus landed close to them.

“Hey Rainbow Dash,” Said Thunderlane as he landed.

“Hey Thunderlane,” Said the polychromatic mare back, “Is there something weird with the weather?”

“Nah,” Thunderlane waved a dismissive hoof at the notion, “I actually just need to talk to Scootaloo here, if you don't mind.”

“What?” Asked Scootaloo, “But it's been a few days since I went on a Crusade,” Scootaloo was completely confused as to why the head of the Ponyville Peacekeeper Corps wanted to talk to her this time.

Both of the adults chuckled at her instant assumption that she was in trouble.

“No, it's nothing like that,” Assured Thunderlane, “I was just hoping you knew where my brother was.”

“Brother?” Asked Scootaloo. For Ponies like her and Rainbow Dash, physical exertion went hoof and hoof with mental exertion.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, “He means Rumble, you silly filly.”

“Oh!” Scootaloo had actually forgotten that Thunderlane and Rumble were brothers the day after he joined the class, “He's helping Apple Bloom foalsit the Cake twins today.”

“How did that happen?” Asked Rainbow Dash. The Apples and the Cakes were close family friends, so it wasn't that uncommon that they'd ask one of the Apples to watch over their store or foalsit when they needed it. But why would they trust Rumble, a fairly new Pony in town, to watch over their young?

“Apple Bloom had already agreed to watch over the Cake twins today last week,” Explained Scootaloo, “But didn't know that everypony else would be preoccupied today, everypony except Rumble. And I guess those two foals would be a hoofful to care of by yourself.”

“Did Apple Bloom ask for help, or did Rumble offer?” Asked Thunderlane, eliciting a curious look from Rainbow Dash.

“He offered actually, why?”

Thunderlane started to laugh uncontrollably, “HAHAHA! My brother the dog! HAHAHA!”

Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo looked at each with concern written on faces, “Is he always this weird?” Asked Scootaloo.

“It's new to me,” Said Rainbow Dash.

Thunderlane gained control over himself and wiped a tear from his eye, “Thank you Scootaloo, I'll get out of your manes now. Wait 'till the girls hear about this,” Thunderlane flew off laughing.

Rainbow Dash shook her head at her crazy friend. She then crouched next to Scootaloo, “Hey Squirt.”

Scootaloo looked up at her honorary big sister expectantly, “Do you think we can make it to ten seconds today?” Asked Rainbow Dash.

“You bet'cha!” Exclaimed the orange Pegasus as she leaped into the air from the starting position, not even needing her coach/idol/big sister to tell her to do it.

Author's Note

Hello readers!:pinkiehappy: I have posted Chapter 19 and I would like to thank everyone who has read my story up to this point. I would also like to thank everyone who has given me their opinions on my story, and I would like to thank everyone who has liked and favorited my story. It really means a lot to me when people do that.

Oh, and for future reference: Yes, I am shipping my best pony with my favorite background character. I also have no idea how long the story is going to end up being, and I would like to apologize to people who have been hooked onto this story and do not like longfics, this is probably going to be longer than your average fanfiction.:twilightsheepish:

Chapter 20

Rumble ran into the kitchen of Sugarcube Corner looking for Cakes' little Pegasus foal. Rumble didn't have to look for long as he immediately spotted the cream and brown Pegasus simply sitting on the counter.

“Hey little one,” Said Rumble softly, “What're you doing on the counter?”

Pound was quick to respond, “Meow.”

Both of the colts giggled at Pound's shenanigans, “Do you want to go see Apple Bloom?” Rumble thought it would be best to keep the twins together as much as possible.

Pound happily fluttered onto Rumble's head, “I'll take that as a 'yes,'” Rumble walked carefully out of the kitchen, not sure if the infant Pegasus on his head would be able to catch himself if he fell.

Rumble walked back into the twins' nursery and heard the 'clang' of metal. Rumble looked to his left to see Apple Bloom depositing a diaper in a trash can.

“I see yah managed to catch Pound,” Said Apple Bloom, “Pumpkin just needed 'er diaper changed.”

“Oh, how do you know how to take care of babies?” Asked Rumble.

“The first few times, Pinkie was here with me and showed me the ropes,” Explained Apple Bloom, “It really comes in handy when the Cakes need someone to foalsit or one of mah family comes and brings their youngins.”

An idea popped in Apple Bloom's head, “Ah haven't put a new diaper on Pumpkin yet, Ah can show how tah change a foal's diaper if yah want.”

“Sure,” Agreed Rumble, “That will probably come in handy today.”

The trio walked over to the counter where Apple Bloom left Pumpkin, “Alright, first put the new diaper underneath 'er.”

Rumble quickly did as he was instructed. Apple Bloom leaned over to adjust the diaper slightly, giving Rumble the perfect opportunity to smell her mane.

“That was almost perfect,” Complimented Apple Bloom, “All that's left is tah close up the diaper around 'er and put the pin in.”

Apple Bloom handed Rumble a safety pin, “Now, this is gonna be a might tricky-” Apple Bloom would've have continued instructing Rumble on how to use your hooves to get the pin in the diaper without it opening up, but the light gray Pegasus grabbed the safety pin with the primaries on one of his wings and weaved it into Pumpkin's diaper.

Rumble turned his head to face Apple Bloom and smiled, “They taught us how to sew in Flight School using our wings.”

The twins laughed at Apple Bloom's expense as Pound rolled down Rumble's neck and nestled himself inbetween his wings. A moment later, Rumble and Apple Bloom were joining them in the mirth.

Dinky Doo had spent all of her time after school helping her mother and aunt with their mail routes today. Dinky had just deposited the last letter entrusted to her when a familiar voice called out to her.

“Hey Dinky!” Yelled Ruby Pinch as she ran up to her foalhood friend.

“Oh, hi Ruby,” Said Dinky happily, “What are you doing today?”

“We were actually looking for you,” Answered Ruby.

“We?” Asked Dinky. She looked over to see Noblesse Oblige just barely outside of her personal space.

“Hello Dinky,” Though Noblesse's voice was plain, he had an obvious smile on his face.

Dinky noticed the bandages on his eye and shoulder. She also noticed that the vertical slit pupil on the uncovered eye had stretched further across his eye.

“What happened?” Asked Dinky with genuine concern in her voice.

“I was resting in a tree with a ball knocked me out of it,” Answered Noblesse. He gladly told them the truth, but they didn't need to know about his skin.

“Oh gosh!” Exclaimed Ruby, “That must have hurt.”

Noblesse nodded, “Which is why – and due respect to Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle – I would like to avoid the usual Crusade activities.”

“We've never been much for going overboard like they do,” Said Dinky, “They just have a nack for getting us to join them in their harebrained schemes.”

“So, what should we do today?” Asked Ruby.

“I have an idea actually,” Said Noblesse cheerfully.

The two fillies looked at him expectantly, “Everything between the first basement and the second floor of the Everfree Palace is open to the public, that includes the palace library.”

“You want to spend the day reading?” Asked Dinky. While they weren't as opposed to reading as much as Rainbow Dash was, it wasn't exactly the fillies' idea of fun.

The smile on Noblesse's face grew slightly, “The collection of books in the palace library includes tomes Celestia left behind a thousand years ago after Luna's madness, as well as whatever the lord decided to donate from his personal collection of books. I bet there's a ton of spell books we could learn from.”

Ruby Pinch and Dinky Doo looked at each other. That did sound fairly tempting, and if everypony else was busy...

“That sounds like a fantastic idea,” Said Ruby, “What are you two waiting for? Lets go!”

Ruby galloped towards the Everfree Forest without another word. “Hey! Wait for us!” Called out Dinky as she followed her friend.

Noblesse elected to follow at a much more sedate pace. He couldn't help but chuckle at Ruby's enthusiasm. All I have to do now is get Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo down there some day, and I will be able to begin.

Time Turner was down the street from the trio of foals now headed for the Everfree Palace. It was coincidence that Time Turner was on patrol duty this week and had found Noblesse Oblige with his daughter and her friend.

Time Turner did not like the fact that his daughter was spending so much time with Noblesse. He didn't care if Dinky got a coltfriend, Time Turner would actually like to see his daughter going out into the world, if only slightly. Time Turner's problem with Noblesse was that trained killers wanted him dead and they had no leads on who exactly was after him. To make matters worse, ROoK took over the investigation of the Royal Guardponies that tried to kill Noblesse. This meant that there was a total media blackout on the assassination attempt and the local guards could have nothing to do with the investigation.

Time Turner sighed and continued his rounds. Be careful Dinky, I can't protect you anymore.

Twilight Sparkle and Cheerilee were in the Golden Oaks Library reading through the books Noblesse left for Twilight. Cheerilee never gave out worksheets or home work on the first day of a school week and Ponies rarely came into the library for the books. With nothing better to do, the pair of mares decided to spend the rest of the day getting to know each better.

Cheerilee actually asked Twilight if she could read through the books Noblesse gave her. Knowing what Noblesse put himself through, as well as what kind of life he lead up to this point, would help Cheerilee understand Noblesse as a Pony better.

Twilight was hesitant to let Cheerilee read the books. But Twilight realized that more Ponies knowing more about the Under-City Ponies culture and history would help Ponies in Equestria understand and accept Under-City Ponies better. So Twilight gave Cheerilee the Hemomancy spell book and opened it too the section about the blood rites the first Under-City Ponies took to make them the way they are today.

“He-he did this to himself?” Asked Cheerilee with a shaky voice.

“I know right?” Said Twilight, “The books that I've read says that the process takes years to finish and that the last stage is supposed to be very painful.”

“Why would the settlers do this to themselves?” Asked Cheerilee.

“Nothing like this had been done before in Equestrian history,” Explained Twilight, “So they wouldn't have known how painful it would be. Of course, they'd do it anyway. They needed to preform the blood rites to live in the hostile underground environment. They also see it as an act of penance.”

Cheerilee thought about all of the points Twilight had made. When Princess Luna descended into madness, it was well known why she had gone insane to the Ponies of the time. Everypony that felt guilt over their negligence of the Moon Princess banished themselves to the underground. It was in fact why Nightmare Moon became a folk lore instead of historical trivia. If the books Noblesse gave Twilight were to be believed, then the Under-City Ponies still worshiped the Alicorns as gods. They also engaged in self-mutilation and ritual suicide out of penance.

Shivers went down Cheerilee's spine as she thought what it must have been like. Too abandon the safety of the surface and Princess Celestia's vigil and wisdom to dedicate your life to protecting Equestria from it's subterranean enemies and atoning for your crimes. Cheerilee was absolutely horrified that these Under-City Ponies had developed the concept of hereditary guilt to justify staying underground. Given the contents of the numerous historical texts Noblesse gave Twilight, it was probably for the best.

Cheerilee was brought out of her dark thoughts by the sound of claws against the wood floor of the library and the smell of baked sugar. Cheerilee looked over to see Twilight's 'assistant' bringing a tray of with a plate of freshly made cakes and a pot of tea over to the pair.

Cheerilee was confused about the relationship between Twilight and Spike. Twilight called him her assistant, but a Unicorn could do everything more efficiently and more quickly than a baby anything could. It also concerned Cheerilee that Spike seemed to be treated more like a servant than a member of Twilight's family. He made food, cleaned house, washed dishes, and did a plethora of other domestic chores that Twilight could do all at once with her magic. Another of Cheerilee's concerns was the fact that Spike slept in a basket like a small dog or cat when Twilight had a spare bed that was rarely used.

“Here you go ladies,” Said Spike cheerfully as he laid the tray on the table between them.

“Thank you Spike,” Said Twilight, “How about you take a brake and join us?”

“Sure,” Replied the wyrmling happily, “That sounds nice.”

Spike removed his pink apron and ignited it with his fire breath. But instead of turning into ashes, the flame covered the apron and floated away into the kitchen like a lime green specter. Spike then sat on the opposite end of the couch Cheerilee was sitting on.

Spike had to stifle chuckles at the look of shock and amazement on Cheerilee's face, “Dragonoids cast magic with their fire breath.”

“So Spike,” Started Cheerilee, “What was life in the Canterlot Palace like?” Cheerilee was genuinely curious about Spike's life. Cheerilee knew the story of Twilight getting her Cutie Mark – courtesy of a paper by Sweetie Belle – and knew that Twilight wasn't actually expected to hatch Spike's egg. Knowing more about Spike would help confirm or invalidate her worries about the purple and green Dragon.

Chapter 21

Big Mac wasn't a big talker and didn't like to be around large groups of Ponies, Granny Smith was old, and Apple Bloom was still in school, so this just left Applejack to tend the Apple Family Produce Stand. So like everyday, Applejack had spent the whole day selling produce at the Ponyville Market District.

Applejack managed to sell nearly everything on her cart today, so the farm mare was packing her cart up to take back to her family's farm when a familiar voice called out to her.

“Hey Applejack!”

The orange mare looked up to see Thunderlane, Cloud Chaser, and Flitter, headed her way, “Well howdy everypony, what brings you to the market so late intah the day?”

“We're here to pick up Rumble,” Answered Flitter.

“Oh really?” Asked Applejack intrigued, “What's he doin' out here this time ah day?”

“Oh? You didn't know?” Asked Thunderlane in surprise, “Rumble is helping Apple Bloom foalsit the Cake twins today.”

“Come again?” Applejack had known that the Cakes had arranged for her sister to look after the twins, but knew nothing about Rumble.

“Yeah, Rumble said that Apple Bloom wanted help watching the twins, but all of her other friends had plans today,” Explained Thunderlane, “He however, had no other obligations today, so he offered to help.”

“Oh, that's uhh, real nice of 'um,” Applejack wasn't sure how she felt about this fairly new colt being alone with her sister today.

“Carrot Top is supposed to be taking over for the night,” Said Flitter, “So we were going to go pick up Rumble, would you like to come get Apple Bloom?”

“Yah know, Ah think Ah will.”

“How often do you foalsit?” Asked Rumble.

“Not too often,” Replied Apple Bloom, “Usually they have Pinkie Pie foalsit the twins.”

“The Element of Laughter?” Asked Rumble.

“Yeah, she's really good with Pumpkin 'nd Pound. She couldn't foalsit this week 'cause she went back home for her younger sister's birthday party,” Explained Apple Bloom.

“How do the Cakes know Pinkie Pie?” Asked Rumble.

“She works 'nd live here in Sugarcube Corner,” Explained Apple Bloom, “She was just renting it at first. Then after a couple of months, the Cakes just gave Pinkie the spare room upstairs.”

“It must be nice to have your only employee living in your establishment,” Commented Rumble.

“Speakin' of work, I want tah thank yah again fer helping me out today,” Said Apple Bloom.

“Oh, it's nothing,” Rumble said politely, “But now that the twins are asleep, what do we do?”

“Pumpkin 'nd Pound were unusually neat today, so we don't have tah clean up after 'em,” Said Apple Bloom happily, “So we just need to lock up 'nd leave.”

“Really?” Asked Rumble worriedly, “We just leave two infants by themselves until their parents come back?”

“We can't spend the night here, we have school tomorrow,” Said Apple Bloom, “Besides, Carrot Top is supposed to come by here in a few minutes 'nd she has a spare key.”

“Alright then, l-lets go,” Rumble didn't like the idea of leaving the two infants by themselves, but Apple Bloom made very valid points. Rumble was following behind Apple Bloom to the front door of Sugarcube Corner and in his worried thoughts, didn't realize that Apple Bloom had stopped walking when she opened the door.

“Oof!” Rumble bumped into Apple Bloom.

The farm filly had her mind preoccupied by what laid in front of her and nearly tripped.

“Whoa Nelly!” Applejack immediately ran over to keep her sister from falling over, “Are yah okay?”

“Yeah I'm fine Applejack,” Said Apple Bloom plainly, though her smile betrayed how happy she was to see her sister.

“Oh I'm sorry Apple Bloom,” Said Rumble when he realized what had happened, “I wasn't watching where I was going.”

“It's fine Rumble,” Said Apple Bloom dismissively, “It was an accident.”

Apple Bloom turned her head to face her sister, “But what are yah doin' here Applejack?”

“We just thought y'all would like for someone to take yah home,” Said Applejack.

“We?” Asked Rumble.

A whistle from above alerted the two foalsitters to the presence of three familiar Pegasi in the air above them.

“Hey Rumble,” Said Thunderlane, “Scootaloo told what you three were doing today, and we just came by to get you.”

“Well I guess this is goodbye,” Said Apple Bloom, “Ah'll see yah tomorrow.”

“Alright Apple Bloom, have a good evening,” With that, the light gray Pegasus join his brother and friends in the air and flew off.

Rumble was hoping that the three Pegasi with him would leave him be for tonight at least, but they just had the since to not tease Rumble about Apple Bloom while her sister was within earshot.

“So Rumble,” Started Cloud Chaser with a teasing tone of voice, “How was foalsitting?”

“Uh, it was nice,” Replied Rumble hesitantly, he knew when his 'sisters' were using their teasing voice.

“I guess it doesn't hurt that you had company tonight, huh?” Said Flitter barely holding back snickers.

Rumble said nothing, hoping to escape the onslaught of teasing. It was to no avail as Thunderlane spoke up, “Scootaloo told me that you offered to help Apple Bloom tonight.”

Oh no thought Rumble. They had worked out how all three of them could tease Rumble all at once. This does not bode well for me.

“Did you want to know what it would be like caring for foals with Apple Bloom?” Continued Thunderlane.

“Wait. What!?” The sisters actually had to swoop in and catch Rumble so he didn't fall out of the sky out of embarrassment.

That little comment wouldn't have normally flustered Rumble so badly, but the three older Pegasi had been teasing him about courting Apple Bloom since he had met her.

“You two would make a great couple,” Commented Flitter, “I bet you would make even better parents.”

The three older Pegasi laughed at Rumble's expense as the near white fur on his face turned a deep scarlet.

Back on the ground – specifically the road to Sweet Apple Acres – Apple Bloom was getting a similar interrogation from her older sister. Though, it was far more serious than the comedic fusillade Rumble was receiving.

“Was Rumble different tonight?” Asked Applejack.

“Different?” Replied the younger sister, “Could yah be more specific?”

Applejack sighed. Element of Honesty or not, subtlety was not her strong suit, “Different from he usually acts when he's with you 'nd yer friends.”

“Well yeah,” Said Apple Bloom, “We were foalsittin' a pair of infants. Ah would hope he would act in a different way than he does with the other Crusaders.”

Applejack bit her lip. This was going to get awkward, “Did he insist on bein' in yer personal space? Was he a might more forward than unusual?”

Apple Bloom sighed and rolled her eyes. This was not the first time Applejack had been overprotective of her, “He was a perfect gentlecolt the entire night. He was as friendly as he always is, 'nd I wouldn't mind him helpin' me foalsit again.”

“What about when he ran intah you?” Asked Applejack.

“Aj, that was an accident.”

“What if it wasn't? If the four of us weren't there, he might've tried to-” Applejack didn't get to finish her sentence as her sister spoke up.

“Fer Celestia's sake Applejack!” Exclaimed Apple Bloom with a clearly annoyed tone of voice, “Right now, the only Pony who needs to get off of me is you.”

Apple Bloom increased the pace of her trot and passed her older sister with an annoyed look on her face and a clear blush on her checks. Applejack stopped and sighed as she watched her sister go ahead of her. Applejack really needed to learn how to be more tactful in the future.

“Wow!” Exclaimed Berry Pinch, “There are a lot of books here.”

It was half past one in the afternoon when Berry Pinch, Dinky Doo, and Noblesse Oblige entered the library in the Everfree Palace. Berry Pinch and Dinky Doo had never even seen the Everfree Palace before today, and spent nearly a hour admiring the unique architecture and examining the Under-City Ponies, much to their chagrin. Noblesse of course, thought that the fact that his usually stone faced guards and servants were so clearly put off by his friends' innocent scrutiny was hilarious.

“How do you find anything in this place?” Asked Dinky, trying in vain to count all of the books.

“We have written down exactly how all of the books are organized,” Replied the colt happily, “You see these etchings on each of the bookshelves? That's not just there for decoration, they were put there to help people navigate the otherwise labyrinthine library.”

“Did you help stock the shelves?” Asked Berry Pinch, trying to imagine how many Ponies were needed to stock each of the countless bookshelves in a timely fashion.

“Yes, yes I did,” While Noblesse believed strongly in the virtue of modesty, he still took great pride in the fact that he actually helps his servants maintain his home, “I stocked the entirety of the 'Historical Texts' and the 'Spell Books and Alchemical Recipes' shelves.”

“Can I ask a question?” Asked Dinky Doo as she noticed something that really made her curious.

Noblesse traced her gaze to one of the stones that rested on the sconces in place of torches all around the room, “The 'Lighting Stones?' Thou remember'st how the stones in the quarry become magical gemstones?”

“Yeah,” Replied Dinky, “And they turn back into regular stones when the excess magic gets drained from them, right?” Dinky was especially attentive during their foray into the old quarry, who knew that rocks could be so interesting?

“Yes, you learned well. What we didn't learn from Twilight's book, is that if magic is drained and absorbed constantly by the same stone, then they become crystal clear as we see them now. They are a very safe and effective method of lighting one's home in place of flames.” Explained Noblesse.

“What do you do if want to the room to be darker?” Asked Berry Pinch.

Noblesse grinned at his friends' (could he call them that now?) curiosity, “The brightness of an individual stone is determined by how much magic they have absorbed. But the stones absorb ambient magic, so an Unicorn could drain them of their magic as they would drain magic from the environment. A non-Unicorn could alternatively just use a cloth or something to occlude the stones' light.”

A realization came to Berry Pinch as all of the information she had recently learned about these stones came together, “Could these stones be used as a power source in place of water wheels or other devices?”

Noblesse's grin bloomed into a smile, “Yes they can, and are in some places. For most of Equestria's history, we have used dangerous insects known as 'Twittermites' in place of fossil fuel like coal. But one hundred and fifty-six years ago, a brilliant scientist by the name of Thunder Chariot discovered that the magical gemstones could be harnessed as a power source.”

“I remember the history lessons about the Twittermites in Ms. Cheerilee's class,” Said Dinky Doo, “Didn't Princess Celestia make finding alternate power sources the nation's top priority because of all of the accidents revolving around Twittermites?”

Noblesse nodded his head, “Yes, that's where Thunder Chariot obtained the funding for her experiments. It's also why Parliament rescinded most of the laws governing the use of fossil fuel. While fossil fuel is bad for the environment, it is much safer than harvesting electricity from the Twittermites.”

The two fillies noticed how happy Noblesse was acting during their inquiries. Though they had no way of knowing this, few Ponies in the Canterlot Palace were actually interested in more academics than they needed to advance their family's standing in Equestrian society. Even Princess Celestia loathed most discussions about Equestrian history and philosophy, she had lived through most of Equestria's history and was afraid of the concept of drastic change to the way her little Ponies thought of life.

The two fillies also noticed that Noblesse Oblige seemed more relaxed within the Everfree Palace. His behavior outside these walls was guarded, maybe even paranoid by comparison. Of course, he had probably never been attacked while inside this heavily guarded fortress.

“So where is all of the magic books?” Asked Dinky Doo, eager to get started on what they had come here to do in the first place.

“Oh, it's on the other side of the library,” Answered the Unicorn colt.

Noblesse had to suppress giggles at his friends' groans.

After a few minutes of walking, the trio finally made their way to the 'Spell Books and Alchemical Recipes' section of the palace library, and the fillies were amazed at how many more tomes their were. One could only see so much from the entrance after all. The two fillies who were unfamiliar with the palace looked down the rows upon rows of ceiling high bookshelves, each individual bookcase easily contained at least a thousand books.

“Here we are♪” Said Noblesse upon stopping at the back wall of the library.

The two fillies looked at the multiple bookcases along the wall of the library, “So which one is the magics bookcase?” Asked Ruby Pinch, noticing that none of the bookcases along the wall were actually labeled.

“All of the bookcases along the wall here,” Answered the colt. Noblesse's chest swelled with pride as he saw the astonished looks on the fillies' faces.

“You did all of this by yourself?” Asked Dinky.

“Some of the other servants brought boxes of books to me, but I organized the whole thing myself and put each book in it's proper place,” Replied Noblesse, still smiling.

Dinky and Ruby were scanning the titles of the countless tomes for anything that caught their eyes. Ruby's gaze zeroed in on one tome in particular at the very end of the shelf. Dinky overlooked the book as it's dull gray binding was the same color as the bookcase. Ruby saw it instantly however, it almost seemed like it was calling to her specifically. Ruby's horn ignited in a fiery orange as she levitated the book over to her.

Dinky looked to see what Ruby had found, only to be confused. The book was dull looking, so dull in fact that Dinky overlooked it completely. Even stranger was that the title on the binding was in a language that she couldn't read. The cover of the book depicted a snake moving in a perfect circle to eat itself with an equilateral triangle within the circle the snake made with it's body.

Noblesse looked to see what book Ruby had picked, and smiled. Dinky saw the look on Noblesse's face and realized that it was the kind of smile one had when a plan was coming together. Dinky was taken from her musings as her longtime friend spoke.

“What is this?” Asked the pink filly with her voice full of amazement and wonder.

“Open the book and tell me if you can read it,” Replied Noblesse with his growing smile.

Ruby opened the ancient leather tome to reveal seemingly illegible 'hieroglyphs'. Calling them hieroglyphs was a misnomer as the text wasn't pictures but they didn't seem to be words and letters either. Dinky couldn't examine the strange writings any further as they made her eyes hurt just to look at them, similar to what would happen if someone looked at a bright light for too long.

“I, I can 'read' it,” Ruby spoke hesitantly. While she could understand the text, she couldn't read it per-say. It as though the exact meaning of the text was being whispered, not into her ears, but into her mind as she read.

“That tome is special,” Said Noblesse excitedly, “Only people who have a natural affinity for that kind of magic can hope to understand it.”

“Would I be able to check this book out of the library?” Asked Ruby, “I doubt I'll be able to read it all in one day.”

A nearby librarian was about to answer in the negative as Noblesse spoke, “I'm sure you could,” Noblesse shot the librarian a quick look to make sure that she understood, “Keep the book for as long as you need too. Oh! And I'd encourage taking notes in case you need help understanding the exact terminology of the book.”

“Can you read it?” Asked Dinky in a tone of voice that was unintentionally incredulous.

“Yes, but it will be better if she reads it herself,” Replied the colt cryptically, “Also Ruby, don't show the book or the text within with anyone else. They will drive themselves insane trying to comprehend it.”

Ruby was about to ask if the tome was dangerous. She had read about 'dark magic' corrupting Ponies who had read it, and she was in Ponyville and Trixie became possessed by the Alicorn Amulet. However, the voice that whispered the knowledge within the mysterious tome assured her that it was perfectly safe. Ruby was simply inclined to believe it, as she was already obsessed with the text and the knowledge it contained.

Dinky was scared at this point, scared for her friend and for her own safety. She flinched as a hoof placed itself calmly on her shoulder. She looked over the black hoof of Noblesse on her shoulder. She traced the colt's leg with her eyes as she looked him in the eye.

Noblesse had a calming smile on his face and despite foreboding feeling that weighed against Dinky's mind, she couldn't help but feel safe at Noblesse's gesture, “Everything will be okay,” Said the colt reassuringly, “So why don't you tell me about the kind of magic you're interested in?”

Noblesse managed to turn Dinky's gaze just in time for her to not see the whites of Ruby's eyes flash lime green. Dinky also didn't see the small wisps of ethereal purple smoke that spawned from Ruby's eyes in that instant.

Author's Note

Hello readers, thank you for reading another chapter. Does anyone mind that this chapter was longer than usual? I ask because I have been considering making chapters longer from here on out. It won't make Culture Shock any longer or shorter, but it will affect how many chapters there are in total. If no one cares, then you can expect chapters to be longer, but if enough people care, I'll keep the chapters as long as I have in the other chapters.

Like always, I appreciate any criticism anyone wants to give me. If it helps become a better writer and makes my stories more enjoyable for all of you reading, then I welcome it.:pinkiehappy:

If anyone is confused about something that has been explained in the story, please tell me and I will do my best to address it without spoiling future events.

Chapter 22

The foals of Cheerilee's noon time class period were reporting to school as per usual. Twilight and Cheerilee were doing a head count and both mares realized something. Everypony was in attendance with the notable exception of one Noblesse Oblige. Twilight would have written this off as Noblesse simply living the furthest away from the school grounds, but she has had an uneasy feeling since yesterday afternoon.

The school foals were talking amongst themselves as they always did before class started, when the arrival of a familiar Pony instantly grabbed everypony's attention.

“Excuse me, Ms. Cheerilee? Dame Sparkle?” The Pony at the door was an Unicorn mare with a powdery purple coat a shade lighter than Twilight's, almost making it pink with a dark blue mane and tail. While she was still fairly new to Ponyville, everypony recognized the head of security of the Everfree Palace and Noblesse's supposed adoptive mother.

Top Priority was clearly here on business, as the serious look on her face and ornate armor suggested. Cheerilee was intimidated by the mare's no-nonsense attitude, being used to the typically friendly and familiar town guard of Ponyville, “H-how can we help you,” Asked Cheerilee doing her best to keep her fear from showing.

“I need to talk to you about something important,” Answered the captain somewhat cryptically.

Cheerilee and Twilight looked too each other. Both mares shared the same suspicion as to what brought Top Priority to the school today.

The two mares followed the guard captain outside and closed the door behind them before Twilight spoke, “Is he molting today?” Asked the studious Unicorn.

Top Priority nodded, “Yes. The accident that occurred yesterday accelerated the process. While his life isn't in danger, his new skin isn't as strong as it's supposed to be. He'll be bedridden for the rest of the school week at the least.”

“Convenient that he'll miss so much school,” Commented Cheerilee. She had meant it as a joke, but Top Priority didn't find the humor in it as she glared at the teacher.

“My master is most likely smarter than you as it is. He only came here because it is the best way to fulfill the task given to him by Princess Celestia. Master would sooner die than shirk a mission given to him by a superior, let alone the Sun Princess.”

While Top Priority's voice didn't increase in volume, it became colder than ice and the disdain it contained weighed down on a Cheerilee like countless emotional tons.

Twilight flinched as the captain turned her head to face the studious Unicorn. While Top Priority was still clearly upset with Cheerilee, she did her best to tone it down for Twilight's sake, “Lord Noblesse Oblige requests your presence at the Plastered Pegasus after school today.”

“I-I thought you said he was bedridden,” Pointed out Twilight, still unsettled by Priority's anger.

“He does not request an audience,” Replied Priority, “He said that there will be a problem there that only you will be able to deal with at some point later today.”

“Did he say what kind of problem?” Asked Twilight who somehow managed to keep how nervous she was out of her voice.

Both school mares flinched as they noticed the guard mare wince slightly, “His majesty said that you would know what was wrong upon arrival. He-he didn't say anything else about it to me.”

While Top Priority may not have known for a fact what was going to be wrong later today, both of the school mares got the distinct impression that she had a very good idea of what it was.

“Excuse me,” Said Top Priority as she stepped away from the two other mares, “I must return to the Everfree Palace at once,” Top Priority got four paces away before her horn lit up and she disappeared with a yellow flash.

Cheerilee and Twilight reentered the building just as the school bell rang. Cheerilee sighed internally. Today was the first day of the week that the foals would be working on worksheets. While Cheerilee wouldn't mind having a little extra paper work, especially now that she had help, she also knew that her class would be excitable after today's morning. I wonder if anypony will actually be able to concentrate on their schoolwork today thought the school teacher. Cheerilee raised her ruler and tapped it against her chalkboard to get the class's attention as she has had to do in the past.

Cheerilee rolled her eyes and suppressed a giggle as she noticed how many of her students didn't realize she and Twilight had put papers on their desks, “Class, you may use your math books for these worksheets. I have already put the pages you'll need to use on the board. Please raise your hoof if you need help with anything.”

Truth be told today went a lot better than Cheerilee would have thought it would, given the day's start any how. She only had to get after two of her students for talking in class, and nopony needed to reprimanded for causing excessive distractions.

Cheerilee smiled as she watched her students happily flood out of the building and onto the playground. She barely noticed her new assistant coming up behind her.

“You really like seeing foals being happy, don't you?” Asked Twilight.

“How could I not?” Asked Cheerilee as she faced the mare next to her, “I enjoy helping my students grow, and eventually bloom. While they may not enjoy it at the time, I always get thank you letters from previous students telling me how well I did educating them. I especially love it when they tell me how they're benefit society.”

Twilight got a teasing smile on her face, “Have you ever thought about having foals of your own?”

Cheerilee stumbled on her words as she tried to articulate a response, but both mares were interrupted by a polite cough from behind them. The mares turned around to see a light gray Pegasus with a black mane and tail behind them.

“R-Rumble!” Said Twilight, “Er, what are you doing inside?”

The embarrassed blush on Rumble's face reflected the blush on his teachers' faces, “I wanted to ask if now would be a good time for a tutoring session, and I didn't want to interrupt you two.”

The three Ponies stood in place in awkward silence for a few moments before Twilight answered, “Oh, uh, okay. Sit down and try to explain what you don't understand.”

Cheerilee took the chance to step away from the pair unnoticed as she sat down at her desk and started to grade the papers that had been turned in.

“Ugh, what is wrong with that loser?” Asked Diamond Tiara.

“I know right?” Agreed Silver Spoon, “She's spending recess studying?”

“What a nerd,” Stated Diamond Tiara.

“There is a bright side to this day though,” Pointed out Silver Spoon.

“Oh?” Diamond wasn't sure what her cousin was hinting at.

“If the grim look on whatshername's face is anything to go by, we won't have to see that serpent eyed freak for a while.”

Diamond Tiara only nodded in agreement. Noblesse Oblige had been nothing but creepy to them. The day after he saw the two of them putting Pipsqueak in his place, he had been stalker-ish. He had been the servant to bring them their meals and other supplies but had made a point of eating his meals in front of them before giving them their meals, and then watching them eat before leaving.

Diamond got shivers down her spine whenever she thought about that freak's unblinking stare watching them. But if he was too ill to attend school, then he would probably leave them alone for the rest of their 'sentence.' It still bothered her that Lord Noblesse Oblige refused to listen to their side of the story, they were actual noblemares, unlike that blank flank knight.

“Oh that's just perfect!” Silver Spoon's exclamation brought Diamond Tiara out of her thoughts, “Those Blank Flanks have the jungle gym!”

“Couldn't we chase them away like everypony else?” Asked Diamond Tiara. They have run their classmates off from playground equipment before, including the Loser Mark Crude-saders.

“Do you really want to mess with Apple Bloom while we're on probation for messing with her?” Pointed out Silver Spoon.

Diamond Tiara stopped and thought about that for a moment, “That's a good point actually,” Something interesting caught Diamond Tiara's eye, “Hey, why don't we run off those losers at the slide?”

Silver Spoon turned her head to see who was at the slide, and liked what she saw, “That sounds like fun♪ Lets do it!”

The school bell rang to let the foals out for the day. Twilight discreetly let the last of the foals go ahead of her before she left, or what she thought was the last of the foals.

“Excuse me, Twilight? Ms. Cheerilee?” Both mares turned to see that Rumble had called for them once again after his classmates left the schoolhouse.

“Do want to study some more?” Asked Cheerilee, surprised that a student was putting in more than the bare minimum amount of work to get through class.

“Yes, but I was hoping it could be somewhat later today,” Explained the effeminate colt, “I promised that I'd help a friend with something today, it shouldn't take too long.”

Cheerilee nodded her head in acknowledgment. Any colt or filly that lived on a farm had to chores to do on their family's farm, so she was used to having her students come in for studying sessions at odd hours of the day.

“How does three sound?” Asked the school teacher.

“Could we make it four?” Asked Rumble, “Pinkie won't be back to take care of the Cake twins until a quarter till four.”

Twilight's eyes light it up in acknowledgment. She and her friends, with the exception of Rainbow Dash, got together every morning to spend time with each other. Applejack was practically raving about a shifty colt trying to get close to her sister. Applejack never used a name, though she did clearly paint Rumble in an unjust light when going on about him.

“Excuse me,” Said Twilight, “There's something I need to take care of today, I might not be able to help this evening.”

“I understand,” Said Cheerilee, “Do you know where that place is?”

“The girls and I get together there sometimes,” Replied Twilight, “Sorry to leave you on your own like this Cheerilee.”

“Oh it's fine,” Said Cheerilee dismissively, “Just go deary.”

Twilight left a slightly concerned teacher and a very confused student as she left the schoolhouse. Rumble wrote it off as not being his problem and went to join Apple Bloom at Sugarcube Corner as Cheerilee finished grading papers.

Twilight stopped at the door to Berry Punch's bar. Twilight was made to stop by the sudden headache that appeared. Twilight tried to ignore it as she entered the building, but it only got worse. Twilight really began to worry when she noticed that there no other Unicorns in the establishment, and that Berry's daughter was an Unicorn.

Twilight came to the counter where Berry was mixing a yellow Earth Pony's drink, “Hey Berry.”

“Oh hi Twilight,” Said Berry as hoofed the Earth Pony's drink over to him, “Hard day at work?”

“Hardly,” Replied the Unicorn, “I actually came over to check up on Ruby.” Twilight had no idea why, but felt that Ruby Pinch was somehow involved in whatever problem Top Priority had mentioned earlier today.

“It's funny you mention my daughter,” Said Berry, “She was feeling really rough this morning, and coughed all throughout last night. So I gave her the off.”

“Do you mind if I check on her?” Asked Twilight.

“Her room is the third one down on the left,” Replied Berry as a cloaked (wearing a cloak, not invisible) Unicorn come up to the counter.

Twilight nodded and head up the stairs to Ruby's room. As she ascended the staircase, her headache became more intense. The pain increased sharply in a particular way, the studious Unicorn couldn't put her hoof on it, but the pain was familiar to her.

Twilight knocked on the door and awaited a response. Twilight waited a few minutes and got no reply. She put her ear up to the door to try and see if she could hear anything, she didn't want to barge in unless she had too. Twilight could hear something on the other side of the door, but it was indistinct.

Twilight opened the door, “Ruby?”

Twilight could see that Ruby was under the covers of her bed, and she could also clearly hear the young mare crying. Twilight approached the bed and stopped when she heard Ruby say a single word, “D-Daddy.”

Twilight stopped as she pondered what this could mean. Rainbow Dash told her and the girls about Ruby's family, surprisingly discreetly in fact. Ruby's father had skipped town when he found out Berry was pregnant, Berry then started drinking after Ruby was born. If it wasn't for Cheerilee, Berry would have lost custody of her only child. But why is she having a nightmare about somepony she never meet? Wondered Twilight.

Twilight gasped when Ruby turned over and revealed that she was not in fact asleep. Her eyes were wide open and clearly displayed fear. What horrified Twilight was that the whites of Ruby's eyes were a lime green, the iris of her eyes had turned scarlet, and purple smoke was flowing out of the sides of her eyes.

Twilight remembered well her part in saving the Crystal Empire from the mad king Sombra, she also now realized why the pain from her headache felt familiar. She was sore from the illusion of Sombra's Door, but toughed through it because she had something important to do. Twilight didn't know how Ruby Pinch came under Sombra's spell, nor did she care at the moment. What Twilight did know, is that this poor filly needed help.

Twilight thought about how she could help the poor filly. Of all of the things Twilight could have forgotten, the one detail about the 'Crystal Empire Affair' she could not remember, was how she and Spike helped each other when bewitched by Sombra's Door.

She and Spike were only enthralled by the Door for a few moments, there was no telling how long Ruby Pinch had been trapped within the illusion. Spells like this, from schools of magic Twilight was familiar with, often increased in potency as the target was within the spells' grasp. Even if Ruby had been trapped for a half hour, it could be very difficult to break the spell.

Twilight decided to take a chance. She didn't know what to do, she couldn't let more time pass to get Ruby help, and there was probably no one else who could help her outside of Canterlot. Twilight started to channel her magic through her horn. She knew a few spells that could break illusions similar to this, but she needed to know how Sombra's magic would react to a lesser 'Reality Check' spell.

Sombra's spell wasn't even affected by the cantrip, but that is not to say that it didn't react. Sombra's spell used the magic targeting Ruby as a spiritual bridge between Ruby's mind and Twilight's. Twilight was nowhere near fast enough to cancel the spell and before she realized what was happening, she too was under Sombra's spell.

“I'm gonna get you Pound!” Called out Rumble as he chased the little Pegasus through the air.

Rumble and Pound were playing tag while Apple Bloom and Pumpkin watched. Apple Bloom took advantage of Pumpkin's enraptured state to take care of some of the other chores entrusted to her by Mr. and Mrs. Cake. Pound loved having somepony to play with in the air, as neither his parents nor his usual foalsitters could fly, let alone fly as fast as he could.

“Guess who's baaaak♪” Called out a voice that the twins and Apple Bloom were familiar with.

Pound instantly changed directions to crash into the pink mare who just spoke as Pumpkin started crawling towards her.

Pound flew into Pinkie Pie's open forelegs (they are not arms) and they started cuddling immediately.

Pumpkin was jealous that her brother was getting all of the attention and quickened her pace, not that she could move all that quickly. Rumble noticed how distressed Pumpkin seemed to be and swooped down to pick her up.

Pinkie felt a small warm fur ball clinging to the side of her face as the colt she failed to notice spoke up, “I think you forgot somepony.”

“I would never!” Pinkie raised one of her forelegs to grab Pumpkin. She looked to see her the colt was as she cuddled both of the twins, “Oh! Hi Rumble. What are you doing here?”

“Ah asked him to halp me with the twins,” Explained Apple Bloom.

“Well that was nice of you,” Said Pinkie as she put the twins down in the crib, “Do you have plans later today?”

“Yeah actually, I do,” Rumble was a little thrown off by the non-sequitur, but he could easily indulge one of the mares that saved Equestria half a dozen times, “I promised Ms. Cheerilee that I would stop by and study.”

“I understand the importance of keeping your promises,” Said Pinkie Pie, she had nearly murdered Applejack when she broke her Pinkie Promise.

“But before I leave,” Said the colt catching the attention of both mares. Apple Bloom was legally an adult at this point, “Can I ask you something Apple Bloom?”

Neither Rumble nor Apple Bloom saw it, but parts of Pinkie started twitching. Tongue, left eye, left hock! Pinkie Pie knew exactly what that meant, and adopted a grin that would been seen as 'creepy' by anyone who didn't know Pinkie Pie very well.

“Uh sure,” Apple Bloom didn't know what to think of the slight blush on the colt's face, “What is it?”

“Well, we've been spending a lot of time together, and I've been really enjoying it,” Started the colt. He had planned to do this in private, but he didn't care who found out about it. Except for maybe her brother Rumble added in his head, “And I was wondering if you would want to go on a date some time this week.”

Apple Bloom blushed furiously. Then she started thinking about how much fun it was to look after the Cake twins, how nice Rumble is, how hard working and helpful he always tried to be, and how good looking he is. Pinkie's snout started twitching, and the rest of her body followed suit moments later. While the Cake twins found this humorous, Rumble found this to be deeply disturbing, especially how her snout looked like it was about to fly off her face.

Apple Bloom ignored it as she was used to Pinkie's silliness, “Yah know,” She said bringing Rumble's attention away from Pinkie, “Ah think ah'd like that.”

Rumble's blush deepened slightly, “Oh, that's great! How does Saturday sound?”

“Great,” Replied the cream colored Earth Pony without hesitation. The newly formed couple looked at Pinkie as she started making 'ooh-ooh' noises.

“If you two kids come here, I'd give you whatever you ordered on the house!”

“Oh thank you Pinkie,” Said Rumble, “But I have plenty of-” The effeminate colt was interrupted as Pinkie zoomed over to him and jammed her hoof into his mouth.

“Shhh,” Pinkie had a creepy smile on her face as she started whispering, “Let me do this for you.”

Rumble couldn't speak as there was a hoof somewhere between his uvula and his teeth, so he simply nodded in the affirmative as he was too scared to refuse the pink mare's offer.

“Great!” Exclaimed Pinkie as she removed her hoof from Rumble's mouth allowing him to breath properly, “I'll be waiting♪” Pinkie skipped out of the room to get the twins' formula.

“What time do you want me to pick you up?” Asked Rumble with a goofy grin on his face.

“Ah should be done with mah chores 'round eight,” Replied Apple Bloom.

Rumble trotted up to his new fillyfriend and kissed her on the cheek. The young lovers blushed as they heard Pinkie d'aww at the moment.

“I'll see you tomorrow at school then,” Rumble had a goofy and confident grin on his face.

Apple Bloom giggled some, “See yah then♪”

Rumble said 'excuse me' as he passed by Pinkie. Pinkie gave him a wide smile as he passed. Apple Bloom tried to leave as well, but was stopped by the usually jovial pink mare. Apple Bloom looked up at Pinkie's face and saw the serious expression on it.

“Hey Apple Bloom,” Said Pinkie with an unusual amount of seriousness in her tone of voice, “Don't tell Applejack about you and Rumble until he shows up at your house.”

“What? Why?” Apple Bloom was legitimately scared by how serious Pinkie was acting.

“Applejack is really protective of you,” Said the pink mare, “If you two are here, I can keep her at bay and calm her down. I don't like thinking poorly of somepony, but what do think Aj would do if she found out about your new relationship today?”

Apple Bloom paused as she realized how valid a point Pinkie had made. Applejack was scared to leave her alone at home, how would she feel when she found out that she started dating?

“Do yah think she'd hurt 'em?” Asked the young mare.

“I don't know, but I don't want to find out,” Replied Pinkie, “I promise that I won't let Aj interrupt your date with Rumble.” Pinkie then produced a cupcake with a lit candle in it and started making the motions for her famed Pinkie Promise, “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” Pinkie then jammed the cupcake, candle and all, into her open eye.

Anypony would have been disturbed by what Pinkie just did, “Er, thanks Pinkie. Ah really appreciate it.”

Pinkie blinked and there was no sign of the cupcake. Pinkie also regained her typical blithe attitude, “Think nothing of it. Hey, do want this cupcake?” Pinkie then reproduced the same cupcake from earlier.

Apple Bloom only needed a moment as she thought about where that cupcake had been, “No thank yah Pinkie.”

Chapter 23

It was eighteen-thirty-six as the evening shift for the Ponyville Weather Team were supposed to gather so they could figure out what the new weather schedule demanded of them.

Normally, the whole Weather Team studied whatever schedule the EWA (Equestrian Weather Administration) sent them in depth so, they knew the weather schedule months in advance. However, the EWA had to send Ponyville a completely different weather schedule due to unforeseen events. The new noblepony that was to inherit control of Everfree Province had specifically chosen Ponyville as his seat of provincial government. The ambient magic flowing from the migrants that would inevitably come would upset the magical balance of the whole region, which would cause the Everfree Forest to react violently. It had been the first time in five hundred years that somepony from Noblesse's branch of House Platinum had selected a settlement within Everfree Province as their Provincial Capital.

The traditional Provincial Capital had been Stifle Hollow for the few times that a member of the nobility did choose to hold court in Everfree Province, excluding the one time that a particularly eccentric noble founded Dodge City to use as the seat of provincial government. Weather Teams all over Everfree Province had to work overtime to manipulate nature just right so that the Everfree Forest didn't expand at an alarming rate all without upsetting the wildlife outside of the infamous forest. This meant that each individual Weather Team had to reexamine the weather schedule to do their jobs properly, this also meant that each weather shift had to get to work early to stay on schedule. This was upsetting to the Captain of the Ponyville Weather Team who happened to have the evening shift this week.

“Come on, come on,” Said Rainbow Dash impatiently.

The cerulean mare looked to Ponyville's clock tower, and sighed. It was a quarter to six, and nopony else had shown up for the evening shift. Rainbow Dash made it clear that everypony had to show up an hour early to carefully go over the new weather schedule. The one problem to living in a usually peaceful town was that everypony was carefree. Ponyville was even calm when Princess Celestia announced a visit, calm compared to the metropolises of Manehatten or Cloud Spire anyways. This meant that when something like the Weather Schedule being rewritten happened, Ponies tended to either not take it seriously or just forget about it completely.

Rainbow turned around with hope in her eyes as she heard the distinct flapping of wings behind her, it was not going to be fun doing everything that needed to be done tonight by herself. Rainbow turned to see two of the Pegasi she usually worked with.

“Hey Thunderlane! Hi Cloud Chaser!” Rainbow was happier than usual to see her weather team friends, “How have you two been?”

“We've been great,” Answered Cloud Chaser coolly, “Though Flitter won't be joining us.”

“Oh?” Rainbow Dash knew that Flitter works as hard at everything that she does (even if Flitter couldn't do it as well) and Flitter wouldn't blow off work for no reason, “Did something happen?”

“Some of her dance partners knocked her out of the air on accident,” Replied Thunderlane, “And she landed on her wing.”

Rainbow cringed instantly, “Is she okay?”

“Yeah,” Said the stallion, “She'll be fine, but she won't be in the air for a couple of days.”

“So it's just us for a while?” Asked Rainbow.

“Blossomforth went up to Baltimare because her brother is having his first foal soon, Star Hunter gave himself a concussion during flight practice, and Thorn managed to tear all of the feathers out his right wing,” Cloud Chaser is a socialite and as much of a gossip as Rarity is.

“So the three of us have to deal with all of this by ourselves?” Asked Rainbow with concern in her voice.

“Oh come on Rainbow,” Started Thunderlane, “It doesn't look that bad.”

In truth, there were only a dozen or so clouds in the sky that needed to be bucked. Rainbow could have dealt with this herself in just a few minutes. Rainbow then glared at Thunderlane as she point to the right. Thunderlane and Cloud Chaser looked over a massive storm coming towards Ponyville from the Everfree Forest. “Sweet Celestia,” Said Cloud Chaser as she covered her snout with her hooves. Wild Weather was nothing like the manufactured weather from the weather factories of the major Pegasus cities. It was unpredictable and highly volatile, so much so that Celestia only trusted the Weather Teams of Everfree Province to deal with Everfree weather and the Wonderbolts to deal with the Wild Weather that blew in from the ocean.

“Oh, then it was probably a good thing that talked to Rumble earlier today,” Said Thunderlane with a worried expression.

“Rumble is coming to help us?” Asked Rainbow Dash. Despite Rumble's age, he was the best flier Rainbow had ever seen. He was even a slightly better flier at his age than Rainbow was. He was also a savant when it came to dealing with lightning and debris caught in the wind.

“Yeah, he said that he come and see if we needed help after a studying session with Ms. Cheerilee,” Said Thunderlane.

“Should we ask for help from the palace staff?” Asked Cloud Chaser, “Their freaky magic helped out a lot with this year's Winter Wrap Up. I bet that the lord would be willing to relinquish some of his guardmares for long enough to deal with this storm.”

Rainbow hadn't actually considered the possibility. Of course, there would be an unforeseen complication for anypony who needed to see the young lord. Rainbow Dash had heard from Rarity that Noblesse Oblige was not at school today, and that the guardmare who was posing as his adoptive mother had a grim look on her face. Rarity theorized that the young noblepony had been poisoned, whether that was true or not had yet to be decided.

If Noblesse Oblige was bedridden or even just too sick to show up at school, who ever was his designated legal guardian had the power to refuse an audience in his name, given his legal status as a minor. While Rainbow Dash was not too keen on the laws concerning the nobility, it was common knowledge that guardponies who had sworn fealty to a particular house of the nobility house of the nobility could only obey the orders of said noble house. The only reason that guardponies sworn to House Platinum could legally listen to the orders of the Diarchs, was because they had married stallions belonging to House Platinum in the past.

“Hey everyone, what's up?”

Everypony present looked upward to see a light gray colt with a black mane resting on top of a cloud that the trio didn't realize was above them.

“Hey Rumble,” Said Rainbow Dash, “How's school.”

“Great,” Replied the colt.

Cloud Chaser and Thunderlane took a moment to analyze Rumble. He was happier than usual, and had a goofy grin on his face. While Rumble was a happy easygoing Pony by nature, he seemed really pleased with himself at the moment.

“Did something happen today at school?” Asked Thunderlane.

Something clicked in Cloud Chaser's mind, “How about when you were foalsitting today?”

“It's funny you mentioned that,” Said Rumble, “I asked Apple Bloom on a date, and she said yes.”

The trio of adults started laughing, “What's so funny?” Asked Rumble.

“Geez Rumble,” Thunderlane managed to get out in between giggles, “We teased and teased you about Apple Bloom, we just didn't think you'd actually go for it.”

“You're the colt that's been foalsitting with Apple Bloom?” Asked Rainbow Dash, still laughing, “The way Applejack goes on about you is priceless.”

“Applejack? Apple Bloom's older sister? What has she said about me?” Asked Rumble.

Rainbow Dash was about to answer him, when the crack of thunder reminded everypony of the task at hoof.

“Oh my,” Said Rumble. How did I not see that? pondered the colt, “Well, we should probably take care of that.”

The adult Pegasi saw Rumble raise his wings once to flap before he vanished without another word, the cloud he was resting on dispersing from the force of his take off.

“Wait for us Rumble!” Yelled Cloud Chaser in a vain attempt to be heard over the storm as she chased (pun intended) after the young stallion.

Rainbow Dash was about to join her wingmates when a hoof on her shoulder stopped her. She turned to see a concerned looking Thunderlane. “Rainbow Dash.”

“Thunderlane?” Rainbow Dash had never seen her friend look so worried, “What's wrong?”

“What has Applejack been saying about my brother?” Asked the ebon stallion.

“I don't actually know,” Admitted Rainbow Dash, “My friends meet up every morning, and I can't join them because of flight practice and our jobs. But recently when I go to hang out with my friends, they've been worried about how Applejack might act. She has apparently never used his name, but Applejack hasn't said anything flattering about the 'shifty colt' she thinks is interested in her sister.”

The look on Thunderlane's face instantly turned glum. Applejack was known for many things, two of which were how strong she was and how protective she was of her sister. Rainbow Dash and Thunderlane might have continued their conversation, but a tree branch flew past them and the two remembered that they had something important to do. Without another word, Thunderlane and Rainbow Dash flew into the storm after Rumble and Cloud Chaser.

Though Thunderlane dropped the issue to help with the storm, he couldn't help but worry about what would happen when Applejack found out her sister had started a relationship with his younger brother.

Cloud Chaser was quick to fly into the miasma of storm clouds. While Rumble had become very good at dealing with the wild weather of the Everfree, it was still best to have somepony watching out for you. Cloud Chaser was in the storm for no more than five minutes looking for Rumble, when she turned her head and saw a tree branch flying towards her. At that distance and velocity Cloud Chaser had no chance of dodging, so she braced for impact.

A loud crash echoed over the sounds of the storm as Cloud Chaser was temporarily blinded by the flash of lightning. Were she not covering her eyes, she would have known that the dust hitting her coat was but the ashes of the tree branch that had nearly hit her.

Cloud Chaser could hear the buzz of static electricity becoming louder as something approached her from the side. When Cloud Chaser's vision finally became clear of the blurs that were blinding her, she could clearly see the colt she flew in after. Rumble's body had visible electric currents running through his coat and wings, “Are you okay CC!?”

“Yeah I'm fine Rumble!” Yelled Cloud Chaser over the storm, “Thanks for saving me!”

Rumble nodded his head and grabbed one the many clouds above him. Using his body strength and magic channeled through his hooves, Rumble swung around the cloud he grabbed. When Rumble was on top of the cloud, he flew off of it the same way he left the trio of adult Ponies the first time.

Cloud Chaser couldn't help but watch Rumble go through the clouds and obliterate the debris the storm had picked up that his unusually sharp eyes saw in the dark storm clouds. Rumble was a natural master of Pegasus magic as evidenced by the lightning surging throughout his body without inflicting harm. Cloud Chaser didn't understand all of the magi-physics that went into the process, but Pegasi could use their magic to manipulate other aspects of nature in addition to the clouds. Where most Pegasi needed to buck the lightning out of the storm clouds before busting them, Rumble could fly through them and absorb the lightning within. The talented colt could even use his magic to make the lightning bend to his will and strike targets with peerless accuracy and speed. These were all skills that the Wonderbolts taught members of their ranks for the purposes of dealing with dangerous storms such as this.

It simply boggled the mind as to why Rumble didn't have his Cutie Mark when he was so gifted in weather manipulation. This is going to take a while thought Cloud Chaser as she proceeded to buck the lightning out of a nearby cloud.

The black faded from Twilight's eyes and she took the opportunity to get her bearings. She needed no more than a moment to figure out why she was just outside the Plastered Pegasus. Twilight soon realized that she was in the illusion of the spell So where is Ruby?

Twilight could hear some yelling, but couldn't make it out. A young pink Unicorn was thrown out of the door to the bar seconds later, Berry Punch stuck her head out with a clearly angry expression on her face, “And stay out!”

Ruby Pinch looked up at her mother. Twilight could clearly see her black eye and bruised skin under the young mare's coat, “B-but mom-” Ruby managed to cry before her mother started yelling again.

“You ruined my relationship with your father the first time, you are not going to do it again! I lost the love of my life because of you, and I will not lose him again because you got in the way,” Twilight was horrified at the animosity Berry was expressing to her own daughter, “You were the biggest mistake of my life, now I want you to get out of it,” Berry slammed the door shut.

“M-mom!” Choked out Ruby inbetween sobs, “Please, I'm sorry. Don't leave me! You're all I ha-ah-ah-ah-ve!” Tears ran down the young mare's face like waterfalls.

Twilight immediately ran to Ruby's side and dropped to the ground next to her. Twilight tried to place a reassuring hoof on her shoulder, only for her hoof to pass through Ruby's body. Twilight tried to touch Ruby Pinch again, only to get the same affect. Twilight started to panic at this point.

“What am I going to do?” Wondered Twilight aloud.

Ruby's head shot up with scared expression on her face, “W-who said that?”

Ruby looked around but saw no one.

Twilight took a few moments to ponder what this meant. So while I am phantom I can't touch her, but I can use my voice to comfort her!

“Ruby, sweetie,” Said the disembodied ethereal voice.

Ruby was too upset to realize that the voice was familiar, “Ancestors help me, I'm going crazy!”

“Your mother would never do that to you, Ruby.”

“Did you see what just happened!” Scream the young Unicorn, “She just threw me out so she could have my father, she just kept me because she couldn't do anything else with me.”

“That is not true!” The voice echoed all around her, “Your mother loves you, she doesn't blame you for anything.”

“Didn't you hear what she just said!” Ruby was beyond angry at this point.

“Your father wasn't driven away by your presence, he abandoned you and your mother because he didn't want to deal with the responsibility!” The voice was seeming to get agitated at this point as well.

“She clearly loves him more than me!” Ruby collapsed on to the ground and burst into tears.

“Ruby, your mother would never hurt you like this. Even if she would be willing to let him back into her life, which I doubt, she would certainly not trade you for him. Berry wouldn't trade you for the world.”

“Look at what she did to me! How can you-” Ruby was interrupted by the voice again.

“That mare wasn't your mother,” Yelled the voice, “That mare wasn't even real, none of this is!”

Ruby was more than confused, “W-what?”

“That mare told you to get out of her life, right? We have been yelling at each other for a while now, so why hasn't she come out here to chase you off?” Argued the voice.

Ruby's eyes widened as she realized that the voice was right. Why hasn't her mother come to beat her again? Because she wasn't real in the first place!

With the illusion weakened, the buildings of Ponyville and the road she was laying in faded into pitch black, “Where am I?” Exclaimed Ruby.

“I don't actually know,” Admitted the voice, “But only you can break out of this prison.”

Ruby started to wonder if she even deserved to be released from this, whatever it was. How could she think so poorly of somepony who had given her so much? Her home, her job, all of the love in the world, She even gave me life for Celestia's sake!

All of the fond memories Ruby had made with her mother flooded her mind. The walk on the first day of school, comforting her when bullies brought her to tears, 'protecting' her when storms hit, teaching her how to balance plates on the different parts of her body, how to mix drinks for patrons, etcetera etcetera.

In the all encompassing darkness of the void, all Ruby wanted was to see her mother. Not that vile bitch she thought was her mother, her real mother. Ruby started to cry as she started to feel alone again.

“MOMMY!” Yelled Ruby. The void faded into white as the illusion was broken.

Berry Punch was serving customers since Twilight went to check up on her daughter, none of which were Unicorns strangely. Berry looked up at the clock and was surprised to see that Twilight had left nearly an hour ago, That isn't good thought the barkeeper.

Berry had planned to go see what was wrong after she had served the rest of her customers, “MOMMY!”

Berry dropped the four plates of drinks she was carrying as she raced up the stairs into her daughter's room. Were she not panicked about Ruby's safety, she would have noticed some the patrons downstairs rushing out the door to get the town guard.

Berry instantly broke down the door to Ruby's room and she rushed in. She threw Twilight out her way, almost throwing the Unicorn through the wall of Ruby's room, and hugged her daughter tightly.

Ruby returned the hug with a vengeance as she cried into her mother's coat, “M-mom, I'm so sorry.”

“Shh, it's okay Ruby,” Said Berry, horrified that something could terrify her usually independent daughter so, “I'm here, you're safe.”

“Glad I could help...” Said Twilight barely conscious.

“Twilight,” Said Berry, now horrified that she had nearly killed someone, “Are you okay?”

“At worst, I have minor brain dama-brain damage♪”

“Do you need help getting to the hospital?”

“Is somepony injured?” Asked a voice from the doorway.

The three Ponies in the room looked to the doorway to see Ponies in tan armor with dark pink highlights, the colors of the Ponyville Peacekeeper Corps.

“You see that Pony shaped indent in the wall,” Berry pointed at the wall she pressed Twilight into.

The guardponies cringed, “Ouch. If everything is settled here, then please allow us to escort you to the hospital.”

“That would be lovely,” Said Twilight. Two of the guardponies went to each of her sides and helped Twilight balance herself. Twilight thanked the guards and they awkwardly made their way out of the Plastered Pegasus.

Twilight was still disoriented from the illusion, and being tossed around like a rag doll didn't help. She didn't realize that they were headed the wrong way until she saw the trees of the Everfree.

“Why are we headed for the Everfree Forest?” Asked a confused Twilight.

“It was closer, and we don't know how badly you need medical attention,” Said the Pegasus guard at her right side. “Not to mention that there are better trained medics and better equipment at the Everfree Palace.”

Twilight simply accepted the explanation. The last two reasons made perfect sense, and Twilight was too dazed to realize that the Ponyville General Hospital was much closer to Berry's bar than the Everfree Forest.

Twilight couldn't help but think about the guardpony leading the way. He was an Earth Pony with a light brown coat and a dark brown mane. The flank plates on his armor made it impossible for Twilight to see his Cutie Mark. Then, she saw it in peripheral vision. She swung her head to the right and saw an Earth Pony, an Earth Pony with the exact same color scheme as the guardpony in the lead. Twilight instantly recognized Caramel by his three horseshoe Cutie Mark, she remembered him so vividly because of his blunder at last year's Winter Wrap Up.

Twilight kept looking between Caramel and the guardpony. One of the guardponies noticed this and traced Twilight's gaze, just at the edge of town, “Sir, I think we've been discovered.”

“D-discovered?” Asked Twilight nervously.

The guardpony who had an uncanny resemblance to Caramel turned and saw his doppelganger as Twilight's mind tried to think of how two Ponies could look so much alike.

“I apologize for this Dame Twilight,” Said the guardpony as he closed his eyes, “But this might be unpleasant.”

Twilight's pupils shrank in horror when the guardpony opened his eyes. No longer did he have light blue eyes, his eyes had oval slit pupils with light purple irises. A small cloud of purple formed on the guardpony's forehead as a jagged horn quickly spawned and ignited.

Twilight realized that this was no Pony as a small jolt of magic surged from the horn and struck Twilight. Twilight heard the Changeling's distorted voice shortly before she lost consciousness, “We need to double time it to the Palace, her ladyship will not be pleased.”

Chapter 25

Author's Note

In previous chapters, I have use a line going all the way across from one side of the screen to the other to indicate a change in perspective. This chapter, I use two lines to indicate the beginning and end of a flash back. I just wanted to clear that up for anyone that would be confused by this.

More importantly, I would like to thank everyone who has read up to this point. I know my update rate has been pretty slow lately, and it's going to get down right abysmal soon. I will be going to college soon, and I'm not sure I can finish this story before my classes start. I would like to apologize to everyone who has been reading this story for that reason. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter at least.:pinkiehappy:

Chapter 25

Twilight's stay at the Everfree Palace wasn't nearly as bad as she thought it would be. Legalese was kind enough to show Twilight where the library was! And the best part, it was deemed a public library! Meaning she could come back at any time it was open! Twilight was so excited in fact, that she didn't care about the few Changelings buzzing around tending to the books on the higher shelves.

The palace was protected from the wild storm raging outside by magical lightning rods, just like the one that protects the Golden Oaks Library. Despite the strange half-Ponies and the Changelings around her, Twilight felt oddly at home reading in the underground library. The rain and thunder in the background with soft lighting and everyone minding their own business, doing their best to not bother anyone else, Twilight couldn't help but feel relaxed. While the Golden Oaks Library would always be her home, the lack other of avid readers made Twilight feel somewhat lonely in her own reading room. This was a primary factor in agreeing to help Cheerilee with teaching the foals.

“Excuse me,” Said a familiar distorted voice, “Dame Sparkle.”

Twilight paused for a moment. She placed a mental bookmark on the word of the book she was reading and turned to face the creature that had just spoke her name. Twilight turned her head to see a light brown Changeling with dark purple eyes wearing Ponyville guard armor without the helmet. Most peculiar about it's eyes was that it's pupils formed a four pointed star.

“Er- Yes?” Asked Twilight, trying desperately to keep the fear out of her voice.

“I am Sargent Gastor,” Answered the insectoid, “The Changeling that knocked you unconscious.”

“Oh,” That revelation did not make Twilight any less nervous. She understood now that not all Changelings were evil, but given Twilight's previous experiences with Changelings and the knowledge that they feed off of emotions, made Twilight weary, “How can I help you Sargent?”

“I wanted to apologize for earlier,” Said the Changeling, “I couldn't risk you panicking and revealing the existence of Changelings in Ponyville.”

“Changelings?”

The Sargent winced at Twilight's expression, “Yes, the Chitina Brood has lived in Ponyville for three hundred years.”

“How big is this, 'Brood,' of yours?” Asked Twilight. While she was afraid of the Changelings, her innate curiosity got the best of her.

“At the moment, there are only twenty of us,” Replied Gastor.

Twilight brought a hoof to her mouth and gasped. There should be far more of any living creature over a three hundred year period, “Oh I'm so sorry.”

“I think you've misunderstood something,” Said Gastor with what someone more familiar with Changelings would acknowledge as a smirk, “Broodlings are not like other insects, most of us choose to leave the nest and explore the world we live in.”

“Oh,” While Twilight's overall fear of Changelings was far from gone, she was getting used to this one and his/her's friendly attitude, 'Broodling'

“Changelings are divided into two groups, much like how you Ponies are divided into three groups,” Explained the Changeling, “Broodlings, which are like any other intelligent creature except for the obvious,” The Sargent gestured to his body, “Then there are the Hivelings, which are more like your typical insects. All living for the Hive they were born into and all under the control of the Queen.”

“How do you know the difference?” Asked Twilight, her curiosity now completely overriding any concerns she has about Changelings, if only for the moment.

“Our eyes actually,” Said Gastor, “See how my pupils make a four pointed star pattern? Hiveling drones have eyes like flies or bees, while the Queen of a Hive will have more dragon or snake like eyes.”

“Oh, so Queen Chrysalis-” Started Twilight.

“Was the last Queen of the Chrysalis Hive,” Finished the Sargent.

A terrifying thought occurred to Twilight, “Are there more Changelings in Equestria?”

“We're only the second most populous species in Equestria behind you Ponies,” Answered Gastor blithely, “There are Broods and Hives all over Equestria, though not all have sworn fealty to Equestria or the Diarchy.”

“Is there anypony else who knows about the presence of Changelings?” Asked Twilight. It was made clear to her that Changelings being in parts of Equestria was a secret, and Twilight didn't want to give it away to somepony who wasn't supposed to know.

Twilight noticed Gastor flinching when she said 'anypony,' “Do not use phrases like 'anypony' when you know you are speaking to a creature of another intelligent species,” Said Gastor, trying to keep righteous fury out of his voice, “It is seen as speciest by non-Ponies, and could easily get you hurt if you offend the wrong person.”

Twilight covered her mouth with both of her front hooves, “Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know.”

Gastor waved a dismissive hole punched hoof, “I don't mind. Your people have been isolated for a thousand years, it's understandable that 'people' and 'Pony' would be used interchangeably. But keep in mind that the other Pony nations in the Equestrian continent have not. Other species extremists will also use phrases like 'anyling' or 'anycrustacean.'”

“To answer your question,” Started Gastor again, “Appropriate authority figures have been notified, such as Mayor Mare and Captain Thunderlane.”

“Thunderlane knows about the Changelings in Ponyville?”

Gastor nodded his head, “His is the Captain of the guard here in Ponyville, so he needs to know such things.”

“I guess he would if one of you was working under him, huh?” Asked Twilight with a small smile and a giggle.

“Ha! Point taken,” Said Gastor, “Oh, Dame Sparkle?”

“Please, call me Twilight.”

“Okay Twilight,” Corrected Gastor, “Would you like something to eat?”

“Oh no thank you,” Said Twilight politely, “I already ate dinner.”

Gastor tilted his head with what must have been a look of confusion, “Twilight, it's half past o-nine hundred.”

“Oh,” Twilight started staring blankly at nothing.

“You didn't go to bed last night, did you?” Asked Gastor with concern.

Twilight gave a tired sigh, not because she was sleepy, but tired of finding herself in this circumstance, “It wouldn't be the first time Sargent.”

The school bell rang to let the foals of the noon time period class out for recess later that day. A lot of the foals noticed that Twilight seemed to be out of it, but most were to excited about recess to care too much.

While it wasn't unusual for the foals to get together with their friends, one group of foals was particularly noticeable. The Cutie Mark Crusaders who still attended school were unique, not only for the size of their group, but for their fame, or infamy depending on your point of view. Within this group, two members were more giddy than usual.

“Alright you two,” Said Sweetie Belle, “What happened?”

While Sweetie Belle were not the only ones who noticed Apple Bloom and Rumble acting 'different,' Sweetie Belle was the first to succumb to her curiosity.

“Ah was actually planin' on tellin' y'all 'bout that,” Said Apple Bloom, “Yah don't mind, do yah Rumble?”

“Not at all,” Replied the effeminate colt with a yawn, “Be my guest.”

“Rumble 'nd I 'er special someponies♪” Said Apple Bloom happily.

“That's great!” Said Sweetie Belle. Her gaze became distant as she started daydreaming about all of the things she could do for her friends now that they were together. She may or may not have been reading her older sister's romance novels when she was done with them.

“Does Applejack know?” Surprisingly, it was Scootaloo of all Ponies who asked the question.

“Pfft, no!” Replied Apple Bloom instantly, “'course not. Aj would tear Rumble apart if she knew.”

“So yer just gonna keep secret forever?” Asked Pipsqueak.

“Nah, mah plan is: Rumble 'nd Ah will go on our first date behind 'er back, then Ah'll tell 'er nothin' bad happened, 'nd hopefully, she'll be cool with it,” Exclaimed the cream colored Earth Pony.

“Wouldn't going behind her back just aggravate her more?” Asked Scootaloo. The whole group paused for a moment as they comprehended the fact that Scootaloo was being uncharacteristically wise today.

“Well,” Apple Bloom herself hadn't actually thought of that until now, “Aj would never hurt me, 'nd Rumble can fly.”

“Wait, what?” Rumble had realized what his fillyfriend was implying.

The Crusaders all laughed at Rumble's expense. The group started asking what happened between their two friends as they went about their business. Unfortunately, two particularly annoying fillies had overheard the important part of their conversation.

“Wow,” Said Diamond Tiara, “I didn't think that Apple Bloom would keep secrets from her sister.” While Diamond Tiara was by no means a friend of the Apple Family, the bond of trust shared between members of the Apple Family was well known all across Equestria.

“How can we use this to our advantage?” Pondered Silver Spoon.

“Silver Spoon,” Said Diamond Tiara, “I love messing with those lowlifes as much as any proper mare would, but are you sure we should be messing with Apple Bloom or any of that freak's friends? I really don't want to be sitting in a dark dungeon cell while 'he' watches us.”

Silver Spoon smiled, “The beauty of this situation is: we can mess with them without messing with them,” Silver Spoon could help but giggle at her friend's confused look, “If we get proof of their relationship before their first date, and show it to Applejack-”

“They'll tear each other apart!” Finished Diamond Tiara, “We'll need more than just our words, no one listens to us about anything since 'Gabby Gums' went up in smoke.”

The two bullies spent the rest of that day's recess plotting out how to prove Apple Bloom's and Rumble's romance to Applejack while the Crusaders happily played with various pieces of playground equipment, blissfully unaware that somepony was plotting their doom.

Berry Punch was working in her bar with her daughter as usual. While Berry wasn't sure how she felt about Ponyville 'developing,' she couldn't help but welcome the business it brought. Construction workers would come in on their off time and bring their hard earned bits with them. Berry had easily made twice as much money in a single week than she usually made in a year, and it would only get better as Ponies moved in permanently into Ponyville as residents. Of course, all of that extra business would mean that she would have to hire extra servers and drink mixers, but there would be plenty of Ponies looking for jobs.

Speaking of looking, Berry had noticed young and not so young mares and stallions looking at her daughter with 'interest.' Ruby Pinch would be a carbon copy of her mother when she was young, if it wasn't for her horn and light green eyes that she got from her father. Berry was both terrified and excited for her daughter to start dating. She understood that love was not only one of the greatest feelings there was, it was also one of the most important. Yet at the same time, Berry was afraid of what would happen if Ruby hooked up with a stallion that was like her father. “Ha, 'world famous' my flank,'” Muttered the barkeeper.

Another of Berry's worries was what would happen if Ruby started dating somepony worse than her father. In years past, Berry would not have thought such a Pony could exist, then she met Noblesse Oblige. While Berry doubted that Noblesse was a bad Pony, like one Pony and his sweet talking brother for example, she still didn't want that colt anywhere near her daughter. Even if Noblesse was a good Pony at heart, there was still the fact that there were other Ponies actively trying to kill him. And then there was that book. A shudder went through Berry Punch as she thought of the book her daughter checked out of the palace library.

The day Noblesse Oblige came by to get Ruby and Dinky, they went to the Everfree Palace together to check out books on magic. It made since of course, they were three Unicorns in an Earth Pony town, why pass up the previously rare opportunity to better their magic? The book Ruby had brought back however, did not make Berry comfortable. The book was stone gray color with an odd pattern on the cover, a snake eating itself with a perfect triangle within the circle the snake created with it's body. This wouldn't bother Berry too much as she didn't understand magic as well as most other Ponies did, if it wasn't for a few instances in particular. First, Berry saw that her daughter had left the book out in the open. When Berry went to pick up the book to put it away in her daughter's room, Berry heard a voice say the words 'Don't you dare' when she reached out for the tomb. Then there was Ruby's nightmare. Twilight Sparkle came in yesterday to 'check up' on her daughter, then an hour later, her Ruby screams with absolute terror. Berry refused to believe that Twilight just so happened to be in the right time and place to help her daughter with- whatever it was.

Another thing that scared Berry, was her daughter's attitude after her nightmare. She was more relaxed, almost carefree, than she had ever been. It reminded Berry of a more tame Pinkie Pie, yet Ruby didn't act unlike herself. If anything, Ruby seemed to have some sort of weight lifted off of her, as though having that nightmare solved any and all problems Ruby had with the world. While it made Berry happy to see her beloved daughter be happier than ever, it concerned her that Noblesse seemed to have directly affected Ruby's emotions. Berry was hoping that Twilight Sparkle could either dismiss or affirm her concerns about the noblepony.

“Hey mom,” Said Ruby, snapping her mother out of her thoughts, “Is there anything else you need me to do?”

Berry blinked than started to look around her pub. All of the patrons had their drinks, all of the unused tables and chairs had been wiped sparkly clean, even the windows had been polished to an almost translucent state. Damn! Thought Berry Ruby had never worked so quickly before, “I don't think so sweetie, you can go play with your friends.”

“Alright,” Berry said with a hoof pump, “Thanks mom.” Mother and daughter kissed each other on the cheek before Ruby eagerly raced out the door, with the saddlebag she had started carrying with her regularly since she started reading that spooky book.

While many Ponies were afraid that Ponyville would change for the worse with the upcoming developments, Rarity was excited. A lot of Ponies would come to Ponyville from the larger cities of Equestria hoping to secure benefits from the Elements of Harmony, it was their rude behavior towards everypony else, that made the residents of Ponyville scared of the thought of Ponyville becoming a grand city full of snobs like in Manehattan or Canterlot.

Rarity was giddy at the thought however. She had already received several commissions for Noblesse Oblige's fifteenth birthday. When a settlement was announced as a Provincial Capital, said settlement would hold a massive festival on the lord or lady's next birthday to celebrate. Rarity had unfortunately, for the first time ever, had to decline business from clientele. There were simply too many commissions for Rarity to handle on her own, and not enough Ponies with the correct skill set (or skill in general) looking for jobs in Ponyville.

Rarity sighed as she heard the enchanted bell over her door over her sewing machine. Rarity left the door to Carousel Boutique unlocked for her friends, however she knew that they would all be indisposed at this time, meaning that this was most likely a Pony looking to have her make an article of clothing.

Rarity stopped her sewing machine and left her workroom to see who she had to turn away this time. Rarity actually stopped in the door way as she saw that it was none other than the Captain of the Ponyville Peacekeeper Corps that had entered her establishment. Thunderlane hadn't noticed Rarity coming to the doorway in the boutique was admiring the clothing on display. Rarity bit her lip as she saw a small black tuxedo in one of his forelegs. Rarity was hesitant to turn Thunderlane away as she had some unpaid loitering tickets that were overdue.

“Er, hello Captain,” Said Rarity to catch Thunderlane's attention, “How can I help you today sir?”

Thunderlane smiled softly, “Ah, hello Rarity. There's no reason to call me 'Captain,' just Thunderlane will do.”

Rarity returned his friendly smile and nodded, “Alright Thunderlane, how can I help you today?”

Thunderlane held out the tuxedo in his forelegs, “My tuxedo shrank in the wash, and I was hoping you could fix it.”

Thunderlane had to stifle giggles at the look on Rarity's face, “I'm joking Rarity,” Thunderlane's chuckles were audible as Rarity let out a relieved sigh, “I just need slight adjustments to this tuxedo.”

Rarity gave Thunderlane a confused look, “I think that tuxedo is a little small for you.”

Thunderlane chuckled again, “It isn't for me, it's for my brother. I even have his current measurements right here,” Thunderlane handed Rarity a piece of paper that was under the tuxedo.

“Oh? And what does little Rumble need a tuxedo for, if I may ask?” Rarity was the single largest gossip in all of Ponyville, she could not pass up the opportunity to learn something juicy about the guard Captain's own brother.

“My brother has a date this Saturday,” Explained Thunderlane, “While it's probably too casual for this particular occasion, it's the first date my brother's ever been on-”

“And you want him to make an impression on the apple of his eye,” Finished Rarity, “Who is the lucky filly... or colt?” Rarity added the last part slowly.

Thunderlane laughed at Rarity's words, “It's funny you use that exact figure of speech,” Oh no Rarity knew at that moment who Rumble was dating, “Rumble actually has a date with Applejack's sister.”

“I'd love to help you Thunderlane,” Started Rarity, “I'm afraid that I have a lot of work as it is, I don't think I could fit in this request.”

Thunderlane nodded, “I know that you're swamped, so I have an idea.”

This caught Rarity's curiosity, “Oh? And what might that be darling?”

Thunderlane paused when Rarity called him 'darling,' “Er, I was taught how to sew in the guard academy. So while I can't do anything with your sewing machine, I could start and maybe finish a few of your commissions in return for helping me out.”

Rarity thought about Thunderlane's offer. While there were some orders only she could do herself, there were plenty of plain commissions that Thunderlane would be able to do, it would also lighten the load on her if only a little.

Rarity nodded, “Alright, I think that deal will work just fine.”

“Oh but Rarity,” Said Thunderlane hesitantly, “There's something I'd like to ask you about.”

“What is it?” Asked Rarity politely.

“What has Applejack been saying about my brother?” Thunderlane's expression was that of a concerned older sibling, an expression that Rarity could sympathize with.

Rarity was on her way to her friends' daily get together that very morning. While Rainbow Dash could rarely make it to their morning meet-ups, she made up for it in spades when the polychromatic mare went out of her way to spend a little time with everypony in their group everyday. While Rarity loved her friends dearly and enjoyed spending time with them, it had been slightly less enjoyable lately.

“Hi'yah Rarity!” Called out an excited orange mare.

“Why hello Applejack,” Replied the fashionista, “How are you this morning?”

“Why Ah'm just dandy,” Said Applejack with a happy tone of voice, “Big Mac, Apple Bloom, and Ah, took care of the regular apple harvest, got everythang ready fer the Zap Apples, and y'all be happy tah know Ah even remembered to take a shower after work!”

“Thank heavens!” Quipped Rarity. The two mares laughed at her joke before they started talking with each other again.

Eventually, the pair made it to the Cafe Hay, the only cafe in Ponyville at the moment, where they saw the other Unicorn of their group. The Elements of Harmony had to start meeting with each other slightly later in the morning since Twilight started working with Cheerilee. Rarity and Applejack noticed that Twilight's head was on her forelegs, and neither of two mares could tell if she was sleeping or crying.

Rarity spoke up as she and Applejack approached, “Is everything alright darling?”

Twilight's head shot up revealing: a distant look in her eyes, exactly three strands of her mane out of place, and a crazed smile, “Everything is just fine Rarity, why do you ask?” So Twilight didn't get enough sleep last night.

“Oh no reason Twilight,” Said Rarity calmly, “Would you like to tell us about your day?”

“Did you know that the mitochondria is the power house of the cell?” Asked Twilight suddenly.

Rarity and Applejack looked at each other with concerned looks. Applejack decided to speak up, “Uh, can't rightly say Ah do.”

“Neither did any of the foals from the morning class!” Exclaimed Twilight.

If anypony nearby ignored Twilight's exclamation, they certainly couldn't ignore her maniacal laughter. Two Ponies, who Rarity deduced were from Canterlot by their attire, looked particularly concerned. Then Pinkie's head popped out of Twilight's mane. Most of the Ponies nearby knew Pinkie well enough to just roll their eyes at her shenanigans, the Canterlot Ponies however did not. The two looked at their coffee, then each, before dumping the contents of their drinks and galloping towards what Rarity guessed was either the hospital or their own homes. They'll be demanding charcoal I imagine thought Rarity with a giggle.

Pinkie leaped out of Twilight's mane and onto a nearby chair, “Hey everypony! How have you been?”

“Why, I've been fine Pinkie. What about you dear?” Rarity started to panic in her mind as she realized that she had accidentally invited Pinkie to go on about her day and feelings.

Pinkie took a deep breath as everypony that wasn't suffering from sleep deprived induced delirium prepared themselves, “Oh, I'm just peachy! I just got a letter from my oldest sister that says she wants to get together sometime after Ponyville is officially made the Provincial Capital of Everfree Province!”

“Well, that's just dandy!” Said Applejack, “Ah've been curious 'bout that family'a yers since yah mentioned them.”

“That's just smashing Pinkie,” Said Rarity, “And what about you Applejack? Have you learned anything more about that colt you think is sweet on your sister?”

Applejack noticeably winced. Applejack had been vehemently expressing concerns about a colt she was afraid was 'interested' in Apple Bloom. Applejack had made a point of not using Rumble's name, not wanting to openly express negative opinions of the guard captain's younger brother, especially when she had nothing to base her opinions on him aside from he might have a crush on Apple Bloom. Rarity just assumed that Applejack didn't know who the colt was exactly, though it wouldn't be the first time Aj had omitted something from conversation.

“Well,” Started Applejack, trying to decide what exact words she wanted to use, “The last time he 'nd Apple Bloom went babysittin', somethin' happened.”

“Oh? And what happened exactly?” Rarity could not resist the temptation of gossip, it was one of many things she used to pull in customers into her boutique after all. And the possibility of one of the infamous Cutie Mark Crusaders getting a coltfriend was huge.

“When the two of them were leavin' fer home, he bumped intah Apple Bloom.”

Rarity gave Applejack a confused look, “That's it? It doesn't sound like much of anything has happened.”

Applejack looked at Rarity with determination in her eyes, “It's what didn't happen Ah'm concerned 'bout. That colt almost knocked Apple Bloom ontah the ground, and Ah'm not so sure it was an accident.”

“I am that Apple Bloom would tell you if somepony was bullying her,” Assured Rarity, completely missing Applejack's use of subtlety.

“Apple Bloom didn't have tah say anything,” Replied Applejack, “Mahself, Thunderlane, and his two filly friends, were there when it happened. Ah wonder what would happen if the four of use weren't there.”

The dark look on Applejack's face gave away her primary concern to Rarity, “Applejack, darling, I am almost certain that, whoever this colt is, was not planing on forcing himself on Apple Bloom,” While Rarity couldn't actually be sure that was true, Applejack had given no proof that her concerns were valid either.

“Ah-Ah don't rightly know mahself,” Admitted Applejack, “What Ah do know is: if that little gray bastard so much as touches mah sister, Ah'm turnin' him intah glue!”

“Too be honest darling,” Started Rarity, choosing her words carefully, “The colt Applejack has been raving about might not be Rumble, she has gone out of her way to avoid using his name. I believe that is because Applejack herself doesn't actually know who the colt is.”

This brought Thunderlane brief relief, but a he unfortunately thought of way to confirm or deny who Applejack has been talking about, “How does Apple Bloom know this colt?”

“Why, he's been helping her foalsit the Cake twins,” Replied Rarity, “Why do you ask?”

Thunderlane sighed, “Because Rumble offered to help Apple Bloom foalsit when her other friends were too busy.”

“Oh dear,” Said Rarity with poorly concealed concern on her face, “Then you should probably know the truth.”

“I'm all ears.”

Rarity nodded, “Mostly, Applejack has been expressing concern about what Rumble's intention towards Apple Bloom are.”

Thunderlane nodded in understanding, “I can get that, she barley knows him. Heck, Apple Bloom barely knows Rumble.”

“Yes, while I agreed with that sentiment, Applejack has become... 'graphic' as of this morning,” Said Rarity hesitantly.

“Come again?” Asked Thunderlane. He knew he wasn't going to like this development.

“She said that she would turn Rumble into glue, and gave rather vague conditions for this.”

Thunderlane cringed, “Maybe I should try talking to-” Thunderlane didn't get to finished as a silly Pony popped out of his brother's rarely tuxedo, grabbed him by the shoulders, and looked deeply past his eyes and into his soul.

Rarity had to hold back snickers as she watch Thunderlane's coat turn gray.

Pinkie Pie began saying 'no' over and over again while pressing Thunderlane onto his back and onto the floor, “DO NOT MENTION APPLE BLOOM AND RUMBLE TO AJ!”

“Uhh, why?” Asked Thunderlane, not certain if he should be more concerned about Rumble's well being or his own.

“I have made Apple Bloom swear to secrecy on this until their date this Saturday,” Answered Pinkie, “If Aj finds out that her sister has been keeping this a secret before then, she will assume that it was Rumble who made her swear to secrecy, which will not end well for him.”

“Won't she find out about their relationship eventually?” Asked Thunderlane, not sure how keeping this a secret at all would be good.”

“Aj is less likely to do anything bad to Rumble if nothing happens on their date,” Explained Pinkie Pie, “She thinks that Rumble is planning on 'using' her sister, the ideal time for anypony to try that kind of thing is on the first date. I have made is so that I will be witness to their date. If Apple Bloom and I are both able to assure Aj that nothing bad happened and Rumble was a complete gentalcolt, then Aj will just suspicious and not vengeful.”

“Alright,” Said Thunderlane, “I can not mention this Applejack, but what if she does try to do something to Rumble?”

“You're the Captain of the guard,” Said Pinkie Pie sadly as her mane and tail straightened only slightly, “If she tries anything, it's up to the law what happens then.”

Pinkie's mane and tail re-curled themselves and Pinkie assumed her usual happy demeanor, “Well I have to get to work! Mr. and Mrs. Cake promised to show me pictures of their new niece or nephew after today!” Pinkie Pie looked up and just flew into the chandelier overhead.

“Last time she did that, the chandelier fell down,” Said Rarity in amazement at her friend's continually increasing skill.

Thunderlane got up off of the floor and dusted himself off, “Pinkie is so random. So where are the cloths you need help with?”

Remembering her agreement with Thunderlane, Rarity smiled and turned to the doorway behind her, “Ah yes, if you will just follow me-” Rarity was interrupted by a loud crashing sound behind her.

Rarity turned around to see Thunderlane on the ground beneath the chandelier Pinkie Pie disappeared into, his legs twitching slightly. Rarity sighed, “That's the third chandelier this week.”

Chapter 26

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 27

“Ah wanted tah thank yah again fer helpin’ out today,” Said Apple Bloom.

“It was nothing,” Said Rumble, “I had nothing better to do until our date.”

Rumble and Apple Bloom were just outside of Ponyville on their way to Sugarcube Corner for their date. Along the way, the young couple made casual conversation and pointed out any wildlife they noticed. Apple Bloom thought it was adorable how Rumble was fascinated with anything from Dear grazing on the side of the dirt road to Woodpeckers whittling away at trees. It was to be expected however, Rumble had spent his entire life in urban centers and never had the chance to see much wildlife. Even now, the house where he, his brother, and the two mares Rumble lived with, was deep within Ponyville, away from anywhere one would usually see most of the plants or animals.

The young mare and stallion spent most of the time walking from the edge of Ponyville in a pleasant silence, simply enjoying each other’s company as they walked through the quiet town. The construction crews hired by Noblesse Oblige and the Ponyville Town Council usually waited until the afternoon to work so they didn’t bother anypony who was still asleep, so the pleasant silence persisted through active construction sites and any buildings that were being remodeled. The only thing that broke the quiet was the sounds of the young couple breathing, their walking and that of anypony awake at this hour, and what few animals were in town.

Apple Bloom and Rumble finally made their way to Sugarcube Corner. The couple were about to enter the building when Rumble started chuckling, “What’s so funny?” Asked Apple Bloom.

Rumble needed a moment to regain his composure before he could speak, “I’m sorry,” He said, “But no matter how many times I see this place, I just can’t believe that someone made a giant gingerbread house in the middle of town!”

Apple Bloom stood there and thought about Rumble had just said. She didn’t think it was too strange, but Sugarcube Corner had been like this as far back as she could remember. Now that she thought about it though, it was a tad silly. There were houses and places of business in this part of town, and then there was this colorful gingerbread house. It wouldn’t matter where Sugarcube Corner was, it would look weird no matter what.

Apple Bloom tried to keep down her mirth, only to make herself laugh even harder. The young couple entered the building giggling. The customer bell at the top of the door sounded alerting Mrs. Cake, who was at the counter this morning, to their presence. Mrs. Cake let the two get ahold of themselves as she bottle-fed Pound Cake, but she didn’t notice the small pink balloon Pony floating behind her.

“How can I help you girls today?” Asked Mrs. Cake.

Apple Bloom giggled at Mrs. Cake’s mistake as Rumble gave her an amused look, “I am a colt ma’am,” Replied Rumble.

Mrs. Cake immediately noticed that Rumble’s voice was too deep to belong to a filly, “Oh, I’m so sorry dearie,” Said Mrs. Cake with a blush, “How can I help you two today?”

The young couple adopted slight blushes on their faces as Apple Bloom spoke up, “We’re actually here on a date Mrs. Cake.”

“Oooh, good for you,” Said Mrs. Cake, “What can I get you?”

“Actually, I think Pinkie Pie said she’d handle it,” Rumble had just noticed the balloon Pony slowly floating over to Mrs. Cake, “Do you usually make balloon animals here?”

“What?” Asked Mrs. Cake as she turned her head to see where Rumble was looking.

The balloon Pony popped the moment Mrs. Cake looked at it, somehow summoning Pinkie Pie in its place. Mrs. Cake yelled in surprise and reflexively threw Pound Cake into the air as Pinkie landed with a small thud. Mrs. Cake looked up in horror as she realized she had just thrown her baby, only to see him fluttering down towards his mother. Right, remembered Mrs. Cake he has wings.

“Just let me take care of these two Teacup,” Said Pinkie Pie using Mrs. Cake maiden name, “You look like you could use a break anyways.”

Mrs. Cake, still pale from accidently throwing her baby, only nodded in agreement and headed with Pound Cake on her shoulder.

“If you two will follow me,” Said Pinkie Pie excitedly, “I’ll take you to your table.”

The two foals followed Pinkie as she hopped around the counter and towards the tables. Apple Bloom and Rumble looked to each other as Pinkie Pie started to lead them past all of the tables and further into the establishment. The two had never been back here before and the doors to this section of Sugarcube Corner were locked shut, until recently it seems.

Pinkie Pie reached the door to the unknown part of the bakery. Rumble, being a Pegasus was more perceptive than his Earth Pony marefriend, was the only one of the pair who noticed that a small part of the door had something written on it. Pinkie Pie however, opened the door too quickly for Rumble to completely read what was written on the door. He could only read the first letter of the label. How many relevant words start with ‘v’ pondered Rumble? While his extra studying session with Twilight and Ms. Cheerilee had helped Rumble’s lacking vocabulary, he was still found wanting in that regard.

The room was dark; the only light being provided was from the next room curtesy of the open door. That light was quickly occluded as Pinkie slammed the door shut, just fast enough to keep the young couple from piecing together what the room was with their limited sight.

The two heard hooves behind them in the darkness, Pinkie Pie going for the light switch? Guessed Apple Bloom. But now why is she going through so much trouble? Wondered the yellow Earth Pony. It was too obvious to be a surprise party, but then why keep the two in the dark? Both figuratively and literally.

Pinkie Pie flipped the nearby light switch and the young couple was blinded by the sudden flash of light. The two took time to blink and regain their sight before they looked around. “Tada♪” Said Pinkie Pie with her forelegs stretched out as her party cannon fired in the background. Pinkie Pie had lead Apple Bloom and Rumble into a very nice looking room. Though there were very few chairs and tables compared to main serving area, but the chairs were cushioned with fine velvet and silk and were made with excellent craftsmanship. The room was painted a royal red color with golden trimming, the two couldn’t tell if it was just painted really well or if the trim was actually gilded. While most of the light in the room came from the chandelier hanging from the center of the ceiling, the walls had candles mounted on them that glowed brightly as they burned. Were Rarity present, she would comment that this room alone could give any restaurant in Canterlot or Manehatten a run for their bits before gushing about the much finer details that no one else likely would notice otherwise.

“Sooooooo,” Started Pinkie Pie with an almost predatory smile, “What do you think?”

“Pinkie,” Said Apple Bloom short on breath with eyes full of wonder, “What is all’a this?”

Pinkie giggled before speaking, “This was the breakroom before Mr. and Mrs. Cake moved it into the spare room upstairs but now this this the new Sugarcube Corner V.I.P. and Investor Section!”

“What?” Asked Rumble. Pretty much everypony from Ponyville was used to Pinkie’s quick tongued way of speaking and could understand her as though she breathed in between sentences, of course, Rumble was not from Ponyville.

“Basically, it’s a room just fer Ponies who have invested in Sugarcube Corner and anypony they make a ‘V.I.P.’ Said Apple Bloom.

“You understood her?” Asked Rumble.

“Your table,” Interrupted Pinkie as she grabbed the two lovers, “Is riiiiii- “Pinkie raced over to one of the tables as she dragged out the word, “iiiiight, here.” She placed the duo in front of their table as their eyes spun in their skulls.

The two regained their senses and sat down, “Pinkie Pie, we appreciate this, but what did we do to become V.I.P.s?” Asked Rumble.

“Oh, that’s easy,” Said Pinkie Pie with a normal paced voice, remembering that Rumble couldn’t understand her usual way of speaking just yet, “Apple Bloom founded the Cutie Mark Crusaders: a non-profit organization that is dedicated to helping Ponies earn their Cutie Marks while motivating themselves and others to try tons’ of new activities. Their ‘Crusades’ have helped six different foals of varying ages earn their Cutie Marks. Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle, also fixed all of the relationships, platonic or otherwise, in Ponyville after being blackmailed into ruining them in the first place. And that’s before we consider that her sister has saved Equestria multiple times and that her family is one of our most important suppliers.”

Rumble blinked a few times with a blank look in his eyes as he processed all of the information that was just given to him. While he understood every word that Pinkie Pie had spoken, it was still a lot to take in at once.

“You did all of that?” Rumble finally spoke up.

Apple Bloom blushed at her coltfriend’s amazed stare. It was bad enough that somepony was looking at her in awe at her achievements, even worse when it was her date.

“Ah-ah didn’t do any of that by mahself,” Defended Apple Bloom, “Ah founded the CMC with mah friends, and those Ponies earned their own Cutie Marks.”

“But how did you ‘fix all of the relationships in Ponyville?’” Asked Rumble quoting Pinkie Pie.

“We got blackmailed by Diamond Tiara to write embarrassin’ stories ‘bout everypony in Ponyville. Eventually we realized how wrong we were to do those things, so in our last article: we revealed ourselves as Gabby Gums ‘nd explained that we were bein’ blackmailed.”

“Wow, that must have been difficult,” Said Rumble, “Did everypony just forgive you three?”

“Well, the Ponies here are pretty easy goin’,” Said Apple Bloom.

“We very well couldn’t hold it against them since they were being forced into it,” Explained Pinkie Pie, “Enough about that, I think I’ll give you two lovebirds desert to start off.”

Pinkie reached under the table and brought a tray full of cookies which she set in the middle of the table. These cookies were clearly made for this occasion as they were cut out and iced for the event. In the center of the tray were two Pony cookies nuzzling each other, their icing clearing depicting them as Apple Bloom and Rumble, complete with Rumble’s wings and Apple Bloom’s bow. There was an outer circle of cookies that were shaped like hearts and birds, who knows how long Pinkie Pie has been planning to use that joke.

What caught the couple’s attention however, was Pinkie Pie’s biggest joke. There was an inner circle of cookies that were shaped like swaddled foals and baby carriages, some of the foals even had tiny cookie wings sticking out of their swaddles.

“Pinkie Pie!” Yelled Apple Bloom with a furious blush on her face as Pinkie Pie ran through the side door that lead into the kitchen, laughing at their expense. Apple Bloom’s attention was caught by a loud crunching noise. She turned to look at her date to see that Rumble had picked up one of the foal cookies and bit into its wing.

Rumble hummed in delight as he chewed and swallowed, “Our eldest is extra crunchy.”

Though the two were still blushing from Pinkie’s joke, neither could resist laughing at Rumble’s silliness.

Berry Punch had barely touched her tea since Twilight had started explaining to her what Ruby was going through. Spike, who Twilight invited to stay since it applied to him as well, was also silent as he thought about what having powers similar to the mad Unicorn king Sombra meant for him.

“So,” Berry finally spoke up a few minutes after Twilight had stopped talking, “My daughter has these ‘powers’ because she’s afraid of being replaced by her father?”

Twilight didn’t know a whole lot about the relationship between Ruby’s parents except that she had never actually met her biological father, but she didn’t need to be a mind reader to know how Berry felt about him now.

“She-she,” Berry was brought to tears, “She never said anything about it to me. How could I let her think that I’d do something like that?”

Twilight quickly put her hoof on Berry’s in a comforting way, “It’s not your fault,” Assured Twilight, “Fears are rarely rational. I doubt Ruby knew she had such fears until her recent experience.”

“Wha-what do you mean?” Asked Berry as she wiped away some of her tears.

“When I was under Sombra’s illusions,” Started Twilight, “I was shown an illusion of Celestia disowning me. I had faced two gods at that point and have five friends that I love more than anything, and of course there’s Spike, I don’t even remember a time without him! I also have an irrational fear of snakes, but instead of facing insane gods, losing my friends or family, my greatest fear of all is still disappointing my teacher.”

Berry looked down in thought. While she was still upset that her only child had suffered so much that it had given her some horrible powers that defy logic, this new information made her feel better.

A thought occurred to Berry as she thought about what this could mean for her daughter, “Oh Twilight, I’ve noticed something strange about Ruby since her nightmare.”

Twilight put down her teacup, “What is it?”

“Ruby has been acting ‘happier’ as of late,” Said Berry.

Twilight tilted her head in confusion, “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

Berry swallowed as she thought about a better way to explain what she meant, “It’s like a weight has been lifted off of Ruby, and while she has definitely happier overall, she’s been ‘darker.’”

Twilight was now not only confused, but worried, “Excuse me?”

“It’s like there’s an ominous or foreboding aura around Ruby, but she’s more jovial than I’ve ever seen her,” Explained Berry, “Just last night, she stepped on a glass bottle by accident and she laughed it off. She still felt pain, but she thought it was funny how clumsy she was, despite how much it hurt, and that’s just one example.”

Twilight looked down in thought with a worried expression. Though Twilight didn’t know Berry as well as her friends did, she knew Ruby fairly well. She would usually come in with the other Crusaders while researching something for their Crusades or would come in to research other skills that didn’t earn them Cutie Marks, but were still interested in anyways. Twilight didn’t like the way she felt when she used Dark Magic, hence why she hadn’t used it since the Crystal Empire, she had no idea what practicing Dark Magic could do to one’s mind.

Eventually, Twilight decided what she wanted to do about the situation, “Berry, do you know where Ruby is now?”

“Hey Dinky,” Called out Ruby, “Do you have any idea where Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo are?”

Ruby, Dinky, and a few mailponies, were in the breakroom of the Ponyville Postal Office. Ruby would usually visit Dinky at the post office since they both happened to have the same break hours. With her magic, Dinky was a godsend when it came to organizing the mail. No forgetting where you set specific letters, no shifting through stacks of envelopes, no accidently knocking over said stacks and spending agonizing amounts of time picking them all up. Everypony at the post office joked that Dinky picked up more from Twilight than skills and knowledge, and it was true. Dinky was obsessed with organization, and got very upset when she found something in the place or couldn’t find something where it belonged.

Everypony had their off days every once in a while, and Dinky was no exception. However, Dinky had many reasons to be distracted recently. It had nothing to do with stress, or colts, or the mundane worries everypony succumbed to occasionally. No, Dinky had an unusual reason to be out of the game, but she couldn’t tell if it was a bad thing or not.

“Not really, why?” Replied the gray Unicorn.

Ruby had acted ‘strangely’ recently. That wasn’t a fair statement, yet Dinky knew of no other words to describe it.

“I tried looking for them before coming here,” Explained Ruby, “But I couldn’t find them. With Apple Bloom on her date with Rumble, those two could be anywhere.”

Dinky couldn’t help but glance at the saddle bag Ruby had started wearing recently. Ruby had started carrying the book she checked out at the palace library with her, and Dinky didn’t know what to make of it. Ruby had become obsessed with that book, yet had results that one would not expect from such a sinister looking spell book. Shortly after getting that book, Ruby seemed to be more free. It was like Ruby had a weight pulling her down, one that no one, not even Ruby, knew she had, and reading that spooky book shattered the chains.

“So no Crusades today?” Asked Dinky. Dinky had known Ruby long enough to know what she was thinking with so few word cues.

“Oh well,” Ruby said with a sigh, “It has been a while since we spent time together, you know, one on one.”

Dinky had to stifle a laugh at Ruby’s comment. It was true, since joining the CMC, the two of them hadn’t spent any time by themselves. Though, Ruby wouldn’t usually put things in quite that way.

The few times that Dinky had tried to read the book, her mind had either screamed at her to stop or the weird text had hurt her eyes. The book had apparently helped Ruby with problems that no one knew she had, but anything that hurt people whenever they looked at the damn thing, simply could not be good.

Dinky was going to have to take some time off to talk to Twilight about the book, namely the bizarre symbol on its front.

“I know!” Said Ruby excitedly, “We can go study magic together.”

Perfect thought Dinky, “Yeah, that sounds like a plan.” This was a perfect opportunity to seek out Twilight.

“Dinky! Ruby! Are you two in here!?” Yelled a familiar orange Pegasus.

“Geez Scootaloo,” Said Sweetie Belle, “Could you yell any louder? I don’t think they heard you in Yakyakistan.”

Dinky’s left eye twitched slightly. The one time I don’t want to see them. “Hey girls, what’s up?” Dinky had perfected the art of faking cheer after years of helping her mom and aunt deal with upset customers who didn’t understand how the mailing system worked.

“We were looking for something to do while we waited for Apple Bloom and Rumble to finish their date,” Explained Scootaloo.

“We could think of jokes to make at their expense in the meantime,” Suggested Ruby cheerfully.

“Well obviously,” Said Sweetie Belle, “But do you really want to sit around talking all day?”

Everypony in the room stood where they were and just stared at Sweetie Belle, “What?” Asked the white Unicorn.

“That’s something I would say Sweetie Belle,” Explained Scootaloo.

Everypony laughed as Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes, “I like to have fun to,” She replied.

“Does anypony actually know how long those two will be out?” Asked Dinky.

“If they aren’t done by noon, I say we bother them until they go Crusading with us,” Suggested Scootaloo.

“Wow. That’s just wrong,” Said Rumble.

“Yeah, but she made up fer it and we’re all friends now,” Assured Apple Bloom.

Apple Bloom was telling Rumble about her cousin Babs’ first time in Ponyville and how she bullied the Crusaders mercilessly. While Rumble was still visibly bothered by the fact somepony could be so mean to their family, especially since she was being bullied herself, he kept his thoughts to himself.

Apple Bloom and Rumble had finished their lunch date and Rumble was politely walking Apple Bloom home. Pinkie Pie had behaved herself after leaving the foal themed cookies at their table and somehow knew just what young lovers loved to eat, even though one of them hadn’t even been in Ponyville for more than a few weeks.

The two of them continued to talk along the way as they found each other’s company more than pleasant. They had thought about looking for their Crusader friends, but Apple Bloom had more chores she needed to do at home and Rumble was still exhausted from doing more physical labor than ever before in his life, on top of walking from Sweet Apple Acers to Sugarcube Corner and back.

Fortunately for Rumble, none of the work he had done today needed the use of his wings, meaning he could easily fly home and take a well needed nap. Hopefully, he’d be awake soon enough to spend some more time with his friends.

The pair was now at the gate to Sweet Apple Acers, meaning it was time to depart. The both of them turned their heads to the other to say goodbye, blushing slightly when their eyes meet.

“Ah-ah had a good time today,” Said Apple Bloom, “Thanks fer takin’ me out.”

“I had fun too,” Assured the young stallion, “I’m going to go home and sleep for a little bit, hopefully I’ll be awake before sunset.”

Apple Bloom giggled at that. For Apple Bloom, the work done at the farm this morning was merely part of the long list of chores she and her family did every morning. For Rumble however, this was probably the most he had ever worked himself in his entire life. Apple Bloom couldn’t help but notice that Rumble was leaning on her on the way to and from Sugarcube Corner, she doubted her new coltfriend would have been able to make without rest or collapse otherwise.

“But before I go,” Said Rumble, catching Apple Bloom’s attention, “I don’t suppose you’d like to do this again soon, would you?”

Apple Bloom and Rumble could feel the heat in their cheeks intensifying as their identical blushes deepened, “Next week would be great if there ain’t anythin’ urgent at the farm,” Answered Apple Bloom.

Apple Bloom leaned over to Rumble and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek before breaking into a gallop through the gate of her family’s farm. While Rumble was literally left in a cloud of his fillyfriend’s dust, he didn’t mind. He was distracted by the embarrassment and euphoria coursing through his body. He was only brought out of his state of mind because in his joy, he forgot to keep the concentration that was keeping him standing.

“Oof!” Rumble feel roughly to the dirt road. He got up quickly and looked around to see if anypony, namely Apple Bloom, had seen him collapse. Assured that no one saw him fall, Rumble took to the sky and headed towards his family’s house in Ponyville.

Apple Bloom slammed the door to the farmhouse behind her, her face still adopting her brother’s coloration. Apple Bloom gave a happy sigh as she thought about the day she just had with her new coltfriend and the possibility of enjoying it again so soon.

Apple Bloom’s daydream was cut short by the familiar cackling of her grandmother. Apple Bloom swiveled her head to the right to see that Granny Smith had moved her favorite rocking chair next to one of the windows, meaning she probably saw the short exchange between herself and Rumble. That old snake! thought Apple Bloom.

“So, ah take it you ‘nd Rumble had yerselves a good time then?” Asked Granny Smith.

“Y-yeah,” Answered the significantly younger mare, “He even asked me out again fer next week, provided that Ah ain’t needed ah’course.”

“Ya probably won’t be,” Answered Granny Smith, “Between yer older siblins ‘nd myself, we got most everythin’ covered here on the homefront. Course yer help is nice havin’.”

“Is Aj and Big Mac out werkin’?” Asked Apple Bloom, somewhat concerned that her what her sister might be doing.

“Nah, Big Mac just went up to go git yer sister,” Replied the lime green mare.

“Really?” Asked Apple Bloom in confusion. Her sister easily Big Mac’s equal in regards to stamina, and she usually didn’t stop working until her body couldn’t handle any more labor without rest. Both Apple Bloom and Big Mac has had to carry Applejack to the farmhouse from the orchards so she could get a decent rest.

“Yer friends spilled the beans on yer date with Rumble,” Answered Granny Smith, her voice and expression going plain, “’nd we had tah… restrain Jackie so she didn’t go and do somethin’ stupid.”

Apple Bloom couldn’t help but facehoof, “Fer Celestia’s sake, Ah’m goin’ tah kill those two, next time ah see ‘em.”

“First things first, we should probably eat lunch, assure Aj that nothin’ bad happened on yer date, then catch up on today’s chores,” Instructed Granny Smith.

“Ah’ll go and set the table then,” Said Apple Bloom as she left and headed into the kitchen.

Granny Smith had to stop and watch Apple Bloom for a moment before following her. Granny had been slowly teaching Apple Bloom how to preform house chores, file taxes, and other things that she herself had taken care of for generations of Apples. It greatly pleased Granny Smith that her youngest was growing up a good bit faster than her older siblings, after all, not she would be around forever.

Granny forced herself out of her somewhat morbid train of thought as she heard Applejack rush past her now that she was free of her bindings. Granny chuckled as she overheard the embarrassing stream of questions spewing from Aj’s mouth as she joined her two granddaughters in the kitchen and started making food for the whole family.

Author's Note

Hey look at that! I'm not dead!:pinkiegasp: I apologize to anyone who was eagerly awaiting for the next chapter to be posted, but I couldn't even work on it until recently. I had planned to get one or two chapters at the least posted over Thanksgiving break, but I got sick and could hardly articulate thought. But unless I get sick again, I should be able to update some what regularly until January.

I would like to thank everyone who has waited patiently and has read my story up to this point. Please feel free to point out any spelling errors or plot inconsistencies I have made thus far. I would also appreciate any thoughts, feelings, or constructive criticisms you, the readers, have to offer.

Chapter 28

Dinky, Ruby, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle, were at the park enjoying themselves. The four of them had decided to go Crusading while they waited for Apple Bloom and Rumble, though it didn’t feel exactly right without Apple Bloom.

Ruby noticed that Dinky was unusually insistent that they go to the Golden Oaks Library to go looking for inspiration for today’s Crusades. They had done such a thing several times before when everypony had a creative block, though it wasn’t go over very well.

Like always, Scootaloo shot down any ideas she deemed as ‘boring,’ and Sweetie Belle confessed that she had been spending a lot of time helping her sister in her shop and would like to spend some time outside for a while.

They had just tried earning carpentry Cutie Marks with varying degrees of success. Though nopony got their Cutie Marks, Dinky and Ruby had great ease given their telekinesis. Sweetie Belle, though she excelled at some spells, still had trouble with precise telekinesis. Scootaloo, having neither Unicorn magic nor appendages like hands, used her mouth and hooves to manipulate the tools entrusted to them by the local carpenter, which didn’t end as well as she had hoped.

Dinky, Ruby, and Sweetie Belle were resting in the grass, enjoying the sun, while Scootaloo practiced tricks on her scooter for their amusement. Scootaloo had decided to work on doing front flips while separated from her scooter with the intention of rejoining her scooter shortly before it landed. Scootaloo had let herself be separated from her scooter before, but she had never tried anything so risky with it.

“Are sure this is safe Scootaloo?” Asked Sweetie Belle with a concerned tone of voice.

“Of course it’s safe,” Assured Scootaloo, “This isn’t the first time I’ve leaped off a ramp before.

“But you’ve never done anything so drastic before,” Pointed out Dinky, “Plus, with all of the construction going on and Ponies moving into Ponyville, it’s going to be harder to get help if somepony gets hurt.”

“You girls worry too much,” Said Scootaloo nonchalantly as she donned her helmet, “You all just watch, and let me wow you.”

Unbeknownst to the Crusaders present, Rainbow Dash was up above on one of the few clouds in the sky watching them. Though she’d never admit it, Rainbow loved watching her honorary little sister preform on her scooter. The way her face lit up when she was riding that scooter, dodging passersby, doing flips, even momentarily letting go of her scooter while in the air. It reminded Rainbow of herself in away, always working to improve herself and always enjoying herself. It somewhat dwarfed her own flight prowess in a seeing as Scootaloo accomplished those two things without the ability to do the one thing most Pegasi take pride in.

Rainbow Dash had meet Scootaloo’s parents on occasion, specifically her father, so Rainbow knew about the genetic quirk that ran in Scootaloo’s family. However, Rainbow had this weird feeling that there was something more in Scootaloo’s case. Scootaloo had an abundance of confidence in herself as well as a tendency to not back down, these traits acted as fuel for Pegasus’ wings and allowed them to take flight. And yet, Scootaloo could only hover a few inches off the ground for even fewer seconds.

Rainbow pulled herself out of her ponderings as she noticed that Scootaloo seemed to be arguing with her friends. What is she up too? wondered Rainbow Dash.

Scootaloo had done some really dangerous things with her scooter before, like purposely swerving in between pedestrians and doing flips on her scooter. Rainbow considered getting closer so she could listen in on them, but she didn’t want to get caught. If Scootaloo saw her, she might concentrate more on her than her performance and nearby Ponies might think Rainbow to be the soft sentimental type. Rainbow closed her eyes and shuttered at the thought of what such a thing would do to her reputation. Rainbow wondered what Scootaloo was about to try to make her friends worry so, when Scootaloo put on her helmet and started racing towards the little ramp she brought with her.

Twilight Sparkle and Berry Punch entered the Ponyville Post Office, hoping that Ruby Pinch was still here.

“Is there a place they usually work in?” Asked Twilight.

Berry shook her head, “Since they’re Unicorns, they work pretty much anywhere. We’ll have to ask somepony if they’re here.”

“If who’s here?” Asked the voice of a familiar Pegasus that the two mares had hoped would be absent.

Twilight and Berry turned around to see a light gray Pegasus mare donning a mailpony cap and a mailbag. Twilight and Berry didn’t want to worry Dinky’s family by letting on to the possibility that being around her best friend could endanger her.

“Oh, hey there,” Said Berry, “How have you been?”

The problem with being acquainted with identical twins was that: while you knew them well enough to know of them, you still had trouble telling them apart. It was especially difficult in the case of Ditzy Doo and Derpy Whooves because even their Cutie Marks were near identical. It was especially awkward for Berry Punch, since the twins would frequent her bar on weekends.

Ditzy (or was this Derpy?) gave them a small smile and nodded her head as she hung her mailpony cap and mailbag on her designated hook by the front door. “I’ve been good,” Answered the mailpony, “I managed to complete my rounds without bumping into anypony or thing. I was just about to start my lunch break actually.”

Twilight turned her eyes without moving her head so that Ditzy/Derpy wouldn’t see her looking at her ‘uniform’ rack. Unfortunately for Twilight, the mailpony hung up her cap in an awkward angle which covered her nameplate, the mailpony in question also noticed where Twilight was looking.

The mailpony gave out a giggle, “My sister and I keep telling you Ponies that it’s fine to ask us for clarification. I’m Ditzy.”

Both Twilight and Berry went rigid for a split second. Dinky’s mother was more likely to overreact if she caught on to Twilight and Berry’s concerns.

“Did you two need something?” Asked Ditzy, so far unaware of Twilight and Berry’s discomfort.

“We were actually looking for Dinky and Ruby,” Said Twilight without thinking.

Ditzy fortunately missed the two other mares going rigid again, “Oh, they went to the park with their friends. Did Dinky forget to return a book again?”

“I was hoping to ask Ruby about that spell book Ruby checked out of the Palace library,” Explained Twilight. She figured that it would be easier to omit things at this point than it was to straight up lie.

“Oh, that,” Said Ditzy, apparently knowing what Twilight was talking about, “Dinky mentioned that a few times. I hope you two can find them, you know how their lot can be at times.”

“Thank you miss Doo,” Said Berry, “Have a good day.”

Twilight and Berry nearly galloped out of the post office while Ditzy happily trotted a short way out of the building and started to fly towards her favorite cafe for lunch. Ditzy was about halfway there when something occurred to her, “Why would an Earth Pony care about a spell book?”

Ditzy shortly wondered why Berry Punch was with Twilight before she decided it wasn’t that important and continued her leisurely flight towards the café she had in mind, before she bumped her head on the sign to Sugarcube Corner, “Oh darn it,” Said the mailpony now that she had broken her streak of not hitting things on accident with her body.

Scootaloo started driving towards her ramp at exponentially increasing speeds. Scootaloo’s favorite thing about Pegasus magic was that it made aerodynamics irrelevant when in use, which meant that Scootaloo could go much further and she would stay in the air for much longer than was otherwise possible.

The orange and purple filly jumped the ramp at ridiculous speeds, “Woohoo!” Cried Scootaloo as she let go of her scooter. Scootaloo started using her magic as she curled into a ball and made herself spin slowly.

Rainbow Dash was gawking at the sight below her. She saw what Scootaloo was doing and was amazed at how good she had gotten on her scooter. Dinky, Ruby, and Sweetie Belle were also amazed, until Ruby and Dinky noticed something that Rainbow Dash couldn’t see at the angle her elevated position gave her.

Were Scootaloo simply letting herself separate from her scooter for a short time, she could use her magic to keep it a short distance away from her before using to bring closer. Since Scootaloo’s body was consistently changing orientation, the slight wind currents that kept her scooter close by was also changing, pushing it away from the blissfully unaware Pegasus.

While Sweetie Belle was simply ignorant of the situation at hoof, Ruby and Dinky were quick to react. Scooatloo’s scooter was wrapped in a golden aura as Dinky’s horn ignited. Ruby’s horn shined a bright fiery orange as she tried to catch Scootaloo. Unfortunately, Scootaloo’s magic was pushing her further and further away, not to mention local interference from the ambient magic in the air and the magic still flowing from Scootaloo’s wings, simply made it impossible for a Unicorn of Ruby’s level to get a telekinetic grip on her.

Rainbow Dash would’ve reacted faster, but her birds’ eye view kept her from seeing how far away from Scootaloo her scooter had fallen from her. Scootaloo was about to crash before Rainbow noticed how bad things had gotten. Though Rainbow Dash hopped off of her cloud and flew like the wind towards her horary sister, she knew there was no way she could catch Scootaloo before she hit the ground.

Though Ruby knew that she couldn’t stop Scootaloo from falling, she did slow Scootaloo’s descent every time she managed to wrap Scootaloo in her magic.

Scootaloo figured out that something was wrong when Ruby tried catching her. And unfortunately, she panicked. Instead of killing the flow of mana to her wings, she increased the amount of mana going to her wings in a vain attempt to save herself. She started spinning out of control as she fell and she inevitably crashed into the ground beneath her. Luckily, she managed to avoid hitting her head, everypony nearby could hear a distinct snapping noise as she landed. The Ponies at ground level could see that Scootaloo landed on her shoulder with one of her wings getting caught in between it and the ground.

Though Scootaloo’s fall was slowed considerably by Ruby’s attempts to save her, she still landed hard enough to make her bounce. Much to everyponies’ surprise and relieve, Rainbow Dash swooped in and caught Scootaloo before she could land again.

“Squirt!” Exclaimed Rainbow Dash with distress clear in her voice, “Are you okay.”

Scootaloo had curled up in the fetal position as soon as Rainbow Dash caught her, which made it more obvious that something was wrong with her right wing and foreleg as they were hanging limply. Scootaloo’s breathing was ragged and tears were flowing from her eyes, “N-no,” Scootaloo managed to choke out, “I h-hurt all over.” Scootaloo pressed her face into Rainbow’s chest as she cried.

Rainbow dropped a little altitude and turned to Scootaloo’s friends, “I’m gonna take Scoots to the hospital, can the three of you go to Scootaloo’s house and see if her parents are in Ponyville, or if they have a house sitter or something?”

“Of course!” Exclaimed Sweetie Belle with a distraught tone of voice, “Just make sure she’s okay.”

Rainbow Dash nodded her head and flew as fast as she could towards Ponyville General Hospital.

“Okay, does anypony actually know where Scootaloo lives?” Asked Sweetie Belle with a hopeful look, which immediately fell into despair when Ruby and Dinky looked to each other with worried expressions.

The two mares were close to the park when Berry pulled on Twilight’s tail and pointed upwards. Twilight looked up to see a familiar rainbow trail in the sky leading from the park to parts unknown.

“Where is she going?” Asked Berry.

Twilight needed a moment to recall everything of importance in the direction Rainbow Dash was flying in, “The hospital?” Suggested the Unicorn.

“What?” Asked Berry Punch with an upset tone of voice. What if it’s Ruby?! thought the distraught mother.

Twilight was about to consul her companion when a familiar squeaky voice rang out behind them from the direction of the park, “Twilight! Twilight!”

Berry and Twilight turned to see Sweetie Belle galloping towards them. She had tears streaming from her eyes and was very obviously upset. Most notably however, was the fact that she was by herself.

“Sweetie Belle,” Said Twilight running up to Sweetie Belle, “What happened?”

“It’s awful,” Said Sweetie Belle, “Scootaloo hurt herself really bad and Rainbow Dash took her to the hospital.”

“Where’s Dinky and Ruby?” Asked Berry, more concerned about her daughter than she was Dinky.

“R-Rainbow Dash told us to go find her parent or her house, but neither of us knew where she lives,” Explained the white Unicorn, “We’re looking for somepony who knows where her parents are.”

Berry Punch let out a silent sigh of relief when she learned that her daughter hadn’t been hurt while Twilight consoled her occasional apprentice.

“Come on,” Said Twilight, “I know somepony who will know for sure where Scootaloo’s parents are.

“Dinky, where are we going?” Asked Ruby, “Shouldn’t we be looking for Scootaloo’s parents?”

Dinky stopped in her tracks and she turned to face Ruby, “Do you have any idea as to where Scootaloo’s house is?”

“No,” Said Ruby.

Dinky nodded, “Do you have any idea what they look like?”

“No,” Ruby was starting to feel that their search would be in vain as she realized how little they knew about Scootaloo’s family.

“Do have any idea where they work?” Asked Dinky.

“No,” Answered Ruby. Though she was starting to become disheartened, she started to wonder where Dinky’s inquires would lead to.

“So, we don’t know anything about Scootaloo’s family,” Summarized Dinky, “But, we do know somepony who has all of that information.”

“Who?” Asked Ruby.

Dinky smiled as she started to lead her friend around one last corner, “The only Pony in town who makes a point of welcoming newcomers with parties.”

Ruby saw that this final turn put Sugarcube Corner in sight, “Pinkie Pie!” Said Ruby as she realized who Dinky was talking about.

Dinky nodded her head without stopping to face Ruby, “If anypony knows anything about Scootaloo’s family, it will be Pinkie Pie.”

The two young Unicorns entered the renowned bakery as fast as their hooves would take them. Dinky happily opened the door as a bell sounded alerting the pink Pony at the counter.

“Hi Dinky, hi Ruby,” Said Pinkie Pie in her usual bubbly tone, “Did something happen?”

“Yeah, how did you know?” Asked Dinky.

“Pinkie Sense,” Answered Pinkie, “What happened?”

“Scootaloo hurt herself really badly and we need to tell her parents,” Explained Ruby.

Pinkie gasped and brought her hoof to her muzzle as her mane and tail deflated slightly, “Oh no, that’s awful! Scootaloo’s mom is in Canterlot and her dad is at Dodge Junction, but I know where their usual house sitter is. Just let me go tell Mr. and Mrs. Cake what’s up and we can leave.”

Ruby and Dinky nodded their heads as Pinkie went into the back of the bakery. The customer bell sounded behind the pair moments later. Ruby turned around to tell the new patrons that they would have to wait a little while when she saw it was somepony she didn’t expect to see, “Mom? What are you doing here?”

Berry Punch happily trotted up to her daughter and nuzzled her, “Oh sweetie, Sweetie Belle told Twilight and me what happened to Scootaloo. I actually came to get Pinkie Pie to tell her parents, but it looks like you and Dinky have that taken care of.”

“Okay girls,” Said Pinkie as she and Mr. Cake came out of the back, “Let’s go fetch Fluttershy.”

Rainbow Dash rushed through the doors of Ponyville General Hospital holding Scootaloo in her forelegs. Rainbow Dash didn’t even have to go to the receptionist as she pushed down on the intercom button at the desk, “Crash Team to the reception desk, Crash Team to the reception desk.”

Within twenty seconds, several Ponies in medical scrubs rushed through a pair of doors in the back with a stretch table on wheels. They were quick to take Scootaloo from Rainbow Dash and take her to one of the operating theaters in the back.

“Miss Dash,” Said the receptionist, “I’m going to need to take a statement from you, do you have time?”

“Yes, I do,” Said Rainbow Dash without hesitation, “What do you need to know?”

Rainbow Dash spent the next thirty minutes answering questions and clarifying things when the receptionist asked. It wouldn’t have taken nearly as long, but Rainbow Dash didn’t always understand the questions and the receptionist didn’t always understand the answers given. The Crusaders that were with Scootaloo came in at some point with Twilight Sparkle and Ruby Punch. They would have been happy to answer questions for Rainbow Dash, but the Crusaders were too upset at the time and the other mares weren’t there when Scootaloo hurt herself.

Eventually, a doctor came out of the back doors the Crash Team took Scootaloo through, “Is anypony here for Scootaloo?” He asked.

The doctor was surprised to see everypony present get up from their seats and approach, “Is she all right?” Asked Rainbow Dash, clearly the most upset out of the bunch.

“Uh, yes,” Answered Dr. Stable unsure of how to treat the usually strong mare, “She went into shock shortly before we put her under, but we were able to keep everything under control.”

“How badly is she hurt?” Asked Sweetie Belle.

“She managed to break both her right wing and shoulder, the only reason I took so long getting here was because we are unused to treating wing breaks and as I am the only doctor here today, I have to see to all of our patients.” Calmly explained Doctor Stable, far more comfortable speaking with the young Unicorn mare.

“Can we see her?” Asked Rainbow Dash, desperate to see the filly she had come to adore.

“I can only permit four of you to go in at once,” Said Dr. Stable, “It’s the law.”

“Why don’t you and the Crusaders go in,” Said Twilight, “She’ll be happiest to see you four.”

Rainbow turned her head towards Berry Punch who gave the polychromatic Pegasus an encouraging nod, “Thanks girls, I won’t forget this.”

Rainbow Dash and the Crusaders present eagerly followed Dr. Stable as he guided them to Scootaloo’s room. If anypony noticed Rainbow Dash poorly concealed impatience, they were too polite or distracted to comment on it. The Crusaders noticed that almost all of the hospital rooms they were passing by had patients in them.

“Wow, there’s a lot of Ponies here today,” Observed Sweetie Belle, now slightly more upset than she was before.

“There’s been a lot of accidents with all of the construction,” Explained the tan Unicorn, “And then there’s been Ponies being hurt in the middle of attempted thefts and resisting arrest by the Town Guard.”

“Have we ever had violent crime in Ponyville before?” Asked Dinky with blatant surprise.

“Ponyville has never attracted Ponies from all over Equestria before,” Pointed out Dr. Stable.

“Ah, here we are,” Said the doctor with a small smile, “Room one-nineteen, your friend is inside.”

“Thanks doc,” Said Rainbow Dash hastily as she entered her little sister’s room. The Crusaders said quick words of thanks as they followed the cerulean mare, almost as eager to see their friend as she was.

Chapter 29

Author's Note

Alright, Chapter 29 is finished and posted!!!:pinkiehappy: Unfortunately, this will be the last chapter I can post before I have to go back to college for the Spring semester...:raritydespair:

I'm putting this Author's note at the top of the chapter to address the fact that I use the f-word once in this chapter. I don't know if that's permitted by the rating I am using for this story. If not, please tell me instead of reporting me and I will fix it.

Please feel free to give me your opinion of the story so far, any constructive criticisms you can give, and most importantly, thank you for reading this far, I hope everyone is enjoying the story.

Chapter 29

Thunderlane was halfway through his flight to Carousel Boutique from his house. The chandler that feel on his head the last time he was at Rarity’s place of business and home gave him a concussion, one that kept him on sick leave for several days.

Despite the head trauma the guard captain suffered, Thunderlane remembered his promise to the white Unicorn he was acquainted with. Rarity was even kind enough to go ahead and make the needed adjustments to Rumble’s tuxedo so he could fit into it, seemingly not caring that Thunderlane could immediately follow up on his promise to help her with the backlog of orders she had recently received.

Normally, Thunderlane would be prioritizing his jobs with the Ponyville Town Guard or the local Weather Team, but things were strangely quiet. Thunderlane had the usual hour-or-so worth of paper work at the Guard Station and the EWA schedule called for clear skies for the next two weeks, meaning that he was free to uphold his promise to Rarity. Thunderlane was strangely insistent on repaying any perceived debts, but one would adopt a similar mindset if he or she had the trouble with the debt collectors of Cloud Spire.

The black stallion cleared his head of the memories he had of past troubles as he landed a small distance away from the door to Carousel Boutique and walked in, sounding the customer bell.

Rarity was in the middle of weaving together fabric for one of her many orders with her sewing machine. She was in her own words, in the zone. What most Ponies, not even her younger sister, realized is that when Rarity was in ‘the zone’, she was not mindless. While she did mindlessly stitch together whatever her clients asked of her and blocked out most outside interference, she was anything but mindless.

When Rarity was working was when Rarity took the time to think to herself. While it was normally unwise to use dangerous equipment without thought, Rarity had refined the use of her sewing machine into a meditative action. She usually thought about what to say to Sweetie Belle or Spike when they were around and asked if they could help in some way, which was quite often. She would also use this time to think about how to fix whatever issues happened to be bothering her, when she wasn’t crying on her fainting couch and eating ice cream by the tub.

At the moment however, Rarity was thinking about her success. She never had so many orders at once before. This is. The. Best. Possible. Thing! At this rate, I’ll be able to expand my boutique and hire staff, where I’ll find Ponies that can competently sew is beyond me, but the possibilities aren’t! Rarity could help herself from giggling at the prospect of expanding her business. It also helped that she had shared the news of her recent success with Fancy Pants who proceeded to mention the existence of some buildings he owned in Canterlot that he was thinking of repurposing, but had no idea what he could possibly do with them.

Rarity was contemplating whether she should rent the aforementioned buildings or buy them outright when she heard her customer bell, one of the few things that could bring out of ‘the zone’ at a reasonable volume.

Rarity rushed from the second floor of her establishment, not wanting to keep whomever had just come in waiting, only pacing herself shy of the doorway to the boutique’s lobby, “Welcome to Carousel Boutique, where every garment is-” Rarity was stunned shortly by surprise at who had just come into her establishment, “Why, what brings you here today Captain?”

Thunderlane raised a hoof and shook his head, “Please, just call me Thunderlane. Or else, I might start calling you ma’am.”

Despite the involuntary shiver that comment gave her, Rarity still thought it was funny, “Ha! Touché Thunderlane. Now then, how can I help you.”

“I’m more concerned with how I can help you,” Replied the Pegasus with a coltish smile.

“I beg your pardon?” Said Rarity, somewhat confused.

“Remember,” Started Thunderlane, “I offered to help you with your work in return for you fixing the measurements on Rumble’s tux?”

“Oh, darling,” Said Rarity as remembered their little deal, “I appreciate the gesture, but you really don’t have to do anything for my sake of all things.”

Thunderlane took a step towards her before speaking, “I want to. You did me a kindness and it’s only fair I return the favor.”

Rarity took a moment to think about the situation she found herself in. She had never had a stallion with her in a confined space for long periods of time before. But, in the few seconds the fashionista used to contemplate this, the more she liked it. She was just thinking about how much work she had, as well as the possibility of hiring a staff. This would give her the opportunity to see if she was ready for handling a staff herself, the fact that she wasn’t going to have to pay a wage for this stallion was another boon in her mind. It certainly doesn’t hurt that he’s kind and handsome added her subconscious.

“I can’t argue with that logic, now can I?” Rarity quickly turned around to hide the slight but obvious blush coloring her face, “Come with me, and I’ll show you the work room.”

“Gladly,” Said Thunderlane gaily as followed Rarity up the stairs.

The pair started walking into Rarity’s work room when she noticed that Thunderlane had stopped shortly after entering the room. Rarity turned around about to ask what was wrong, when she realized he was staring at the giant piles of fabric scattered around the room.

“This may be stating the obvious,” Said Rarity with a smile, “But I have more than a few upcoming orders for this season.”

“No kidding,” Said Thunderlane still awestruck, “What do you want me to start on?”

Rarity levitated a box, a piece of paper, a piece of measuring tape, and part of one of the fabric piles, “This sheet,” Said Rarity authoritatively, “Lists the material and measurements needed for relevant orders. As you can see, I have elected to use the horizontal rule to separate each individual order. You can ignore the paragraphs detailing the patterns the clientele has ordered, as even simple ones are difficult to accomplish without Unicorn magic, and I will have to deal with them accordingly.”

“Is there a place you want me to set up?” Asked Thunderlane dutifully.

Rarity was taken by surprise for a moment as she was used to Thunderlane’s joyful demeanor, “Just make yourself comfortable.”

Thunderlane nodded his head before taking the supplies given to him over to a nearby chair. He had to make two trips as he didn’t have a Unicorn’s magic, but he had settled in by the time Rarity started her sewing machine.

Rarity had finished five more dresses before hoof cramps forced to take a break. She would normally be able to fulfill two or three more orders before she had to stop, but having to stand on tired hooves and then going up and down a flight of stairs added to the aggravation of her hooves. Rarity rotated her front hooves making them pop and then reclined in her swivel seat. Rarity rested for a few minutes before turning to see how much progress Thunderlane had made, and was surprised. He was in the middle of neatly folding the dress he had just finished sewing before putting in the pile he must have started when he finished the first dress he sewed together. Only years of experience dealing with fabrics allowed Rarity to ascertain that there were three dresses in total.

One would think that Rarity would panic at the fact that folding the dresses like he was would cause obvious wrinkles and creases in the dresses, but she had long since learned spells for removing both wrinkles and stains from fabric. But that didn’t stop Rarity from appreciating the fact that Thunderlane wasn’t just tossing them to the floor when he was done, like how most Pegasi she had meet would have.

Thunderlane was about to start his fourth when he noticed Rarity’s gaze, “Is there something wrong?”

“Oh, no darling,” Assured the white Unicorn, “I’m just surprised is all. You said you could sew by hoof, but I didn’t expect you to make so much progress.”

Rarity couldn’t tell with his dark fur, but was sure that Thunderlane was smiling at her, “Thanks,” He said, “It’s been awhile since I’ve had to, but it’s just something that sticks with you after a few years.”

Rarity couldn’t resist tittering at that, knowing exactly what he meant having worked with fabric for as long as she could remember. Then, Rarity realized that there was something bothering her since she had meet Thunderlane, namely his relationship between the Pegasus sisters he lived with.

“Er, excuse me, Thunderlane,” Said Rarity, though what really caught Thunderlane’s attention was the way in which she had spoken, “Can I ask you a… personal question?”

“Uhh, sure,” Said Thunderlane, wondering if he was going to regret those words or not. Like most of Ponyville, Thunderlane knew that Rarity was a hopeless dramatic. Thanks to the mares he lives with however, he knew that Rarity was fairly ‘forward’ with her crushes, which crossed one awkward possibility of the many things she would be about to ask.

“It’s certainly not my place to ask but,” Rarity gulped and decided to stop beating around the bush on this, “Do you mind if I ask about the relationship between yourself and the stunning mares you live with?”

Rarity was mentally prepared for a number of responses from the black Pegasus before her. She was ready for defensive reprimands for delving into his love life, she was ready for arrogant boasting, she was even ready for an awkward silence. What she wasn’t prepared for however, was Thunderlane’s sigh of relieve.

“Thank you,” He said simply.

“I-I beg your pardon?!” Asked Rarity in surprise.

“Thank you for asking, thank you for not making assumptions, thank you for not giving me ‘holier than thou’ lectures on romance,” Thunderlane managed to stop himself at that point if only for Rarity’s sake.

“Did Ponies actually do that?” Asked Rarity.

Thunderlane nodded his, “Oh yeah, mailponies weighed down with hate mail, Ponies shooting me and the girls loathsome looks, and at least three Ponies had tried issuing petitions to replace me as captain of the Town Guard.”

Being Ponyville’s ‘gossip queen,’ Rarity had of course heard rumors and speculation about Thunderlane’s living conditions and the way he managed the town guard. Everything from him using his position to take advantage of convicts and guardsmares alike, him being some sort of polygamist that saw mares as objects, even him using his living conditions as a cover for him being a homosexual. Rarity had been able to dismiss any rumors that fell under the first two categories almost as soon as he met him face to face at the spa. But Rarity had never heard anything like this.

“Well that’s a tad extreme,” Said Rarity with a disgusted look.

“It makes even less sense when you consider one of the girls is Cloud Chaser,” Said Thunderlane.

“I don’t follow,” Said Rarity confused.

“Oh, CC was inspired by Princess Celestia’s granddaughter to publicly come out of the closet,” Explained Thunderlane.

“Oh!” Rarity raised her hoof to her lips in surprise.

Rarity had of course known that Princess Legal Procedure had told reporters from Equestria Daily, the single largest newspaper in Equestria, she was gay. Which had inspired many Ponies to come out to their families. While Homosexuality has never been illegal in Equestria, it was still hard for some Ponies. Family is one of the most important things to Equestrians, so not being able to have foals is somewhat of a sore spot for some, this made even worse by way of making Ponies acknowledge that there are orphans in Equestria when a same sex couple adopted children. And then there were the families who hadn’t taken the news that members of their family ‘swung that way’ well. Rarity couldn’t help but shudder at one particular intense of this she knew of.

Thunderlane politely ignored Rarity’s involuntary shudder and looked to the clock in the room for a change of subject.

There was no need for effort on Thunderlane’s part as his stomach growled loud enough for Rarity to hear. Rarity giggled at Thunderlane for trying to hide a bright pink blush on his black fur, “Should we break for lunch?” He asked.

Rarity turned to look at the clock and gasped. It was nearly one thirty and she had kept this poor stallion here doing work she was being paid to do, “Oh I’m ever so sorry Thunderlane. I insist that you allow me to buy lunch for the both of us.”

Rarity now had a blush of her as she realized the way her statement could have been taken, the goofy grin barely visible through Thunderlane’s dark fur didn’t help either, “I’d be more than happy to escort you somewhere to eat, as a friend of course.”

Rarity nodded her head, “Thank you,” And the two left for a well-deserved meal.

Berry Punch and Twilight Sparkle had decided to wait for Rainbow Dash and the Crusaders in the hospital lobby. It was likely that they would stay in Scootaloo’s room until the hospital staff made them leave. The two mares were currently using the time to get to know each other better.

The two of them was laughing at an anecdote made by Berry about her two younger sisters and her daughter when they noticed someone enter the lobby. While neither of the two mares saw the newcomer at first, they both could hear the clanking of her armor as she walked towards the counter.

Berry and Twilight were surprised to see a mare in House Platinum guard armor. Twilight realized she knew exactly who this was. Her faded purple coat and dark blue mane and with her House Platinum armor with gilded streaks going through the middle of the plates, marked her as the head of the House Platinum’s mares-at-arms.

Twilight recognized this mare as Top Priority, the head of the knights loyal to House Platinum directly, and the mare currently posing as Noblesse’s adoptive mother in order to conceal his real identity. She also noted that Applejack’s description of her had been spot on.

Twilight felt a tapping on her shoulder shortly before Berry spoke in a hushed voice, “Twilight, who is that and what is she doing here.”

“That’s Top Priority, she’s Noblesse’s head of security,” Explained Twilight, “One of his guards must have seen Scootaloo crash.”

“But then why isn’t he here in Pony?” Asked Berry.

Twilight wasn’t sure how sensitive of a topic this was for the young noblepony, so she wasn’t willing to give Berry Punch all of the details, “He’s bedridden at the moment.”

“That is no longer the case,” Said an unfamiliar voice from the lobby counter.

Berry and Twilight looked over to the lobby counter in shock as they realized that it was Top Priority that had spoken. They also realized that the guardsmare had heard their hushed conversation from the other side of the room.

Berry couldn’t help but notice that Top Priority’s mane and tail were the same shade of blue as the blues in Twilight’s mane and tail. She stopped at a polite distance from the pair of mares and chose to sit on the tiled floor instead of one of the cushioned seats in the lobby. While Berry and Twilight didn’t know much about carpentry or crafts in general, no such education was needed for the two of them to know that the average weight of a Unicorn mare added with the weight of Priority’s plate mail armor would probably break the furnishings of the lobby.

“His lordship was well enough to get out of bed this morning,” Explained Priority, “Though his doctors demanded that he not leave the palace until this coming Monday.”

“I’m glad that he’s recovering well,” Said Berry. While she may have been unnerved by the colt’s very presence and didn’t like the dangers her daughter would face being in his presence, she didn’t wish him ill.

Priority nodded her head with a surprisingly warm smile, “Thank you. Though he was likely to survive molting, I will admit that I was worried about it.”

Twilight had already read the spell books that Noblesse had given her and knew the risks that came with taking the Under-City Blood Rituals. Berry’s skin noticeably paled under her coat, “Wait, what! Molting? W-what happened to him?!”

“You haven’t told her?” Asked Priority with a raised brow to Twilight.

“I didn’t think it was my place to disclose his medical information,” Said Twilight calmly.

“I’m sure his highness will appreciate your consideration,” Priority didn’t fail to notice that the desk clerk at the lobby counter had taken interest in their conversation thanks to Berry’s exclamations, but a quick nasty look from Priority had discouraged her from listening further.

“You know the Under-City Ponies that make up most of the lord’s staff?” Asked Priority.

Berry was taken back by the sudden question that seemed to be a non-sequitur, “You mean the Ponies with the weird glamor spells? The ones that look like their part beast?”

“Er yes,” Said Priority, trying to think of a tactful way to explain this to Berry, “Those aren’t glamor spells.”

“What?” Was all that Berry could say.

“They were born that way, and Noblesse took the same blood rituals that the Under-City Ponies’ ancestors used to transform themselves,” Explained the guardsmare.

Priority didn’t stop as Berry’s skin became more pale, “It’s the reason his eyes were changing. The transformation happens inside out, over the course of several years. Fortunately, Hemomancers have made improvements over the last thousand years, so the chance of survival has increased from thirty percent to ninety percent.”

Twilight blushed slightly as Berry started leaning on her. Twilight’s embarrassment turned to concern as she realized that Berry had fainted.

“Oh, Dame Sparkle,” Twilight stopped herself from calling a nurse as Priority caught her attention, “You’ll be glad to know that the information Lord Noblesse had on the transformation was four hundred years out of date, and he lost the Serpent’s’ Lisp the day after you saw him in his bedchambers.”

“What do you mean it was 'four hundred years out of date?' Demanded Twilight, horrified that something so important had been so poorly recorded.

“Lord Noblesse is the first Pony to take the Blood Ritual in four hundred years,” Explained Priority, “Under-City Ponies are typically born that way. While Hemomancers are always tinkering with the ritual spells, they can only estimate the effects of the rituals after they are actually used.”

Satisfied with the explanation, Twilight used her magic to gently lay Berry on the nearby sofa and went to the counter to ask for a nurse or doctor for Berry. After Twilight returned to her seat, she considered holding another conversation with Top Priority, but decided that she wasn’t comfortable enough with the older Unicorn guardsmare to do so. Twilight began to wonder how long she would be left alone with her thoughts when the doors at the back of the lobby opened suddenly.

“Oh come on!” Exclaimed a rainbow maned mare that was being forcibly removed from the hospital’s patient wing, “Just five more minutes!”

Doctor Stable walked through the double doors with the Crusaders slightly behind him. Doctor Stable was being forced to use telekinesis to remove Rainbow Dash and had a clearly irritable expression on his face.

“I’m not trying to haggle with you miss Dash,” Said the Doctor with an annoyed tone of voice, “I’m telling to get the fuck out of my hospital!!!” Doctor Stable threw Rainbow Dash into the air with his magic. While Rainbow Dash could easily catch herself with her flying ability, the message was clear. The Doctor left without another word as the Crusaders strolled past him.

After Rainbow Dash landed, she couldn’t help but slump her shoulders.

“What happened?” Asked Twilight, curious as to what her friend could have done to make the doctor so angry.

“Well,” Started Rainbow Dash, “I wanted to hold Scootaloo, but the Doctor said that would aggravate her injuries. I just couldn't help myself and I might have uh… actually fought him over it.”

“Oh, Rainbow,” Twilight said as she slid her hoof down her face. While she was glad that Rainbow Dash had been becoming open with her emotions since ‘adopting’ Scootaloo, Twilight still wished that her athletic friend used her head more often.

“Hey!” Ruby suddenly exclaimed, “What happened to my mom?!”

Twilight had briefly forgotten the Berry had fainted and was feeling slightly guilty now that her daughter was fretting over her.

“She only fainted,” Explained Top Priority, frightening Rainbow Dash, and the Crusaders. While Twilight was already aware of her presence, Top Priority quietly faded into the background and the newcomers hadn’t even noticed her.

“If you’ll excuse me,” Said the guardsmare getting up off of the floor, “I must do the lord’s bidding,” Priority head through the double doors without another word.

“Hey Twilight,” Dinky inadvertently surprised Twilight by approaching her, “I need to talk to you about Ruby, and the book she has.”

“Berry and I were looking for your lot for the same reason,” Said Twilight, “I would like to take a look at that book myself.”

“Ruby,” Said Berry, getting over her fainting spell, “I’m fine dear, I’m more worried about you.”

“Me?” Asked Ruby, “You’re the one who fainted, why would you be concerned about me?”

“It’s that book you borrowed from the palace library,” Explained her mother, “Twilight and I need to ask some questions about it.”

“Not here though,” Said Twilight, getting the attention of both pink Ponies, “We should head over to my library and talk about first.”

Twilight turned to address Sweetie Belle and Rainbow Dash, “Would you two like to come?”

“I can’t,” Said Rainbow Dash, “I have to go practice.”

“Rarity said I could help her today after I was done Crusading,” Said Sweetie Belle with an eager smile.

“I want to go with you,” Dinky said desperately, “I’m really worried about you?”

“Why, what’s the problem?” Said Ruby in confusion.

“I’ll explain as best as I can when we get to the library,” Assured Twilight, “Let’s go girls”

Sweetie Belle’s head tilted in confusion as the foursome left the hospital, “What’s wrong with Ruby?”

“Beats me kiddo,” Answered Rainbow Dash, “I wouldn’t worry about it too much.”

Golden light briefly filled the dark chamber as Top Priority teleported from the Ponyville General Hospital. While it was by no means a difficult task, she was still glad it was done with. She was also glad the hospital staff cooperated with her completely and handed over the documents without question.

Though Priority could hardly see, she knew the layout of the entire floor she was in. Strangely enough, neither the workers who had dug an extra basement floor for the Everfree Palace nor the servants who came down here to serve their lord could honestly say they knew what was down here. Top Priority had no doubt that her master’s magic was at fault, and it made her happy that her master was willing to trust her with her memories of the eighth basement.

As Priority approached the ornate double doors, the Proximity Light Stones ignited in response to her presence. If she wasn’t kowtowing before the doors, she would be able to see the custom heraldry decorating the doors before, the most notable feature of course being the spider web emblem embedded into the wall just above the doors.

“I have succeeded in my mission your grace,” Said Priority, somewhat straining her voice so her master could hear past the heavy stone doors.

“Enter and at ease, Priority,” Noblesse’s voice echoed past the doors. Priority fancied that he was using one of the only non-offensive spells he could use to speak to her through the stone doors without having to yell.

Priority raised herself off of the floor and used her magic to open the doors and entered Noblesse’s Trophy Room. She didn’t bother closing the doors behind her as she knew the hinges had mechanisms built into them so that they would close on their own. The Proximity Light Stones imbedded into the floor of the room ignited as Priority get close and dimmed as she moved far enough past them. Priority would be lying if she said that Noblesse’s design choices didn’t unnerve her for the first few days after this floor was constructed, but she got used to it.

While Noblesse didn’t rely on sight to navigate his surroundings, he still paid the necessary costs for the sake of the few people that did out of all the ones who were given access to the eighth basement. While Priority didn’t mind the armor and weapons Noblesse had claimed from his past opponents, she still had to ignore the more macabre trophies he presented down here.

Finally, after a minute or so of walking, Priority reached the cushions placed in front of Noblesse’s throne for those who were allowed down here. Priority rested on the center most one as the Proximity Light Stones around this area ignited, highlighting the same spider web insignia that was placed above the doors into this room in the floor before the throne. The Proximity Light Stones embedded into the wall behind Noblesse’s throne ignited, revealing an armored Pony statue similar to the ones made for the Celestia and Luna’s thrones on the ground floor, though this one in particular was clearly made in the image of Noblesse himself. The light also kept his person in darkness, save for his rust colored serpentine eyes which reflected some of the light, making them appear to glow in the darkness.

“How is Scootaloo?” Asked Noblesse, not bothering to hide the genuine concern for her well being in his voice.

“She’s fine,” Assured Priority casually, knowing that she didn’t need to be formal with Noblesse like she did in public, “While Scootaloo did manage to get some severe bone breaks, that happens to be the specialty of the local hospital staff. She’ll be back in school this coming Wednesday.”

“Excellent,” Replied Noblesse, “And when can we expect test results to come in?”

“I have them right here actually,” Priority pulled said test results from one of the compartments hidden in her armor, “They streamlined the tests when they heard you personally requested them, they even promised to keep the results from Scootaloo for the time being.”

The test results were the documents that Priority was tasked with retrieving for Noblesse, though she didn’t know what they pertained to, she knew it must be something serious. Priority levitated the unusually thick document half the distance to Noblesse’s throne where Noblesse took the document in his own magic and brought it over to himself.

Priority decided to converse with her master as he read the document, knowing it wouldn’t bother him, “I thought I’d come in to find you and your cousin having another philosophical discussion or in the middle of discussing your plans.”

Noblesse couldn’t stop himself from giggling, “Oh, she’s out and about exploring the town. Something about not wanting to ‘spend all day in another damned castle.’”

Priority should have known that’s what Legalese would be doing. Legalese didn’t like going into Canterlot. The streets of Canterlot were littered with spotters and spies in service to the local nobility and bourgeoisie. Meaning that if someone of interest, like Celestia’s granddaughter, were ‘hitting the town’ they would most likely run into somepony with influence who ‘coincidentally’ had a proposition for said person of interest. This proposition could range from anything from business proposals to marriage agreements. When that didn’t work, the person of interest risked being implicated in a scandal of some kind. And as such, Legalese and Noblesse didn’t stray too far from the Royal Palace or the House Platinum Housing-Tower.

“That’s- that’s not good,” Noblesse’s voice brought Priority out of her ponderings.

“Is there something wrong?” Asked Priority, wondering what the document could contain.

“Yes, but it’s not something that can be addressed immediately,” Replied the young noble cryptically.

Priority stood up, “Is there anything I can do.”

Noblesse was about to decline, but then he realized there was something he needed her to do about this, “I need you to send a letter for me.”

Priority was taken back at that and lost her composure for a moment, “A letter? Concerning what exactly?”

Noblesse hesitated for a moment, this was going to be something no one save for him would be looking forward to, “How soon can the Steel-Wing Twins can take a leave of absence.”

Chapter 30

Rarity had elected to lead Thunderlane to the café where she and her friends typically ate for their get-togethers. It had outdoor seating, small but filling meals (perfect for keeping one’s figure), both hot and cold beverages, and its close proximity to the Ponyville Spa made it convenient for her and Fluttershy’s weekly spa dates. It was also easy on the bit purse, which was nice.

Rarity and Thunderlane traded stories of their younger siblings and whatever shenanigans they managed to get themselves into over tea, sandwiches, and one small cake each. While Thunderlane managed to keep all of his stories interesting and keep a smile on his face, Rarity couldn’t help but be concerned for his little brother. All of Thunderlane’s stories about Rumble happened in the Cloudsdale Flight Camp and rarely mentioned friends. It was almost like Rumble didn’t have a life outside of Flight Camp.

Fortunately, Rarity knew exactly how to start this conversation. “You know, I haven’t seen Rumble around Ponyville until he joined the Cutie Mark Crusaders.”

Thunderlane, completely oblivious to Rarity’s intent, politely continued the conversation, “He pretty much lived up at Cloudsdale until recently.”

“Oh? Did he not like here?” Suggested Rarity.

Thunderlane nodded his head in the negative, “Nah, he always looked forward to any chances he got to come and visit. He actually wanted to leave earlier than he did, but we didn’t have the resources to feed a forth mouth at home.”

“Then how could you afford to keep Rumble in Flight Camp for the entire seven-year program?” Asked Rarity.

Rarity barely noticed the proud smile on Thunderlane’s lips, “Scholarships,” Answered the black stallion.

“I didn’t know your brother was such a good flier,” Said Rarity.

“He’s probably the best,” Said Thunderlane, “You know how Pegasi foals get bouts of magical flight in their infancy?”

Rarity nodded, “Unicorn foals get similar surges of power, but don’t they usually stop by the time the foal’s first birthday?”

“Not for Rumble,” Explained Thunderlane, “Rumble just has a better innate understanding of how Pegasus magic works, and he never stopped buzzing around.”

“Goodness!” Exclaimed Rarity, “I had no idea that could happen.”

“Yeah, neither did I,” Said Thunderlane, “He did drive mom and dad crazy though.”

“Ha! I can only imagine,” Replied Rarity.

“Oh? What is this?” Rarity was about to continue her carefully disguised inquires when an unfamiliar voice asked a question directed towards her and Thunderlane.

Thunderlane and Rarity both looked over to see Princess Legal Procedure, Celestia’s granddaughter by her late eighth husband, approaching them. While neither Thunderlane or Rarity had ever actually meet Princess Legal Procedure, they could both recognize her on sight. While Rarity was silently cursing the fact that her inquires had been interrupted, she was also thanking fate that she got to meet a pseudo-celebrity that was known to go out of her way to stay away from the media, barring one exception.

“Why, good day your grace,” Said Rarity calmly. While she was caught off guard by the Princess’s sudden arrival, she was still able to keep her composure, “To what do we owe the pleasure?”

“I was just exploring the town,” She replied politely, “One can only explore one place so many times before you get bored of it.”

“Forgive me for being nosy your majesty,” Said Thunderlane, “But you and your cousin are known for little more than keeping yourselves held up in the Palace District of Canterlot, what makes Ponyville different?”

“We didn’t want to be bothered by media Ponies trying to find a scandal to write about, or other Nobles trying to use us for their own gain,” Legalese replied with a little more irritation than she meant too, “And please, skip formalities with me. My cousin might be big on etiquette and the pride and public image of House Platinum, but I couldn’t care less.”

“But enough about me,” Said Legalese with a playful look in her forest green eyes and devilish smile on her face, “I had no idea that you had started dating Rarity, that is something the media would love to know more about.”

Thunderlane was just barely holding back the chuckles as he saw the look on Rarity’s face. “I-I- Your Grace!” Started a flustered Rarity, attracting the attention of some of the other patrons, “I am not dating Thunderlane!”

Rarity’s pupils turned to pinpricks when she realized how insulting that statement could be to Thunderlane, “Oh, Thunderlane, darling, it’s not that I would never consider such a relationship with you, not that I’m pursuing one either but-”

Thunderlane could hold back the laughter anymore, “It’s fine Rarity, I know what you meant.”

Rarity sighed in relieve that she hadn’t insulted her new-found friend, when a loud gasp brought back every ounce of anxiety she was feeling. The trio of Ponies turned to see Rarity’s sister, Sweetie Belle, practically bouncing towards them with a giddy look on her face in a manner similar to Pinkie Pie.

“Hi Rarity!” Said Sweetie Belle excitedly. While she did speak in an inside voice, the uniquely high pitch her voice had pierced any and all background noise, meaning that everypony could hear her without having to strain their hearing.

“Oh, hi Sweetie Belle,” Said Rarity. While by no means did she hate her sister, there were just times where Sweetie Belle would come around at just the worst time possible. Rarity could tell by way of Sweetie Belle’s playful smile, that her sister was going to make her wish she wasn’t here

“So, what happened to me helping you today?” Asked Sweetie Belle.

“Oh!” Exclaimed Rarity slightly louder than she meant too, “I’m so sorry Sweetie Belle, I forgot that was today.”

“Normally, I’d be upset,” Started Sweetie Belle. Rarity did not like what the twinkle in her little sister’s eyes meant, “But I guess I can forgive you if you were with your coltfriend.”

Rarity covered her face with both front hooves and put her head on the table as she overheard the faint murmuring of the other Ponies at the café. Neither Thunderlane, Legalese, nor Sweetie Belle, could keep themselves from laughing at Rarity’s expense.

Rumble awoke with the siren that was his alarm clock. He got out of bed and walked to the other side of his room where his alarm clock was placed and turned it off. Rumble purposely put his alarm clock so far away from his bed so he couldn’t just hit it and go back to sleep.

The young Pegasus stretched out his legs and wings before leaving his room. As he sedately walked towards the bathroom, he thought about the date he had with Apple Bloom, and smiled. It had gone fairly well from his point of view, and to top things off, she seemed to enjoy herself as well. No one who attended the Cloudsdale Flight Camp for more than a week could ever forget the incessant ranting of the counselors about how dating was not necessarily romantic.

Rumble understood the need for such things though. Pegasi tended to be slightly protective of things and Ponies. And then there was the fact that all of the students came from different backgrounds, meaning that they had different definitions about what a ‘date’ was. Without the counselors’ ceaseless lectures, Rumble figured that there would be a lot of Ponies who got more attached than they should have and got themselves hurt. Rumble actually got into a fight with one of his fellow students because he mistook Rumble’s intentions toward his boyfriend. Although it ended with Rumble literally flying circles around him, it still was upsetting for Rumble.

Rumble started brushing his teeth as he thought about what he was going to do after he was done. Cloud Chaser and Flitter and had work, while Rumble couldn’t remember what Thunderlane was doing at the moment, he knew that his brother had plans for today. Rumble figured that he could get on his family’s good side and head over to Sweet Apple Acers and help some more, it’s not like he was doing anything important or productive.

Rumble had just rinsed out all of the toothpaste and foam from his mouth and teeth when he saw Pinkie Pie in the bathroom mirror, “Pinkie Pie!? How did-” Rumble turned to face the pink part Pony, only to see that she wasn’t there.

“There’s no time to explain!” Screamed the pink Earth Pony from the mirror as she reached through the reflection with her head and grabbed Rumble by the scruff of his neck.

Rumble screamed as his vision blurred to the point where he might as well be blind. Colors raced by the gray colt’s vision so quickly that he couldn’t distinct them until Pinkie Pie finally stopped warping through the fabric of reality and released the young stallion back into existence.

“Oh, my head,” Said Rumble as he waited for his vision to stop spinning and the headache his journey gave him to go away.

When Rumble’s world stopped spinning, he looked around his surroundings. Pinkie Pie was hopping in place while a receptionist of some kind sat behind a counter with a look on her face that suggested that she saw something she couldn’t quite comprehend. Where am I? wondered Rumble.

Rumble looked in the other direction and saw somepony he wasn’t expecting, “Apple Bloom?”

Indeed, Apple Bloom was her stomach, obviously not dealing with her trip through space and time as well as Rumble had. He instinctively trotted over to her and helped off of the floor, “Are you okay?” Asked Rumble.

“Uhn, Rumble?” Asked the dizzy filly, “Did she get you too?”

“Yeah, she came through my bathroom mirror and pulled me through it. How’d she get you?” Asked Rumble.

“Ah was helpin’ Granny Smith with the dishes when that crazy mare poked ‘er head through the garbage disposal and dragged me in by the snout,” Explained the red and yellow mare.

“How does she-” Rumble was interrupted by his fillyfriend’s hoof being placed on his lips.

“Don’t even try Sugarcube,” Said Apple Bloom, with a serious expression on her face, “It’s just Pinkie Pie bein’ Pinkie Pie. No point in tryin’ to understand it, just go wid it.”

“All right,” Said Rumble with a neutral tone and a confused look, “Do you have any idea where we are?”

Apple Bloom looked around the lobby they were in and adopted a confused look. At first, Rumble was afraid that she was just as clueless as he was. Then she spoke, “The hospital? Pinkie, why ‘re we here?”

“I need you two to help Scootaloo feel better,” Said Pinkie Pie. She was about to explain further when the farm filly practically teleported to her.

“Scootaloo’s hurt!?” Asked Apple Bloom with overwhelming concern for her friend.

“Yeah,” Answered Pinkie Pie, somehow sounding both sad and excited at once, “Room One-Nineteen. I have to get a hold of her parents, can you two go visit her for me?”

“O’course,” Answered Apple Bloom, “Come on Rumble!”

Apple Bloom rushed through the double doors like it was the end of the world, “Wait for me Apple Bloom!” And Rumble flew after her.

“Now to go get Fluttershy,” Said Pinkie Pie.

Pinkie leaped into the air and caught her tail with her mouth. The party Pony then started spinning as she began swallowing her own body. Pinkie’s body became smaller and smaller until her body shrunk out of existence with a pop, leaving behind a small cloud of confetti.

The receptionist simply stood at her post with a blank expression on her face. Then, Doctor Stable walked through the double doors with a confused expression on his face, “What happened?”

It was unusual for Nurse Coldheart to ignore procedure and let anypony see patients without an escort. The two foal sized blurs weren’t distinct enough for Dr. Stable to see who it was. If it was family of a patient who had just learned that their loved one had been hospitalized, the doctor could understand it. But instead of giving an explanation, Nurse Coldheart curled into a ball on the floor and began crying with tears of unfathomable fear.

“Is something wrong?” Asked Ruby as everypony settled themselves in the library lobby/living room.

Twilight, Dinky, and ever her own mother had insisted that they wait until they were at the library before they talked about whatever it was that had them so concerned.

“We need to talk to you about that book Noblesse loaned you,” Answered Twilight. Both she and Berry Punch had agreed that they shouldn’t keep Ruby in the dark about this.

Ruby had a realization and turned her head to face Dinky, “Is this why you wanted to come here so badly?”

“Yeah,” Said Dinky, “I reached out for that book and it was like my own mind was screaming at me not to.” The other three Ponies were shocked to hear this, “So I thought Twilight would best know how to approach it.”

“Do you have the book with you?” Asked Twilight.

“Y-yeah,” Answered Ruby. She wasn’t sure what to think after hearing Dinky’s revelation.

Ruby used her magic to pull the book from her saddle bags and levitated it over to Twilight, who was instantly fascinated with it, “What in Equestria?”

“Do you know what that symbol means?” Asked Berry. Being an Earth Pony, she had very limited knowledge of Unicorn magic. Be she reasoned that: if it were like any other text book, then the title and the cover would give some idea about the subject material the book covered.

“Yes and no,” Replied Twilight, “It looks like the author combined two symbols together.”

“What does it mean?” Asked Dinky.

“The snake eating itself is known as an Ouroboros,” Answered Ruby, “It’s an ancient symbol used to represent the concept of infinity. A triangle inside of a circle is known as a Thaumaturgic Triangle, and in this context, is a representation of power in general.”

“So… infinite power?” Asked Berry Punch. She did not like where this is going.

“The title appears to be some sort of Runic Combination,” Said Twilight getting everyponies’ attention, “But it’s too formulaic, I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, back up there,” Interrupted Dinky, “What is a ‘Runic Combination?’”

“A Runic Combination is a written sequence of magical runes used to cast magics more powerful than what would be impossible otherwise,” Explained Twilight, “They were mostly used in the Pre-Classical Era by all of the Pony Tribes as super weapons. But this sequence here” Twilight pointed to the title of the book, “Is made from runes that I am unfamiliar with and seems to be written more like a language than a traditional Runic Combination.”

“You got all of that from the title?” Asked Berry Punch in amazement.

“Celestia emphasized the dangers of Runic Magic,” Answered Twilight, “Many Rune Scribes got themselves killed experimenting with runes, but whoever wrote this book appears to have used some kind of ‘runic language’ that is much more stable than traditional Runic Combinations. I honestly don’t know what to make of it.”

Twilight’s lecture did little to comfort the Ponies in the room, “Wait, don’t!” Yelled Ruby, but it was too late. Twilight had already opened the book.

The other two Unicorns and Berry Punch waited for a reaction from Twilight before they did anything. Berry and Dinky couldn’t even look at the book without mental fatigue, but Ruby could read from it freely, so they simply waited.

They didn’t have to wait long before something happened. The whites of Twilight’s eyes turned lime green, her pupils blood red, and wisps of purple smoke began pouring from the outer sides of her eyes, all for a single moment before Twilight’s magic closed the book and placed it on the table.

“Twilight! Are you okay?” Asked a distressed Dinky.

“I’m fine,” Answered Twilight in a plain tone of voice, “And I now have a better idea of what this book is supposed to do. Ruby, don’t read from it again until we’ve talked to Noblesse.”

“We?” Asked Ruby, “All four of us?”

Twilight nodded her head, “No, just the two of us. Berry and Dinky can’t understand.”

“Can’t understand what?” Asked Berry, not sure if this was a matter of Unicorn magic or if Twilight was implying that she wasn’t smart enough to understand.

“This,” Said Twilight, putting her hoof on the spell book, “Is a beginner’s grimoire for the use of Dark Magic.”

Noblesse and Legalese were in the middle of a discussion about Legalese’ exploration of the developing city. Legalese would have been more inquisitive about her cousin’s day, but knew that his medics insisted that he stay on the palace grounds until he started going to school again. Legalese had just finished the anecdote about her run-in with the Element of Generosity when Noblesse gasped suddenly.

“Are you okay Noblesse?” Asked Legalese, concerned for her cousin. She knew that the version of the blood rites Noblesse took were untested, and could have unforeseen health problems accompanying them.

“I’m fine,” Assured the serpent/equine hybrid, “Others however, I am not so sure about.”

“Others?” Asked the teal Unicorn, “Do you mean your friends?”

Noblesse nodded, “It’s too early for me to call them ‘friends,’ but yes. I was surprised by the sharp increase of activity in the Collective Subconscious is all.”

Legalese just blinked. She had asked her cousin about Dark Magic in the past and the deepened connection with the Collective Subconscious, or the ‘Dreamscape’ as most of Equestria called it, but almost all of it went over her head.

“So, another practitioner got their hooves on the book you loaned to Ruby Pinch?” Suggested Legalese.

“I’m not certain,” Answered Noblesse, “I’m not close enough to any other practitioner in the area to rule them out.”

Legalese not so subtly rolled her eyes at her cousin, a benefit of being in the company of the blind is that you don’t have to work at concealing facial expressions. She understood that in the culture Noblesse was raised in: bonds were not forged in quiet moments or time spent having fun, but by having to rely on one another for survival and the blood of the fallen. But that did not make Noblesse’s unwillingness to trust anyone who didn’t ‘prove themselves’ any less annoying.

“So how will we figure out who caused that spike?” Asked Legalese.

“If it were the Crusaders or one of the Elements of Harmony, I imagine that Twilight Sparkle will approach me after school,” Answered Noblesse, “If that doesn’t happen, we pray that we can figure out who he, she, or they, are before their minds breaks.”

Author's Note

Hello readers, this is probably going to be the last chapter I post before I go back to college. It would have been longer, but I couldn't think of anything that would fit in between the end of this chapter and the beginning of the next chapter.

I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far. Please point out any typos or plot holes you see so I can fix them. And feel free to leave constructive criticism or your opinions on the plot so far.

Chapter 31

Apple Bloom and Rumble had decided to return to Sweet Apple Acres after visiting Scootaloo in the hospital. Applejack had already expressed her concerns about Rumble to Apple Bloom, and she knew that her sister had talked to Granny Smith and Bic Mac about Rumble as well. Granny Smith had warned Apple Bloom that Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle had accidentally told Aj about her date with Rumble and Pinkie’s needed intervention to subdue her. Apple Bloom didn’t think Applejack would be okay with her suddenly disappearing, courtesy of Pinkie Pie, until she had assured her sister that Rumble was perfectly polite.

The young couple ascended the steps on the porch to the Apple Family barn house. Knowing that they would have to part ways for the day, Rumble said his goodbyes first, “I had a lot of fun with you today.”

“Me too,” Replied Apple Bloom with a smile on her face, “Ah wouldn’t mind doing somethin’ like that again.”

“How about this coming weekend?” Asked Rumble, surprised with how bold he was being at the moment.

Apple Bloom turned away from the door to her family’s home and took a couple of steps back toward Rumble before giving him a kiss on the cheek, “That sounds like a plan tah me.” While Apple Bloom herself had pink cheeks for the time being, Rumble’s face was scarlet.

“Uh-uh,” Apple Bloom couldn’t keep herself from giggling at how confused and embarrassed her coltfriend was, “I-I’ll see you at school Apple Bloom,” Rumble turned around and leaped into flight from the porch.

“Bye,” Was all Apple Bloom said as Rumble flew into the distance. She opened the door to her house and entered, with the creaking of the door alerting her family to her presence.

“Apple Bloom?” Called Granny Smith from the kitchen, “That you?”

“Sure is Granny” Called back Apple Bloom before she went into the kitchen herself.

Apple Bloom paused at the sight before her as she entered the kitchen. Granny Smith and Big Mac were sitting down, probably waiting for Pinkie to be done with her. But what caught her attention was Applejack, bound and gagged in one of the chairs, trying in vain to free herself.

Apple Bloom turned her head towards her big brother, “Aj try tah catch up to me an’ Rumble?”

“Eeeyup.”

“Y’all had to tie ‘er up?”

“Eeeyup.”

“She started screamin’ obscenities?”

“Eeeyup.”

Apple Bloom sighed as she walked up to her big sister. Now that she was closer, she could tell that Applejack was trying to say her name through the rag stuffed in her mouth. Apple Bloom reached up and hugged Applejack before removing the gag.

“Apple Bloom!” Were the first words to escape the orange mare’s mouth, “Are yer okay!”

“O’course,” Said Apple Bloom dismissively, “Why wouldn’t Ah be?”

“That coltfriend of yours,” Replied Applejack with a glare.

“What do yah got against Rumble?”

“He talked yah into keepin’ yer date a secret from yer family, fer a start!” Snapped Applejack.

“Sugarcube,” Said Granny Smith, “Yer brother and Ah told ‘er to keep it a secret from you specifically.”

Applejack’s head swiveled to face her grandmother, “What?”

“It don’t take a genius to know how you’d react,” Said the older mare bluntly, “You’d either insist on ‘keepin’ and eye on ‘em,’ if not outright ferbid them datin’.”

“Aj,” Said Apple Bloom, getting her sister’s attention, “Ah know yer just worried fer me, and never mind how annoyin’ it is, but everypony needs their space ‘nd ther privacy.”

Applejack was about to retort, but Apple Bloom continued, “Ah’m not a little foal no more, ‘nd just because you don’t have a life don’t mean I shouldn’t either.”

The three older Ponies paused at the words of their youngest, and were confused, “What do you mean?” Asked Big Macintosh.

Apple Bloom sighed, “Ah mean that just because Applejack doesn’t have a social life doesn’t mean that Ah shouldn’t be allowed to go out intah the world.”

“Ah have a social life,” Replied Applejack, now more confused than ever.

“You didn’t have friends until the last Summer Sun Celebration,” Pointed out Apple Bloom.

“Filthy Rich, Braeburn, Rainbow Dash, Rarity-” Applejack would have continued, but was interrupted by her sister.

“You only meet with Filthy Rich fer business, we only see our cousins every year or so, if that. You and Rainbow Dash were at other’s throat fer the longest time, and you knew of Rarity, but Ah know you two didn’t meet up every week like you do now and Ah also know that you didn’t think much of her until Princess Luna returned.”

The mouths of the Apple Family were agape, but it did nothing to stop Apple Bloom’s tirade, “It literally took an apocalypse fer you to start makin’ a life outside of the farm, ‘nd Ah wonder how much of yer effort to be a good friend is out of the kindness of yer heart and how much is out of a sense of obligation given that the six of you have some kind of magical bonds thanks to the Elements of Harmony.”

Granny Smith and Big Mac turned to face each other. The two of them had worried for Applejack in the past because, they too had made some of the same realizations that Apple Bloom had apparently made. Big Mac could be surprisingly social if he was with somepony one-on-one where as Applejack was more than content with minding her own business, only speaking to others if they were looking to make business arrangements with the Apple Family or if she thought something was wrong.

However, the latter of Apple Bloom’s points hadn’t even crossed their minds until the filly pointed it out just now. It was made more plausible in their minds by the recent incident where Applejack had snuck off to a Cherry farm to get the money she had promised to win for the town in a rodeo, but lost. It had never occurred to the two oldest members of the household Applejack felt obligated to be friends with the other Element Bearers.

“Ah appreciate you lookin’ out fer me, but Ah want tah live life without the ball ‘n chain,” Apple Bloom took a deep breath before speaking again, “Are there any chores that need doin’ Granny?”

Being addressed directly brought the lime green mare out of silence, “N-no, we got ‘em all taken care of after Pinkie Pie came ‘nd gotcha.”

Apple Bloom nodded her head in acknowledgement, “Alright then, does anypony mind if I go out with mah friends?”

“Go ahead Apple Bloom, just be back by supper time,” Answered Granny Smith. She and Big Mac needed a few moments to talk to Applejack.

“Okay, Ah’ll see ya’ll later!” Like usual, Apple Bloom raced out of the house leaving behind a trail of dust behind her. Granny Smith could never keep the smile off her face whenever she saw watched on the younger members of the family do that. It reminded Granny Smith of herself in her youth.

“Applejack,” Granny turned her head at the sound of Big Macintosh’s voice, “How much of what Apple Bloom said was accurate?” Big Mac started untying his crestfallen sister.

“A lot of it,” Admitted Applejack shamefully.

“So yer only friends with the other Element Bearers out’a ‘cause yah think yah have too?” Asked Granny Smith in shock.

“At first, yes. But because of that Ah started to ‘em in a different way.”

“How so?” Asked the big red stallion as he finished undoing Applejack’s bonds.

“Ah’ll start with Rainbow Dash,” Started Applejack, “At first, Ah wanted to best her so she would stop braggin’. She was also gettin’ on mah nerves ‘cause she was puttin’ her practice befer her job, which could affect our farm. Ah can’t even count how many massive storms the Weather Team had tah put together to make up fer all of the little drizzles Rainbow ‘rescheduled.’”

Applejack sighed as she got herself comfortable in her chair, making a point of not looking at her brother or grandmother, “But when she went out of her way to help with Nightmare Moon, mah opinion of ‘er increased tenfold. Ah never thought in a million years that stoplight hog would ever risk herself like that. And ya’ll should’ve seen how she nearly killed Twilight ‘cause she thought she was a danger to our home. And here Ah was thinkin’ she only cared ‘bout herself and ‘er ‘reputation,’ then she helps us save the world like, what? Three times now?”

“Ah didn’t even know Fluttershy existed until that day. And Pinkie Pie… She still scares me, but scares me a whole lot less than before. Finally, there’s Rarity. Ah just thought she was a good fer nothin’ neat freak. When Ah started spendin’ time with ‘er, Ah learned that she is a neat freak, but she genuinely believes she’s makin’ the world a better place by makin’ more ‘beautiful.’ Ah still don’t care fer all that fanciness she obsesses over, but Ah can understand where she’s comin’ from.”

“So ya’ll did feel obligated to be their friend, but came to actually care for them?” Summarized Granny Smith.

Applejack nodded in affirmation, “Ah knew Apple Bloom was growin’ up, but Ah didn’t realize how quickly. And Ah-ah just can’t…”

“See our sister as anything other than that tiny baby Pa and Granny brought home from the hospital,” Said Big Macintosh, finishing for Applejack after she trailed off.

“Ya’ll look like you could use some rest,” Said Granny, “Why don’t you go up tah yer room ‘nd take a nap ‘er somethin’?”

Applejack quietly nodded her head and went up to her room, “Do you really think she’ll be asleep?” Asked Big Mac.

“‘course not,” Replied Granny as she sat back down in her rocking chair, “But she needs some time tah think now that she’s cleared her head a little.”

Monday had arrived and both Twilight and Cheerilee were preparing for the noon class period in their classroom within the schoolhouse. Cheerilee was doing last-minute grading for the morning class period and now that her teaching assistant had finished cleaning the chalkboard and putting up the correct date in the top right corner, Twilight was straightening desks and cleaning out trash from in and around some of the desks.

Twilight would be upset by the trash, but she was willing to make an exception for the morning class period. Since Cheerilee had become Headmistress of Ponyville Schools, she had segregated the school foals by age and needs for the entire school. The younger children were all put into the morning class period, so Twilight was willing to let them all get off with gentle reminders and even cleaning up after the less observant children. Older children, who would soon be moving on to bigger parts of their lives, were placed into the noon class periods. Since they were older and more familiar with the town, they were less likely to get lost if somepony couldn’t take them to school and they wouldn’t be intimidated by crowds or traffic. The children who had different learning needs or outright learning disabilities, were all placed in the evening class period for discretion’s sake.

The school board was hesitant at first to allow Cheerilee to change things the way she did, but became more complacent after the drastic decrease in bullying incidents and the sharp increase in attendance. The cerise mare finished grading the morning class period papers and was double checking that had everything for today’s class when she noticed that Twilight had finished cleaning the desks and was looking for something to do while they waited for the noon class bell to ring to let their students in.

“You know,” Said Cheerilee, “I never would have thought that having an assistant would be so nice to have.”

Twilight blushed slightly at the sudden praise. Thankfully for the Unicorn, her light coat kept Cheerilee from noticing, “Oh! Uh… T-thanks Cheerilee, I’m just glad that I’m not just getting in your way.”

“Are you serious?” Replied Cheerilee with genuine surprise, “I’ve never had so much time for myself. It’s all usually spent doing things for the school. Frankly, I sometimes find that I have no idea what to do with myself.”

“I’m glad you came to me for help,” Said Twilight, “No one, except for you, actually uses the library,” Twilight started laughing to herself, “Sometimes, Spike and I just reshelf the whole library just so we have something to do.”

Cheerilee couldn’t help herself from giving her friend and TA a sad smile at that last comment, “Speaking of which,” Started Cheerilee, “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about Spike.”

“Oh?” Twilight tilted her head in curiosity, “What about him?”

“I was just wondering what he does in his spare time,” Explained Cheerilee, “I didn’t know he even existed until a few months after you two had been ‘assigned’ to Ponyville.”

“He helps me with the library and any errands I have to run,” Said Twilight, utterly oblivious to Cheerilee’s concerns.

“Doesn’t he have any friends?” Asked Cheerilee, almost certain that her fears were justified after all.

“He has me, our family, and the girls,” Answered Twilight.

“So, he doesn’t have any friends his age and he lives to serve you,” Summed up Cheerilee, being very careful not to directly tell one of the most powerful Unicorns to have ever lived that she was a slave driver.

“I guess?” Said Twilight, confused as to why her friend/employer was viewing Spike with such scrutiny, “But, why do you-”

Twilight’s eyes widened in horror as she realized that Cheerilee wasn’t concerned with Spike, but with how he was being treated. The lavender Unicorn was quickly building herself into a nervous breakdown as she muttered various things to herself. Twilight had always told herself that Spike would say something if he had problems with his workload. But with Cheerilee’s blunt assessment of their relationship, Twilight realized that Spike had never known any other kind of life, and might even believe that this was how things were supposed to be since he wasn’t a pony.

Puzzles in Twilight’s mind, that she didn’t even realize were there to complete, started solving themselves. This was why Spike wanted to be in the Dragon Migration, to compare how Dragons treated each other with how she’s treated him his entire life. This was why Spike refused to let go of his crush on Rarity, she was one of the most selfless Ponies in Equestria! How many times had Twilight so much as offered to help her assistant clean up the countless messes she herself had made!?

Cheerilee could only sit and watch in horror as the hairs that made up her teaching assistant’s mane and tail started sticking out of place on their own accord. Not even a full minute into her panic attack, and Twilight looked like she hadn’t combed her hair in weeks if not months. Cheerilee started inching towards the door into the hallway as Twilight started speaking clearly to herself while laughing hysterically in-between every other word.

“Cheerilee!” Exclaimed Twilight suddenly as she teleported directly in front of the Earth Pony and grabbed her shoulders while looking like the antagonist of a b-rated horror movie, “I need to take the rest of the day off!”

“O-okay,” Whispered Cheerilee, doing her best impersonation of Fluttershy as she was almost paralyzed with fear.

“Great!” Was all the crazed Unicorn said as she teleported to parts unknown, most likely the library she lived in with her assistant if the conversation prior to her mental breakdown was any indication.

Rumble walked into Ms. Cheerilee’s classroom too late to see Twilight’s meltdown, but early enough to see the look of abject horror on his teacher’s face. Being able to fly, and to do so fairly well, meant that Rumble was always able to come to class at least five minutes earlier than he was supposed to.

“Ms. Cheerilee!” Exclaimed Rumble, “Are you all right?”

“I-I’m fine,” Replied Cheerilee, her expression of terror now turned deadpanned with a distant look in her eyes.

Rumble knew that his teacher was hiding something, but the young Pegasus was not wise enough in the ways of the world to know that it was absolute horror. Rumble nodded his head as he headed to the same seat in the front row he had taken on his first day of school in Ponyville and prepared for class.

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle walked into the room, still talking with each other. Rumble was too distracted by concern to notice what the two fillies were talking about, despite the fact that they had walk right past him in order to get to their usual seats.

Usually, it was Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo that were here first. The three of them were early risers by nature, but they didn’t have the luxury of having a cart to take them to school in a timely manner with the Pegasus of the trio still being on sick leave.

Fortunately, Cheerilee was able to collect herself before the rest of her class came in and took their seats. Though Cheerilee was one of surprisingly few teachers who didn’t enforce a seating chart of some kind, her students typically used the same seats. Only a couple of students had to be given assigned seats so that they didn’t bother anyone else in the class.

Cheerilee couldn’t keep herself from giving out an audible sigh, for she was hoping to have Twilight with her today. Cheerilee and Twilight both agreed that the students of noon class period were certainly old enough to learn of the darker parts of Equestria’s history, particularly the three hundred year period in-between the Unification of the Pony Tribes and Nightmare Moon’s banishment. Cheerilee even went as far as ordering that the other teachers in the noon class period spend the next two weeks going over it. With Equestria opening its borders for the first time in a thousand years, they deserved at least a little warning of the things that could come.

“Miss Cheerilee,” Said Archer with her hoof in the air, “Where's Twilight?”

“Twilight had to leave early today,” Cheerilee would have been either angry or annoyed that her new employee had just suddenly taken off, but the cerise mare knew that it was her fault that Twilight reacted the way she did, “But we will be talking about something very important this week.”

Cheerilee was more eager than usual to begin the lesson as she noticed that most of her problem students (namely Diamond Tiara and Snips and Snails) were paying attention, interested in what this important topic was. The cerise mare opened her mouth to start her lecture, when the door opened, “Ms. Cheerilee, I apologize for my tardiness.”

Cheerilee hadn’t even noticed that the incognito noble was absent from the room. Cheerilee was about to assure Noblesse Oblige that it was fine, as she hadn’t actually started the lesson, but she turned her head to face her young student who was still in the doorway and couldn’t find her voice.

Cheerilee’s class was wondering what horror could cause their typically upbeat teach to go silent, then Noblesse walked into the room. If anypony noticed that he was slightly taller, they didn’t say anything as they were fixated on his appearance.

It took longer than usual for Noblesse to enter the room, and he walk with knocking noise that sounded like a cane, though everypony could see that it was a wooden crutch he was limping with. Though, almost nopony noted the brown traveling cloak, not dissimilar to the one that Zecroa used to wear, he was now wearing or that a part of his neck was now colored like copper in place of a copper colored mane. Cheerilee expected the vertical slits going across Noblesse’s eyes, she knew that the rust color of his eyes would overtake the whites of his eyes. She even expected his fur to be replaced by the hide of scaly skin associated with reptiles. What Cheerilee didn’t expect, was for Noblesse to have both of his left legs maimed and his horn severed at the base. And of course, Noblesse hadn’t spoken with anypony else about the mutations that the blood rites he took in the Under Cities would cause, so it was utterly unexpected when one of their fellow students as some sort of serpent-equine hybrid.

Noblesse walked unceremoniously to his seat on the edge of the back row, next to where Scootaloo sat when present, completely unfazed by the astonished looks everypony was giving him. Noblesse left his crutch to lean against his desk as he patiently waited for everypony to process his new appearance.

After two minutes of stunned silence, it was Sweetie Belle who spoke first, “What happened to you?”

“Art thou referring to mine hide, eyes, or lacking number of limbs?” Asked Noblesse as though this were a casual conversation.

“Yes,” Was all Sweetie Belle said.

Noblesse titter a little before answering, “When I turned six, I performed a Blood Ritual that would mutate me into a Serpicorn… If I survived. Which I did.”

“What d’ya mean ‘if you survived’?” Asked Pipsqueak, horrified.

“The ritual doesn’t just give one a serpent’s hide,” Explained Noblesse, “It changes you slowly from the inside out. One could easily die during the first stage of the transformation.”

“You mean that all of those Ponies who helped out during Winter Wrap Up-”

“Yes,” Archer was interrupted by a confirmation from Noblesse.

“What happened to your legs and horn?” Asked Cheerilee, terrified at the prospect that someone so young could have such gruesome injuries.

“Though I was born in Canterlot and lived in Canterlot for a short time before coming here, I was raised in the Under-Cities and thus, served in their military,” Noblesse knew he was going to have to wait for his classmates to process that before continuing, “I sustained these injuries during my first deployment.”

“But we’ve seen you with all four of your legs and your horn,” Pointed out Sweetie Belle.

“Not all magic requires a biological catalyst like Unicorn and Pegasus magic,” Explained Noblesse, “I was using prosthetic appendages created with a unique magic I learned how to use while underground-”

“Underground?” Asked Rumble, interrupting Noblesse.

“The Under-Cities are all underground, ‘tis why they are called ‘Under-Cities’,” Said Noblesse, “My first molting has put me into Mana Recoil, preventing me from using any magic, otherwise I would have my prosthetics.”

Everypony in the classroom sat and stared at Noblesse as they processed this massive info-dump, trying to comprehend how someone could go through everything that Noblesse had and still fit into Pony society. Everypony except for Cheerilee. While Cheerilee had mostly read from the spell book that Noblesse had given to Twilight, Twilight had also been giving Cheerilee the history books that Twilight had been given whenever she had finished reading them. Though, she was stunned at the injuries Noblesse had taken.

“Wait!” Exclaimed Sweetie Belle, “If you served in a military, does that mean you’ve- you’ve k-killed Ponies before?”

“Not just,” Replied Noblesse nonchalantly, “I’ve killed members of all manner of intelligent beings, monsters too.”

“How can you be so casual about this!” Exclaimed Sweetie Belle in an accusatory tone of voice.

“Dost thou know’st what purpose the Under-Cities’ military serve?” Asked Noblesse.

Noblesse politely waited for somepony to ask why before continuing in response to the silence that answered him, “The Under-Cities’ military primary purpose to protect, not only the Equestrian nation, but the Equestrian continent as well. So, while I didn’t start receiving information about exactly why I was killing the people that I was being ordered to until my second year of service, I can assure you that more good came from the deaths I caused than bad.”

“What could possibly justify murder!?” Yelled Sweetie Belle with horrified tears in her eyes. And while Cheerilee stayed silent, she couldn’t help but wonder if anypony could hear Sweetie Belle through the walls of the classroom.

“I wasn’t a foot soldier for the Under-Cities,” Answered Noblesse with the apparent nonsequitur, “I was placed in Covert-Ops.”

“Like a spy?” Asked Cheerilee, finally finder her voice.

“Yes and no,” Answered Noblesse, “While I specialized in cloak-in-dagger methods, I was only ever given three espionage missions in my entire seven year career.”

Noblesse actually turned his head to face Sweetie Belle, his dull unblinking gaze seemingly going through Apple Bloom entirely, “As for your question Sweetie Belle, the first assassination objective I was received where I was told why he was marked; was a Gryphon warlord. Most people who live underground are descended from arch-criminals who were banished there in the first place, their descendants almost unanimously hate you surface dwellers for enforcing Hereditary Exile. The inhabitants of the Under-Cities suffered a self-imposed exile out of penance for driving the Night Princess insane, an exile that only ended when Luna herself decreed that this was no longer necessary.”

Noblesse needed to catch his breath before continuing, “The Gryphon warlord I mentioned was born to family of conquerors who had slowly been uniting the sub-terraranan Gryphons and Hippogriffs with the intention of seeking vengeance on surface nations, specifically the ones on the Equestrian continent. My Siblings At Arms and I knew that if we just killed him, one of his kin would replace and be pointless in the end. So, what we did was; we killed his infant child-” Noblesse paused when everypony gasped.

“It was easy to place blame on his advisors and family,” Continued Noblesse, “The generals serving the late warlord had to pick sides, the resulting civil war made their armies too weak to protect their own territories, let alone claim new ones. And since the Vicereine already had Legions at their borders, we were able to invade before their other neighbors could so much as muster armies. It also made eliminating him easier, as his focus was on his own allies and not foreigners who happened to be nearby.”

“How can you be so casual about this?” Asked Sweetie Belle, shocked by Noblesse’s blithe attitude about something so grim as murder.

“’twas my life for seven years,” Answered Noblesse, “There are three outlooks we Under-City denizen take on the matter.”

“And you chose sadism,” Accused Sweetie Belle.

“Slightly over one percent of our population is so overcome with guilt that they commit suicide in penance,” Replied Noblesse, “Others distance themselves from it entirely, and feel nothing as they are made to take countless lives. And those poor bastards start to feel no emotions at all, because denying one emotion is the beginning to the slow and steady path of Apathy.”

“So, Sweetie Belle?” Asked Noblesse, using an accusatory tone of voice himself, “If you had to choose between becoming so numb that you feel nothing, or relish in the suffering that you yourself cause; which would you choose?”

Sweetie Belle was about to vehemently answer to the former, when a last-minute thought caused the young Unicorn to freeze. She realized that she had rarely disliked the Crusades she and her friends went, she even enjoyed helping to clean up after herself and her friends sometimes, regardless of how much trouble she caused for other Ponies. She also realized she almost never felt sorry for the Ponies she and her friends inconvenienced. Even during the dreaded Gabby Gums fiasco, the absolute lowest point between herself and her friends, she had enjoyed discovering the truth and printing it in the paper for all of Ponyville to see. But what she enjoyed most of all, was watching their readers reactions to their articles. She even eagerly made up lies for when she and her friends didn’t have stories for their deadlines.

Am I any better than him? Thought Sweetie Belle. She kept a unique horrified face as she looked down at her desk, lost in the rapid stream that made up her thoughts.

While Apple Bloom had her head turned to give her longtime friend a concerned look, her ears perked up as she heard Noblesse’s silent laughter. This was not the same kind of laughter that Noblesse had given before in the few Crusades that he had been a part of. While his laughter was never faked, it always felt like he was holding something back. Like there was a part of him that he didn’t want anypony else to see. His laugh was now cold and foreboding, dissimilar to the cool and polite personality he had displayed before.

“I need not sight to know the look on Sweetie Belle’s face,” Said Noblesse, “I imagine she had the look of someone who has just discovered something about themselves that they perceive as horrible,” Noblesse could no longer hold back his eerie laughter as his laugh started to increase in volume.

Cheerilee was quick to change the subject, hopefully getting Noblesse to stop laughing, “Uh… Noblesse? Who is this ‘Vicereine’ you mentioned in your story?”

Noblesse’s response was instant as he stopped laughing. His facial features apparent without fur concealing his expression and his pupils narrowed in surprise.

Suddenly, a haunting laugh filled the room, accompanied by a familiar sarcastic tone of voice, “Did you say something you shouldn’t have, Noblesse?”

Author's Note

I apologize to anyone who was anticipating this chapter. I truly have no excuse, I just didn't feel like writing.

I hope that this slightly longer chapter makes up for it... That aside, please feel free to share your thoughts on the story so far and please point out any typos or continuity errors you notice so I can fix them.

As a little payback for taking my sweet time with this chapter, I'll say that someone who was briefly mentioned at the beginning of the story is finally becoming relevant!

Chapter 32

Spike had just finished re-shelving the books in library after Twilight’s studying session last night. Spike was more than pleased with himself today. It was rare occasion after all, having to re-shelve every single book in the Golden Oak Library.

Twilight needed reference books for some of the terminology used in the books Noblesse had given her. She was either on her third or fourth volume in the series of history books, if Spike remembered correctly. So, like usual, Twilight started pulling down books from the shelves in a frantic search for the books she was looking for. It wouldn’t have been so bad, if she had started on the right side of the building. Twilight had started pulling books from the exact opposite side of the library from where the dictionaries were kept.

Spike sighed, wishing there was something else for him to do. But Spike remembered that this was why Twilight kept him around. If Spike didn’t make himself useful, he doubted that he could stay in Pony society. Spike knew that Twilight would never throw him out, but Spike also knew that few Ponies were so comfortable with a Dragon so close to home. Even as Wyrmling, Ponies had given Twilight and Princess Celestia grieve about letting a Dragon live in a Pony settlement, let alone the Canterlot Palace. Spike noted that the palace staff became more comfortable with his presence when he helped others, not just Twilight. Spike wouldn’t make Twilight choose between living in exile with her number one assistant and living in society without him, so Spike decided that if ever everypony else started demanding that Spike leave; he would do so without telling Twilight.

An upset tear fell from Spike’s eye at the thought. He knew that it would hurt Twilight, but it would be better than her reverting to the recluse that she was when she first became Celestia’s protégé, or even more reclusive depending on what laws Parliament passed. Spike had heard something about a high ranking noble motioning for laws that restricted the rights of non-equines. Apparently, not all Ponies were open to the idea of Equestria opening its borders and connecting with rest of the world.

Spike was brought out of his thoughts by the familiar sound of somepony teleporting directly behind him. Spike, not expecting this, was startled into jumping into the air. Instead of landing on the wood floor, Spike was caught by a pair of lavender hooves and brought to the breast of his Unicorn caretaker. No one has yet to figured out whether Twilight is closer to being his mother or his sister.

Twilight was holding Spike tightly to her breast, just under her head, while sobbing. Spike was just barely to make out the words ‘I’m sorry’ in between the distressed Unicorn’s sobs. Twilight just kept repeating herself like a broken record until she finally put Spike down. Though she couldn’t stop herself from sobbing loudly.

Spike’s eyes widened in horror when he finally saw Twilight. She looked the way she did when enthralled all of Ponyville with the Want-It, Need-It spell. Oh no, was the first thought that went through the young Dragon’s mind.

“Twilight,” Said Spike in a serious tone of voice, “What happened?”

“Oh Spike,” Was the first thing Twilight was able to choke out in between sobs, “You must hate me.”

“D-do you want me make you some tea?” Asked Spike, not sure what put Twilight on this train of thought.

“NO!” Screamed Twilight, “T-that’s the problem!”

“What?” Asked Spike. Normally, he would have assumed that Twilight was kicking him out. The only thing that kept him from making that leap in logic, was Twilight’s apologetic rant and her worrying about him hating her.

“I’ve treated like a slave since the day you could walk!” Proclaimed Twilight, “And it’s only today that I’ve realized how unfair that is to you.”

Spike was about to say something, but Twilight started ranting again, “I’ve been making friends, traveling all over Equestria, and-and making a life for myself. And all the while, I’ve left you here, all alone, and ordered you around like a servant! I’m so sorry Spike, how you have li-lived with me us beyond comprehension. I should be doing more for you.”

“You gave me life and give me room and board,” Pointed out Spike, “What more could you do?”

Twilight could not believe what she was hearing. There was no way Spike was actually complacent being a domestic servant. Then again, he didn’t know any other life. She figured it was similar to what she was like before she came to Ponyville and made friends, thinking all she needed in life was her studies. Did Spike just think all he needed in life was to serve?

Twilight brought herself out of her thoughts to speak, “For starters, I should be giving you time to make friends. Not just a day off every month or so.”

“Didn’t you make all of your best friends in a single day?” Asked Spike.

“Spending casual time with Ponies is a little different from saving Equestria from eternal darkness,” Replied the lavender Unicorn.

“Well… I guess I could use some time off from cleaning up your messes.”

“Hey!” Exclaimed Twilight.

Then, almost immediately, the two of them started laughing hysterically.

“Discord!” Exclaimed Cheerilee, “What are you doing here?”

Discord had turned himself into some kind of esoteric chandelier made from pieces of himself and was hanging from the celling of Cheerilee’s classroom. Discord had his head sticking out of the bottom of the new form he had taken, his head being the only part not affected by his random shapeshifting.

Discord whipped out his tongue causing it to snap like his talon or his paw. Discord disappeared in a flash of colorless light only to reappear in another simultaneous flash of light next to Cheerilee. While Discord appeared to have reverted back into his usual form, he was now wearing a lab coat and a pair of glasses with unnecessarily large circular lenses.

“You see, Celestia has a number of things I have to do for Equestria every day,” Discord then proceeded to pick at the inside of one of his before producing a modest scroll case. When Discord opened the scroll case however, the bottom of the scroll hit the floor before bouncing to the over the seats and students until it came to a stop at the other side of the room.

“The last item on this list, is a small act of good on my part,” Explained the Draconequus, “Aforementioned act, is one of my choosing. And seeing how you sent your TA into a guilt driven panic attack, I have decided to step in.”

Discord noticed that particular gray Pegasus in the front row looked confused, “Is something wrong Rumble?”

“How did you know my name?” Asked Rumble with astonishment.

“One of my daily tasks is keeping tabs on your girlfriend and her friends, it is also one of my chief responsibilities,” Replied Discord.

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle’s reactions were instant, “What!?”

“The three of you freed me from my prison block on accident,” Started Discord, “So just imagine what you trouble makers could do if you tried to create chaos,” Discord simply started laughing, “Why, you’d put me out of the job!”

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle started sinking into their seats with solemn looks on their faces as Discord started laughing again.

“But to answer your question Cheerilee,” Started Discord after he overcame his laughing fit, “The ‘Vicereine’ is the supreme leader of the Under-Cities.”

“So, there isn’t a representative branch of government in the Under-Cities?” Asked Cheerilee.

“No,” Replied Noblesse, “The Cardinals initially commanded the Under-Cities, but relinquished most of their power after Vicereine Deluge ascended.”

“Ascended?” Asked Rumble as he turned in his seat to face Noblesse, “You mean the Under-Cities are ruled by an Alicorn?”

“Aye,” Said Noblesse, “The Holy Mistress of the Cardinate, the Supreme Commander and Chief of the Under-City military, the Goddess of Storms, and the first equine in two millennia to ascend into an Alicorn.”

“What about Princess Celestia and Princess Luna?” Asked Pipsqueak, confused like most of his fellow students and Cheerilee.

“I can explain that,” Said Discord as the walls, floor, and ceiling of the room spread apart revealing a nebulous void, similar to the Dreamscape from Luna’s point of view.

A picture reminiscent of the stained-glass windows in the Canterlot palace appeared in front of the glass. The picture clearly depicting Discord in his stylized throne with a conductor’s baton, manipulating Equestria as he pleased.

“About one hundred and twenty years after the Unification of the Pony Tribes, I was beckoned by the chaos and strife your ancestors were causing in trying to form a new government to appease all Ponies. After turning most of the Equestrian Royal Guard into various objects and lesser creatures, none dared appose me,” At this point two more figures appeared in Discord’s depiction of past events, “None except for your beloved Diarchs.”

The figure that was clearly Princess Celestia was a white Unicorn with a light pink tail, wielding a spear. The second figure that was clearly Princess Luna was a dark blue Earth Pony with a light blue tail, wielding a halberd. Their manes were hidden by their helmets and both were donning brown armor, most likely leather. They both also had determined expressions.

“I of course thought it was hilarious that the only two beings in the country that were willing to try and fight me was pair of twins who were, at the time, younger than anypony in this room,” Explained Discord, “I know how short your lives are, and they were easily the best thing in the country, so I used my magic to give them agelessness. And our little game lasted eighty years before they found their god’s win-button.”

The picture of Discord waved his conductor’s baton and the images of Celestia and Luna both suddenly gave off a blinding white light. When the light faded, it revealed two stunned Alicorns without either weapons or armor. Their collective shock at this turn of events visible, in not only their expressions, but their body language as well.

“If they still became Alicorns, then how is it different from Princess Cadence or the Vicereine Noblesse mentioned?” Asked Silver Spoon.

“‘Ascension’ is a name for something very specific,” Explained Discord, “In order to ‘Ascend,’ one must be willing to sacrifice themselves. Deluge was willing to sacrifice her life so that her comrades in arms could escape with their lives. Cadence was willing to spend her entire life in exile so that a Witch, abused and neglected in her foalhood, could feel the love of a friend for the first time her life. I had no idea my magic would turn Sun Butt and Lulu into Alicorns.”

“How could you not know what your own magic would do?” Asked Cheerilee.

“I am the embodiment of the unknown,” Started Discord, “So, knowing what exactly would my magic would do, would defeat the purpose of my existence.”

“Ah thought you was the embodiment of chaos,” Said Apple Bloom with her head tilted in confusion.

“Demon, God, Princess, all titles given to us and my peers by you mortals.”

“So, you aren’t the only Draconequus?” Asked Sweetie Belle.

“Oh no, I’m the only one of my kind,” Said Discord, “But I am not the only ‘god’ in existence, nor am I the only Conceptual Deity.”

“Speaking of Deities,” Said Noblesse, “We actually have one to thank for the Elements of Harmony.”

“How could I forget,” Replied Discord, “With how angry he was that I was messing with his children and making Alicorns,” Discord started laughing again while spinning in a circle, similar to an Ouroboros.

“Are you two referring to the Diarchs?” Asked Cheerilee.

Noblesse shook his head, “No, we are talking about Bucephalus: The Creator-God of Equinity.”

“I know for a fact that we evolved!” Said Diamond Tiara as she turned in her seat to face Noblesse.

“I never said that we didn’t,” Replied Noblesse with a neutral tone of voice, “Bucephalus was the first equine to absorb magic and gain the status as an ‘intelligent creature,’” Discord’s expositive imagery faded to show a lone Alicorn stallion with six legs and four wings looking over a field of lesser equines, “Bucephalus quickly became lonely without another of his kind that held the same intellect that he had. And so, used his new-found power to ‘bless’ all other equines with heightened intelligence,” The image of Bucephalus then spread out his wings and raised his forelegs diagonally as his eyes turned to pure white, exactly like how the Diarchs raised and lowered the sun and moon.

“And with as much magic as blood coursing through their bodies,” Said Discord, picking up where Noblesse left off, “The process of evolution was hastened. What should have taken hundreds of millions of years, only took a few thousand, resulting in what you are today,” The images of the lesser equines then started turning into the various equine races of the world, the Three Pony Tribes, Zebras, the Horses of Saddle Arabia, and a few other equine species that no one else in the class recognized.

“Why haven’t we heard anything about this ‘Creator-God’ before now,” Asked Archer.

“Bucephalus made the Elements of Harmony, physical embodiments of the traits he wanted to imbue all equines with, in addition to Magic, the very basis of intelligent life as we know of it,” Explained Noblesse, “After Princess Celestia and Princess Luna petrified Discord, the Pony Tribes started viewing both of them as gods. Not only had they managed to wield weapons created by a god, but had defeated an ancient and powerful deity. The Princesses saw this as their best chance at truly uniting the Three Pony Tribes, with all other Ponies seeing their new Princesses as equal and just rulers of their kind.”

Discord’s reality bending exposition then changed to show the Diarchs on their thrones with a stallion to the left of Celestia’s throne and another to the right of Luna’s throne. Much of the class noted that the Diarchs had rings matching those being worn by their respective stallions.

“To silence any naysayers that would oppose their new gods,” Started Discord, “The Diarchs both married into royalty, which is how all royals today are related to the old rulers of Unicornia that descended from Princess Platinum. It is also where ‘House Platinum’ gets its name.”

“So, their first marriages were political tools?” Asked Pipsqueak, horrified at how his favorite Princess could do something so rotten.

“Celestia’s marriage was a political tool,” Corrected Discord, “Just to shake things up, I warped all of the old nobles to different places all over Equestria. This forced the peasantry to look to themselves for guidance. But while searching for a way to defeat me, Luna meet the heir-apparent to the Equestrian throne and eventually found love.”

Pipsqueak gave a sigh of relieve knowing that the best Princess in Equestria wasn’t a wheeler dealer as the students sitting around him giggled.

Discord raised an eyebrow as he saw Rumble raise his hoof, “Yes Rumble?”

“How did the Princesses know that there was a way to defeat you?”

Discord smiled at the memory, “Bucephalus was angry beyond imagination at how his children were suffering and how he could do nothing about it. Most gods have to play by a strict set of rules, even me. But, because of the nature of my existence, I follow a very different set of rules than any other gods. But, he came to me with a challenge. He said that he wanted to make artifacts that could best another god like myself for the use of his people.”

“The Elements of Harmony?” Asked Rumble.

“Precisely my boy!” Said Discord as he snapped his fingers. A strawberry milkshake popped into existence on Rumble’s desk, strawberry being his favorite kind of milkshake. “He then proceeded to tell the two of them in a ‘revelation.’”

“Thank you,” Said Rumble just before he started drinking his milkshake.

“What that clever bastard didn’t tell me, however,” Said Discord with an annoyed expression, “Was that any being that the Elements bound themselves too, were given the knowledge of how to use them. If I knew that, I wouldn’t have let Tia and Lulu anywhere near me!”

“Do you regret making friends?” Asked Diamond Tiara, not liking the look on Discord’s face.

Discord put his face into Diamond Tiara’s with the creepiest smile he could manage, “I regret being turned to stone for a thousand years.”

An alarm clock spawned in the middle of the room, ringing at an obnoxious volume. Discord used his tail to turn it off before snapping his talons, returning the classroom to what it was before his exposition, “Alright everypony, time for recess!”

“What?” Asked Cheerilee as she turned to face the clock she put up on the wall, “But we couldn’t have spent more than ten minutes, if that, during that lecture!”

“Time passes differently in different dimensions,” Explained Discord, “What was fifteen minutes in that abstract expository void, was fifty minutes here in your native plane of existence.”

Discord gave a bow to the class, “And with that, I bid you adieu,” And the Draconequus disappeared in a flash of white light, most likely off to bother the Princesses or other members of the Canterlot Nobility.

Like usual, all of the students started to leave for the playground or the schoolyard except for the Cutie Mark Crusaders. The Crusaders waited for each so they could spend the entire recess period with one another. Rumble even got to get out earlier than usual as Twilight was absent and it was Ms. Cheerilee’s turn to help watch over the students during recess with some other teachers that were on the same shift.

Sweetie Belle spoke up as soon as the whole group got outside, "Hold up everypony," Said Sweetie Belle with an urgent tone of voice, "We need to talk."

“About what?” Asked Apple Bloom.

“Mine past, correct?” Asked Noblesse in a neutral tone of voice.

Sweetie Belle nodded, “I can’t stand to be so close with a glorified murderer!”

“Sweetie Belle!” Exclaimed Apple Bloom in shock, “That ‘aint fair.”

“She’s not wrong,” Replied Noblesse, to everyponies’ surprise.

“Why aren’t you standing up for yourself?” Asked Rumble.

“It’s the truth,” Answered the metallic grey Serpicorn, “And t’would not be fair to any of you who are uncomfortable with it.”

Noblesse then sighed, “How do the rest of you feel about me now?”

“It sounds like tah me you didn’t have a choice in the matter,” Said Apple Bloom with an encouraging smile, “So Ah think t’would be wrong to hold against yah.”

Following his fillyfriend’s example, Rumble spoke up, “You haven’t done anything to hurt us, or anypony we know. So, I don’t care.”

Sweetie Belle was shocked to see that her friends were okay with being around somepony who had spent most of his life killing others. Not even Ponies in law enforcement or the Royal Guard used lethal methods. Princess Celestia, the mare who was seen as the perfect example of what a Pony was supposed to be, banned the death penalty as soon as she could. It was even taught to foals as soon as they could speak; that hurting others was always wrong and a terrible result, regardless of the reason.

“How?” Asked Sweetie Belle with tears in her eyes, “How can you embrace this monster!?” Before anypony could respond, Sweetie Belle ran in outside crying.

“Sweetie Belle!” Called Apple Bloom. She started going after her longtime friend when she was stopped by something pinning her tail to the ground. The young mare turned her head to see that it was Noblesse’s crutch holding her back.

“Let her go,” Said Noblesse with a more jovial tone of voice than he had ever used before and a smile, “It’s not her fault, and she might even come around eventually. But right now, she needs to be alone.”

“Don’t yah like Sweetie Belle?” Asked Apple Bloom, confused as to why somepony would be happy at losing a friend.

“I like her just fine,” Said Noblesse, “But now I can really be myself,” Noblesse spread his forelegs out and spun in a circle, using his longer tail to keep himself from failing over.

“Excuse me?” Was all Apple Bloom could say.

“I was ‘holding back,’ for a lack of better term,” Said Noblesse, “From my experience with people; they care more about appearance than they do your past or who you are as a person.”

Apple Bloom was about to argue that point, then she remembered how Zecora was treated before she cured her sister and her friends from their Poison Joke infections.

“But I also know how important first impressions are,” Said Noblesse, “And my personality and eccentricity have chased people away before I could so much as introduce myself. So, I acted like I had little to no emotions so that I could make friends here in the first place.”

“But why aren’t you upset about Sweetie Belle,” Asked Rumble.

“I was purposefully keeping myself from making attachments with any of you just in case you were like Sweetie Belle and couldn’t tolerate my past,” Replied Noblesse blithely, “Just imagine how hurt I’d be if neither of you could stand mine presence after thou discover’st I was an assassin.”

Apple Bloom and Rumble looked at each other with mirrored expressions of shock. Never had they met anypony who approached social interactions so pragmatically and yet, thanks to how Sweetie Belle acted just now, it was perfectly justifiable. They had no idea what Noblesse’s past was like before, and even now, only have the most basic of ideas as to what it was like. Was he forced to strike down his comrades at arms? Had he even been betrayed by people he thought were his friends? Did any of his friends from the Under-Cities survive the wars they were apart of? Would they be acting any differently if they were in his hooves?

“Do you consider us to be your friends now?” Asked Rumble.

Noblesse pulled the young couple into a hug, just barely being able to get Rumble with his shortened foreleg, “Only if you two really want me to be yours.”

Apple Bloom and Rumble returned the hug. While they were both happy that their new friend was now being more expressive and open with them, they still wished that his scaly skin didn’t feel so weird against their fur and skin.

Author's Note

I know that a lot of stuff in this chapter wasn't explained in the best way possible, so I'm more than happy to clarify anything for anyone who needs it. :pinkiehappy:

Also, please feel free to give constructive criticism, point out typos, point out continuity errors, or just give your thoughts on the story so far.

Chapter 33

Cheerilee was about to do her rounds at the playground, when she heard Sweetie Belle tell her friends that they needed to talk about something. Cheerilee stayed just outside the door which was open in case it was something she needed to know. Last time she felt she needed to do this, she discovered that one of her students had abusive parents. This of course lead to his arrest and they were both currently serving time in the Canterlot prison. Because Cheerilee heard the conversation, she knew that she shouldn’t follow Sweetie Belle when she ran out crying.

Cheerilee quickly went around the corner of the building so that the other three wouldn’t catch her eavesdropping. While Cheerilee was glad that Noblesse had at least made two friends, she was afraid that was going to be it. Noblesse had just confessed to who-knows how many atrocities, and had been disturbingly casual about it. Cheerilee bit her lip as she thought about what would happen when her students told their families and friends that were in other classes.

Cheerilee started walking around the perimeter of the playground, though she was paying little attention to the students that were there. A huge advantage of segregating the students by age meant bullying didn’t happen as much as it used to, and there was almost no risk of an older student accidentally hurting a younger one. Because of this, Cheerilee felt free to let herself think solely on what Discord and Noblesse had talked about in her class. Cheerilee and Twilight had talked about how the Diarchs actually became Alicorns and even the shadier political moves they had to make, like Celestia’s political marriages and the two of them letting their subjects of the time worship them as gods. But Cheerilee was shocked at the revelation of how and why Ponies became Alicorns, and at this Equine Creator-God. Twilight didn’t say a word about it, so she either kept her in the dark about it, or didn’t know herself. Then there was the idea of more Alicorns being underground. The history books that Noblesse had given Twilight didn’t say a word about Deluge becoming an Alicorn, or even what the leadership of the Under-Cities was like, so she just assumed it was like Equestria’s government.

Cheerilee was pondering on why this information wouldn’t be in these books when she heard a blood curdling scream. Cheerilee turned her head blindingly fast in the direction of the scream, to see that several students had gathered around at the center of the playground and were staring with morbid fascination. But the only other sounds that could be heard was crying, most likely from whoever just screamed. Cheerilee just barely saw the other teachers on the playground supervision shift in her peripheral vision as she and the others raced to where all of the students were gathered.

What just happened!? Were the only thoughts going through Cheerilee’s mind as she galloped as fast as her hooves could carry her.

Minutes before the screaming, the Crusaders present at school, sans Sweetie Belle, were at their usual spot by the tree in the playground. Apple Bloom and Rumble didn’t want to talk about Sweetie Belle at the moment and were pleasantly surprised at how jovial Noblesse was when he was only with Ponies he felt he could trust. His sense of humor was dark at times, but he was quickly adapting for his current company.

Apple Bloom and Rumble had just finished telling Noblesse about the Cake Twins’ antics they experienced while foal sitting, when Rumble noticed that Noblesse hadn’t blinked a single time, “Hey Noblesse?”

“Yes Rumble?” Replied Noblesse, with a smile apparent on his face thanks to the lack of fur covering his face.

“How are you not blinking?” Asked the grey Pegasus with concern.

“I no longer have eyelids,” Replied Noblesse, tittering at Apple Bloom and Rumble’s shocked gasps.

“Won’t that make yah go blind?” Asked Apple Bloom.

“It would,” Said Noblesse while inching his head closer to his two friends, “But thanks to the mutations I have undergone, I have protective lenses on my eyes, similar to those of mundane serpents. Besides, the transformation rendered me blind anyhow.”

Thanks to Noblesse invading their personal space, both Apple Bloom and Rumble could see the lenses Noblesse was talking about. They could also see how dull his eyes seemed, clearly conveying intelligence but no emotion.

“How can yah move around so well then?” Asked Apple Bloom, upset that she didn’t notice that one of her friends was more crippled than she thought.

“I am a serpent,” Replied the metallic grey Serpicorn as he retracted his head, “I have a snake’s sense of smell. Compounded with the fact that sent and taste are effectively the same thing for me, and the fact that my being blind forces my body to rely on my other senses. I can navigate significantly better than I could before I took the Blood Rites.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Replied a confused Pegasus, “Could back up to your sense being one in the same?”

Noblesse was more than happy to sate his friends’ curiosity, “I have no nose. And like lesser snakes, I smell with my tongue. So, there is no difference between sent and taste for me, and other Serpicorns.”

“Could yah smell width yer tongue before this happened to yah?” Asked Apple Bloom genuinely curious.

“Aye,” Replied Noblesse, “But I didn’t need to since I had a nose before.”

Noblesse raised his hoof to his mouth, “If thou look closely, thou can’st see mine tongue flicking out like a snake. ‘tis how I smell things as of my molting.”

“That’s…” Started Rumble, thinking out loud about what somepony would have to go through to have this happen to them, “Terrifying.”

“Rumble!” Said Apple Bloom sharply as she jabbed her coltfriend in the ribs.

Noblesse smiled widely, seeing his chance for something had been waiting for most of his life. Noblesse could scarcely hide his fangs as he raised his tail as high as he could from his seated position. Everyone had their attention on Noblesse’s face and lack of a horn and missing limbs, so no one noticed that his tail was now like a shorter fifth leg with a rattle on it.

“Oh, come now Rumble,” Said Noblesse getting his friends’ attention on him again, “Surely such things don’t-” Noblesse then shook his rattle, making a noise eerily reminiscent to that of venomous Rattlesnakes when their scared, “Rattle, you!”

Both Apple Bloom and Rumble gave Noblesse matching glares as venomous as the snakes he was mimicking as he laughed manically, “How long have ya’ll been waitin’ to say that?” Asked Apple Bloom, not dropping her glare.

“Nine years, almost to the day,” Replied Noblesse honestly as he wiped a tear out of his eye.

The three of them were brought out of the moment by somepony’s angry yelling, “Get back here Skunk Tail!”

Apple Bloom and Rumble moved to the side of the tree Noblesse was lying beside to see if they could find the source of yelling while Noblesse remained unmoving. The young couple saw a trio of Ponies their own age, one from each Pony Tribe chasing an incredibly small Earth Pony. Their victim was a colt about Pipsqueak’s height, maybe shorter, with a white mane and tail with a single black steak in the center of each taking up about a third of both the mane and tail. This was most likely where the nickname came from, if it wasn’t his real name. The small Earth Pony had a dark brown coat, a common coat color amongst Earth Ponies.

Apple Bloom’s eyes widened as she realized she knew this colt, “Hey! That’s-” Apple Bloom stopped herself as she and Rumble a brown streak slithering across the ground, clearly on a path to intercept the four Ponies. The two of them looked to where Noblesse was laying to see that only his crutch remained in his spot.

Lemon Grass was an Earth Pony with a light green coat, so light in fact, it was almost white with a much darker green mane and tail. He and his friends had been trying to get this little nerd in their class to do their homework for them, which was not initially as malicious as it seemed.

Skunk Tail, the much smaller Earth Pony whose real name Lemon Grass couldn’t remember, went to the other classes, and asked single Ponies at random if he could do their homework for them. And he did this for every class except for theirs, which was strange because they were in the same class as Skunk Tail. Their classmates had asked Skunk Tail if he would do their homework for them, but he refused. Lemon Grass and his friends were the only ones that persisted after the first few times, and they were starting to get angry with this punk. Today was the day they found out why he singled out their class, and make him pay for it.

The smaller colt tripped on something and fell to the ground. This was their chance. Lemon Grass jumped into the air, intending to land on the jerk. Instead of hitting the ground or landing on Skunk Tail, something grabbed Lemon Grass, and used the velocity to spin him around a couple of times before throwing him back at his friends.

They both managed to dodge the improvised boulder hurtling at them. Lemon Grass hit the ground and was immediately kept from rolling and even helped up off the ground by Spell Tag’s telekinesis. Spell Tag was an unusually tall silver Unicorn with a velvet red mane and tail.

“Are you alright LG?” Asked the amber yellow Pegasus with a sky-blue mane and tail.

“Yeah, Ah’m fine Vapor,” Replied the Earth Pony, “The hay happened?”

“I intervened,” Replied an unfamiliar voice.

The three bullies didn’t see anypony else as their attention was on Skunk Tail. Spell Tag and Water Vapor didn’t see him throw their friend at them as they were more concerned with getting out of the way than figuring out who threw him in the first place.

The three of them turned their heads instantly to face the interloper. Clearly a colt by his facial features. This ‘Pony’ appeared to be one the freaks who came out of nowhere to help with the last Winter Wrap Up, but this one looked really strange. Aside from his serpentine features, this guy was clearly missing two of his legs, but only Spell Tag noticed the scar tissue in his scaly skin where a horn would be. There was also the fact that he was wearing a cloak, it was casual wear judging by how thin it was, unlike the thick traveling cloak the Zebra used to wear. It was already odd that he was wearing cloths outside of some fancy social event, but nopony had worn cloaks like this in centuries.

“Who the hay are you?” Asked Spell Tag.

Noblesse barely managed to pick himself off of the ground and into a seating position as he spoke, “I am Noblesse Oblige: sworn servant of Equestria. Thou’rt guilty of crimes most foul against her people. Thou shalt bow before the authority entrusted in me by the Twin Thrones, or thou shall face even more dire consequences for thy felonies.”

The three bullies and their target weren’t able to understand much from Noblesse’s archaic manner of speech, only that he wasn’t going to get out of their way. Who did this bastard think he was? He was outnumbered three-to-one and only had two legs. This punk needed to be taught a lesson as well it seemed.

“Let me take care of ‘em boys,” Said Lemon Grass before charging at the two-legged thing in their way. Noblesse had made this personal.

Noblesse didn’t move until Lemon Grass had crossed half the distance needed to reach him. At that halfway mark, Noblesse hit the ground instantly before charging at Lemon Grass. The Earth Pony stopped in his tracks and reflexively brought his limbs closer to his body, precisely what Noblesse wanted. Before that reflexive moment could end, Noblesse used his body to coil around Lemon Grass in such a way that his legs were bound to his torso. Noblesse then used the velocity from Lemon Grass’ recoil and his own charge to hold the bully upside down as Noblesse balanced himself on his head, “Ah can’t move,” Was all the Earth Pony was able to choke out as Noblesse tightened his hold on the bully.

Spell Tag was shocked at how fast Noblesse moved and the unnatural way he moved his body. His bones would have to be shattered to move like that! Was what the Unicorn thought as his hot-blooded Pegasus friend rushed to help Lemon Grass.

Just as planned was the only thought going through Noblesse head as Water Vapor rushed. Noblesse then released Lemon Grass like a top, sending him into the air. Vapor stopped and watched in awe as his friend was sent flying. All too late to realize that his friend was on a crash course for him. Lemon Grass landed on Water Vapor, knocking both of them unconscious as Lemon Grass’ form bounced off of the Pegasus’ body and rolled into the grass as he landed.

Noblesse used the momentum from his spin to face Spell Tag. Noblesse then made himself fall on his stomach as he coiled his uninjured limbs and tail and made his maimed foreleg form a sideway ‘s,’ perpendicular to his face. Spell Tag was too panicked to do anything as Noblesse leaped at him. Noblesse’s foreleg grabbed Spell Tag’s horn by the base, and ripped off of his head. Spell Tag made the horrible scream all of the teachers heard the instant his horn was severed. Noblesse then coiled his maimed foreleg around the bully’s horn and tightened his grip, making a soft crunching noise that made Skunk Tail flinch, as he was the only one aside from Noblesse who heard it. Spell Tag fell over on the ground crying and screaming in pain.

Noblesse then whipped out his foreleg as though he was trying to throw something, only to release a cloud of silver colored bone dust. Skunk Tail flinched again as Noblesse turned to face him and started slithering his way. Skunk Tail kept his eyes closed as Noblesse coiled around him. Somepony! Help me! Were the only thoughts going through the small colt’s mind as he prepared for the worst.

Noblesse coiled his body around the small Earth Pony and gently placed his head on top of Skunk Tail’s, causing the smaller colt to widely open his eyes in shock. Skunk Tail was also surprised at the fact that he wasn’t being crushed by this snake-Pony thing. In fact, it was comforting, a welcome feeling after his ordeal no doubt.

“Hast thou come to harm?” Asked Noblesse.

Skunk Tail needed a moment to figure out what he was being asked, “No, I-I’m fine.”

Noblesse slithered off of Skunk Tail and coiled the lower half of his body on the ground, leaving his torso and head exposed. Skunk Tail felt shivers go down his spine as he realized how snake-like his savoir was moving.

Noblesse was trying to figure a few things out. Firstly, why did this colt smell so familiar? It wasn’t that he had met the colt before, but that he has been in close contact with someone he knew well and frequently. Then there was his high-pitched voice, height, and pheromones. This all suggested that his rescuee was significantly younger than anyone else in this class period. He should be in the morning class period figured Noblesse.

The Serpicorn was brought out of his ponderings by a familiar scent and the sound of hooves on the mulch. Noblesse did a one-eighty with his head without moving any part of his body below his neck to face the teacher, “Ah, Ms. Cheerilee, just the person I wanted to see.”

“SWEET CELESTIA! WHAT HAPPENED!” Screamed Cheerilee in horror.

While Cheerilee did notice the unconscious Earth Pony and Unicorn, her attention was on the Unicorn. Spell Tag had curled himself into ball. The wound where his horn was gushing blood and a sparkling teal substance that Cheerilee supposed was Mana. Her main concern at the moment was the small pool of blood that had formed at Spell Tag’s head, and how it was rapidly growing in size.

Cheerilee quickly looked for two of the Pegasi that were on duty today, and found them standing close by in stunned silence like most of the students, “You!” Cheerilee exclaimed while point at one of them, “Get to the hospital. You!” Cheerilee moved her hoof to point at the other, “Go back into the school and get towels.”

The two Pegasi moved like bullets as they leaped into the air and started flying in to their respective destinations. Cheerilee forced Spell Tag to sit up straight in an effort to slow the blood flow and to keep him conscious. The second soon returned with towels that Cheerilee applied to Spell Tag’s head, the white towels almost immediately turning red in color. Cheerilee bit her lip as blood kept leaking from the wound and was starting to soak through the towels. What more can I do? Wondered Cheerilee in a panic.

A large flash of light got Cheerilee’s attention. She turned her head to see that Unicorn paramedics had just teleported a few yards to her right, “Over here!” Yelled Cheerilee.

The paramedics initially had their attention on the two unconscious Ponies, but shifted their priorities as they saw the Unicorn on the verge of bleeding out. The duo had rushed to the Unicorn’s side while shooing away Cheerilee, “That Pegasus didn’t say there were multiple wounded Ponies.”

“We’re going to have to take this poor this poor kid to the palace,” Said the other, “Ponyville General doesn’t have the means to treat anything this serious.”

“Doesn’t protocol say to give the unconscious priority?” Asked the first.

His coworker gave him a hard glare, “They’re both in stable condition and this poor bastard is already going into shock. He’s our top priority.”

The two Unicorns touched the tips of their horns to one another while holding onto Spell Tag. Their horns flashed with colorless light before teleporting with Spell Tag to give him help. Cheerilee gave a sigh of relief. She turned to face who she assumed had either seen the most or had hurt these students in the first place only to notice the much shorter colt, the one Pony she really didn’t want to see.

Cheerilee swallowed saliva and regained her composure before speaking, “What happened?”

Cheerilee and the rest of this week’s recess supervisors spent the next fifteen minutes getting statements from their students about what happened and how. Within the first five minutes of their initial investigation, medics from the Everfree Palace came and took Lemon Grass and Water Vapor to the palace medical wards. All while leaving Noblesse, the Pony who hurt the three bullies, to wait in the principal’s office.

Cheerilee was less than pleased that Clockwork, Skunk Tail’s real name, had been subjected to bullying from three Ponies nearly twice his age. And she was super upset that the fight had not only happened, but that three of her students had been seriously wounded. All that was left for the investigation was to get Noblesse’s side of the story before turning their findings over to the Town Guard.

Cheerilee walked into her office to find Noblesse patiently waiting in the seat in front of her desk, completely calm and seemingly unfazed by what happened. Cheerilee sat down at her desk before starting her interrogation, “Why did you feel the need to intervene at all?”

“Aside from the colt a third my size and age being run down like a dog?” Replied Noblesse, “I have taken a number of oaths. While I haven’t publicly taken my oaths as the governing noble of the province, I have in fact taken it. So, I am bound by it, and all of the other oaths I took while in the Under-Cities and in Canterlot.”

“So, you were legally required to get involved,” Summarized Cheerilee. That certainly complicates things.

During the three week long debate the Town Council held to decide whether or not Noblesse Oblige should be allowed to make Ponyville his Provincial Capital, Cheerilee went out of her way to do what research she could on the young noblepony. Noblesse was extremely reclusive, so she couldn’t find anything other than rumors. Most of the rumors concerned his eccentric behavior and how he spent his time in the Canterlot Palace District.

Cheerilee assumed that the rumors about his behavior were either made up or exaggerated as Noblesse was always polite to an almost cold degree for the time she knew him, but the conversation she overheard explained why, and even gave credibility to the rumors. Then there was how Noblesse spent his time in Canterlot. Allegedly, Noblesse went out of his way to help the palace staff with anything he was allowed to; preparing and serving food and drink, cleaning the palace hallways and windows, making beds, etc. If Noblesse had gone as far as to take the oaths the palace staff legally had to for their jobs, then Noblesse would face legal charges for inaction.

Finally, there were the oaths he took while serving in the Under-City military and as a noble. Cheerilee had no idea what kinds of things Ponies born and/or raised in the Under-Cities had to agree to live there, but her research into Noblesse did turn up what the Noble Pledge required one to do. Namely, ‘defending the subjects of realm.’ Usually, this meant nobles ordering their family’s knights to act as paramilitary units in emergencies such as bank robberies or violent protests and riots. But Cheerilee was unsure of what a noble was required to do if they were at the scene of a crime. Noblesse might have been facing the death penalty if he didn’t intervene.

Cheerilee sighed. There was no way Cheerilee could legally punish Noblesse, even if she wanted to. The Ponyville Confidential and The Foal Free Press were going to eat her alive for not doing anything to the only Pony who actually hurt others, and leaving grievous wounds at that. And just what were the families of her students going to think? I just can’t wait for the next PTA meeting thought Cheerilee sarcastically.

“Well Noblesse,” Started Cheerilee, “You’re free to go.”

Noblesse nodded in acknowledgement, “Before I go, I have a question.”

“What is it?” Asked Cheerilee, already guessing at what he was going to ask.

“Why was that colt here in the noon time class period?” Asked Noblesse.

Cheerilee guessed correctly, “Clockwork is super smart for his age. So, with the consent of the School Board, his parents moved him up to a more appropriate grade. But all of his friends are still in the morning class period, so we let him attend the morning class period as well. Making him the only student that is in two class periods.”

“So, Clockwork is his name,” Said Noblesse. Now Noblesse was certain that he had never met this colt before, but why was his scent so familiar? While Noblesse remembered everything with perfect clarity, it could take him over an hour to sort through fifteen years’ worth of memories. Going through everything his senses had detected throughout his entire life, while looking for something specific that may have been irrelevant for years, was not exactly easy.

Noblesse was about to ask another question, when both Noblesse and Cheerilee heard some sort of commotion from the secretary desk just outside of Cheerilee’s office, “Sir you can’t come in right now.”

A gruff male voice made itself heard, “Why the hay not! Some son of a bitch put mah son in the hospital, ‘nd Ah want answers!”

“I understand that,” Replied Sick Note, Cheerilee’s secretary, “But not only do you not have an appointment, but Ms. Cheerilee is busy. I’m sorry Mr. Grass, but you’ll have to come back later.”

“Ah don’t think so!” Replied the stallion, “Ah’m getting’ answers, even if Ah have to go through ya’ll”

Cheerilee and Noblesse quickly exited the office to see two the Earth Ponies arguing. Sick Note was a wood brown mare with a forest green mane and tail. Cheerilee recognized the light green stallion with a darker green mane as Wheat Grass, Lemon Grass’ father and the head the Grass Family; one of Ponyville’s oldest farming families. It looked like it was about to come to blows between the two Earth Ponies, but Cheerilee and Noblesse’s sudden arrival caught their attention.

Wheat Grass realized that Cheerilee might have been talking to this… ‘colt’ because he knew who beat up his son and his friends, “Do ya’ll know the bastard that mess up mah son.”

Cheerilee was about to say something in an effort to defuse the situation, when Noblesse answered Wheat Grass, “I assure ye, mine parents were wed before I was born.” The three adult Ponies were stunned for a moment at Noblesse confessing to a stallion who most likely planned to kill whoever hurt his son.

“Why you mother fu-” Wheat Grass was made to stop as Noblesse turned his head to look at him, and he was suddenly unable to make his body move.

Every ounce of Wheat Grass’ body was screaming at him to move lest he died, but he was just too afraid to so much as breath. The adult Ponies, Wheat Grass included, wondered what could be making him so afraid when Noblesse started walking. Noblesse moved sedately, his hoofsteps, and even his crutch, sounding with the finality of the tomb. Cheerilee had heard about Fluttershy’s ‘Stare’, and instantly drew the comparison. Cheerilee was pondering how a blind Pony could use the stare when Noblesse spoke.

“Listen, and listen well knave,” Noblesse’s voice was so cold and malicious that the others in the room could have sworn that the temperature dropped, “Thy son and his friends outnumbered me, I am also blind and currently unable to use magic. What hope dost a vengeful fool such as thyself have against me.”

Wheat Grass’ pupils became pinpricks as Noblesse slowly wrapped his healthy foreleg around his neck, “I hath enough strength to give you an internal decapitation, a condition that occurs when the skull is severed from the spine but the flesh is relatively unharmed. Thou would die as they head bounced off of the ground, if thou didn’t die as thou fell.”

Noblesse put his muzzle eerily close to Wheat Grass’ ear, “Keep that in mind next time thou thinks to even attempt to challenge me,” Noblesse released his grip and whatever power he was using to paralyze Wheat Grass with fear. Wheat Grass fell to his knees and started hyperventilating. Noblesse walked to the door into the school lobby before speaking again, “Oh, and thou will not see thy son again until his trial. With the lord’s coronation so close, I suspect he and his friends will be judged by the Diarchs themselves. Until we meet again Wheat Grass.”

The fact that Noblesse; a stranger, knew his name sent shivers down Wheat Grass’ spine. Of course, Noblesse knew about the strategically important Ponies in his families’ holdings, but the farming family patriarch had no way of knowing that Noblesse was the noble inheriting Everfree Province. That thing is no Pony, he’s a monster! Thought Wheat Grass as Cheerilee and Sick Note helped him off the ground.

Cheerilee spent the next five minutes explaining to an eerily silent Wheat Grass as to why she couldn’t do anything to penalize Noblesse for his overzealous methods, and why his son and his friends were going to jail as soon as they were released from the Everfree Palace Medical Wards. I hope Twilight’s day was better than mine thought Cheerilee.

Author's Note

Feel free to leave any constructive criticism you have for me in the comments. If you just want to give your thoughts on the story so far, go right ahead. I would be very interested in what any of you readers have to say.

I apologize if any part of that fight scene was confusing. It was my first time writing anything like it in my life, and I would be more than happy to clarify anything if anyone needs/wants me to.

I hope you are all enjoying my story so far.

Chapter 34

Twilight had showed up for the evening class period, which was a relief to Cheerilee. Cheerilee also noticed that Twilight was in much higher spirits than she had ever seen her. Looks like things went over well with Spike thought Cheerilee. Cheerilee was also relieved to see that Discord didn’t show up again.

The class period had just ended and all of the teachers were waiting outside with the foals for their parents when Cheerilee spoke, “Hey Twilight,” She said getting the Unicorn’s attention, “I need to talk to you about something.”

Uh oh thought Twilight. She thought for a moment that she was in trouble for ditching her boss/friend at the last minute, but Cheerilee didn’t seem to be upset in the least. Twilight, of course, couldn’t rule out that years of experience allowed Cheerilee to keep an air of professionalism during work hours.

After all of the foals had gone home with their respective guardians, Twilight followed Cheerilee back into her classroom, “I’m sorry about this afternoon Cheerilee,” Twilight said a bit more nervously than she had meant to.

“Think nothing of it dearie,” Said Cheerilee with a dismissive wave of her hoof, “I was the one who sent you into a panic attack. Besides, I had ‘help’ today, which is actually what I wanted to talk to you about.”

“Oh?” Asked Twilight, “Who helped you?”

Twilight noticed Cheerilee swallowing saliva in a nervous manner, “Discord.”

Both mares paused their conversation to make sure that the creature of chaos wouldn’t come at the mention of his name, and both gave identical sighs of relief.

“What did he do?” Asked Twilight.

“He lectured about the Princesses and the Elements of Harmony,” Replied Cheerilee.

“So, he was actually helpful?” Asked with unmasked surprise.

“I know, right?” Both mares laughed at Cheerilee’s joke, “But he mentioned someone that didn’t come up in our lesson plans.”

“What?” Asked Twilight. She was sure she didn’t forget anything for their lesson plans, “Who?”

“Have you ever heard of anyone named ‘Bucephalus?’” Asked Cheerilee.

Cheerilee did not miss the bewildered look on her friend’s face, “What?” Asked Twilight, “Why did Discord mention Bucephalus?”

“He said that Bucephalus created the Elements of Harmony,” Explained Cheerilee.

“WHAT!?” Exclaimed Twilight, “But he’s a mythological being! How could he-”

At that moment, something in Twilight’s mind clicked like a combination lock. Celestia had told Twilight that she and her sister had this unexplainable determination to find something to fight Discord with. The Diarchs, like Twilight, had summed that up to being left with no other option. But that didn’t make since because no one else was so determined, no else believed Discord could be beaten, even Starswirl couldn’t find a way to beat Discord, so why would two teenagers think they could do anything against him?

In all of the books Twilight read about the Old-World Deities, one thing they had in common were their limited ability to affect the mortal realm directly. And then there was the world outside of Equestria, they could’ve found definitive proof of these beings existing. They might not be as powerful as the legends say, but no one in the Equestrian nation would know otherwise. Especially with how young Celestia and Luna were at the beginning of Discord’s reign, they would have little to no education on the religions of the time, not with the life they’ve lived. And then they were venerated as gods themselves for the next two hundred years, anything related to any other ‘god’ would be forgotten or destroyed.

Twilight adopted a determined expression, “I need you to tell me everything Discord said.”

Luna had just stepped into the Dreamscape. Once again, absolutely no one showed up to her Night Court. While this meant that she had all of her energy for helping her more troubled subjects, it reminded her of the events that drove her into madness. Luna shook her head in an effort to clear her thoughts, there would be time for ruminating later.

A common misconception was that Luna was some sort of nocturnal creature, this couldn’t be further from the truth. She only entered the Dreamscape when she slept, that was when it was the safest. While anyone who could use Dark Magic could go into the Collective Subconscious, it was dangerous to do so while awake. Manny had lost themselves by losing the ability to distinguish between the waking and sleeping worlds. And then there was the rest of Collective Subconscious. Luna wasn’t even sure if the Dreamscape was truly apart of the Collective Subconscious, it was more like the border between the physical and mental. Luna started to channel her magic to destroy some creature she at first assumed to be from the deeper parts of the Collective Subconscious, then she realized it was a member of her family.

“Oh, hello Noblesse,” Said Luna once she realized who it was she was facing.

“Good morrow grandmother,” Replied Noblesse, his voice echoing given his current form.

The reason Luna had mistaken Noblesse for one of the Nightmares from the Collective Subconscious, was because Noblesse was currently animated as a cloud of velvety red fog. It slowly morphed into his physical being, which surprised Luna.

“I have never seen one of you without armor on,” Said Luna, trying her best to mask her surprise in an effort to spare her grandfoal’s feelings.

When Luna had first returned to Equestria, she went to the Under-Cities as soon as she had learned of them. Luna had initially gone to the Under-Cities to assure the people there that they no longer needed to put themselves into exile, but going to someplace where she was praised in a similar manner to her sister after she self-loathing induced madness made Luna want to stay for a while. Which Celestia encouraged. This was why Luna had no idea that the Royal Traditions had died in the rest of world and why she used an archaic vocabulary. The Under-Cities was of course where she got her chauffeurs for when she visited Ponyville for the Nightmare Night Festival. It was also where Luna was during the Canterlot Wedding Fiasco, helping to fight off the Under-City Changelings that were conspiring with Hive Chrysalis.

“What brings you into the Dreamscape Noblesse?” Asked Luna.

Noblesse was an exception to the dangers of the Collective Subconscious, given that it was impossible for him to lose the ability to differentiate the physical and mental worlds. Luna had first met Noblesse in the Dreamscape, it was also where they meet up most often. Ponies rarely needed Luna’s intervention, given the safe world Celestia had provided for them. There were of course exceptions; the less fortunate, the mentally insane, Ponies who were ignorant to their own fears and insecurities, etc. This made Luna feel safe in, basically blowing off work with one of few people in the Equestrian Nation who step into the Dreamscape as she could.

“I had to give a tale from my service today,” Explained Noblesse “I am almost certain my classmates will have nightmares concerning it.”

“Oh,” Said Luna. That explains all of the foals staying up late this night, “Thank you for the warning.”

The two embraced briefly before Luna started seeing the small white lights flashing. Each light in the nebulous Dreamscape was a person sleeping, and a flashing light was someone having a nightmare, the more frequent the flashes, the more intense the nightmare. Luna was actually thankful when one of her subjects was having a nightmare. Luna knew that the nations outside of Equestria wouldn’t appreciate someone they thought was gone forever suddenly appearing in their psyche, so she and Celestia had decided to wait until they started interacting with the other nations more before leaping into their dreams. Which meant that Luna often spent her nights wandering the Dreamscape waiting for something to happen.

“I beg your forgiveness,” Said Luna as she broke the embrace, “But our subjects need me.”

“Worry not grandmother,” Said Noblesse, “I have business I must attend to as well.”

Luna watched her grandson trot towards the edge of the Dreamscape before diving into the mind of the person closest to her that was having a nightmare, it was also the one flashing the most frequently. This will be long night thought Luna with an excited smile.

She was running like her life was at stake. Though, it was not her life that needed saving. I have to save them thought Sweetie Belle There’s no one else left. Sweetie Belle ran through the burning orchards of Sweet Apple Acers hoping to get to the Cutie Mark Crusaders Clubhouse in time to save her friends from him.

The Clubhouse came into view just as it collapsed into flames. No was the only thought going through Sweetie Belle’s head. She barely noticed the debris coming towards her when the clubhouse fell from the desecrated tree and onto the now barren ground below.

“Ah!” Sweetie Belle screamed as she ducked for cover, the flaming plank of wood just barely missing. Though it didn’t stop the intense heat from getting to Sweetie Belle.

The young Unicorn heard sound of blackened trees snapping around her. She looked around to see that any way of getting out was now blocked by burning wood, the bright flames being the only reason Sweetie Belle could see through the light grey smoke. Sweetie Belle then hit the ground again, overcome with despair and hardly being able to breath.

Sweetie Belle saw the smoke and flames clearing in one section of the inferno around her, briefly bringing her hope. Relief came to Sweetie Belle like a flood when she saw the silhouette of a taller Unicorn walking towards. Sweetie Belle was instantly crushed like a sand castle in a tidal wave as the Unicorn came close enough for her to see properly through the smoke.

The Unicorn was clearly a young stallion with a copper colored mane and a strange metal grey coat that almost made him invisible in the miasma of smoke, though it did nothing to keep Sweetie Belle from recognizing the Unicorn. She also saw that he was holding something in one of his hooves. Why thought Sweetie Belle as her tears came like torrents.

The Unicorn was holding a red bow that had been singed by the fire with a few orange feathers that were similarly charred black around their edges. Sweetie Belle could now see that the burning wreckage of the clubhouse was behind him.

“Thy friends and family are gone,” Said Noblesse, “If only they had listened to your warnings,” Taunted the sadist as he tossed the bow and feathers into one of the flaming trees nearby, “Now, there is only you left."

Noblesse started laughing manically as the tongues of the flames suddenly stretched from their pyres to lick Noblesse’s body, slowly stripping his skin from his body. Sweetie Belle then noticed that Noblesse had never stopped moving towards her. As the flaming patches of skin fell to the ground, Sweetie Belle could clearly see Noblesse’s true form; that of a terrifying serpent. Sweetie Belle trembled as Noblesse stopped inches away from her, his rust colored snake eyes being the only thing she could see through the smoke as it swirled around them, “I am going to have lots of fun with you,” Noblesse started laughing again as he lifted a hoof off of the ground and started reaching for the paralyzed mare before him.

Just before Noblesse could touch Sweetie Belle, an eldritch bolt of azure light stroke the serpentine Unicorn, launching him into the flames, “GAAHH!!! IT BURNS!” Screamed Noblesse. Rain came in buckets, washing away both smoke and flame. Sweetie Belle could see the desecrated form of Noblesse, his skin either melting off of his bones or fusing to them.

“Begone, twisted parody of my kin!” Yelled a familiar voice as another bolt of light erased Noblesse, along with the ruined world Sweetie Belle was trapped in.

Sweetie Belle only opened her eyes when a soft motherly hoof picked her up from her prone position, “Rise Dame Sweetie Belle,” Said the guardian of dreams, “I fear there is much for us to discuss.”

“Princess Luna!” Said Sweetie Belle as she recognized who her savior was, “So, I was having a nightmare?”

“I’m afraid so,” Confirmed Luna, “Noblesse warned me that you and your classmates might have nightmares.”

“What?” Asked Sweetie Belle, “Why?”

“The Nobility exists to help my sister and I do our jobs,” Answered Luna, “It is also among their responsibilities to protect the citizenry within their families’ holdings.”

“Protect?” Asked Sweetie Belle in an agitated tone of voice, “Since when does he ‘protect’ anything? Do you have any idea what he has done?”

“I know much more about his accomplishments than you do,” Replied Luna, completely unfazed by Sweetie Belle’s words and tone.

“He has confessed to murder without an ounce of remorse!” Pointed out Sweetie Belle, “Ponies like him belong in Tartarus!”

Luna nodded her head in acknowledgement, “I’d agree with if the circumstances of the life he, and the denizens of the Under-Cities, have lived were different.”

“What could possibly excuse such atrocities?” Asked Sweetie Belle, clearly upset that Luna seemed to be utterly uncaring to anything her grandchild has done.

“Before my fall into madness,” Started Luna, “My sister and I worked together to see to the prosperity of Equestria, though our responsibilities differed greatly. Despite being born a Unicorn, my sister was always terrible with magic, but I was able to use it effortlessly. Also unlike my sister, I was hot headed and eager to face our enemies in battle. While my sister handled negotiations and domestic policy, I dealt with those who would plotted against us.”

“What do you mean?” Asked Sweetie Belle.

“You wouldn’t know this, given how our nation has been closed off from the rest of the world,” Said Luna, “But there were surprisingly few that see us as their equals. And we could not stave off their ambitions with neither words nor trade,” Luna sighed, “So it was up to me to organize our military and face invaders head on. Sometimes it was enough to crush their invasion forces, others we had to extinguish their entire civilizations. I have done both on my own before.”

“But why?” Asked Sweetie Belle in distress, “What reason could they possibly have to go so far out of their way to hurt us?”

“Often it was the common flaws of all peoples,” Answered Luna, “Avarice, Pride, Envy, et cetera. But sometimes there were given no other choice. Left without resources to trade with their neighbors, and no nation can give freely less they find themselves in the same situation. And at the time, we happened to be their weakest neighbor, as well as among the most prosperous.”

“What does this have to do with Noblesse?” Asked Sweetie Belle.

“The foes of the Under-Cities are the foes of all nations upon the continent of Equestria,” Replied the Lunar Diarch, “Many of the first subterranean peoples are criminals banished from the surface, their children are also banished to the cavernous caves beneath Equestria. Then there are the nations who simply toss their dead and trash into the caves. Some want vengeance for being punished for crimes they did not commit, others have had their homes poisoned and have no choice but to try and take the surface. There are of course, those who use these situations to their advantage to gain power. These are the kinds of people that Noblesse and the Under-Cities strike down without mercy.”

“Have you idea how he feels about it!?” Asked Sweetie Belle, “What kind of monster gets pleasure from hurting Ponies? Let alone, killing them.”

“I am aware of Noblesse’s sadism,” Replied Luna coolly, “His comes from a different place than you think.”

“What?” Asked Sweetie Belle, “Does it really matter?”

Luna sighed, “More than you think. When I went to the Under-Cities myself, I learned of the… ‘reputation’ Noblesse earned. I couldn’t believe it after the first few times I met him, it simply didn’t seem possible with his personality. Then I finally asked him about. Do you know why Noblesse can cause so much pain and feel not remorse, but euphoria?”

Sweetie Belle was stunned at the revelation that Luna truly knew what kind of person Noblesse was, and let him go free. At first, she was disgusted with the Diarch, but the curious itch in the back of her mind wouldn’t go away, “Why?”

“It is not the pain Noblesse enjoys, but who he is hurting,” Replied Luna, “The way Noblesse interpreted his duty; is that it was his job to punish those who would put their families, or even just themselves, above entire nations. Those would crush all others in a mad quest for power. He saw himself as some sort of twisted parody of the Angel of Death, seeking those who could not be forgiven and bringing with him retribution.”

Sweetie Belle looked down in thought. It made since in a sick sort of way. She supposed that with the life Noblesse had lived, he would never see the world in a way anyone else in Equestria could. It would certainly explain how he could live with himself, if he saw himself as an agent of vengeance. And yet, Sweetie Belle still did not feel bad for the things she said about Noblesse, she still held her convictions over the ex-soldier she had established prior. Hurting people when you didn’t have to is wrong, with no crime being worse than murder. While Sweetie Belle believed she understood Noblesse a little better, she doubted she could ever forgive him for his crimes. That part of him would forever drive a wedge between her and him.

“Sweetie Belle,” Said Luna in a motherly tone of voice. She brought her hoof to the young Unicorn’s chin and Sweetie Belle look her in the eyes. Sweetie Belle could see that Luna had a sad smile on her face, “I think it’s wonderful that you feel so passionately for pacifism, and I don’t think it’s something you should let go off. All I ask, is that you not hate him for something he could not help. I won’t ask that you befriend him, I won’t even ask that you don’t hold his past against him, but you should not fear as badly as you do. He will only come after the enemies of Equestria, not your friends.”

“He told you to come here, right?” Asked Sweetie Belle.

“He did,” Answered Luna, “And you are not the only one having nightmares about him. As we speak, I am consoling several others over very similar concerns to yours.”

“You can be in more than one place?” Asked Sweetie Belle.

“As long as I am in the Realm of Sleep,” Replied Luna.

“How did he know we would be having nightmares?” Asked Sweetie Belle.

Luna sighed, “Noblesse’s specialty lies, not in the ending of lives, but in the breaking of minds. So, he made an educated guess.”

Luna started floating off of the ground as her horn ignited in a teal glow, “Forgive me,” Started Luna, “I know you have more questions, but there are others who require my attention. Know that your worries will not plague you again this night, Sweet Dreams Sweetie Belle.”

And indeed, the young Unicorn’s dreams were much more pleasant than the night terror she experienced that night after Luna’s visit. Though Sweetie Belle couldn’t remember anything about her dreams after the Night Princess’s departure when her alarm clock woke her. Sweetie Belle remembered something about the effects Luna’s magic has on Ponies when she enters their dreams, namely that the Diarch’s visit is remember with perfect clarity along with whatever nightmare brought her to their Dreams in the first place.

A few moments after Sweetie Belle had turned off her alarm clock, she became awake enough to feel the cold wet sensation in between her rear thighs and gaskins. Oh no thought Sweetie Belle. And sure enough, she had wet her bed in the night, most likely during her nightmare. Sweetie Belle sighed good thing Rarity’s still asleep. Sweetie Belle stripped her bed and brought her sheets to the laundry room for cleaning. Sweetie Belle had never been so thankful that her sister slept in late into the morning, something about ‘being able to keep more convenient hours for her clients.’

Sweetie Belle managed to clean her sheets and reapply them to the mattress in her room before eating two toaster strudels. Unlike her sister, Sweetie Belle preferred to hers without toasting them. That little quirk may or may not have to do with the fact she couldn’t prepare consumables without charring it into charcoal, including liquids. The young Unicorn looked to the clock on the kitchen wall. With Scootaloo on sick leave, she and Apple Bloom have had to leave early for school and they weren’t able to get together for the mandatory trip. Of course, it still be another few hours before she had to leave. An involuntary shiver went down Sweetie Belle’s spine as she thought of the Unicorn colt that had started sitting two seats to the right of her usual seat. If she left early enough, she’d be able to get to Apple Bloom’s usual seat on the opposite edge of the row where the aforementioned colt sat, which would put Sweetie Bell as far from Noblesse Oblige as possible.

“Maybe if I’m lucky,” Said Sweetie Belle to herself, “I’ll get through the day without talking to him.”

“To who?” Asked a familiar voice from directly behind Sweetie Belle.

“AH!!!” Screamed Sweetie Belle as she jumped out of her seat, actually hitting the ceiling with her head.

Rarity’s magic came to life as she grabbed her little sister with her telekinesis, she was also able to keep the light fixture from crashing into the tile floor as the damage Sweetie Belle’s jump caused loosened it from the ceiling. Rarity set Sweetie Belle gently on her hooves as she carefully placed the light fixture on the counter. At the same time, grabbing the first aid kit on the wall where the entrance to the lobby was, and directly opposite to the portal where the fire extinguisher was hanging.

“I’m so sorry Sweetie Belle,” Said Rarity as she placed bandages on the younger Unicorn’s head where she was bleeding, “I really didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s okay,” Assured the younger Unicorn, “But what are you doing up? You’re usually asleep for another hour and a half.”

“I heard the laundry machine running,” Answered Rarity.

Sweetie Belle had to resist the urge to facehoof, she forgot her sister’s bedroom was directly above the laundry room. She was hoping to keep her sister in the dark about her accident and her nightmare, but now Sweetie Belle was certain that wasn’t going to be a possibility.

Rarity saw the forlorn look on her sister’s face as she thought about what she wanted to say, “You don’t have to tell me now,” Said Rarity, “You have all day to organize your thoughts, it’s not like I’m going to let you go to school so soon after an injury like that.”

“Thank goodness,” Said Sweetie Belle. She immediately slapped herself in the mouth trying to keep the words from coming out, but she didn’t need to see the look on Rarity’s face to tell her that her sister had heard enough.

“So, it’s somepony at school who’s bothering you,” Observed Rarity, “Is it Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon?”

“No,” Answered Sweetie Belle, knowing that she wouldn’t be able to keep this from her sister, “It’s somepony worse.” Sweetie Belle then revealed to her sister every crime that Noblesse had confessed to, and her nightmare.

Chapter 35

Scootaloo opened her eyes as she heard three knocks on the door to her room. Her father was friends with Fluttershy, and she was often called upon by him to watch over the house when she was available. While Scootaloo could watch over their house herself, her social life was very active, so she was rarely home. Though Scootaloo was suddenly woken up, and she was still feeling the effect of the medication she was prescribed to help her bones heal and to reduce the pain, she was lucid enough to know that Fluttershy wouldn’t be here for a while. Which meant that there was only one Pony who could be knocking on her door.

“Come in,” Called Scootaloo with a groggy voice.

Her bedroom door opened to reveal a nine-year-old Earth Pony colt. He had a dark brown coat and a black mane and tail, both with a white stripe going down the middle of each. And living with him for his entire life, meant that Scootaloo was used to his different colored eyes. His right eye being a fiery orange and his left eye being an oceanic blue. Though she couldn’t see it, Scootaloo also knew that her little brother had a numberless clock face with wrenches for hands as his Cutie Mark. What Scootaloo could see however, was that Clockwork had a class of water in his mouth.

The average age for Ponies getting their Cutie Marks in Ponyville was already fairly high given that the town was small and rural, which meant that there were fewer activities for Ponies to try at one time, so it took longer for Ponies to figure out what it was that made them the happiest. But even in the metropolises of Equestria, it was almost unheard of for somepony to get his or her Cutie Mark at age five like Clockwork had. He had an article written about him that was the cover of both the Foal Free Press and the Ponyville Confidential that was the front page of both papers. His cuteceañera was the single largest party Pinkie Pie had thrown to date. And when Scootaloo’s mother, the head of the Royal Observatory, mentioned how proud she was of him in proximity to the Sun Princess, Princess Celestia wrote him a congratulatory letter which Clockwork kept framed in his room. It was Clockwork getting his Cutie Mark so early that actually sparked Scootaloo’s obsession with them.

Clockwork walked up to the table next to Scootaloo’s bed and set the water down, “It’s time for you to take your medicine,” He informed his older sister.

Scootaloo smiled and gave the young colt an appreciative nod. She sat up in her bed before reaching for the pair of bottles on the same table and got one pill out of each bottle before putting them in her mouth. She then grabbed the glass of water and downed every drop.

“Is there anything that I can do for you before I go to school?” Asked the Earth Pony hopefully.

“Nothing that can’t wait until Fluttershy gets here,” Answered Scootaloo.

“Okay,” Said Clockwork as he turned around and ran out of the room, “Have a good day Scootaloo!”

It always made Scootaloo happy to see her little brother happy like that, so much so that she didn’t care that he forgot to close her door. And with that bright note, the orange Pegasus went back to sleep.

As Clockwork galloped to the morning class period, he thought about his savior from the other day. He wanted to tell his big sister about what happened yesterday, but he wanted to wait until she was allowed out of the house before he even mentioned it. Clockwork doubted that his sister would believe him if he told her that a ‘snake-pony’ had saved him, unless he could introduce the two. Noblesse Oblige thought the young colt I have to thank him properly today.

As Cheerilee and Twilight were preparing their classroom for the noon class period, the older darker colored mare noticed that her assistant was deep in thought about something that troubled her. Twilight was doing her usual tasks without mistake or hesitation, but gone was her cheery demeaner and in its place, was a blank expression with eyes that betrayed her worrying.

Twilight fell into the state she was in now close to the end of the morning class period. Cheerilee was fortunate enough to have been looking at Twilight when it happened. Twilight adopted an expression of shock as she was helping the more slow-moving foals out the door, it was like she had realized that she forgot something important. Twilight had moved to talked to Cheerilee, but decided against it before she could sound a single syllable. Cheerilee believed that Twilight would tell when she figured out how to word her thoughts. e'>

Twilight had realized that she had never spoken to Noblesse about the Dark Magic Grimoire he had given to Ruby Pinch, like she promised her, her mother, and Dinky she would. Twilight also realized it would be difficult to speak to Noblesse about it without Cheerilee being close by. Twilight knew that from the conversation she had with Berry Punch at the hospital, that she and Cheerilee were sisters, which meant that Ruby was Cheerilee’s niece. Twilight didn’t want to worry Cheerilee if she could help it, but at the same time Cheerilee had a right to know if her family was in dire straits. Twilight wasn’t sure how close Cheerilee and Berry were, and then there was the fact that Berry might simply not have had the chance to tell her younger sister about the recent developments in her daughter’s life. Twilight decided that she would approach Noblesse with Cheerilee, but was now trying to think of a way to involve Cheerilee without worrying her. If Berry had told Cheerilee what little she knew of Dark Magic, then it shouldn’t be too much of a problem, but Twilight really didn’t want to risk driving a wedge in the relationship between Cheerilee and her big sister.

Ultimately, Twilight decided that she would have to take the risk, “Hey Cheerilee.”

Cheerilee looked up from the paper she had just finished grading to acknowledge her assistant, “What is it Twilight?” Cheerilee internally winced as she failed to keep the eagerness out of her voice.

Twilight was given a moment’s pause as she was caught off guard by Cheerilee’s tone of voice, “We need to talk to Noblesse during recess today.”

“Is this about those colts he hospitalized?” Asked Cheerilee. Though the Spell Tag, the Unicorn of the trio that attacked Clockwork, was hurt the most, all three colts require several days in the hospital for their injuries.

“No,” Answered Twilight with a calm tone of voice and a nod of her head, “When was the last time you talked to your sister or your niece?”

Cheerilee blinked at the nonsequitur, “What?”

Cheerilee had no idea what Noblesse could have to do with her family. Cheerilee surmised that Twilight was talking about Berry Punch when she mentioned her sister, as she also mentioned her niece. Cheerilee could draw this conclusion from the fact that Berry was the only of the three sisters that had a daughter, there was also the fact that Pina Colada never had an interest in romance. It shamed Cheerilee that she hadn’t kept as in touch with her sisters or her niece as much as she would like, but that still left the question of what Noblesse had to do with Ruby, She doesn’t even go to school here anymore!

The clock in the room was behind Cheerilee, so Twilight could see it while talking to her, “I would tell you everything now, but we don’t have time.”

Cheerilee spun in her swivel seat so she could check the clock just as students started pouring in.

Time Turner was out patrolling the streets in his guard armor as he always did when he finished all of the paperwork he could do. Thunderlane’s right hoof noticed how the amount of paperwork slowly, but surely, increase with each passing day. He suspected that the Ponies in the Town Guard would have to quit their jobs soon, but which job they would quit was undetermined. Even Thunderlane, the head of the Town Guard, moonlighted, but with the increasing population from different trots of life moving to Ponyville, the amount of crime increased as well. It wouldn’t be long before guardponies would have to choose between their place in the Town Guard or whatever second job they had.

Cloud Chaser for example, works for the Town Guard. She has proven to be as effective as she was passionate at her career in law enforcement. Time Turner and Thunderlane had both talked about changes they would have to make to guard hierarchy with Ponyville’s imminent developments. One of these changes would be adding ‘Detectives’ to the guard hierarchy, and there was no doubt that Cloud Chaser would be the first to be offered the position. However, she also worked with the Weather Team. While she didn’t hate it, it wasn’t where her heart was lying at, so Time Turner was almost certain that she would resign from the Weather Team soon, if she hadn’t already.

Despite his increased workload in the office, Time Turn couldn’t keep his mind off of a specific concern of his, the only one he had kept from friend and superior in the Town Guard. Namely, his daughter’s relationship with the Heir-Apparent to Everfree Province. Noblesse Oblige came off as cold, and his position on the Noble Ladder made him a target for assassination attempts, especially now that Parliament had officially opened Equestria’s boarders. Time Turner simply couldn’t stop worrying about his daughter, it would be even worse if Noblesse hurt her for some reason. The Town Guard could be tricked into arresting an innocent Pony, if they were left with anything for an investigation. Then there was the possibility that somepony would try to hurt Noblesse through his friends, including Dinky. Time Turner and Ditzy Doo might never find out why their daughter was hurt, or find out what happened to her if she suddenly disappeared.

Time Turner was brought out of his brooding by a familiar Pony calling out to him, “Hey, Time Turner? Can we talk in private?”

Time Turner looked up to see a see a stallion with a light green coat and a red-orange mane and tail. Time Turner recognized this stallion as Crab Grass, Wheat Grass’ oldest nephew. Time Turner and Crab Grass went to the same Law Enforcement Academy in Trottingham and made fast friends. Crab Grass would most likely still be in law enforcement, but he took an injury during a hostage situation and could no longer run or gallop. It was nothing short of a miracle that he didn’t need a crutch for more than a few months and that he could safely put weight on his bad leg, which allowed him to work on his family’s farm after his recovery.

“Sure,” Replied Time Turner, happy to have been excused from his dark thoughts. Time Turner lead his friend into a nearby alleyway, “What’s wrong?”

“You know that snake freak that beat up my cousin and his friends?” Asked Crab Grass.

“I know of the incident,” Replied Time Turner, attempting to maintain a neutral position on the matter.

“That monster put three colts, all older than him, in the hospital without a horn and two of his legs,” Explained Crab Grass, “He’s also apparently blind.”

Time Turner was unable to completely contain his shock, “I had heard that he was injured prior to the incident, but I didn’t know it was that bad,” Was there a breach of security in the Everfree Palace? Wondered the high ranking guardpony.”

“Wheat Grass told me all about,” Said Crab Grass, “He went to Cheerilee’s office to find out exactly what happened, and ran into the thing. He was about to put that freak in the ground when he did… something. He couldn’t explain it completely, but he was paralyzed by ‘intense feelings of malice,’ as he put it. The colt walked up to him with his crutch and wrapped his leg around Wheat’s neck like a noose, and threatened to kill him if he tried anything.”

“What did the school do?” Asked Time Turner. Time Turner knew that they wouldn’t be able to do much, if anything, thanks to Noblesse’s rank on the Noble Ladder, but he didn’t know the official story that they would be giving until his coronation.

“Nothing,” Answered Crab Grass, “That thing is abusing technicalities and loopholes in the Code of Law to avoid persecution, in addition to having Lemon and his friends locked up.”

“Weren’t they attacking a foal?” Asked Time Turner.

“Yes,” Admitted Crab Grass, “And while they do need to be punished for it, they’re just kids. Plus, no one’s doing anything about that snake thing’s ‘Excessive Use of Force in Self Defense.’ He put all three of them in the hospital, if he can paralyze a full-grown stallion in fear, then he didn’t need to hurt them all so badly.”

Time Turner had to admit that Crab Grass had a number of points. The only reason Noblesse wouldn’t be facing legal action for hospitalizing those three colts is because MRF’s (Members of the Royal Family) can’t be guilty of ‘Excessive Use of Force in Self Defense’ since their existence is rooted in governance, making an attack on a MRF’s person an act of treason. But if Noblesse could have handled the situation without causing Grievous Bodily Harm, then, why didn’t he? Was he intimidated by their numbers, or maybe it was the fact he was protecting another Pony aside from himself.

“Wheat Grass has been trying to get Ponies together to deal with this snake-Pony hybrid,” Said Crab Grass.

“What do you mean ‘trying to get Ponies together?’” Asked a distressed Time Turner.

“Turner, that thing put three colts in the hospital and the law can’t do anything about it. The whole Grass Clan, in addition to Spell Tag’s and Water Vapor’s families, are all making plans to take care of him.” Explained Crab Grass, “If the law can’t do anything about this, what other things won’t the law be able to help us with?” Asked Crab Grass, “If Ponies don’t do anything, how much will this monster get away with? We simply can’t afford to let him go free.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Asked Time Turner with an incredulous look.

“Look, I won’t ask you to join in on this, and I’ve made sure that the rest of my family knows not to take it to you,” Said Crab Grass, “But, if we could keep this out of the eyes of the law-”

“You want me to sabotage any investigations into his murder?” Time Turner guessed deadpanned.

“If we do this right, there won’t be a body to connect to a murder,” Said Crab Grass, “I just thought it would nice if we could not have the Town Guard questioning Ponies about taking ‘equipment’ with them.”

“Why would I go along with this?” Asked Time Turner.

Crab Grass winced at the fact that he would have to play dirty with one of his oldest friends, “That ‘colt’ spends a lot of time around Dinky, right? Surely, he can’t be the kind of Pony, especially a colt, you want around your daughter.”

Time Turner was given pause. He was just thinking about all of the bad things that could happen when Ponies realized that Noblesse and Dinky were friends. It would be worse when it came out that Noblesse was the one who put those three colts in the hospital, it’s not like the media wouldn’t omit the fact that he was defending somepony in the papers. And this was a legitimate chance to nip this problem in the bud. Not to mention any other problems that would arise with a Pony like Noblesse being a member of the Nobility.

Time Turner really thought about what he wanted to do about this. He thought of his oath to the law, he thought of his family, and he thought of the town that had been so kind to him and his family. Finally, Time Turner’s eyes hardened as realized what he had to do. Time Turner looked back at his longtime friend, “I’ll see what I can do.”

Twilight braced herself as the students were taking their seats. She knew that Noblesse had molted, and was now closer to a snake in appearance than he was any sort of equine. Amidst the info dump Discord and Noblesse had brought to school the previous day, Cheerilee had also spoken a little about Noblesse’s new form, and the bits of his past he had shared with the class. Twilight didn’t know how she would handle seeing somepony she had met previously after undergoing drastic mutations, and even worse was her irrational ophidiophobia. Twilight had rarely even seen a snake before she moved to Ponyville, let alone get close enough for one to touch her, but fear almost never answered to reason. Princess Celestia’s best guess as to why her student had such a severe fear of snakes, was because they were unlike anything she could have possibly encountered while Canterlot. She had also theorized that Twilight growing around the palace gardens kept her from developing phobias of other creatures that would not been seen in the streets of the capital city.

Either way, the very sight of snakes frightened Twilight to irrationality, and she knew that the Serpicorns among Noblesse’s staff were part of the reason why she was so panicked during her first visit to the Everfree Palace.

Twilight was surprised when Noblesse walked through the door and headed for his usual seat, not because of any amount of that she felt, but the unusual sense of calm Noblesse’s appearance brought her. While Noblesse’s eyes still unnerved her, if she concentrated on his skin, she was comforted by a feeling of familiarity that lightened the mood for her. Did he cast an enchantment on himself? Twilight knew nothing of what magic Noblesse had learned or could use, so it would make sense if he had enchanted himself to counteract any distress his new appearance would bring others.

Twilight also noticed that he seemed to be smiling wide. She attributed this to the fact that Noblesse no longer had fur to obscure his facial features, which would exaggerate the aforementioned features. The lavender Unicorn briefly considered what the consequence of this would be, when she, like most of the students present, had her attention taken by Cheerilee tapping a ruler against her desk.

“Alright my little Ponies,” Said Cheerilee, “We will be continuing our lectures and discussions about the darker facets of our nation’s history.”

Cheerilee stopped when she saw Diamond Tiara raise a hoof into the air and waited to be called on, “Yes Diamond Tiara?” Despite what she thought of the duo of bullies, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were two of the only students who almost never needed to be reminded or reprimanded for interrupting the class. Most of her students, in all of her classes, often just said whatever came to their minds without hesitation. Because of this, Cheerilee was happy to encourage this habit by not ignoring the two of them. It also helped that they often had legitimate questions.

“I was wondering if we could revisit the topics we discussed yesterday,” Answered the pink bully.

“Oh?” Asked Cheerilee, “Whatever for?”

“I’m not sure we can believe everything that was accepted,” Replied Diamond Tiara.

Cheerilee was curious. She had long since learned of the tactics the pair of them used to bully their classmates. The cerise teacher was intimately familiar with the belittling tones of voice they used to put down her other students, so she knew that this wasn’t an attempt to get a rise out of Noblesse or his friends.

“Why is that?” Asked Twilight. She knew a great deal of what Noblesse had said was true, she learned it from the Princess herself. So, she had no reason to doubt the other things he and Discord had said in her absence.

“Well,” Started Diamond, “Noblesse is literally a snake and he has admitted to murder and war crimes, if he can be believed. And Discord is known for all kinds of trickery. All I’m saying is, they’re not exactly reliable narrators.”

“Art thou accusing me of lying?” Asked Noblesse in a calm tone of voice. Though both Cheerilee and Twilight were familiar enough with the world and the Ponies in it to know that his words had barely contained anger behind them.

Diamond Tiara turned around in her seat, either not noticing or not caring about how mad she had made him, “What proof do you have? Why isn’t there any information in our textbooks about that ‘Creator-God?’”

Noblesse’s pupils narrowed into lines, “After they defeated Discord, the Diarchs needed to use the idea that they were deities unite the scattered populace. And they would be ignorant of Bucephalus’ existence because of their background.”

“Their background as Princesses?” Challenged Diamond Tiara.

“They were not royalty until after they petrified Discord,” Answered Noblesse, “They were born to a single mother who was a maid for a lesser noble that ruled his fiefdom from his private retreat in a township founded at the base of Mt. Equiss.”

Twilight winced. Celestia had told her about her foalhood when she felt that Twilight was old enough, and it was not a pleasant story.

Diamond Tiara simply raised a brow at that, “Oh? And what of their father?”

“He had no part in their lives,” Answered the incognito noblepony, “There are conflicting accounts as to who their father was. Some stories say that he died before they were born, some say he was captured by slavers, some say that their mother was raped. I have never asked either of them, nor have I researched the topic in great detail. The only thing that all of the stories can confirm, is that their father was an Earth Pony.”

“That is true!” Said Twilight suddenly, hoping to change the subject before Noblesse lost his temper, “Their father was an Earth Pony and Luna was also an Earth Pony before her ascension.”

“Aye, and because of that, they had a hard life,” Said Noblesse, taking up where Twilight left off, “Children born of mixed heritage or out of wedlock were not treated well in early Equestria.”

“Still doesn’t explain why they didn’t know about our ‘Creator-God,’” Taunted Diamond Tiara.

“Their mother was executed for birthing two foals of differing Tribes, and so they were sent to an orphanage in their infancy. Because they were bastards, they were denied entry into any temples erected in Bucephalus’ honor and were chased away from ‘holy sites,’” Explained Noblesse.

Twilight knew this was true. Twilight had learned of the way bastard foals were neglected, if not outright abused, in her history lessons with the Princess. The Princess had also told her that she was barred entry from many places due to the circumstances of her birth. So, this certainly explained all of the apparent holes in her history lessons. Worship of gods who did little to nothing for the Ponies of Equestria died with the appearance of two god-like figures who did much for the young nation.

Filthy Rich’s daughter was not buying it however, “So, all you can offer is your word?”

“Isn’t another’s word all that is offered in history textbooks?” Asked Noblesse wryly.

Diamond Tiara blushed fiercely as most of the other students tittered or laughed at her expense, “Well, I have plenty of evidence that you’re lying!”

Noblesse briefly adopted an expression of pure rage at the accusation of him lying, “Indulge me,” He ordered lazily.

Diamond Tiara’s eye twitched, “First off, your stories contradict each other. You say you were an infiltrator, but you also said that you lost your legs in your first deployment. Spies aren’t ‘deployed’ they’re planted, how do you explain that?”

“I was a spy for the Under-Cities, but ‘twas not only the Under-Cities I served,” Answered the metal colored Serpicorn, “Religion is taken very seriously in the Under-Cities, so much so that the Under-Cities will allow religious orders to borrow their people for wars.”

“Don’t the Under-Cities Worship Princess Celestia and Princess Luna,” Though Diamond Tiara’s words suggested she was asking a question, it was clearly a triumphant taunt.

“Admiration of all Alicorns is required by the state to prevent an event like Nightmare Moon’s seizure of the heavens from happing again, but very few actually hold them as gods,” Explained Noblesse, “However, anyone in the Under-Cities that hasn’t fallen to nihilism worships at least one of the deities venerated in the pantheon of the Black Faith, a union of different sects of separate religions that worship one of the conceptual deities.”

“Like Discord?” Asked Pipsqueak.

“Precisely,” Said Noblesse, “Conversion to the Black Faith is popular because Conceptual Deities can interact with the world more often and more profoundly than Ascended Deities. Vicereine Deluge has gone as far as to join priests and even the gods themselves in military alliances.”

“You didn’t mention this before because?” Asked Diamond Tiara, rotating her hoof.

“It was completely and utterly irrelevant to the history lesson and no one was interested in the inner workings of a military dictatorship,” Pointed out Noblesse in a dry tone of voice.

“Do you have any proof that this religion even exists?” Asked Diamond Tiara, beginning to become annoyed with Noblesse.

“Yes, in fact I do,” Answered Noblesse, happy to silent this snob, “Though I will need permission from Cheerilee to show my bare back to the class.”

This shocked everyone, “Why?” Asked Cheerilee.

“I have markings akin to tattoos on my back that mark me as a member of the faithful.”

Everyone was silent for several moments before Cheerilee beckoned him to the front of the class. Noblesse obliged without question and trotted to the front of the class. Noblesse faced the chalkboard as he slid his cloak off his body. True to his word, Noblesse’s back bore a power circle with the apex of the triangle in the ancient symbol facing up word. All three points on the triangle had smaller circles with symbols that Twilight assumed were the insignias of religious orders or deities. The circle at the apex had a stylized depiction of what was clearly the head of a dragon. The bottom left circle had a comedy mask with a blade sticking out of the smile in place of a tongue. The bottom right circle had gavel or hammer with the head shaped stylized into a dragon’s head from a side-view, though similar, the stylization was distinctly different from the dragon head at the apex. The single most foreboding feature of the mark however, was that ever single circle that made up the mark were snakes eating themselves.

“What is that?” Asked Twilight, who would be in shocked silence like everypony else in the classroom if her excitement at learning something new hadn’t completely overwhelmed any and all distress she was feeling underneath.

“This, is the ‘Brand of the Faithful,’” Answered Noblesse like he was telling someone how his day was, “A mark given to those who have sworn themselves to the pantheon of the Black Faith. While the Under-Cities fetishize Alicorns, that is only done to prevent another Nightmare Moon incident. Few people in the Under-Cities actually worship Alicorns as gods, and even then, they are all almost stationed in garrisons that are below Mt. Equiss.”

Twilight had summoned a notepad and quill with her magic and started feverishly writing down notes, “Could I talk to you after class about Under-City religion? While I’m sure a lecture here would be welcomed, Cheerilee and I have planned lectures for the rest of the school year.”

“Without reservation,” Answered Noblesse as he pulled his cloak back onto his body. Noblesse turned to face Diamond Tiara, “Have I quelled any doubts thou hast to mine honesty?”

Diamond Tiara said nothing as Noblesse walked back to his seat, smug that he had silenced someone who had slandered him so blatantly in public. Now if I can just get through the class period without falling asleep thought Noblesse as he suppressed a yawn.

Author's Note

And so concludes Chapter 35 of Culture Shock. Please feel free to share your thoughts or opinions of my story in the comment section, I just ask that any and all negative comments be supplemented with constructive criticism. Also, I need to apologize. My first update in a long time, and it's being used to setup stuff that happens later.:rainbowlaugh: Though, I will say that we're close to the end.

Chapter 36

Thankfully for both teacher and TA, the rest of the class was uneventful after the falling out between Diamond Tiara and Noblesse Oblige. Cheerilee and Twilight were both pleased that most of the class was actually interested in today’s lecture, despite it detailing the darker aspects of ruling a nation and the things Celestia and Luna had to do to keep the peace. All of the students had gone out for recess when the bell rang, all save for one.

Cheerilee didn’t know what to think about the fact that she didn’t have to tell Noblesse that she and Twilight would want to speak with him before recess, “Uh, Noblesse? Twilight said you had something you needed to talk to us about.”

Noblesse’s slit pupils narrowed. Cheerilee was afraid that she had upset him until he turned his head to Twilight and spoke, “I didn’t think thou’dst include Ms. Cheerilee in on this,” Cheerilee recognized Noblesse’s tone as one of surprise, not anger.

Twilight sheepishly smiled, “Cheerilee is Ruby’s aunt, so I thought she deserved to know.”

“Oh, so that’s why she smells so familiar,” Observed Noblesse.

Cheerilee felt a shiver run down her spine. She understood that Noblesse had a heightened sense of smell and would perceive things the average Pony couldn’t. So, while her mind knew that comment wasn’t as foreboding in context, her heart shuddered at somepony commenting on her scent in a such a way.

“So, what was it you wanted to speak with us about?” Asked Cheerilee, admirably keeping her desperation to change the subject out of her voice.

“T'would be easier to show you how I conjure mine prosthetics,” Said Noblesse.

Cheerilee jumped back in astonishment as Noblesse’s eyes changed, too shocked to so much as speak. Cheerilee and Twilight saw a straight crimson line run down the center of the Noblesse’s pupils, the unnatural color spread to the rest of his pupils as the line hit their bottoms. Instead of turning his sclera the same color, the rust colored parts of his eyes turned lime green with dark purple smoke seeping out of the outer edges of his eyes.

“Amazing,” Said Twilight, “So that’s what it looks like.”

“Usually the sensation causes one’s eyes to close in concentration, but I lack eyelids to close,” Explained Noblesse.

Noblesse dispelled his prosthetics in an instant, the visible portions of his false limbs becoming black clouds. Instead of falling to the floor and fading like the rest of his spells that had the same after effect, the black clouds floated into his eyes. The cloud that was once his horn splitting in two with each half going into a different eye as the clouds that made up his left legs crawled up into the sleeves of Noblesse’s cloak, similar to the manner in which one would withdraw their legs to remove this kind of clothing.

Twilight blinked in confusion. She had heard various accounts as to which of Noblesse’s limbs were fake, but had disregarded all who had said he didn’t have a horn as fake. It was how all Unicorns channeled their magic, even she and the late king Sombra channeled Dark Magic through his horn. And yet, Noblesse’s eyes bore the distorted colors shown when using Dark Magic.

“How?” Asked Twilight, “How can you use magic without your horn?”

“Dark Magic doesn’t just use Mana as a power source,” Explained Noblesse, “It relies on one’s mental stability and emotions as much as it does their Mana Reserves and skill. So, while you still need a physical catalyst to channel both Mana and emotion, it does not have to be thy body’s Primary Catalyst.”

“Okay,” Said Cheerilee, not entirely understanding everything that had just said, “What does this have to do with my niece?”

“Ruby Pinch is a Practitioner of Dark Magic,” Said Noblesse bluntly.

“What!?” Exclaimed Cheerilee, “Since when?”

“Since she started feeling self-conscious about her father,” Answered Twilight.

“Where could have Ruby learned Dark Magic?” Asked Cheerilee, “Isn’t that the same kind of magic Mad King Sombra used?”

“It is,” Answered Noblesse, “However, one doesn’t choose to become a Practitioner of Dark Magic.”

Cheerilee stared at the incognito noblepony, “How do you mean.”

Noblesse sighed, “Sometimes when people, not just Ponies, are subject to sufficient emotional trauma, their meridians change similar to what naturally occurs while aging. However, this emotional trauma causes new meridian paths to sprout. When that happens, these new paths almost always run through the emotion center of the brain, granting the ability to channel emotion as well as Mana.”

“And for Ruby,” Said Twilight, “Years spent subconsciously blaming herself for her mother being a single mother, was just too much.”

“Excuse me?” Said Cheerilee.

Twilight went on to explain how Noblesse told her about the hallucinogenic nightmare that Ruby was trapped in. Twilight left out no detail, everything from Ruby literally being thrown out of her mother’s house to being told she was the reason her mother was alone. Noblesse stayed silent, not wanting to say something that influence the way in which Cheerilee took this information. After all, it would be a lot harder to teach Ruby if anyone in her family voiced concerns or disapproval about her using or even learning Dark Magic. So, Noblesse Oblige stayed silent, waiting to be spoken to directly.

“Okay,” Said Cheerilee, understanding what had happened but not how, “Noblesse?” Said the teacher, getting the young stallion’s attention, “How exactly did you know that Ruby would be having a ‘Black Resonance?’

“The exact cause for people developing the use of Dark Magic is highly debated,” Started Noblesse, “The most widely accepted theory is that: as the presence magic hastened the evolution of intelligent life, how magic works changed, or evolved as well. This theory states, that Dark Magic is an evolutionary tactic created for the survival of people who have gone through tragedy. This explains why Dark Magic is tied specifically to negative emotions.”

The two mares nodded in understanding. There was much that was unknown about magic and the way it interacted with life. And this theory Noblesse was explaining made since in that the way magic affected life was not always for the best. Genetic Disorders triggered by an abnormality within a Pony’s Meridians or Internal Mana Reserves, known as Arcano-Genetic Disorders, were a perfect example of this.

Twilight and Cheerilee were about to ask questions, when Noblesse continued, “Practitioners of Dark Magic share an extreme affinity with the Collective Subconscious, it is where we draw our power after all. But we specifically share an affinity with the Dreamscape, the realm in which the Collective Subconscious and the Waking World meet. Our ties to it is so great in fact, that our minds tend to gather in clusters at the edge of the Dreamscape. This grants us an affinity to one another. Two people who happen to be polar opposites are more likely become friends due to a likeness to one for another that they can’t explain, they simply prefer each other’s company.”

“This encourages people who have suffered in a way that leaves mental scars that very few people understand to come together. These ties to the Dreamscape also encourage trust between practitioners, making it more likely for them open up to one another.”

This theory was sounding more and more plausible by the minute. It would be much easier for Ponies to get the help they needed if they gravitated to other people who have suffered in the same way. Unfortunately, many of the Ponies who couldn’t understand such misfortune, often said that the victims were overacting or were unappreciative because their ‘support’ was enough for the victims. Some didn’t even give support, and told the victims to ‘suck it up’ and move on with their lives.

“So, practitioners of Dark Magic have some kind of mental link with other practitioners?” Asked Twilight, her imagination running wild at the thought of discovering some way to use telepathy: a power that not even magic could grant.

“I do,” Said Noblesse, “But I am unsure if that is actually a general boon given by one’s skill in Dark Magic, or if I’m just lucky.”

“Oh?” Asked Twilight, “And why is that?”

“Dark Magic is incredibly dangerous,” Answered Noblesse, “Being power born of the Collective Subconscious, every modicum of energy used in the casting of Dark Magic has a will of its own.”

“Why is that bad?” Asked Cheerilee.

“The more you practice Dark Magic, the more likely it is that you lose yourself in it,” Answered Noblesse cryptically, “One can become possessed by the sentient power they wield, and it is a rare circumstance indeed that one can be saved from it once they have been possessed. This power becomes invested solely in its own self-preservation and strength, often seeking out targets to test the limitations of its new-found vessel. I call it a vessel and not a host, because what happens is that the practitioner’s mind is flung from the body and into the actual Collective Subconscious, leaving them vulnerable to the forces within.”

“That sounds horrible!” Exclaimed Cheerilee, “Why would anyone even attempt to master such a dangerous skill?”

“Remember that this is a power that has a will of its own,” Replied Noblesse, “And the practitioner’s very mind is a link between the Waking and Dreaming Worlds. If a practitioner doesn’t have at least a basic understanding and sufficient practice in the use of Dark Magic, the beings from the Collective Subconscious and the Dreamscape will easily overwhelm the practitioner. And there is little warning when this happens. Even a little practice will give the practitioner the ability to fight back. Though the fight will be hopelessly one sided without enough practice, there will be obvious signs as to what is happening to those of us in the Waking World, meaning that someone can intervene and help.”

“That somehow makes it worse,” Said Twilight, realizing that she, her friends, their sisters, and Spike were all in deep trouble.

“Dark Magic is so dangerous that almost all practitioners, both within and without the Under-Cities gain only a novice level of practice and understanding so that they are not instantly consumed by the Dark when it attacks,” Explained Noblesse, “The reason I have obtained such skill with Dark Magic is because I am one of, maybe a dozen practitioners, to try to achieve true mastery of the Creeping Dark, and probably the only one that has not lost himself in experimentation.”

“What could possibly drive you to try something so dangerous?” Asked Cheerilee, trying to wrap her head around why anyone would attempt something that was borderline suicide.

“I have ILCS,” Said Noblesse, dropping the proverbial bomb.

Both mares were brought pause at this revelation. Instinctual Limited Casting Syndrome, or ILCS for short, was a Unicorn specific Arcano-Genetic Disorder that limited a Unicorn to solely use their Instinctual Magic. Academic Magic was the practice of shaping one’s magic while it gathered in the Meridians before being channeled through the horn. It allowed Unicorns to do things with their magic while using less Mana and with less risk to one’s self and those around them.

Instinctual Magic was what happened when a Unicorn didn’t shape their Mana before channeling it through their horns, and it was both unstable and unpredictable. Instinctual Magic shapes itself during the few seconds that it was channeled through the horn, greatly limiting the effects of a Unicorn’s magic. The reliable and safe use of Instinctual Magic requires great practice and discipline from the Unicorn in question, and each individual spell book involving the use of Instinctual Magic would only be of use to specific Unicorns, as the spell book would have to be written with a different kind of innate magic in mind. While no two Unicorns had the exact same kind of innate magic, there are broad categories in which Unicorns were put into depending on the inner workings of their innate magic. But it could take months, if not years, to narrow down which category a Unicorn would be placed into. This often lead to the misconception that Unicorns only had whatever magic they were born with and no more, over a third of all Unicorns had ILCS and very few needed more than their telekinesis in their lives after all. But it was still a tragedy when parents discovered that their Unicorn foal had ILCS, the Equestrian Royal Medical Society had officially declared ILCS to be a disability, and there was no cure or treatment for it.

Noblesse didn’t wait for the two older Ponies to speak again before he continued “So, I had to work on my physique, mastery over Dark Magic, and dirty fighting, in addition to any and all skills I used in Covert Ops if I didn’t want to be placed in the Fodder Legions.”

“Fodder Legions?” Asked Twilight. She had seen mentions of these ‘Fodder Legions’ in the writings Noblesse provided for her, but she hadn’t found an explanation as to what they were. Whether that was because they simply didn’t explain anywhere what they were, or because she hadn’t gotten to the particular book or chapter that went further in depth about them, Celestia’s Protégé did not know.

“The Fodder Legions are the armies that are made up by the mentally disabled, the terminally ill, and the criminals found within the Under-Cities,” Clarified Noblesse, “The majority of the Fodder Legions use wave tactics to tie up enemy forces, making it easier for the rest of our armies to preform surgical strikes. The soldiers assigned to the Fodder Legions who don’t participate in their notorious wave tactics, are the terminally ill who are too sick to be actual soldiers. So, instead they are made into Hospice Bombers. I assume I don’t have to explain what they are.”

“And the Under-Cities don’t suffer rebellions!?” Asked Cheerilee, horrified at the prospect that anypony in the whole world would do something like this.

“Oh no, we do,” Said Noblesse casually, as though they were talking about the weather, “While those deemed to mentally challenged to actually be beneficially to our society otherwise, are forced into the Fodder Legions, the terminally ill choose to give their lives. If they don’t, they’re placed into hospice like those here in the Equestrian Nation.”

“Why?” Said Twilight, “Why would anyone choose to become suicide bombers, are they brainwashed?”

Noblesse shook his head, “Not to my knowledge. Many times, my squad was assigned to smuggle Hospice Bombers into their designated areas, and I asked all of them why they chose to give their lives in such a fashion. Over half of them wanted to give their lives to further what they believed to be a greater cause, they apparently get to choose their targets. As long as it serves the Under-Cities in some way, the Vicereine and the Cardinate don’t care. Some wanted to spite fate and die on their own terms. Some were legitimately suicidal. Some just didn’t want to spend their last few days waiting for death in a hospital room.”

Cheerilee and Twilight looked to each other, both with looks of shock and concern. Part of their responsibility was helping Noblesse integrate into Equestrian society, and eventually foreigners who immigrated to Equestria. Everything from what Noblesse has told them now and in the past, to his behavior and reasoning, would it even be possible?

When Celestia had told Twilight about her and her friends that she wanted them to help Noblesse to make friends, they all thought that Noblesse needed adjustment and an environment where Ponies would see something other than a climb up the ladders of power and society. And yet, Noblesse had been in Canterlot for almost two years. There was no way Celestia and Luna didn’t know everything that was ‘wrong’ with Noblesse.

Did they send him as a warning? Wandered Twilight. After seeing how Noblesse acted and how casually he gave anecdotes of his past, Celestia and Luna would have to keep the Elements of Harmony in the dark about him. Pinkie Pie and Rarity would try to force their ideas of coping on Noblesse. Applejack and Rainbow Dash would at the very least keep the CMC away from the young noblepony, if not try to run him out of town entirely. And Fluttershy would most likely avoid Noblesse entirely.

These realizations that have come to Twilight made her wander how much of what the Princesses had said was actually true. Perhaps that main reason the Princesses had alerted the Elements of Harmony to Noblesse’s position in the Noble Ladder and his upbringing, was to help them adjust to the inevitable immigrants that would inhabit not only Ponyville, but all communities in Equestria as well. Do they expect us to be moderators? All of the Elements of Harmony were already seen as pillars of the community thanks to their service to Equestria, Applejack and Rarity were even viewed as such before Luna’s return, and the more rational Ponies in Ponyville would probably look to the six of them for advice when dealing with foreigners. Either way, Celestia and Luna were keeping Twilight and her friends in the dark, and had a much better idea as to what would happen in the future than they were letting on.

In her ponderings, Twilight realized that she hadn’t quite touched upon the reason she wanted to talk to Noblesse in the first place, “Oh, uhh, Noblesse?” Stammered Twilight, “Why did you give that book to Ruby, and not anyone else?”

“Dinky and Ruby came to the palace library to check out books on magic,” Started Noblesse, “With the zeal Ruby showed, I believe she will not try anything overly dangerous with her newfound power, as there are many warnings written into the pages of the spell book. Scootaloo isn’t the sort to read for pleasure and would not take to grimoires well. Sweetie Belle cares too much about her sister’s opinion, we can both imagine how Rarity would react if caught her litter sister practicing the same kind of magic Sombra used. Rumble hasn’t had enough practice with studying in general to make use of any reading material I could provide him. And I haven’t had enough interaction with Spike to gauge how well he could use the spell books.”

Cheerilee needed several moments to process some of the key points of information that Noblesse had brought up. Namely, the other practitioners, “Wait,” Said Cheerilee with a tone hushed by horror, “You mean some of my students are users of Dark Magic?”

“I highly doubt that many of them realize it,” Said Noblesse, “But yes, at least half of the students in this class are Practitioners of Dark Magic.”

While Cheerilee ruminated on how she managed to be ignorant of her own students’ suffering, or whatever gave them ‘sufficient emotional trauma’ to become Practitioners of Dark Magic, Twilight thought about the reasoning behind why Noblesse had given Ruby a seemingly dangerous tomb on magic, “So you believe that Ruby won’t do something foolish with the book.”

Noblesse nodded in confirmation, “With the eagerness she showed at the prospect of new information, it wouldn’t be farfetched for her to try something that was dangerous in a way she didn’t realize. But, if the warnings were in the writings themselves-”

“Then there wouldn’t be any way for her to not be aware of the dangers she faces,” Summarized Twilight. Many would argue that Noblesse was playing a game of chance, but Twilight was not in a position to make such an argument, given that Celestia had used similar methods during her life as the Sun Princess’s protégé.

“I wouldn’t mind talking to the two of you more,” Said Noblesse soon after the conversation had stopped, “But I would rather not worry my friends further.”

Twilight tilted her head in confusion as she pondered what Noblesse could be referring to. Then, she realized that she and Cheerilee had never said out loud that they wanted to talk to Noblesse, and that he most likely gave no indication or warning to his friends that he would be staying behind. That in of itself wouldn’t be cause for alarm, except that Noblesse had not once separated himself from his usual clique at recess. Meaning that, from their perspective, Noblesse had simply vanished with neither trace nor warning.

“You can go out to recess,” Said Twilight hastily. Noblesse politely bowed his head and took one step back before turning towards the door and headed out to join his friends.

Twilight meanwhile, brushed aside her thoughts and concerns for the future and all of the information she and her colleague had been given, and addressed a more immediate problem. Namely, that Cheerilee was obviously beating herself up over something she shouldn’t be. Twilight was quick to give her best attempt at consoling the cerise teacher.

Clockwork had spent the first ten minutes of today’s recess period looking for the strange Pony who had saved him. Noblesse Oblige Thought the young Earth Pony Where could he possibly be? Since all of Clockwork’s friends were in the Morning Class Period, Clockwork usually spent the Noon Class Period recess doing homework or entertaining himself. Of course, Clockwork always finished his homework Monday night and often found himself board during the Noon recess, but it gave him plenty of time to think of things he could do with his friends or things he could invent.

Today however, Clockwork had something else to do that he felt was more important. Today, he needed to find the Pony who had saved him from his older classmates and thank him, something he neglected to do yesterday. Though, the task was proving to be more difficult than the brown Colt would have would have liked. Noblesse always wore cloaks, was taller than the average Unicorn, and was part snake for Celestia’s sake!

Clockwork has thus far attributed his difficulty to his height. While he was the average height for a nine-year old, everypony else in the Noon Class Period was almost twice his age, and of course had more growth spurts than Clockwork had. Clockwork ran to the tree his sister and her friends used as their usual haunt. Clockwork winced as he ran when he thought about his sister who had managed to hurt herself so badly. Clockwork climbed the tree and scanned the playground from his new perch. Maybe he’s absent today?

While Clockwork didn’t find the young stallion he was looking for, he did see something of note. Scootaloo’s friends were huddled around the front entrance to the schoolhouse with a Filly Clockwork didn’t recognize. Then Clockwork remembered Scootaloo talking about how some new Ponies had recently joined the CMC. The nine-year old deduced that the Filly, was in fact, a Colt named Rumble. He had thought his sister was exaggerating when she said that Rumble looked like a Filly, So I owe Scoots two bits thought Clockwork, remembering the bet he had made with his sister before her accident.

Then Clockwork remembered that Noblesse always wore a cloak, one that went fairly far down on his body. Far enough to cover his hindquarters and far enough to need a hole cut out from the fabric for his tail. The cloak also covered his flanks where his Cutie Mark would be. The Earth-Pony had recalled his sister talking about how Apple Bloom’s cousin, Babs Seed, would cover one of her flanks with her tail when she felt self-conscious about being a ‘Blank Flank.’ Could that be why Noblesse wears that cloak? Pondered Clockwork. Scootaloo had said that Babs was over compensating for her being a ‘Blank Flank’ by being aggressive and overconfident, so it wasn’t too farfetched to think that Noblesse used indifference as a way of coping with self-loathing. After all, who sends three Ponies into the hospital and brushes it off like it were nothing?

Even if Noblesse hadn’t actually joined the CMC, Scootaloo and her friends still made a point of making sure that ‘Blank Flanks’ knew that they were welcome to their club. Maybe they know where to find Noblesse Thought Clockwork as he leaped from the tree branch he was sitting on, hitting the ground at a gallop towards the schoolhouse.

Chapter 37

“Noblesse has been in thar fer a long time,” Said Apple Bloom “What do ya’ll think happened?”

The CMC, sans Scootaloo, Dinky, and Ruby, were huddled outside the door to the schoolhouse. They would all be huddled outside the class room, but students weren’t allowed inside during recess, baring emergencies, and bathroom breaks. Even Pipsqueak and Sweetie Belle were with the group. Pipsqueak had finally decided what he thought of Noblesse now that he had gave the metallic colored Unicorn’s past some thought, though he refused to tell anypony else until he had said to Noblesse’s face. Sweetie Belle wasn’t sure how much time she’d be able to get with her friends without Noblesse there, so the young mare had decided that she could tolerate Noblesse’s presence as long as he didn’t hurt anypony for no reason.

“Maybe he had to use the bathroom?” Suggested the pinto Colt. Since his aunt, uncle, and his three younger cousins had moved into his family’s home, Pipsqueak had to rely on public restrooms as to make the two at home more available to his family.

Before anypony else could comment on Pipsqueak’s thought or give another idea, the door to the schoolhouse opened, revealing the Unicorn the group was just discussing. Noblesse didn’t stop walking to the tree where the group typically used as their hang out.

“I hope this isn’t thy attempt at earning Cutie Marks in subterfuge,” Said Noblesse as he passed by, bearing a joking grin and the twinkle of mischief in his eyes.

Even Sweetie Belle, the member of the Crusaders who was most critical of Noblesse, couldn’t help laughing at his joke. Pipsqueak called out Noblesse’s name the instant he pulled himself out of his mirth.

Noblesse turned around to face the pinto Colt. Though Noblesse was blind, he knew it was considered rude in Equestrian culture to not face someone while speaking to them, “Yes Pipsqueak?”

“I’ve decided,” The normally cheerful Colt said with a serious expression and tone of voice, “I don’t like the things you have done, but I know there’s more to you than that and I don’t know what would have happened had you not done what you were ordered to do.”

Noblesse nodded his head in acknowledgement and gave a small smile that appeared larger than it actually was to the others due to Noblesse’s lack of fur, “I appreciate thy understanding.”

Pipsqueak sighed. He wasn’t expecting Noblesse to flip out like Pinkie Pie and throw a party, but a less tame reaction would have been nice. Before the conversation could continue, Noblesse turned around sharply with one of his hooves raised to strike something. Noblesse was barely able to drop his stance and brace himself as he recognized the scent of the creature racing towards him. A familiar Earth Pony Colt with a wet wood colored coat and a pristine white mane and tail with a single large stripe of black going down the middle of both, slammed into Noblesse.

Clockwork had leapt at Noblesse before the aforementioned Unicorn had turned around, which meant that the younger Colt hadn’t seen the stance of the older, and was blissfully unaware that his one-time savior had nearly hurt him. Clockwork held onto Noblesse’s torso just below his neck and held on with all four legs.

Noblesse was unable to brace himself properly and grunted as the nine-year old flew into him, “Hi Noblesse♪” Said the Earth Pony with a suitable childlike innocence and cheer.

Now that Clockwork was holding onto Noblesse like a giant teddy bear, he could tell that his original estimates on Clockwork’s height were incorrect. The Earth Pony was slight taller than Pipsqueak, though Clockwork did have less than average muscles for an Earth Pony his age, “I take it thou’rt happy to see me.” Said Noblesse sarcastically.

Clockwork blushed in embarrassment as he realized what he had just done and chuckled nervously, “S-sorry,” Muttered the Earth Pony as he slid down Noblesse’s body.

Clockwork had hoped to use this awkward situation to his advantage by staging an ‘accident’ where Noblesse’s cloak was removed to see if his savior had his Cutie Mark. Unfortunately for the Earth Pony’s plan, Noblesse’s cloak had a number of straps on it to keep the wind from removing the cloak from the wearer’s body.

Noblesse took a few steps back and lowered himself to the ground so he could be at eye level with the young Colt, “Did'st ye need me for something?”

Clockwork nodded, but hesitated as he looked into Noblesse’s serpentine eyes, “Uh, y-yeah,” The poor Colt couldn’t keep himself from stuttering in fear, “I-I never got the ch-chance to thank you for the-the oth-other day.”

Noblesse gave the friendliest smile he could manage, “Think nothing of it. I was merely doing my job.”

“You’re job?” Asked Clockwork, his instinctual fear being slowly overridden by curiosity, “Are you apart of the Royal Guard?”

“Not quite,” Answered Noblesse, “For the time I lived in Canterlot, I worked with the Palace Staff. But to do that, I needed to take similar oaths that they do. So, I am legally obligated to protect citizens of Equestria when I’m able.”

“Does that mean you lived in the palace?” Asked the young Earth Pony excitedly.

Oh dear thought Noblesse. He didn’t need to see the expression on Clockwork’s face to know where this was going. Everypony who had the sense of sight, could see mesmerized twinkles in Clockwork’s eyes. Noblesse turned his head towards his friends and Sweetie Belle to hide the look on his face from Clockwork.

“Sorry mate,” Said Pipsqueak, crushing Noblesse’s silent plea for help, “But I’d like to hear about your time in the Canterlot Palace as well.”

“Well then, I’m sorry to disappoint, because almost nothing of note happened.” Noblesse smiled as he heard Clockwork’s disappointed groan, “At least, not until Discord meet Fluttershy.”

“What does the Spirit of Disharmony have to do with palace life?” Asked Rumble.

“Discord has a list of things he must do for Equestria as a form of parole,” Explained Noblesse, “Our Sun Princess put ‘entertaining’ the Nobility at the top of that list.”

Ruffled Feather, the Margrave of Cloudsdale, was once again hosting a soiree at his Canterlot Estate. Ruffled Feather was the spitting image of his ancestor, Commander Hurricane, as an unusually tall Pegasus Stallion with a sky-blue coat and a mane and tail white as the clouds. Ruffled Feather also happened to be just as arrogant as his ancestor prior to the Founding of Equestria.

“Where is that champagne I ordered?” Asked Ruffled Feather in an impatient hoity tone, “I called for it well over five minutes ago.”

“Right here, your grace,” Answered Noblesse as he slid a serving tray with the aforementioned bottle of bubbly surrounded by proper champagne flutes as well as wine glasses for anypony who didn’t want too much to drink.

Noblesse was wearing a butler uniform, as he was a part of the serving staff that Ruffled Feather had procured for this event. Like most of the Nobility, the Margrave did not like Noblesse. In addition to Noblesse’s looks, it had taken over a month for Noblesse to kick habits that simply were not acceptable in Equestrian high society. Namely, the liberal use of cursing. But as much as the Margrave disdained Noblesse, he had to secure the metallic colored Unicorn for this event.

Prince Blueblood, Princess Celestia’s own nephew, had RSVP’d for this month’s soiree. This was Ruffled Feather’s chance to arrange a marriage between ‘Equestria’s most eligible bachelor’ and his sister. This however, required that Ruffled Feather impress the Prince in everything at this soiree, including his staff. And Noblesse Oblige was unfortunately, not only one of the best servants available, but also one of the best servants in general.

Ruffled Feather was very glad when it came out that Noblesse Oblige had direct blood ties to the Royal Family, as the Margrave was one of the Nobles who didn’t go out of his way to insult the ‘Cavern Savage’ or openly look down on him. Ruffled Feather even sent Noblesse Oblige invitations for every soiree as a guest. This was because that, being descended from military aristocracy, Ruffled Feather both respected and feared veterans of actual wars and knew the dangers that would come with taunting one. While Noblesse never accepted any of these invitations, that didn’t change the fact that the Margrave of Cloudsdale was one of few Nobles who Noblesse didn’t have a grudge against. The Margrave even had specifically assigned Noblesse to his table, as he had managed to get Prince Blueblood to sit with him.

“And then I got up on my hind legs and screamed ‘I just had myself groomed!’” Said Blueblood, recounting the act he played on Rarity during the Grand Galloping Gala.

“I was impressed that thou kept thine act, despite thine thinking thy time was up,” Commented Noblesse as he poured the Ponies at the table their drinks.

“I didn’t think she was going to kill me, dear nephew,” Replied Blueblood.

“I saw thine expression and the look in thine eyes,” Said Noblesse. Prince Blueblood rolled his eyes as the other party guests tittered at his expense.

Everything was going perfectly. Prince Blueblood was enjoying himself, he and the Margrave’s sister were getting along and engaging each other in conversation frequently, even Noblesse Oblige seemed to be enjoying himself. What could possibly go wrong now? Thought Ruffled Feather to himself.

“Ah, the wonders of tempting fate,” Said a dreadfully familiar voice right in the Margrave’s ear.

“Gah!” The Margrave yelled out as he jumped out of his seat and turned around. Sure enough, Discord was in the place of the swan ice sculpture that was in the fountain behind the Margrave’s chair.

“Discord, what a surprise,” Said Ruffled Feather, choosing his words carefully, “What brings you to my estate?”

“Oh, I found out from Sun Butt, that I had once again not been informed of a party in our fair city,” Explained Discord, “We really must do something about our atrocious mail delivery system.”

“How awful,” Said Ruffled Feather, knowing that he had specifically told his couriers to keep Discord out of the loop about this particular soiree, “I’ll be certain to make sure you get an invitation next month,” He said, lying through his teeth.

“I’m sure you will,” Said Discord nonchalantly, “But for tonight, I will be providing entertainment♪” The spirit sing-songed.

Oh no. Was the only thought going through Ruffled Feather’s mind at that moment.

Discord picked at the insides of one of his ears until he pulled out an obnoxiously large goblet and tapped one of his claws against it, making a loud gong noise, “Everypony!” Called out the Draconequus, “I must have your attention!”

Conversation and movement alike stopped at Discord’s proclamation, “Your splendid host, the Margrave of Cloudsdale, the one. The only. Ruffled Feather has insisted on providing entertainment for tonight!”

“I did no su-”

“Tonight only!” Said Discord, interrupting the Margrave, “Ruffled Feather will be fighting monsters, all for the sake of your amusement!”

Discord stoke an eagle claw up one of his nostrils and made a giant ball of snot shoot out of the other close to the Margrave’s hooves. The ball of snot grew and contorted into a massive centipede, whose head almost hit the ceiling, and let out a deafening roar.

“Guards!” Called out the Margrave, “Guard me!”

Before the guards, glad in black armor with gold highlights (the colors of the Cloudsdale City Guard) could act, Discord slithered up to them, “Tia told me that there were positions in the Royal Guard if you gentlecolts turned a blind eye to all of this.”

The guards looked to each other. Promotions all around and the snob they’ve been working for gets his comeuppance. Who could deny such an offer?

The guards returned to their posts. The Margrave was about to shout something derogatory, when he noticed the shadow of the centipede covered him and his table. Ruffled Feather looked up to see the gapping maw. But before the Margrave could scream in horror, a torrent of brown jumping spiders spewed from the centipede’s mouth, instantly blocking him from view. The centipede continued to vomit spiders as they spread from the Margrave’s table and to the other guests.

Ironically, it was the guards who fled the manor house first. Guests and staff alike stampeded out of the ballroom. With the exception of the Ponies at the Margrave’s table, who were trapped on top of the table in the sea of spiders. If they weren’t panicking, they would notice that the spiders were keeping their distance from the table as they skittered away from the centipede Discord had spawned

“Brother!” Called out Iron Cross, the Margrave’s sister, as she flew into the torrent of spiders to save her older brother.

Discord and Noblesse were both floating in midair as they laughed hysterically, Discord having the decency to levitate Noblesse off of the ground.

Reactions to the story were mixed. Rumble and Pipsqueak were laughing out loud as they came from cities and Provinces that detested their nobility. Sweetie Belle found the very idea of a giant bug vomiting other bugs horrifying. Apple Bloom had a very neutral expression as she stayed silent. And Clockwork was stifling giggles.

“Ruffled Feather sold his Canterlot estate and retired to Cloudsdale and hasn’t come back since,” Explained Noblesse, finishing his story.

“I bet he hasn’t,” Said Clockwork, overcoming his giggles, “Who bought his estate?”

“Discord actually,” Answered Noblesse, “Turned the whole place into a giant nightclub. ‘tis most popular.”

“What did the Princesses think of it?” Asked Pipsqueak.

“I’m not sure Princess Luna knows of the incident as she was in the Under-Cities at the time and while Princess Celestia thought it was funny, she still had to remind Discord of the limitations he has to keep himself to,” Explained Noblesse.

“Why would Princess Celestia want Discord to mess with the Nobility like that?” Asked Clockwork. It seemed strange that the paragon of virtue in Equestria would encourage such behavior.

“In the years since the Diarchs have ascended to the Twin Thrones, the Nobility have become incredibly arrogant and obnoxious,” Started Noblesse, “The Diarchs still believe the Nobility have potential to be a productive entity in society, as there have been dozens of Nobles who have been great assets to our nation, but the majority of them are scum like Ruffled Feather: who believe themselves above work and commitment. So, Discord is being used as means of humbling the unreasonably self-superior members of the Nobility.”

“‘Unreasonably self-superior?’” Asked Pipsqueak with an incredulous tone of voice and a raised brow.

“There are members of the Nobility that actually have something to be proud of other than their heritage,” Pointed out Noblesse, “Margrave Gilded Chalice is a skilled mage, and while he doesn’t administer any of his holdings, he goes to greater lengths than most to ensure that competent governors are placed in charge of his family’s lands.” Noblesse sighed, “Then you have the Nobles who only care about their own athletic ability; think of Ponies that are like Rainbow Dash, but they don’t care for their families’ holdings and concentrate all of the resources they can into personal training.”

While both Rumble and Clockwork winced at the mention of Bearer of Loyalty, Clockwork was far subtler than the effeminate Pegasus, “Can we not talk about her?” Asked Rumble with clear disdain for Rainbow Dash while rubbing his temples as though the very mention of the Mare gave him a headache.

Both Noblesse Oblige and Twilight felt the subconscious pulls on their heads toward the direction of Rumble. Twilight felt dread and fear as Rumble’s emotional slip occurred, and the lavender Unicorn looked out the window to see that she was being mentally beckoned to the Crusaders. Noblesse’s pupils narrowed in surprise at Rumble. It was normal for early stage Practitioners to inadvertently let out echoes, like a bat, that could only be ‘heard’ by other nearby Practitioners. What caught Noblesse off guard was the particular emotion that the cheery good-natured Pegasus let out. While Practitioners of Dark Magic still felt the full spectrum of emotions that everyone else felt, their power mostly feed from the emotion that caused them to become Practitioners in the first place.

Noblesse had a subconscious feeling of what an early stage Practitioner’s ‘Feeding Emotion’ was, but that only narrowed it down the possible emotions by so much. The emotion Rumble had just echoed was an emotion that Noblesse knew how to deal with, but it was one of the more dangerous ones as well. Noblesse let out a sigh Legitimate hatred? It seems I will have to start lessons sooner than I thought I would.

“Is everything okay?” Asked Clockwork. As Noblesse redirected his focus from his thoughts, he realized that his friends were looking at him, most likely with concern given the tone of voice Clockwork used.

“Yes,” Answered Noblesse plainly, “I just realized that I will have to do something… unpleasant soon.”

Apple Bloom raised her brow at that. Growing up in a family that had been in business for several generations, all members of the Apple Family were taught how to read a Pony’s expressions and body language from a young age. Though Noblesse did an admirable job at hiding it, Apple Bloom could tell that Noblesse was omitting something important on purpose. She decided to drop it for the time being and act like she was none the wiser.

Damn thought Noblesse That came out too easily. Like anyone who worked in intelligence operations or anything underhoofed, Noblesse was trained to deal with social encounters: controlling body language, facial expressions, tone of voice, etc. Given the fact that Noblesse had let out an audible cue to his thoughts without realizing it until someone else brought to his attention, showed that two years of being perfectly blunt and honest with his thoughts and opinions without having to worry what anyone else thought had dulled Noblesse’s acting skills more than would have liked to admit.

Fortunately for him, Noblesse knew how change the subject in a productive way, “I apologize if this is a sore subject,” Started the metallic colored Serpicorn getting his friends’ attention, “But dost thou know’st why those Colts were chasing you?”

While Noblesse was using this topic to divert the Crusaders’ thoughts away from his own slipup, Noblesse was genuinely curious as to what could have provoked three older and stronger Colts to resort to violence with another Colt who was so much younger than them.

Lady Luck apparently favored the ex-soldier as the younger Colt was willing to explain, “I refused to do their homework for them.”

“Wait,” Said Apple Bloom, “That’s all ya did?”

“I told them why I wouldn’t do it,” Said Clockwork, expanding upon his explanation.

Everyone in the group gave oh’s of understanding with the exception of Noblesse and Rumble who were confused, “I think we’re missing something here,” Said Rumble.

Pipsqueak facehoofed, “Right, you two wouldn’t know. Lit’el Clockwork here offers to do homework for Ponies in the other classes.”

“Oh?” Sounded Noblesse showing his interest without reservation, “What would motivate such gestures?”

“I like doing the work,” Answered Clockwork, “But I only do one Pony’s homework from each one of the classrooms. I never do the homework of my classmates since I’d have to do the same exact problems twice. Those three jerks were in my class.”

“So, what? They felt thou were discriminating against them?” Ventured the noblepony. While Noblesse had uncovered plenty of petty and selfish rationalizations for a great deal of crimes, it was on the scale of nations, sects of various religions, units of currency amounting in the millions, and even inter-species relations. As such, Noblesse had trouble wrapping his head around such an insignificant cause.

“More or less,” Replied the young Earth Pony, “But ‘discrimination’ might be too strong of a word.”

“So, I guess you’ve done the other Crusaders’ homework in the past?” Asked Rumble.

“Nope,” Said Clockwork cheerfully, “The only Pony from your class that I help is my big sister.”

“Who would that be?” Asked Noblesse.

“Scootaloo!” Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Clockwork answered all at once, though Clockwork was far more enthusiastic.

That explains his familiar smell Thought Noblesse But if they were siblings, why didn’t I recognize immediately? A Serpicorn’s sense of smell allowed them to gather much information about a person with a sniff, and at a distance that would leave the subject unware that they were being studied. Blood Relatives had similar smells when compared to one another, but a Serpicorn could always tell when two people were close in blood like siblings. I would write this off not actual being very familiar with Scootaloo, but I’ve spent a great deal of time in close proximity to her. Now that Noblesse was focusing on Clockwork’s scent, he definitely smelled Scootaloo on him, and his blood and her blood both had a similar scent. However, if they were truly siblings, it would be very obvious. So why?

“What the hay?” Said Rumble out loud, “Do the rest of you see what I see?”

Rumble directed the gazes of everyone sans Noblesse, who had no gaze to direct, to what had caught his interest. The Crusaders could see a short Colt talking to three different Fillies. This wouldn’t be too unusual given the time of year and the ages of the noon period class students, but this short Colt looked a lot like Pipsqueak. A white coat with brown spots and the same hair style. Rumble, who had the superior eyesight of the Pegasi, could tell that this Colt even had the same eye color as Pipsqueak.

“What direction is Rumble point to?” Asked Noblesse.

“Oh, sorry,” Said Rumble, “There’s a Colt I’ve never seen before to your left that looks a lot like Pipsqueak. Like you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between the two of them if they stood next to each other.”

Noblesse poured more Mana into to his tongue and turned his head. While Serpicorns naturally had a stronger sense of smell, they could channel magic into their tongues similar to how a regular Unicorn channels more Mana into their horns to cast stronger spells. Noblesse’s pupils narrowed in anger when his tongue detected a simi-unique smell.

“Excuse me,” Said Noblesse. Before anyone could react, Noblesse went prone and started slithering towards the group Rumble pointed out.

“Cool!” Said Clockwork. His looked on in amazement when he realized something, “Why did Noblesse need you to tell him where you were pointing to?”

Archer, Toola Roola, and Coconut Cream were approached by Pipsqueak shortly after recess started. Neither of the Fillies were expecting the short Pinto Colt to be so charming, his exotic accent didn’t hurt things either.

The Colt had never been so bold like this before then again, the Colt had only just recently hit puberty and it was mid-Spring. So, Archer figured that it was a combination of those things that had given him a new-found confidence, her mother and father had taught of such things about Ponies when she was younger. Toola Roola and Coconut Cream had been fighting each other and flirting with Trottingham transplant since he started hitting on the three of them. While Archer knew that her friends often enjoyed a friendly rivalry with each other, this was defiantly different.

Archer couldn’t feel any actual emotion coming from the Colt that was directed at the three of them. While she still returned the flirting, it was a courtesy that Pipsqueak picked up on and the Colt was quick to concentrate his attention on the other two. He seemed to be enjoying their backhoofed barbs at each as they vied for his false affection. Archer didn’t take the usually polite Colt for that kind of Pony, but she didn’t know him that well.

Suddenly, a metallic gray leg silently wrapped itself around Pipsqueak’s and lifted him off of the ground. Toola Roola and Coconut Cream were brought out of their little fight by Pipsqueak’s gasp. The three Fillies saw that Noblesse, the Pony who had single hoofedly beaten three farm Ponies into the hospital, had lifted Pipsqueak several feet into the air and was strangling him. Pipsqueak was struggling in Noblesse’s iron grip and trying to kick him with his hind legs, but he was too weak to loosen the grip on his own and too short to kick Noblesse.

“What are you doing!?” Exclaimed Toola Roola.

“Look about twenty-five feet behind me,” Said Noblesse as he slightly loosened his grasp on Pipsqueak.

The four Ponies followed the serpentine Unicorn’s instructions to see most of the other Cutie Mark Crusaders with Scootaloo’s younger brother. They also saw another Colt who had a suspiciously similar appearance to Pipsqueak.

Uh-oh thought the imposter.

“What in Ponyville?” Asked Coconut Cream aloud.

Archer was distancing herself from Noblesse, afraid what might happen if she stayed for too long.

“Reveal thine self,” Demanded Noblesse.

“I don’t know what you mean,” Insisted the imposter.

Noblesse tightened his hold on the imposter until he could no longer breath, “Do not play games with me, Broodling.”

Oh no thought Archer as she froze in fear. “Bugger,” muttered the imposter.

The faux-Pipsqueak was suddenly bathed in crimson fire for a brief moment. The flames faded to reveal a Changeling with dark blue carapace and red eyes. Instead of the blank bug eyes most Changelings had, this one had pupils shaped like eight pointed stars.

“How did you know?” Asked the Changeling with his natural echoing voice, though it still held the distinctive accent belonging to the Ponies of Trottingham.

“I am literally half snake,” Replied Noblesse sharply, “Snakes navigate their surroundings with their sense of smell. Know’st what smells not like Ponies?” Noblesse brought his face uncomfortably close to that of the offending Changeling and gave a cold threatening smile, “Chitin, Changeling Pheromones, and insect innards.”

Noblesse repositioned himself the way he was when he captured the Changeling, “Thou’rt in thine twenties, yes?”

“Twenty-six,” Answered the Changeling.

“Could’st thou explain why ye took the form of an adolescent Colt and started seducing a trio of underaged Fillies?” Said Noblesse, his tone voice somewhere between questioning and accusatory.

The Changeling’s cross pupils narrowed as he realized what the snake-Pony was implying, “Whoa! It’s not like that mate,” The Changeling brought up his forelegs defensively, “There are a lot of natives who aren’t too keen on Ponies immigrating from other provinces, the Town Watch has been viewing immigrants with suspicion ‘cause of all the looting, immigrants from the larger cities look down on everyone else, and it’s been very hard get a meal recently.”

Locals are taking issue with the immigrants? Noblesse knew that there would Ponies with concerns about Ponyville’s rapid and sudden development, and he also knew that there would be clashing with the immigrants and the locals. But if this Changeling is citing it as an issue, then there is a notable portion of the locals who are being openly hostile. Is it a general problem, or is only a few neighborhoods that are being aggressive? Wondered Noblesse. Lucky for you thought Noblesse in reference to his current captive You might prove to actual be useful to me.

“Never the less, thou hast still broken the law,” Noblesse gently set the Changeling on the ground, “Assume an original disguise, go to the Guard Station, tell them that you are in violation of Code Three dash Twelve, and cooperate fully with the guards.”

The Changeling eagerly nodded his head. His body was coated in red fire once again, fading to reveal that he had changed himself into a Pegasus with a sky-blue coat and mane. He turned around and spread his wings to fly away, only to be prevented lift off by Noblesse’s hoof pinning his tail to the ground.

Noblesse brought his head next to the Changeling’s and whispered, “I have thine scent, do not make me hunt ye down,” Noblesse lifted his hoof, and the Changeling flew away with great haste, presumably to the Guard Station.

Noblesse turned to the trio of Fillies, “Let not this incident color thine perception of the Changeling race,” Neither of the Fillies could tell if Noblesse was pleading or demanding. Before the three friends could speak a word, Noblesse had started to deftly slither towards his friends.

Chapter 38

Cheerilee rubbed her temples as the clock ticked closer to the end of recess. She saw the confrontation between Noblesse and the mature Changeling, and had rushed from recess duty into the schoolhouse so she and Twilight could discuss how to approach the topic of Changelings with their class.

Cheerilee was informed about the Changelings in Ponyville when she became the Headmistress of Ponyville Schools, and had planned to keep their existence a secret so they could feed more easily. Now that a Changeling had been caught impersonating one of her students, she and the other teachers had a huge problem on their hooves, one that was worsened by Cheerilee herself and Twilight being the only members of the school staff that actually knew what Changelings were before the attack on Canterlot.

Explaining Changelings to her students was going to be hard enough, but to do so with her staff was going to be even harder. Worse yet, Cheerilee only had so much control over how her subordinates approached the topic of Changelings with their own classes. Now students and teachers were going to be unable to trust each other again for a long time. All of this was bad enough on its own, but how to convince anypony that not all Changelings were plotting conquest of Equestria and the seizure of all the love found within?

“Do you think Noblesse will be able to help us?” Asked Cheerilee, “He didn’t seem the least bit frightened by that Changeling.”

“Hard to say,” Answered Twilight, “I’m sure he’s been through things we can’t even imagine, given how peaceful Equestria is.
So, it might not be that he lacks discrimination against Changelings, but he has either faced or knows of things scarier than anything Changelings are capable of.”

Cheerilee and Twilight would have pondered the subject more, but the bell to bring students back to class rang out. Within minutes, students started coming in through the classroom door and returned to their seats. Both Cheerilee and Twilight noticed that the foals were keeping their eyes on each other before they came in, probably to make sure that they couldn’t be ‘replaced’ during the minor chaos that came with moving a large group of Ponies at once.

It wasn’t unusual for the students to still be talking among themselves before the teacher got their attention to resume class, but both teacher and TA could hear the undertones of fear and confusion. The only Ponies in the room who weren’t acting differently were Cheerilee, Twilight, and Noblesse, the latter sitting in his seat next to where Scootaloo sat when present waiting for class to start again.

Cheerilee began to tap her ruler against the chalkboard, her usual method of getting her classes’ attention, “Class,” Unfortunately, her students were more distracted than they were on most days for obvious reasons, so only a few students ceased their fearful chatter. Cheerilee resorted to giving her desk a hard hit with her ruler, “Class!”

The harsh tone and the unusually volume of Cheerilee’s voice finally brought the rest of the class out of their discussions.
Cheerilee gave a sigh, knowing what was about to happen, “Before we continue class, Twilight and I need to address what happened at recess today.”

“You mean that there are Changelings in Ponyville!?” Exclaimed Sweetie Belle, her voice cracking with fear.

“There’ve been Changelings living in Ponyville for hundreds of years,” Pointed out Noblesse casually.

All of Noblesse’s classmates instantly turned their heads to look at Noblesse in shock while Cheerilee and Twilight looked to each other. The two mares already knew that Noblesse knew there were, and had been, Changelings living in Equestria, but were surprised at how nonchalantly he dropped the metaphorical bombshell.

Archer, who looked the most surprised out of the entire student body, was the first to speak, “What do you mean that Changelings have been living here?”

“Exactly what I said,” Replied Noblesse in a tone of voice that bordered, but not quite reached, condescending, “Changelings have been living in Equestria before The Three Tribes settled the land and formed the ethno-states that would merge and become the nation we live in today.”

“If they’ve been here for so long, why did they wait until the last royal wedding to attack?” Asked Rumble, not believing what he was hearing.

“They didn’t,” Answer the metal colored Serpicorn, “At least, not in whole. Hive Chrysalis was a single Changeling Hive that was radicalized by special-nationalists (Pronounced Spe-Ce-Al, like species.Think of ethnonationalism, but for a species instead of an ethnicity) that resided within Underlot City.”

“Where?” Asked Twilight who, like everypony else, was unfamiliar with the location.

Noblesse was in stunned confusion for a moment before he realized his mistake, “My apologies, I oft need reminding that not all the peoples of Equestria are as familiar with the Under-Cities as the scholars and nobles of Canterlot that I once associated with. Underlot is the name given to the capital of the Equestrian Under-Cities, as it is built around and within roots of Mt. Equiss.”

“Ya mean the Canterlot Mountains?” Asked Apple Bloom.

“I think,” Replied Noblesse, “Though I knew not that you surface dwellers renamed the Holy Mountains.”

“Holy?” Asked Twilight.In all Equestria’s history, from the Treaty of Tribes which founded the nation to the short period of time in between Discord’s petrification to Luna’s madness, the Canterlot Mountain Range had never been considered consecrated ground.

“Aye,” Confirmed Noblesse, “The mountain range, more specifically Mt. Equiss, is considered holy ground by the denizens of the Equestrian Under-Cities that hold our Diarchs as a pair of gods, for it is where they reside and rule. Believers of the Bucephalian Church also hold Mt. Equiss as holy ground, as the summit of Mt. Equiss is supposedly where Bucephalus used his magic to grant Equine life intelligence and Mana.”

Twilight had to stop at Noblesse’s choice of words, “So you don’t know?”

“Worship of Bucephalus is usually found in Maretonia and Saddle Arabia,” Replied Noblesse, “Since Bucephalian Priests were the first judges that sentenced the convicted to exile in the Equestrian Caverns, veneration of Bucephalus is highly unpopular and even outlawed in some Under-Cities.”

“What does this have to do with Changelings not being evil?” Asked Rumble, who far more concerned with the existence of Changelings in his community than a foreign history lesson.

“Uh, nothing,” Admitted Noblesse, “I suppose we did get off topic.”

“Changelings are divided into two subspecies: Hivelings and Broodlings,” Started Noblesse, “Broodlings are just like any other intelligent species, only with colored sclera, covered in chitin, and baring pupils in the shape of four pointed stars. The Changelings that attacked Canterlot were Hivelings, countless mindless drones that are controlled by a ‘Queen’ through limited telepathic commands and pheromone manipulation. This means that the only intelligent being in a Changeling Hive is its Queen.”

“Do you honestly expect us to believe any of that?” Asked Silver Spoon in an accusatory tone of voice, “Why do you know so much about Changelings anyhow?”

“I served in covert ops,” Answered Noblesse, “Shapeshifters with the innate ability to manipulate one’s mind would be invaluable to any and all cloak and dagger pursuits.”

“Wouldn’t it be dangerous to work so closely with such creatures?” Asked Twilight. While it was not hard to see how valuable Changelings could be, she couldn’t help but wonder if the peoples of the Under-Cities were the pawns in the political game of chess.

“Territory claimed by Hives are treated as city-states and, while Broodlings are all born with mind manipulating magic, theirs is nowhere near as strong as that of Changeling Queens,” Explained Noblesse, “Even then, Changeling Queens can only control so many drones and thralls without them slipping from control or without working itself to death, similar to a Unicorn who tries using magic while in Mana Recoil.”

“But there were so many of them in Canterlot,” Pointed out Sweetie Belle.

“And Queen Chrysalis had to use every single drone in her Hive just to hold one city,” Replied Noblesse, “If the Royal Guard were an actual military force, they would not have been able to take our capital so easily.”

“What do you mean by that?” Asked Pipsqueak in an unusually defensive and angry tone of voice.

“Equestria hasn’t had a real military in over a thousand years. The armies we did have were led by Princess Luna, because of the military’s affiliation with Her Serenity, no one enlisted for Equestria’s Armed Forces after the last soldiers retired,” Explained Noblesse, “The Royal Guard is mostly an emergency response force, somewhere in between law enforcement and disaster relief.”

“While utterly tactless,” Started Twilight, “He isn’t wrong. The Royal Guard mostly saw to the evacuation of civilians during the Canterlot Wedding Fiasco. Over ninety percent of Canterlot’s civilian population escaped, but nearly every member of the Royal Guard was captured by Changelings, mostly because they used themselves as distractions, so civilians could get away.”

A thought occurred to Twilight, “How did you know that Pipsqueak was a fake, and not the one among your group?”

“I could smell him,” Answered Noblesse as though it were a normal thing to say.

“Wot?” Asked Pipsqueak.

“This isn’t restricted to my appearance,” Replied Noblesse holding up his right foreleg.Twilight wondered if Noblesse consciously chose the real foreleg as opposed to the prosthetic as he continued to speak, “My senses, skeletal structure, and even my internal organs, were all changed to become more serpentine over the course of years. As one who has partook in Basilisk Blood, my sense of smell and taste are as deeply connected to my Magic as my horn.”

“So even if the Changeling masked its scent, you could ‘smell’ the magic forming the disguise,” Twilight hadn’t quite finished the book on Hemomancy, and the information within was already being useful to her.

“Bullseye,” Said Noblesse while nodding affirmatively.

“Then why didn’t you call out Chrysalis at the Royal Wedding?” Asked Sweetie Belle.

“I assumed that the Princess knew that was a doppelganger in the bride’s place,” Replied Noblesse.

“Why would the Princess know that was a Changeling in Cadance’s place?” Asked Twilight, legitimately shocked by Noblesse’s reply.

“It was Queen Chrysalis that warned us of a possible attack,” Answered Noblesse, “And we had no reason to suspect any dishonesty or trickery from her at the time, not to mention that previous Queens were invaluable assets to our country. The Sun Princess was also dismissing the unusual behavior from the impostor, so I thought she knew.”

“Are you suggesting that the Princess wanted the attack to happen?” Asked Twilight in confusion from Noblesse’s reasoning.

“Of course not,” Replied Noblesse with an insulted tone of voice, “All of the threats were made against Princess Mi Amore Cadenza specifically, with Her Radiance assuring everyone that Mi Amore was simply nervous about her upcoming wedding, I concluded that a Changeling imposter was being used in public let the attackers know we were on them.”

“And that Cadance wouldn’t be in a position to be attacked,” Finished Twilight.

“I don’t understand,” Said Rumble, “Why would that matter?”

“If the target wasn’t going to be present, there wouldn’t be any reason to use the resources in the attack,” Explained Twilight, “Then we would have time to investigate a previously unknown threat against us.”

“Had I known that Queen Chrysalis put herself in the bride’s place and not a drone, I would have just killed her myself,” Said Noblesse.

A thought occurred to Twilight as soon as Noblesse said that, “How would we ever find out where the real Cadance was?”

Noblesse sat in silence for a moment before speaking, “I do not have a high opinion of the Puppet Princess.”

Twilight’s eyes widened in surprise. Cadance was referred to as ‘The Puppet Princess’ by her critics ever since she was made Princess-Sovereign of the Crystal Empire. It was no secret that the Crystal Empire was a puppet state with Equestria being her suzerain. Cadance had no actual training or experience with administration or affairs of state and used what influence and wealth she had for charity and spreading awareness of problems small local communities had. So, she was more than happy with handing over actual governance to the Diarchs and their advisers.

But it was the implication of Noblesse’s words that caught her attention, “You would have willing let Cadance die?”

Noblesse frowned as his usually lifeless eyes reflected his disdain, “She wronged me in a way that I can never forgive. I would gladly take any opportunity to legally exact revenge on her.”

While the room was aghast, it was Twilight who spoke, “What could she possibly-”

Noblesse interrupted her, “By order of the Twin Thrones, I am forbidden from saying anything more on the subject.”

The classroom sat in complete silence, save for the ticking of the clock, until the bell rang to signify the end of the school day. The students filed out of the room and into the hallways as quickly as they could, Noblesse’s words clearly having an effect on them. Though, there were four clear exceptions. Apple Bloom, Rumble, and Pipsqueak were politely waiting for Noblesse with varying degrees of nervousness. What was surprising, was that Archer was inching her way to Noblesse as he headed toward the door.

It took a few moments for Noblesse to realize that the blueberry Pegasus was not simply going in the same direction, but was following him, “Did you need something from me?”

Archer flinched as Noblesse turned to face her, “Y-yeah,” Never mind his appearance, the way he talked about the Charitable Princess Mi Amore Cadenza mixed with the way he beat up those three Ponies earlier in the week was more than enough to send shivers down the Pegasus’ spine when she finally had his attention, “Could we talk in private?”

“Sure,” Noblesse turned to face his friends, “You three can go ahead outside, I won’t take offense.”

The group of young adults exited the room, leaving Twilight and Cheerilee by themselves.

“That was unpleasant for reasons I did not expect,” Stated Cheerilee as soon as her students were out of earshot.

“I know what mean,” Said Twilight with a thoughtful look on her face, “Though I can’t help but wonder what Cadance did to upset Noblesse so much.”

Cheerilee adopted a stunned look on her face as soon as she processed what Twilight had just said, “What could possibly justify such disdain for an Alicorn of all things, aren’t they supposed to be the pinnacle of Pony society?”

“Sort of,” Replied Twilight, stalling for the words she wanted to use, “They’re capable of making mistakes like anypony else, but because of the power they wield, their mistakes tend to have much more drastic consequences.”

“How do you mean?” Asked Cheerilee, not liking the tone of voice Twilight had just used.

“Cadance was my Foal sitter while I was growing up,” Cheerilee couldn’t help but wonder where this nonsequitur was going, “And she told me about some the biggest mistakes she had made when it became obvious I was more… magically inclined than the average Unicorn.”

“Oh dear, I do not like where this is going,” Cheerilee started to rub her forehead with one of her hooves as she thought about what the Princess of Love could have possibly done with her power.

“Cadance was only ten years old when she became an Alicorn, born to Pegasus parents,” Explained Twilight, “So she had hardly aged when her parents died of old age.I suppose you know about the lifespans of the Pony Tribes?”

Cheerilee nodded, “Unicorns can live to be two or three hundred years old, provided they exercise their magic and don’t over-extend their Mana Wells. Earth Ponies can live to be several hundred years old, but often become satisfied with the lives they have lived sometime after their grandchildren are born, and simply let go of their wills to live. Pegasi rarely live to be a hundred as their bodies use their magic so efficiently that they don’t retain any of it, preventing their Mana Wells from growing.”

Twilight nodded before continuing, “Cadance was, of course, upset after her parents died. Fortunately, she had friends to help her through it.”

Cheerilee’s eyes widened when she realized where this was going, “But she didn’t have anypony to help her through losing her friends, did she.”

Twilight shook her head, “No, she didn’t. She had sworn to make sure that no one, Pony or otherwise, hurt like she had ever again. So, she started travelling Equestria to ease the suffering of all creatures she could find.”

Cheerilee tilted her head in confusion, “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

Twilight looked away in shame as a blush came to her cheeks, “I developed the ‘Want It, Need It’ spell by reverse engineering her magic.”

“Oh?” Cheerilee’s expression became one of shock the second she realized what Twilight was implying, “Oh! Oh dear.”

Twilight looked back in time to see Cheerilee stroking her muzzle in distress, “It’s exactly as bad as you think. Cadance didn’t just go around making Ponies feel good, she used her magic to keep Ponies together when they wanted to separate and totally eliminated negative emotion, no matter how dire their circumstance.”

“At least her heart was in the right place,” Cheerilee said with a sullen look on her face.

“That’s why the princess wasn’t very harsh in punishing Cadance,” Explained Twilight, “You’d be surprised at how hard it was to track down a pink Alicorn, especially when she doesn’t stay in one place for more than a day or so.”

“What happened when she was finally found?” Asked the cerise Mare.

“Princess Celestia doubted that any words of wisdom would help somepony when she was hurting so badly,” Twilight used her magic to bring down the map of Equestria rolled up and hung over the chalkboard before continuing, “So, the Princess took Cadance back to the places she had visited and showed her how Ponies’ lives were made worse by them not able acknowledging their problems and how empty and robotic they became when forced to only feel one or two emotions.”

“That poor Filly,” Whimpered the teacher under her breath, “That must have hurt.”

“It did,” Affirmed Twilight, “She broke down into tears after being brought back to the second or third village she had been to. She and the Princess were able to make all those Ponies themselves again, but the damage had already been done.”

A shiver went down Cheerilee’s spine as she thought about what Twilight meant by that, especially since Princess Cadance had ‘saved’ so many relationships.

“After they were finally done, Cadance knelt before the Princess and submitted herself to her judgement,” Twilight winced before as she thought of what needed to be said next, “This was significant because Leather Apron had been arrested and sentenced before Cadance left her home town.”

Cheerilee brought a hoof to her mouth as she gasped and fell to a sitting position at the name. Leather Apron, also known as the Trottingham Stalker, the Candlelight Hunter, the Whitestable Murderer, and several other names, was the only known serial killer in Equestrian history. The mad Pony had a dozen victims in total, all female Ponies of varying ages. He was the reason that Ponies believed that Princess Celestia was a tyrant, as she personally petrified him and had him made into a fountain. These believes were further exaggerated when it became common knowledge that Leather Apron was sentenced to Sentient Petrification and judged guilty by the Sun Princess herself.

“So Princess Cadenza expected to be added to the Statue Garden?” Asked Cheerilee with an obvious note of horror in both her voice and expression.

Twilight nodded sadly, “Her actual sentence was to do a hundred hours of community service in each individual town she had… ‘affected.’”

Cheerilee cringed, “Good thing Alicorns don’t age.”

Both of the Mares chuckled at Cheerilee’s joke before continuing their discussion.

“So, you think Cadance did something similar to Noblesse?” Asked Cheerilee.

“Not exactly,” Answered Twilight, “Equestria hasn’t had an actual military for over a thousand years. My guess is that Cadance did something she didn’t realize was hurtful or insensitive, and Noblesse is taking it super personally.”

“But hoping for an excuse to end her is a bit much for something like that,” Pointed out Cheerilee.

“From what I’ve read about the Under-Cities, it’s super hostile and dangerous. Even the ground beneath you and the cavern ceiling isn’t safe, since territory can change much more drastically than it can on the surface. I can’t imagine what kind of ideology or mindset would be needed to survive down there.”

Both Mares thought to themselves with pensive looks on their faces for a moment before Twilight spoke again, “Enough about such terrible things. My friends and I have managed to schedule free time to hang out today, would you want to join us?”

A smile came to Cheerilee’s lips, “Yes, yes I would.Thank you for inviting me.”

Archer lead Noblesse down the opposite direction from the closest exit and from the CMC. The two-tone blue Pegasus lead Noblesse around the corner and checked her surroundings for anypony that could be listening in on them.

Archer sighed in relief.Confidant that they were alone, she spoke, “Can you really tell Changelings apart from the rest?”

“You saw me zero in on the offender at recess, didn’t you?” Asked Noblesse.

Archer sighed again, “Then I owe you thanks.”

“No, you don’t,” Replied the incognito noble, “You have the right to privacy. Though, I must warn you.”

Archer recoiled at the young stallion’s words, “Of what exactly?”

“There are going to be immigrants soon, coming from all over the Equestrian Continent and beyond. Some of them are going to be Changelings.”

“Okay… how does that affect me?” Asked Archer.

Noblesse expanded upon his warning, “Almost none of these Changelings are going to be disguised, and are going to take issue with Changelings that keep their disguises without good reason.”

“What!?” This had Archer shocked, “Why?”

“Outside of our nation, the existence of Changelings is well known,” Explained Noblesse, “Because of this, laws dictating the use of Changeling Transformations are basically universal. And very few Changelings who break these laws are… reputable.”

Archer closed her eyes started rubbing her temples in agitation. She already knew that Undisguised Changelings could tell Disguised Changelings apart from the rest of the population, “So they’ll start pointing us out to everypony else thinking we’re criminals.”

Noblesse nodded, “I won’t tell you how to live your life, but I advise you take this information to your family, maybe the rest of your Brood, and consider telling your friends before someone else tells them for you.”

Archer put her back against the wall and adopted a pensive expression, dreading the very idea of revealing her true form to her beloved friends. Thinking it would be best that Archer be left alone to think, Noblesse excused himself from the Disguised Changeling’s presence to rejoin his own friends.

Chapter 39

“You’re joking, right?” Asked Sweetie Belle.

“All of that stuff he said ‘bout Cadance is mighty unsettlin’,” Admitted Apple Bloom, “But we don’t know what happened between her an’ Noblesse.”

After class, the Cutie Mark Crusaders had decided to wait for Noblesse by the doors to the school. While they waited, Sweetie Belle had tried her hoof at convincing her friends to distance themselves from the ex-soldier.

Sweetie Belle’s mouth hanged in shock for a moment before speaking again, “What could possibly warrant such hostility towards an Alicorn?”

“When I was at the Cloudsdale Flight School,” Started Rumble, “I took classes about Pre-Unification Pegasus culture.” Rumble didn’t like to brag, but he had a five-point-o GPA because he took all of the courses available at the Flight School.

“Okay?” Sweetie Belle did not like where this was going.

“To take an insult without throwing one back or starting a fight was considered to be cowardly.”

“So Princess Cadance wounded his pride?” Asked Sweetie Belle deadpanned.

“Cowards were executed and their families were either put on the front lines or sent on suicide missions for bringing a ‘liability’ into the military,” Explained Rumble.

“But Equestria doesn’t have laws like,” Pointed out Sweetie Belle.

“He was raised in a military/warrior culture. ‘is mind might know that sort’a thing doesn’t matter up here, but Noblesse’s heart still belongs in the Under-Cities,” Surprisingly, it wasn’t Rumble, but Pipsqueak who spoke up.

“Speak’th the Draconequus’s name,” Noblesse spoke as he rounded the corner and approached the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

Noblesse had scarred his friends by showing up unexpectedly. The chuckle he gave as they all jumped up made it ambiguous as to whether or not he did so on purpose.

“Were you listenin’ on us?” Asked the pinto colt.

“I heard the last thing spoken as I came around the corner,” Defended Noblesse.

“How did you even get out of the building?” Asked Rumble.

“There’s doors on each side of the school,” Explained Apple Bloom, “We always use this door because our classroom is just past the first section of lockers.”

“What did Archer want tah talk about?” Asked Pipsqueak.

“If she wanted to lead me away from others,” Started Noblesse, “I believe safe to assume she wanted this to stay private.”

“That’s… A good point actually,” Admitted Pipsqueak.

“I meant it when I said thou could’st go on without me,” Stated Noblesse.

“No we couldn’t,” Said Rumble, “We’re your friends, and Sweetie Belle!”

Apple Bloom gave her coltfriend a soft slap to the back of the head while everypony except Sweetie Belle laughed, Sweetie Belle gave Rumble a playful glare.

Noblesse cleared his throat to get the Crusaders’ attention when the laughter died down “Forgive me if this is a sensitive topic, but is Rumble actually a member of the Cutie Mark Crusaders?”

“Am I?” Asked Rumble as he turned his head towards his marefriend, “I mean, yeah I’m a blank flank like most of you, but I don’t want to be streamlined through anything else the others had to go through.”

“There’s no hazin’ or anything like that,” Stated Pipsqueak, “You just have to sit through a ceremony. So, that shouldn’t be a problem unless you don’t like being the center of attention… Oh, the girls also give a cheer, so you may want to have noise cancelling headphones with you.”

“Another thing,” This time, it was Sweetie Belle who spoke, “This is sort of embarrassing for us, but you may not want to be officially apart of the CMC considering who your brother is.”

“Why?” Asked Rumble with a teasing smile, “Do you all get in trouble with the police very often?”

“We only got the Town Guard called on us thirty-seven times,” Confessed Apple Bloom.

Noblesse and Rumble both gave Apple Bloom incredulous looks, “What in the Gods’ names could you have poss-”

“Excuse me,” Noblesse was interrupted by a familiar nine-year-old Colt.

The group of Ponies turned around to see Clockwork approaching them nervously “Is this a bad time?”

“Naw,” Replied Apple Bloom, “We were just finishing up,” While the young Mare was not one to simply drop a conversation, she was afraid that nature of this conversation was what made Scootaloo’s brother nervous, “What do yah need?”

Clockwork gulped and spoke, “Have any of you seen Fluttershy?”

“Is she not here?” Asked Sweetie Belle, now looking around for the aforementioned Pegasus.

“Yellow Pegasus with a pink mane and tail?” Asked Rumble, trying to precisely remember the six Mares he met at Ponyville’s Spa, “Why would she be here?”

“She and Scoots’ dad are friends,” Answered Apple Bloom, “She sometimes looks after his house when he has to work out’a town. She also makes sure Clockwork is looked after when he needs it.”

“I-I know the home,” Said the brown Colt, “But with everypony going home from school and all of the grown up Ponies leaving work at the same time, town is crowded and scary.”

Sweetie Belle moved in front of Clockwork and got on her knees as to be at eye level with the younger Colt, “Do you want us to come with you?”

“Th-that would be nice,” Replied Clockwork as he turned his head slightly away from Sweetie Belle, “But I can wait for Fluttershy or for the crowds to thin if you’re all busy.”

Fluttershy has been foalsiting too much Mused the white Unicorn, “I don’t have a problem with it,” Sweetie Belle turned to face her friends, “You guys don’t have to tag along.”

“Yeah we do,” Replied Apple Bloom, “Safety in numbers ‘nd all. ‘sides, Ah don’t think we’ve been in to see Scootaloo since our hospital visit, Ah think it’s high time we change that.”

A thought came to Noblesse with this new course of action decided upon, “Clockwork,” Said Noblesse to get the younger colt’s attention, “Would’st thou have one of us carry you?”

“Carry me?” Asked Clockwork, as confused as most of the group.

Sweetie Belle, who had foalsat before, realized where this was going, “Most of us are taller than you, so you’d have to trot just to keep up with our walking speed. That usually wouldn’t be a problem, but with rush hour going on, it would be really hard for us to keep track with each other.”

“Oh, I hadn’t ever thought of that before,” Admitted Clockwork, “I always thought that Fluttershy was just being nice when she carried me home, but that makes a lot of since.”

“If you’re not comfortable with one of us carrying you,” Started Rumble, “I don’t think any of us would mind waiting here for you before going to see Scootaloo.”

“Uhhh, t-thanks,” Clockwork said hesitantly, “But I’m worried about Fluttershy and Scootaloo. It’s not like her to be late, and my sister is still sick. I want see them now!”

Sweetie Belle’s horn ignited with a soft green glow as Clockwork was enveloped in a magical aura of the same color. Sweetie Belle gently put the young Colt on her back with her magic, “Which way is your house?”

“Thou hast never been?” Asked Noblesse in surprise.

“No,” Replied Pipsqueak, “Scoots’ parents have a lot of fragile stuff in their house, so we don’t even ask to have sleep overs at her house or anything like that.”

“Are you all really clumsy?” Joked Rumble.

“Nah, it’s because disaster follows us like a bad smell,” Explained Apple Bloom.

Rumble, Noblesse, and Clockwork all stared at Apple Bloom in stunned silence until Clockwork remembered that they had something important to do, “Just follow the road going straight until the second crossroads and turn left.”

“That would take through the crowds,” Sweetie Belle pointed out, “Does Fluttershy usually go that way?”

“No,” Admitted Clockwork, “But I’m worried about her and my sister! This will be faster than going the long way, despite the crowds.”

Noblesse gave a smile that looked bigger than it really was due to his lack of fur, “It’s admirable of you to take us this way so eagerly, your discomfort notwithstanding. And all for the sake of your sister and a Mare you probably don’t know very well,” Noblesse chuckled softly before speaking again, “Due lead the way.”

As the group moved towards their destination, Rumble and Pipsqueak discretely moved closer to each other and started whispering.

“At least he’s openin’ up more,” Observed Pipsqueak, “Did somethin’ happen? ‘cause I know we haven’t gotten the chance to make ‘em more comfortable here.”

Rumble shrugged, “Beats me. Maybe it has something to do with his new appearance?”

“How does lookin’ like a monster make ‘em emote more?” Asked the Trottingham native.

“Maybe now that he looks like a monster, it’s not so much of a shock to Ponies when they learn about his past?” Suggested the Pegasus.

“Actin’ however you want because Ponies think you’re a monster before you can actually meet them?” Pipsqueak thought aloud, “I don’t like it, but all of the stares he’s gettin’ certainly support that theory.”

Why are there so many Ponies out now of all times Fluttershy thought as she did her best to rush through the crowded streets of Ponyville.

The timid Pegasus usually went around the Southern edge of town to get to the schoolhouse, as opposed to going straight through town. There were fewer people that way than the other edges of town because of how close it is to the Everfree Forest. Fluttershy didn’t mind because Clockwork and Scootaloo’s house was in the Southern half of town and the wildlife didn’t bother her. According to her animal friends, the Cockatrice that petrified Twilight Sparkle and went after the CMC those many months had warned the other creatures of the Everfree of ‘Wraith in Pony flesh.’ While Fluttershy didn’t mean to scare the creature as badly as she apparently did, it was to save her friend and to protect herself, the Crusaders, and one of her chickens. The Everfree wildlife had also become more cautious of the Ponyville Ponies and even Fluttershy’s secluded cottage, so there were actually few downsides to this incident from the point-of-view of the timid Pegasus.

However, managing Ponyville’s surprisingly varied wildlife, her cottage, and her friend’s home, all at once is a lot of work for anypony. So, as most Ponies would do, Fluttershy takes naps on occasion. This isn’t usually a problem, but the already anxious Pegasus overslept and didn’t wake up until several minutes after the Noon Period of school ended. And while Clockwork is smarter than the average Colt, he has never had to wait on Fluttershy before.

Thoughts about all of the bad things that could happen to the young and naïve Colt kept repeating themselves in Fluttershy’s head. This was only made worse by Ponyville’s ongoing exponential population boom.

Fluttershy had to stop once again for crowds waiting to cross the street. Fluttershy had, unfortunately, not gotten very far from Quiver’s house. It was impossible to maneuver around and through crowds when the grouped up at the crosswalks, waiting for Ponyville’s new Crossing Guards to direct traffic in such a way that would let them pass to the desired side of the road. While Fluttershy understood the necessity of have having guards directing traffic at all hours with Ponyville’s development, she saw as more of a necessary evil than a convenience.

I can’t even see the Crossing Guard Fluttershy thought to herself in a rare state of impatience and agitation. Fluttershy usually ignored the chatter she heard when around crowds as a rule of principle, their affairs weren’t her business. However, she noticed that the Ponies seemed to be in state of distress. The Ponies also weren’t making gestures, rude or otherwise, to the Crossing Guard or traffic, but pointing specifically to the other side of the street.

Oh! Was there a wreck? Fluttershy looked to the road to see if something was actively obstructing movement, that was when she noticed that there was no crosswalk nearby and that there were too many buildings up ahead and close by for there to be room for left and right turns.

The timid Pegasus tried her best to reign in her curiosity, yet much like the injured cats she treated on occasion, she lost to it in a contest of will, and looked directly across the road, “Eep!”

“Do you have your Cutie Mark?” While Clockwork was very smart for his age, his youth often left him without subtlety and tact when speaking.

“Aye,” Replied Noblesse, “You were talking to me, right?”

“I can see everypony elses’ flanks,” Pointed out Clockwork, “Why do you cover yours if you already have your Cutie Mark?”

“A few reasons,” Noblesse said cryptically, “For one, I believe it less distressing to others who are not used to the appearance of Under-City Ponies if they can’t see our whole person.”

“Under-City?” Asked Clockwork, “Is that where you’re from?”

“Yes, and all ye need to know about them is that they’re underground cities.” Explained Noblesse.

“How far down are they?” Clockwork predictably asked.

“That depends on the specific settlement,” Said Noblesse, “A whole civilization might be even smaller than Ponyville in diameter but with the height of mountains, considering that they don’t confine themselves to surface biomes.”

“Second point about the cloaks, is that it can be very cold underground without the heat of the sun. Third: they can be useful for hiding from subterranean predators that use dark or night vision, as they are often the same color of the rocks.”

“So it’s apart of you culture,” Clockwork spoke as he made the realization.

“Precisely,” Answered Noblesse, “Though there is a fourth reason that is more important.”

“What’s that?” Asked Rumble. He, like the Crusaders who weren’t on sick leave, just assumed that Noblesse’s cloak was a quirk of his as the other Under-City Ponies always wore armor.

“Since I don’t have fur, I need clothing in public so I don’t accidentally expose my genitals,” Noblesse said as causally as if he was commenting on the weather.

Most of the group had looks of realization on their faces, though Clockwork had bright pink cheeks for the moment, “You mean… your ‘privates?’” The young Colt whispered the last word.

“I believe so? However, I’ve never heard them called that,” Admitted Noblesse, “So we could be thinking of two different body parts.”

“No,” Rumble said while facehooving, “You two are thinking of the same thing.”

The Crusaders fell into an awkward silence as they proceeded to the first crossroads on the way to Scootaloo’s house. When they did get to the crossroads, they were made to wait for traffic. This made the stares Noblesse was getting very obvious as the Crusaders had to wait with the passersby for the Crossing Guard to let them to the other side of the road.

Rumble’s ears twitched briefly before he spoke again, “Did any of you hear anything just now?”

“It might have been Fluttershy,” Noblesse suggested.

“Flutter- Gaah!” Rumble turned around to see the timid Mare a muzzle’s length away from him, which startled Rumble as Fluttershy was similarly startled by the Colt's yelp.

“Fluttershy,” Rumble said, pretending that he didn’t just get scared by the most harmless creature in Equestria, “We were just looking for you.”

“Fluttershy!” Rumble grunted as Clockwork jumped from Sweetie Belle’s back to Rumble’s, “Is Scootaloo okay?”

“Oh, sweetie,” The worried look on the young Colt’s face only made the butter colored Pegasus feel more guilty, “Scootaloo’s fine, I just overslept.”

Clockwork and Rumble realized that Fluttershy must have had to raise her voice to be heard over the nearby crowd, yet they could still only just hear the quiet Pegasus.

“Prithee, Dame Fluttershy?” Noblesse spoke as he turned his head to face the aforementioned Mare, “Could’st thou fly Clockwork to his house, then the rest of us could meet ye there and see Scootaloo.”

“Yes,” Clockwork said as he nodded his head enthusiastically in agreement with the request, “I would like that very much.”

Fluttershy picked up Clockwork with her forehooves, “I guess I’ll see you all at the house,” Fluttershy gave one last quick and nervous look to Noblesse, “Uh, bye.”

Pipsqueak realized something just as Fluttershy flew off, “Does anypony know how to git to Scootaloo’s house from here?”

“I can lead the way,” Assured Noblesse.

“Why do you know where Scootaloo lives?” Asked Apple Bloom.

“I sought out thy homes this past Winter so I could bring thee thy Winter clothes,” Explained Noblesse.

“And our families just… gave them to you?” Asked Sweetie Belle incredulously.

“They were either busy or absent from thy homes, so I simply went inside and looked for them,” Said Noblesse.

“Ya broke into our homes and stole our clothes?” Apple Bloom asked with a hint of anger.

“No,” Noblesse replied with a mischievous grin, “That would imply the people in this town locked their doors.”

Rainbow Dash was busting clouds above one of the plains just outside of Ponyville, though this had nothing to do with the Weather Team. Down below was a large shade tree, a favorite spot for her and her friends’ get-togethers. While shade was nice every now and then, the light of Celestia’s sun made it clear how beautiful the flowers were as the light shined on them, which was a sight that was always appreciated.

By the tree, Applejack and Rarity were setting up the picnic proper: setting down the blanket used to keep the food and dishes clean of dirt and other natural grime, Rarity setting out overly fine silver plates and utensils more suited to an upper-class party than a picnic, and Applejack setting out several light pastries and snack food, courtesy of herself and her family. While Pinkie Pie was in fact doing something, the others had long since learned to look away as her antics always left one wondering how such things were possible and why the pink party-planner would even want to do such things. The band of heroines had been especially wary of putting thought into Pinkie Pie’s behavior since Twilight had tried using science to explain her famed Pinkie Sense. While always happy to help and willing to put their wellbeing on the line for the sake of others, it was an unspoken agreement that they had had enough Hydras chasing them down.

Applejack, having served meals for her family at their reunions, publicity events, and acts of charity, was mentally unlabored at her current task. This allowed her to immediately notice how strangely Rarity was acting.

The white Unicorn was putting down silver ware and the like as usual, but she had a dark worried expression on her face. What really let the farmpony know that something was wrong, was when Rarity started making the utensils swap places with each other, realizing that they were in the wrong place. While Applejack didn’t care for the high society soirees that her fashionista friend was obsessed with, she knew that Rarity would never forget something as ‘essential’ as where to place the forks and spoons.

Her head ‘aint wid the rest of ’er, “Somethin’ wrong Rare?”

“Yes,” Rarity hesitantly admitted, “But the others need to be here before I talk about it, especially Twilight.”

One of Applejack’s brows raised at the Unicorn’s cryptic answer. Somethin’ up wid Twilight huh? Surely ya wouldn’t keep quiet if another Lesson Zero was gonna happen, would ya Rarity?

Everypony knew not to expect Fluttershy for this week’s get together. While Fluttershy usually made the time even when she was looking after Scootaloo’s house for her parents, she now had an injured Pegasus to tend to. Though convincing the typically timid Pegasus that not showing up wouldn’t be a betrayal to the group was surprising challenging with how passive the aforementioned Mare usually is.

Everypony was used to Twilight coming after the rest of the group had gathered as she had the library, which was deep within Ponyville itself, to take care of. They also knew that Twilight was working at the schoolhouse now, a change that was encouraged. However, nopony expected to see Twilight and Cheerilee walking together towards them.

When Pinkie Pie excitedly pointed this out to the others, Rarity and Applejack’s expressions flattened.

“What did our sisters do?” Rarity asked aloud.

“Guess we’ll have to ask ‘er ourselves,” Replied Applejack.

“Hi girls,” Greeted Twilight when she joined her friends a few minutes later, “I hope none of you mind that I brought somepony with me.”

“Well, shoot Twilight,” Started Applejack, “The more the merrier. ‘sides, we’re down one since Fluttershy cahn't be here.”

“I concur,” Agreed Rarity, though she had a slightly mischievous glint in her eye, “Provided that you didn’t come here with an ulterior motive, did you Cheerilee.”

“Oh, no,” Said Cheerilee, “Your sisters have been very well behaved.”

The whole group tittered at how the teacher instantly knew what Rarity meant. After a little small talk and Applejack not-so-subtly fishing for info on Rumble, Rarity decided it was time for the dark matter on her mind.

“While I don’t mind your company Cheerilee, I am particularly glad that you came here today,” Admitted the alabaster Mare.”

“Oh? Sweetie Belle isn’t worried her grades, is she?” Asked Cheerilee.

“Not that I know of,” Replied Rarity, “Though it does concern my sister, or rather, the things she’s told me about a recent addition to your class.”

Alarms went off in Applejack’s mind. She was worried about both of the new Colts in her sister’s class, and now Rarity’s sister was troubled as well?

Before Applejack could say anything, Twilight beat her to the punch, “It’s about Noblesse, isn’t it?”

Applejack was at once relieved and distressed at once. While it didn’t concern her sister’s boyfriend or their relationship, it did involve somepony she was equally worried about.

“Yes, it does,” Answered Rarity, “Sweetie Belle claims that Noblesse has admitted to doing some… questionable things.”

Applejack was now just upset at the possible implications of Rarity’s choice of words, “He hasn’t done anything ‘dirty’ to her or her friends has he?”

“No,” Replied Twilight, not noticing the distress in her voice, “He’s been very forthcoming about his past.”

“Why would that be a problem?” Asked Rainbow Dash, “I can see somepony being uncomfortable being around somepony else who was in the military, hay, military service was spearpoint compulsory for all Pegasi for a few hundred years.”

“For starters, Noblesse wasn’t in a regular military organization,” Explained Twilight, “He was in ‘Covert Ops,’ as he himself put it.”

“Covert Ops!?” Exclaimed Applejack, “He was a spy?”

“If Noblesse is to be believed, he was more of an assassin.”

“It doesn’t help that he has given… details,” Pointed out Cheerilee, “Very gruesome details.”

“How gruesome?” Nopony had payed much attention to Pinkie Pie until she spoke, but now that their attention was on the pink Mare, they could see that her mane and tail weren’t as ‘poofy’ as it usually was.

“Well…” Twilight wasn’t sure what to do now. Speaking with Pinkie Pie was a conversational minefield on any given day, but she was acting oddly, odd for her at least. Twilight thought her excitable friend would have gone off to plan a party for him, this was unexpected.

Twilight decided it would be best to leave out exact details, “He’s had to preform outright acts of terrorism and get the trust of other only to murder them at a later point in time.”

“Heavens tah bettsy!” Applejack yelled, “And this monster has been hangin’ around the Crusaders!”

“We don’t have a right to judge him,” It was not Twilight who spoke, but Pinkie Pie.

All eyes were staring at her in silence for several moments before Twilight spoke again, “What makes you say that?”

“He enjoyed that suffering he caused, didn’t he?” Asked Pinkie Pie.

“How could you know that?” Asked Cheerilee. While Pinkie Pie and her namesake sixth sense was known to be borderline prophetic, this was something else entirely.

“I’ve been trying to plan a party just for him, to welcome him here in Ponyville,” Explained the Pink Party Pony, “So I’ve been thinking a lot about what the Princesses told us about him.”

“If the Under-Cities are giant fortresses, and their Ponies giant armies, would there be anywhere he could find joy?” Pinkie asked rhetorically, “I wonder if it’s less that he likes hurting people, and more than he had nothing else in his life.”

“Pinkie Pie, there is no way you could have known any of that without experience,” Twilight’s reply was born out of the horrifying thought that her friend had a life even slightly similar to that of Noblesse Oblige.

“Worse actually,” Replied Pinkie Pie as she looked down on the picnic blanket, “I grew up on a rock farm. All we really did was move around magic resistant stones so all of the magic going through the ground would go into magically receptive rocks in a higher concentration that my family could dig up and sell for a profit.”

“I didn’t know it until I saw Dashie’s first Rainboom, but I didn’t know actual happiness until I saw it. Only satisfaction for a day’s work well done,” Pinkie Pie raised her head and started turning it to each one of her friends as she spoke, “We were never in control of anything, our lives were dictated by time. If we left those rocks in the same place, the planet’s magic would just flow around it like a poorly made dam, so it eventually became a routine we repeated forever.”

Pinkie smiled brightly before continuing, “That’s why I started traveling and throwing parties everywhere I went. I wanted to make sure that everypony felt actual happiness at least once in their lives, to really smile.”

The rest of the gathered Mares were either in stunned silence or quietly said Pinkie’s name under their breath, “If I had even a slight bit of actual control in my life, I might not have ever left my family’s farm. I can’t imagine the rush of power Noblesse felt, getting to author the end of another Pony’s life’s story like that. I can’t imagine what he felt getting to do it over and over again,” Tears started to form in the Mare’s eyes, “And I can’t imagine how we could possibly help him.”

The other Mares, including Cheerilee, all gathered around Pinkie and gave her one big group hug. Applejack and Rainbow Dash gave her pats on the back while Rarity and Cheerilee gave her words of encouragement. Surprisingly, Twilight gave Pinkie Pie a gentle and platonically affectionate nuzzle.

“Thanks girls,” Pinkie Pie spoke as the group hug broke up and Pinkie’s mane, while not quite fixed itself, was close to being how it usually was.

“I can’t believe this,” Said Rarity, “How could the Princesses not know what kind of Pony he is.”

“They knew exactly what kind of Pony he was,” Replied Twilight, “I imagine that’s why he was allowed to come to Canterlot in the first place.”

“Whatever do you mean darling?” Asked Rarity.

“Princess Celestia,” Twilight started, “While probably the closest thing there is to a perfect Pony, is not perfect. And she too, has fears.”

“What could lead Princess Celestia to let a homicidal lunatic into civilization?” Asked Applejack with a raised brow.”

“The fear of her abusing her power,” Replied Twilight, “She once told me that was afraid the respect, praise, and power everypony gives her would eventually go to her head, so she has had assassins from the Under-Cities come up to keep an eye on her.”

“The Princess wanted Ponies to kill her?” Asked Rainbow Dash incredulously.

“She wanted to be… removed if she ever lost herself,” Corrected Twilight, “Think about it: if Princess Celestia went mad like Luna did, how would she be stopped.”

“Simple,” Replied the Pegasus, “We’d just use the Elements of Harmony and make her normal again.”

“That has only recently become an option,” Pointed out Twilight, “And there was a period of a thousand years were they simply didn’t work.”

“I suppose I can see why the Princess would take such measures,” Admitted Rarity, “But why is Noblesse Oblige still here? From what Sweetie Belle told me, he was quite happy living his life in the Under-Cities.”

Twilight winced, “I’ve been thinking about that, and I have an idea as to why, but it’s not a pleasant answer.”

“Is anythang about ‘em ‘pleasant?’” Asked Applejack.

Ignoring the farm Mare, Twilight elaborated, “When a Pony is born in the Under-Cities, they’re sent to wherever needs warm bodies the most at that time. This keeps them from getting attached to their biological parents and vise versa, this is done so that high ranker officers won’t be able to ‘waste’ resources making sure their Foals are okay and don’t put Equestria at risk.”

“Pegasi did something like that too, right?” Asked Rainbow Dash.

Twilight nodded, “The Under-Cities were form when Equestria still had control over the majority of the continent, so the Under-City military is heavily based off of the ancient Pegasus lifestyle. With all of this in mind, anypony who is born in the Under-Cities will consider the other Ponies in the regiments they’re raised in to be their families.”

“I take there’s something special about the Prince then?” Asked Rarity.

Again, Twilight nodded, “Noblesse was raised to be a covert agent, his idea of a family would be his other immediate squadmates. Any regiment they would be assigned to it would either be temporary, like when laying siege to an enemy city, or it would be to secretly investigate them for traitors among their ranks.”

“So how does this play intah the Princesses wantin’ Noblesse tah spend so much time with the Crusaders?” Applejack asked with a note of irritation in her voice.

“While the Princesses might have lied to us about them worrying about Noblesse becoming some kind of tyrant, I think they were genuine when they said Noblesse needed friends,” Explained Twilight, “The only Ponies Noblesse could consider friend or family would be his squadmates, but they had led a dangerous life-”

Cheerilee’s eyes widened as she interrupted Twilight, “He would have nopony if they all died.”

Twilight nodded solemnly, “Sure, they could give him another squad, but they could never replace the Ponies he fought alongside with for years.”

“Okay… That all makes since,” Said Rainbow Dash, “But I still don’t think he’s the kind of Pony who should be around the Crusaders.”

“His life has had more shades of gray in it than ours,” Defended Twilight, “Princess Celestia gave me lectures about her life shortly before and after Discord. Some times you only have morally gray choices: Do you cause a thousand deaths one place, to spare a million in another? Do you kill a devoted parent and orphan their children in order to deprive the enemy of their best general?”

“Noblesse’s life has been led by the calculus of war: something we can only understand in concept,” Explained Twilight, “Not to mention he’s had to live his life pretending to be somepony he’s not. I wonder if he’s so honest about his past because it’s the first opportunity he’s had to even be honest. It’s a wonder he knows how to be himself.”

Rarity groaned at a realization, “And he’s been in Canterlot for two years. Where everypony looks down on anything different or not chic. It’s little wonder why he hid himself away from the public eye for all of that time.”

“I think Pinkie Pie was right,” Twilight commented, “I don’t think we can't help him. I think that’s why the Princesses were so incessant that Noblesse be placed with the Crusaders. They’re all about accepting different kinds of Ponies and helping them find their place in life.”

Applejack sighed, “I really don’t like it, but Ah’ll allow it: provided that he don’t give no ideas about Cutie Marks to the Crusaders.”

The group of Mares laughed for a solid minute before spending the rest of their get together making jokes about the CMC purposely causing destruction. The Mares left the picnic sight when Twilight and Cheerilee left to prepare for the Evening Class Period at the schoolhouse. As the two teachers walked to their jobs, they couldn’t rid themselves of the feeling that they were forgetting something noteworthy, if not important.

Author's Note

I'm sorry that it took me so long to get this out. But I've been busy with college and classes and like. As an apology, I will go ahead and say that this story is close to over. I will be surprised with myself if this story makes it to 50 chapters.

Please don't be afraid to point out errors in my writing or plotholes I need to fill. And please, don't be afraid to ask me to clarify something or provide suggestions.

Chapter 2: It's the Thought That Counts

Chapter 2: It's the Thought That Counts

“I understand why the Princess might want to see the six of you, but why us?” Asked Sweetie Belle, it wasn't an odd question by a long shot. Normally whenever the Elements of Harmony were summoned, it was to deal with an occurring or ongoing catastrophe. There would be no reason to put foals like Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle in harm's way. The group of ten worked together to theorize about why Celestia would want the Cutie Mark Crusaders with the group.

“It has to be some weird political issue.” Stated Spike who brought along for the ride, being a resident of Ponyville, any circumstance that could be dire enough for Celestia to bring forth her oft-time champions affected him as much as it would the rest of Ponyville.

Spike's theory was the agreed upon theory among the passengers of the royal carriage on a course for Canterlot. And yet, there was just as much reason to dismiss this theory. Whatever the problem was, it involved the noblepony who was to inherit control over not just Ponyville, but all of Everfree Province. Noblesse Oblige, still being a minor, was not beholden to the Equestrian media as his older peers were, so little was known about him. The group dismissed the possibility that Noblesse Oblige was a danger to Equestria the same way that Discord or the Chrysalis Hive of Changelings was, but any way that the young noblepony could be a danger would be a job better suited for the Equestrian Supreme Court, or even direct intervention by the ruling Princesses of the land.

The large group didn't have long to discuss the possibilities, as within less than a half-hour, the carriage was landing in the Canterlot Palace landing site.

The Elements of Harmony and their siblings (surrogate or otherwise) was exiting the carriage, when Twilight noticed that the Royal Guard Ponies that had flown the group to the palace had looks of anxiety on their faces, however subtle.

The Royal Equestrian Guard was known for their stoic professionalism, loyalty to the Princesses, and their apparent lack of fear. Twilight knew this better than anypony, as she herself grew up within the walls of the Canterlot Palace.

Twilight traced the unusually nervous guard ponies' gaze, to a strange looking colt that was approaching the group.

It was not odd to see a foal in the palace. Servants usually brought their children with them to work as their jobs were demanding and had little time for their own homes. It was also common practice for the foals of servants to become servants themselves, if Twilight remembered correctly, the family of Celestia's majordomo had served for no less than five generations.

But Twilight couldn't help but stare at the odd colt coming towards her group. This did not go unnoticed by her friends. “Twi'? What's wrong sugarcube?”

It was then that the group, now aware of their friend's distress, and that of the guard ponies, looked to the source of their nerves, and couldn't help but cringe.

Equestria went through a sudden and long lasting period of isolationism, enforced by Celestia after her sister's fall to madness and subsequent banishment. However, Ponies were still known around the world for their upbeat personalities and bright vibrant colors to match. The Unicorn colt approaching the group was a blatant exception to this rule.

The colt in question had a dark, metallic, gray coat that was eerily similar to the metals used by other nations to forge weapons and siege engines. His hooves were a pitch black with had bold streaks going up to his knees. Anypony familiar with the Canterlot Elite would know that some ponies had a genetic defect that caused their hooves and lower parts of their legs to be a different color than their coats, often forming a fleur-de-lis pattern on their legs. The Princesses were also affected by this defect, which was why the fleur-de-lis was made into the symbol of the nobility, but even the Canterlot Ponies' discolored legs were still supposed to be bright colors. The colt's mane and tail were a dark yet glistening brown, oddly reminiscent to copper, a metal used to insulate electrical wires. When the colt was almost within speaking distance, some members of the famous bunch could see the colt's eyes. The eyes were supposed to be the brightest part of a pony's anatomy, supposedly being the windows into the soul, but even here the colt was different. His eyes were a a dark reddish-brown, given the colt's metal coloring, the group of exalted ponies could only think of rust when looking into his gaze.

The colt stopped at speaking distance and bowed politely. “Good morrow Elements of Harmony, mine mistress sent me to act as thy escort to the audience chamber.”

The colt's voice caused most of the ponies present to flinch as he spoke with a similar tone of voice to that of the rest of the Canterlot Elite. Rarity and Twilight, being the only ponies with the group who were familiar with the residents of Canterlot, were the only ponies who noticed the distinct lack of self-superiority that usually accompanied the words of the Canterlot Elite when speaking with 'the common rabble.'

“We're not Elements.” Said Apple Bloom, gesturing towards her friends and Spike. “And why 'er ya' talking like that?”

The colt raised from his bow and turned to the palace. This gave everypony a chance to see his unique Cutie Mark. A mirror with the silhouette of a pony with one of his/her hind legs and fore legs raised so that, were the silhouette colored, you could almost see the whole pony. But what really caught everponies' eye was the fact that the silhouette in the strange colt's Cutie Mark was an Alicorn of all things.

Before either of the Crusaders could ask the Unicorn about his Cutie Mark, their guide started to answer Apple Bloom's questions as he walked to the interior of the palace.

“Thy sisters were awarded with knighthood for their contributions to Equestria and her peoples and so, thy families share the titles of thy sisters.”

Sweetie Belle gasped in astonishment before she followed her group into the palace as Scootaloo said the catchphrase she shared with her honorary big sister. “Awesome!”

“Thou art exempt from this, Scootaloo. Or hast thou forgotten that Dame Dash is not thy blood sister?”

This caused the group the pause for a short time before continuing with their guide. It was one thing to know of the ponies that saved Equestria multiple times, but the details of their families shouldn't be public knowledge. Celestia made sure that the Parliament ratified laws that limited what the press could print without the consent of the ponies they wanted to write about.

“How the hay do you know that?” Asked Rainbow Dash, irritated that some stranger somehow knew some details about her family. But Rainbow was more upset at the colt because she perceived the colt's comment as being rude towards her little sister.

“The Cutie Mark Crusaders are famous, even here in Canterlot, for their antics in Ponyville, and inadvertently freeing Discord from his stone prison.” The gray Unicorn replied to Rainbow's question, yet nopony could be sure if he spoke with resentment or any emotion at all. This strange Unicorn colt had yet to speak with anything other than the professionalism expected of the palace staff, and strangely didn't seem to mind the group's questions.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders cringed at the mention of their greatest blunder, but the colt continued to answer Apple Bloom's second question. “And I speak this way for the same reason that thou speak'st with an accent, 'twas how I was taught to speak.”

It was at this point that Twilight Sparkle interjected. “You see Apple Bloom, even though the majority of Equestria no longer speaks in Classical Equine, some small communities in rural Equestria speak that way. In addition to these rural communities, the ponies who are raised by the palace staff also speak this way for tradition's sake.”

“I for one think it's simply charming,” Said Rarity, giving her two bits on the subject.

“What does your Cutie Mark mean?” Asked Scootaloo, while not interested in Twilight's lecture, she was still some what enthralled by the mysterious Unicorn's Cutie Mark.

“Mine mark represents my fascination with psychology and anatomy,” The colt was quick to answer cheerfully.

The group of ponies being guided to their Princesses' audience chamber was somewhat glad to see that their guide wasn't completely emotionless.

Before anypony could speak again, the group saw the large and luxurious doors to the palace throne room. The Unicorn's horn was coated in a Stygian black as the handles to the doors were also covered in a solid ebony before opening.

In the throne room, the ruling Diarchs sat on the Twin Thrones of Equestria with their usual entourage of guards.

“Guards, leave us,” Commanded Celestia.

When the doors closed with their usual banging, Sweetie Belle couldn't help but look back at the ornate doors. Her gaze centered, not on the doors, but on their strange guide who she thought would've left with the guards.

Sweetie hurried her pace and bowed with her friends and sister before the Princesses of Day and Night.

“You do not need to bow to us,” Said Luna as she gestured for everypony to get back on their hooves.

“I am glad to see you all answered my summons,” Said Celestia as she looked at her beloved student and her friends. Her head turned to look at Spike before she spoke again. “It is good to see you again as well Spike.”

As much as Twilight would've liked to continue with pleasantries, she knew that their purpose here this day was urgent, “Why did you summon us Princess? All your letter said was that it involved Lord Noblesse Oblige.”

“I wouldn't mind meeting him today while we're here,” Said Sweetie Belle, thinking about how nice it would be to meet her town's new lord.

“I believe the lot of you have already my grandfoal,” Replied Luna with an amused smile on her face as she gestured to the group's grim looking guide.

The group forgot how rude it was to show your back to members of the nobility, especially the royalty, as they practically spun around with horrified looks on their faces to the colt.

Lord Noblesse Oblige looked about as amused as Luna when he spoke, “It pleases me that mine subjects art as excited as I by the fact I rule over them,” His voice practically oozing with sarcasm at his subjects dismayed reactions to their revelation.

“Ah didn't know ya'll had foals!” Exclaimed Applejack, still dealing with the fact that the soon-to-be lord of Ponyville seemed to have a personality that drastically clashed with that of the residents of Ponyville, and now dealing with the fact that this intimidating colt was royalty.

“How else could I have nieces and nephews like Prince Blue Blood?” Asked Celestia who couldn't help but find the humor in the situation at hoof.

“Can we please not mention him of all ponies?” Asked Rarity as she turned to face the Sun Princess, disdain clear in both her voice and demeanor at the mere thought of the Blue Blood.

Only the Cutie Mark Crusaders, who were still looking at Noblesse Oblige with looks of awe, caught the brief venomous glare he shot at Rarity when she denounced Prince Blue Blood.

Nearly everypony in Ponyville knew about the atrocious behavior displayed by Blue Blood at the Grand Galloping Gala ten months ago. Not only was Rarity popular among the residents of Ponyville for her exquisite works of fashion in her store, Carousel Boutique, but she was also a famous gossip, in both volume and accuracy, albeit slightly exaggerated at times. With testimony from Rarity's friends, namely Applejack, everypony in the small town knew how poorly Rarity was treated.

“Dame Rarity,” Noblesse Oblige started speaking again. Though his glare was gone, anger still coated his voice like poison on a blade, “I would appreciate if thou refrained from insulting mine uncle while in my presence.”

“Do you know he treated me?!” Exclaimed Rarity surprised that a member of the nobility was defending that snob instead of apologizing for his behavior.

“Dost thou know'st why he treated you that way? And don't thou dare'st say because he is a snob.” The Elements of Harmony were taken back at the lord's vehemently defend somepony who was so openly rude. Twilight deduced that there was more to the story that she and her friends didn't know, given that neither Celestia nor Luna was intervening.

“One of the many responsibilities of the Royal Order of Knights (ROoK) is to watch over populace whenever an event like the Grand Galloping Gala is nearing. They do this because many of the guests are targets for things like scandal stories, assassinations, and seduction. In Equestrian Law, it is considered an act of treason to seduce a member of the nobility or royalty for the sole purpose of elevating one's social status, and thou made thy intentions for mine uncle clear during the 'Ticket Master Fiasco.'”

Once again, the Elements of Harmony were surprised. Events during that inspired Twilight's friendship reports were rarely public knowledge, the events of the so called 'Ticket Master Fiasco' weren't even known by most residents of Ponyville. So for this noblepony to know such an obscure piece of the friends' history was beyond bizarre.

“How do you know about that?” Asked Rarity, genuinely curious as to how somepony who most likely spent his entire life within the walls of the Canterlot Palace could possibly know about that particular event.

“Agents of ROoK were in Ponyville watching thy backs for anypony whom would try and take advantage of thou, and so they saw the whole thing and reported it to Auntie Celestia. As this information pertained directly to the Noble Court of Canterlot, we are all aware of thy heartfelt speech of thy future with mine uncle.”

This made Rarity wince at the thought that the ponies whose ranks she always dreamed of joining, imagining how lowly they might think of her.

“'twas well within mine uncle's rights to have thou incarcerated for conspiracy against the holy thrones, but nay! Despite the urging of his peers, mine uncle decided to not press charges against thou, and even allowed you to attend the Gala. Even still, mine uncle refused to have you thrown into prison for not only attempting to seduce him, but actually assaulting him when thou failed, when most, mineself included, would've have thou swing from the gallows for thy transgressions!” Noblesse Oblige then stomped on the floor once, cracking the tiles beneath his hoof, showing that he was not lacking for strength despite being an entitled Unicorn. Righteous fury overtaking his cool demeanor and filling his regal voice. Some ponies in the room made the comparison to Luna when she upset at the Ponyville populace last Nightmare Night, only thankfully, Noblesse Oblige didn't use the Royal Canterlot Voice.

“Didn't the Princess outlaw capital punishment?” Asked Apple Bloom, slightly worried at how the angry Unicorn would react.

“Aye, Celestia made the declaration three-hundred and forty-one years into her sole reign. However, that law only affects commoners, nobleponies are prosecuted much more severely as they are born an incredible amount of power over Equestria and her people. Dame Rarity, being knighted for her contribution to Luna regaining her sanity, is vulnerable to punishment that commoners are not.” The young lord replied, seeming to have calmed down significantly.

This revelation made Rarity's skin blanch into the same color as her coat.

The group of ponies could hear Celestia giggling to herself, “He is certainly your grandfoal sister.”

Both princesses laughed at Celestia's joke and calmed themselves before they spoke, though it was Celestia who spoke first.

“My nephew did show a large amount of restraint when dealing with you Rarity. I was genuinely afraid I was going to have to bribe him to spare you punishment, though he admitted that he went too far by using you as an equine shield.”

Luna decided that this was where she should solicit her input, “Prince Blue Blood confided in us both that he felt that embarrassing you at the gala and crushing your hopes of a fairy tale wedding, would be more fitting of a punishment than the Canterlot dungeons.”

Before anypony could say anything, Celestia hastily spoke, “Spike, would you and your foal friends here like to go to the game room?”

The look on the Crusaders and Spikes faces light up like beacons, “That sounds like fun! What do you girls think?”

The Crusaders looked to each other than to Spike, “Ah think that would be fun,” Said Apple Bloom cheerfully.

Luna nodded, “Noblesse, would you please show our young guests to the game room?”

Noblesse Oblige swiftly looked to his grandmother and great-aunt before smiling, “Gladly your grace,” He turned to the doors and left with the Crusaders and Spike in tow. Though they might have still been shaken by the lord's display of anger, the foals and Spike were glad to have an opportunity to alleviate themselves of the boredom that quickly took hold of them after arriving.

Both Princesses sighed in relieved before Luna spoke again, “I think he saw right through us, at least he didn't seem to mind.”

Applejack turned to her Princesses, obviously upset at something, “Can y’all tell me why you sent my sister and 'er friends off alone with that psychopath?” It took all of Applejack's self control to keep from bolting after her sister and her friends.

Rainbow Dash decided to try and calm Applejack herself, “Relax Aj, he won't do anything to hurt Apple Bloom or any of the others. Right?” Rainbow Dash looked to Celestia and Luna, while she didn't think that anything would happen, she couldn't shake the worry she herself had for Scootaloo.

Celestia motioned for the two of them to calm themselves, “Noblesse Oblige won't lay a hoof on them unless they try to do something illegal, in fact he, may very well be the only one who can protect them from any of his peers that would try to pull rank on them.”

Twilight was confused by her mentor's words, “Shouldn't the fact that we're royal knights keep them safe?” Twilight didn't fully comprehend the laws governing the nobility, but she knew that knights in direct service to the Princesses should be safe from the ambitions of the nobles.

“The six of you are protected,” Answered Luna, “But your siblings, while not our knights, still hold the title of Knight. Meaning that any noblepony with the rank of Baron or higher can order them around like servants.”

Celestia picked up where her sister left off, “Though he is the Count of Vanhoover and Everfree Province, his direct blood ties to us also makes him a Prince of Canterlot, the highest rank of the nobility below the Alicorn Princes, meaning he can use his rank to keep his peers from doing anything sinister with your siblings.”

“Like what exactly?” Everypony was curious as what their rulers meant, but only Rainbow Dash responded.

“Like trying to use magic to make them agree to a legal marriage or to sleep them,” It was neither Diarch, but Twilight who answered.

Twilight's friends were aghast at the suggestion, “Ahn't them kind'a spells illegal?” Asked Applejack, again having to keep herself from running to her sister's side.

“The same magic that town guards use to keep prisons from starting starvation riots or from escaping during transfer, can be used to manipulate ponies into doing devious tasks. That same magic can also be used to make would-be assassins turn themselves in,” It was Celestia who started to explain, “That is why the nobility is permitted to use such magic, Noblesse Oblige himself has had to use that kind of magic for self defense,” Celestia temporally lost her natural composure as she cringed, “That is in fact why I called for you.”

The six saviors turned to their Princesses once more, all having grim and confused expressions on their faces, not liking the implications behind the Sun Princess's words.

Celestia waited to see if anypony was going to speak, but given the dark implications of her words, her subjects were content to wait for their Diarchs' explanation, “My little ponies here in Canterlot have a very negative opinion of my young nephew. They see his 'unique' appearance as a blemish on Equestrian society, and the fact he's a noble upsets them even more. Before my sister returned, my other nephews and even my own grandfoals, saw him as a minor lord that was lucky enough to have an important coastal city like Vanhoover in his small assortment of assets. When Luna did return, the nobility scanned the royal family tree to see who was closest in blood to us, imagine their horror when they discover that their little cousin whom they had mistreated for so long was in fact, closer to Luna than anypony else in blood save for myself.”

Everypony present winced in sympathy for the Noblesse Oblige. Even though they were not necessarily political inclined, they could only imagine how unpleasant much of his life was, given that they already knew he was an orphan.

Luna continued explaining for her older sister, “My grandfoal has eidetic memory, meaning that he remembers everything with perfect clarity. Every joke at his expense, every rude gesture, every time his was excluded from something,” Luna had to pause for moment to further collect her thoughts, “The wounds, mental or physical, that he has suffered because of his peers are forever fresh in his mind, this makes it very hard for him to forgive as he cannot forget.”

Pinkie's mane and tail had lost their curls as her colors seemed to darken. Fluttershy shed a few tears of sympathy for the strange colt. Applejack adjusted her hat to hide the grim look on her face as Rainbow Dash crossed her forelegs with a pensive look on her face. Twilight was visibly saddened, though not crying as her Pegasus friend was, “Oh my,” Was all Rarity could say as she thought about how hard life must have been for the colt.

While nopony had a positive impression on the small gray Unicorn, no creature deserved such harsh treatment, especially for something as unimportant as appearance. This also helped explain his cold personality and seemingly short temper.

Luna cut their thoughts short as she went on explaining what the problem with Noblesse Oblige was, “I assume you all noticed the strange way in which Noblesse Oblige spoke? When his parents died, he was only two months old and so, he was raised by the staff. Though he did not grow up here in the palace, he was sent to one of the Under-Cities.”

“What!” Twilight nearly screamed in horror at that last statement. Her friends did not know what would have caused their rational friend's sudden outburst.

The Sun Princess took their confusion as the queue to explain, “When Luna went mad, many Ponies felt responsible as it was their neglect that drove her insane, so these Ponies migrated into the vast chasms underneath Equestria. These Ponies established settlements in these Chasms, known as Under-Cities,” Celestia sighed sadly thinking about these Under-Cities, “The Ponies of the Under-Cities had to preform blood rituals to survive in the hostile subterranean environment that they banished themselves to. It is these blood rituals that turned the Pegasi into the Bat-Ponies,” That statement elicited gasps from those not in the know, “I also know that these blood rituals mutated the Ponies from the other tribes into what they are today, whatever they are today.”

“S-s-so, so,” Surprisingly, it was Fluttershy who began to speak, “So the Bat-Ponies don't use illusions? Th-they actually look like that?”

“Aye,” Responded Luna sadly. Though she had kicked that habit of using the Royal Canterlot Voice and using Classical Equine, she still used some ancient words in place of modern terminology, “They quickly discovered that creatures living in the chasms were hostile towards Pony kind. Some of our extra-continental enemies have tried using the underground passage ways to invade our fair nation. This makes the Under-Cities a very hostile place to live, as all living there must undergo military training practically from birth in the case of attack.”

“Why would you send your infant nephew to one of these Under-Cities?” Rainbow Dash, though she didn't have a high opinion of her family and vice verse, still believed in the importance of family and was horrified that their benevolent Princess would knowing send a small foal, related to her or not, to someplace she knew was dangerous.

“Noblesse Oblige's innate magic revolves around what others would call, 'Witchcraft,'” Explained Celestia.

This caused Twilight to gasp and Rarity to bring her hoof to her mouth, “Oh dear.”

“Um, what's Witchcraft?” Asked Fluttershy. The darker aspects of arcane history were rarely known by non-Unicorns, as there wasn't as much need to impress caution when using magic for Pegasi and Earth Ponies.

“Witchcraft,” Twilight started to lecture again, “Is the general term used for forbidden magic, typically revolving around destruction, though there are spells from all schools of magic that have been outlawed and branded as Witchcraft.”

“Aside from myself, the denizens of the Under-Cities were the only Ponies who could safely train Noblesse Oblige how to use his magic without somepony being in danger,” Celestia explained herself.

“If all'o his spells are forbidden spells, why did you allow him to get training fer it?” Applejack was still slightly confused as to why Celestia would let her nephew practice magic that was outlawed.

“He isn't of practitioner of Witchcraft as other prosecuted mages were,” It Luna who was explaining now, “Noblesse Oblige was born with dangerous magic. If he didn't receive proper training for it, he could weave firestorms or agitate the elements into hurting countless Ponies any time he got slightly upset.” Luna's expression was serious, “There would be no humane way of keeping him from using his magic, so the alternatives were either ending his life or ensuring he had the training to restrain himself.”

“So you're afraid that Noblesse Oblige could lash out at other Ponies for the abuse he's suffered?” Pinkie's mane and tail were still straight, but now the usually vibrant mare had tilted her head in confusion.

“It's not just that,” started Celestia, “Because of the circumstances of Noblesse Oblige's birth, he will have unprecedented power over the Equestrian Parliament.”

“Don't you have to be elected into Parliament?” Asked Rainbow Dash. She was confused at this point because she knows she has voted for Ponies running for office before.

“Rainbow Dash,” Twilight was shooting her polychromatic friend a deadpanned look. She understood that Rainbow Dash was not exactly into politics that didn't involve The Wonderbolts, but she should have a basic understanding of how the Equestrian government works.

“That is only one of the three houses of Parliament. There is the House of Electives which the common Pony votes for, there is the House of Nobles where the various noble families of Equestria chooses a representative, then there is the House of Officials who earns their positions through promotions after becoming apart of smaller organizations within the Equestrian Government.”

“Twilight Sparkle's analysis of how the Equestrian government is accurate,” stated Luna, “The problem with Noblesse Oblige, is that he ancestry gives him power over Vanhoover: the industrial center of Equestria, and all of it's surrounding territories as well as the agricultural communities in Everfree Province. He would have to exercise little power to affect the three houses of Parliament, and should he marry a noblepony or business magnate, he will only have more power over Equestria. Theoretically speaking, he and his descendants could gain more power over Equestria than my sister or me.”

The facts told to them, caused the Elements of Harmony to pause. A noble family with more power over Equestria than the Alicorns was a more than starling revelation.

Seeing that her sister was out of breath, Celestia continued in Luna's place, “Our concern, is that Noblesse Oblige will grow into a stallion, resenting the Equestrian peoples. As you've noticed, everything about him from his appearance to his inner magic goes against much of Equestrian society. If he sees Equestria as a land that does nothing but makes him suffer, he will gladly use the power fate has given him drive the Equestrian people into the ground out of vengeance, and there will be nothing the Alicorns can do about it. He will sacrifice Equestria's happiness for power, as there are so few Ponies that have shown him compassion and kindness.”

“What do you want us to do?” Asked Twilight.

“We want you to show my nephew the good in Pony kind, and to purge him of the loneliness and scorn that haunts him. That is also why we invited the Cutie Mark Crusaders,” Celestia would've continued, but Rarity interrupted.

“Is it your intention that he falls in love with one of them?” Rarity's expression was a mixture of excitement and fear.

“Not necessarily,” Now that Luna had caught her breath, she was more than happy to speak again, “He needs friends his age, and we knew that your sisters would ignore his 'quirks.'”

Author's Note

I think now is a good time to mention that while I gave this story the gore and dark tags, this story will be nothing like 'Cupcakes' or the grimdark grimdarkness of Warhammer 40k.

Chapter 18

“That was a little harsh, don't you think?” Asked Rumble looking up at his friend.

“Considering that she has been constantly hounding everypony on their insecurities and abusing her family's wealth and modicum of power to meet that end, I'd say it's just desserts,” Replied Noblesse Oblige with a casual tone of voice.

“Cheers to that mate,” Pipsqueak agreed vocally.

“Aren't you afraid of what she'll do for the sake of revenge?” Asked Rumble. While he, like everypony else present, didn't care about what Diamond Tiara or Silver Spoon, he did worry about what lengths the two would go to to hurt others. Especially if someone hurt them.

“Not really,” Said Noblesse, “They are legally adults and I am legally a child, their Noble Rank also makes them more vulnerable to the law than the rest of us. I also live on what is considered to be 'Royal Property,' I won't bore you with the details, but any crime committed on Royal Property is considered an act of treason. Also, their words can't hurt me.”

Despite the confident tone Noblesse spoke with, Pipsqueak and Rumble weren't so sure. Of course, they weren't aware that the colt they were speaking to was actual royalty.

“What is everypony doing after school today?” Asked Noblesse.

“Rarity said that she would start teaching me how to sew today, so I'll be preoccupied with that today,” Said Sweetie Belle.

“Rainbow Dash is giving me flying lessons!” Said Scootaloo excitedly.

“Me mum and dad are goin' to need 'elp settin' our place up for the family that's movin' in with us,” Said Pipsqueak displaying mixed feelings about the matter.

“Wait!” Exclaimed Apple Bloom worriedly, “Ya'll have plans fer today?”

“Were you hoping to Crusade today?” Asked Noblesse.

“No,” Replied Apple Bloom, eliciting surprised looks from her friends, “I agreed to foalsit for the Cakes today, 'nd I was hopin' to have sum halp.”

“I don't have any plans for today,” Said Rumble, “I would be happy to help you.”

“I'd appreciate that Rumble,” Said Apple Bloom, relieved that she wouldn't have to look after two foals that were still going through magical surges.

“Would you like to come with us?” Asked Apple Bloom addressing Noblesse.

“I would consider it,” Said Noblesse, “But I doubt the Cakes would particularly want me around their children.”

Apple Bloom opened her mouth to argue against that statement, but realized it was probably true. Even if they didn't care about Noblesse's appearance, they still have a business to run. Not to mention that the way the town treated Zecora once upon a time, meant that Noblesse wouldn't be particularly welcomed. And letting one's children, especially infants, around someone perceived as a monster could damage their reputation.

“That was cold,” Said Cheerilee.

“No kidding,” Replied Twilight Sparkle.

The two mares had overheard Noblesse Oblige dealing with Diamond Tiara. Namely Noblesse throwing her every taunt back into her face.

“Hey Cheerilee, need to ask you a question.”

“Oh, what is it deary?” Asked Cheerilee.

“I've noticed Diamond Tiara's sour attitude, and how you do nothing about it,” Said the lavender Unicorn bluntly, “And I was wondering why that is.”

Cheerilee sighed, “Diamond Tiara's father, Filthy Rich, is the Baron of Ponyville. His rank gives his family special privileges that protects him and his family. And if that wasn't bad enough, her mother is the head of the School Board. So there's no way I can get rid of those two.”

“Speaking of those two,” Started Twilight Sparkle, “Who are Silver Spoon's parents? I always see her with Diamond Tiara, but I have never seen anyone that could be her parents.”

“I'm not sure about her mother,” Started Cheerilee, “But her father is Gilded Chalice: the Margrave of Manehattan Crescent, and for whatever reason he sent his daughter to live with his sister. That sister being Spoiled Rich.”

Twilight paused at the mention of Gilded Chalice. In the last few years of her stay at Canterlot, Celestia often raved about how much she loathed Gilded Chalice. He was known for constantly insulting other nobles to the point where they challenged him to duels. As the one being challenged, Gilded Chalice got to decide the Rules of Engagement, and it always ended in death. Gilded Chalice always demanded the same thing as reparations, land and titles, and Gilded Chalice currently counted over a third of Equestria in his family's holdings because of his duels.

“Hey Twilight?”

Cheerilee's voice brought Twilight out of her thoughts and back into reality, “Hm?”

“Are you okay?” Cheerilee knew Twilight by reputation of course, but didn't know her well enough to know that she often stared off into space when thinking about something.

Twilight nodded her head, “I'm fine Cheerilee, just got caught in my thoughts.”

Cheerilee turned her to look out the window, specifically at the tree where the Cutie Mark Crusaders typically gather, “At least he's making some progress.”

Twilight traced her new boss's gaze, “Yeah, he hit off instantly with Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle.”

“Really?” Asked Cheerilee. Cheerilee started to giggle at her thoughts, “I can only imagine how Applejack and Rarity reacted.”

Twilight smiled, “When we were called to Canterlot, Celestia specifically asked for those three.”

“Why?” Asked Cheerilee.

“Apple Bloom was the one who first accepted Zecora, and Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle had trouble with things Pegasi and Unicorns typically don't,” Explained Twilight, “If anyone was going to befriend that colt, it was them.”

“Huh, I can certainly see where her majesty was coming fr- Oh dear!” Cheerilee immediately went out the door.

Twilight looked out the window to see a couple of new things. One: Noblesse was no longer in the tree. Two: some other students were at the tree, and many of them looked scared.

Twilight decided to follow Cheerilee out the door.

“So, what are we going to do today?” Asked Noblesse.

Everypony down below started looking around to see what their classmates were doing.

Sweetie Belle was the first to spot something appealing, “They're playing Kick Ball over there!”

Noblesse started to trace Sweetie's hoof, “Over whe-” Noblesse would've finished his question if a rubber ball hadn't hit him right in the eye.

The ball didn't hit him very hard, but Noblesse wasn't expecting it. And thus, he fell out of the tree branch and landed hard on his side, specifically his shoulder. Noblesse's 'graceful' landing came with a sickening pop.

The foals that were playing Kick Ball ran over to get their ball when they realized they hit somepony. A dark blue Pegasus filly with a bow and arrow Cutie Mark came closer than most of her friends, “Oh gosh! Are you oh-kaay...” She stopped in fear when she realized who she had hit with her ball.

Noblesse got up on his haunches. Everypony could see that the leg he landed on was clearly limp. There had been enough accidents on Sweet Apple Acres for Apple Bloom to know that Noblesse's shoulder was dislocated, though that's not what caught everypony's eye.

The place around Noblesse's right eye and left shoulder were completely bald. That in of itself was unusual as blunt impacts shouldn't be able to shave sections of a Pony's body, but what horrified everypony was not the loss of hair, but what was underneath. A Pony's skin was supposed to be a light brown similar to chestnuts, not sheet white. And to everypony's shock, Noblesse's veins were very visible through his skin and were an unnatural black color, oddly similar to his magic.”

Noblesse was still dizzy from the fall, but he still tended to his shoulder. Noblesse set his hoof on the ground and adjusted his body's angle so that his leg was perpendicular to his body. Noblesse's leg tensed as there was another sickening pop. Noblesse was slowly rotating his leg to make sure he had actually fixed the problem, “Been awhile since I had to do that.”

Noblesse looked around to see Ponies staring at him, “Is something wrong?”

Archer lifted a shaky hoof, “Y-y-your sh-shoulder and, and f-face,” She had overheard Noblesse back-talking Diamond Tiara and saw the predatory glare he gave her. Archer was terrified at what Noblesse would do to her when he realized that she kicked the ball that hit him.

Noblesse could just barely see the bald spot on his shoulder, “Oh, that. That's not supposed to happen for a few days, oh well.”

“Y-you're not m-mad?” Asked Archer.

“Not really,” Replied Noblesse plainly, “I was going to molt soon anyway, and it was an accident. I see no reason to get angry at anyone over it.”

Archer gave a relieved sigh as she ran away.

“Is everyone okay!?” Called out Cheerilee's voice, “Oh my goodness!”

The first thing Cheerilee saw were the huge amount of gray hairs on the ground. Next she saw the colt that they came from, and his sickly skin.

“Oh my! Are you okay dear?” Cheerilee ran over to Noblesse and started to mother him slightly, “Do you need to go the hospital?”

Noblesse started chuckling at how Cheerilee was acting, “Really, I'm fine Ms. Cheerilee. There's no reason to panic.”

“Let me help you with that,” Said a familiar voice as Twilight approached. Her horn glowed a soft pink color, not too dissimilar to the sclera of Noblesse's eyes. Bandages materialized and covered Noblesse's eye and shoulder.

While everypony present looked over to Twilight Sparkle, only Cheerilee and Noblesse noticed the look of recognition in her eyes.

Noblesse's pupils narrowed and his eyes widened, “You've already read that far in the spell book I gave you?” Noblesse started laughing.

It didn't take long for Noblesse to overcome his mirth, “You are truly amazing Twilight Sparkle.”

“Twilight,” The tone in Cheerilee's voice was urgent, “Do you know what's wrong with him?”

Twilight bit her lip as Noblesse cleared his throat, “I'd prefer it if you two discussed this in private.”

“He's not sick or hurt or anything like that,” Assured Twilight.

“Hey everypony,” Said Noblesse catching the attention of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, “The slide's open.”

“Last there's a rotten apple!” Exclaimed Pipsqueak as he ran off.

“You little weasel!” Called out Rumble as he gave chase.

Noblesse chuckled as he watched his friends run off towards the slide. He left with the two school matrons eying him.

Cheerilee and Twilight made their way back to the schoolhouse. After shutting the door, Cheerilee turned to Twilight, “What horrible condition could do that to a Pony?”

Twilight started pacing as she gathered her thoughts, “Do you know anything about the Under-Cities?”

Chapter 24

Applejack was by one of the windows in the living room of the farmhouse at Sweet Apple Acres. This was the last day that Apple Bloom was supposed to be foalsitting for the Cake twins this week. While it made everypony in the Apple Family happy to see Apple Bloom taking on additional responsibilities, it had recently made Applejack worry.

Apple Bloom usually had one of her friends or another Crusader help her, it was difficult to watch after two infants going through magical surges, harder still when one was an Earth Pony. This week however, all of Apple Bloom's friends at school had plans this week, even Ruby Pinch and Dinky Doo were going to be busy with their jobs. And the new colt had 'graciously' offered to help Apple Bloom with foalsitting.

Applejack knew Rumble's older brother Thunderlane, but also knew that Rumble had been at Cloudsdale Flight School for the last four years. There was only so much you could know about somepony when you haven't been face-to-face with them for many years, even when concerning kin. A shudder went through Applejack as that thought made her think of the Apples along the eastern coast of Equestria, specifically the Apples in Trottingham.

Applejack shook her head as she put herself back to the task of watching out for her little sister. Not even Applejack would usually be so paranoid as to watch out for Apple Bloom, but tonight had special circumstances. The hills the farmhouse sat upon allowed one to see the Everfree Forest clearly, not even most Ponies in Ponyville could see the trees of the Everfree because of the buildings. Applejack's gaze kept going to the skies above the Everfree Forest, specifically the storm clouds in the airspace above the foreboding forest.

To the average observer, the clouds wouldn't look like much. But after a life spent watching Everfree Storms brew, Applejack could tell just by looking that this modest looking storm would become a deluge if it wasn't dealt with soon. Speaking of which, Applejack just happened to look in time to see the multi-colored streak of a well known Pegasus dive directly into the storm clouds.

Applejack turned her head to look at the clock on the wall of the living room, and bit her lip. Applejack turned to face Big Macintosh and Granny Smith, both of whom had worried expressions on their faces, “Should one of us go lookin' fer Apple Bloom?”

“Don't bother!” Called out a familiar voice, “I just beat the storm.”

Everypony turned to look at Apple Bloom. Though it hadn't started raining outside of the Everfree Forest, Apple Bloom was still wet, “I had to leg it at the last leg so Ah didn't get caught by the rain.”

“Do yah have homework?” Asked Big Macintosh.

Apple Bloom nodded her head, “Got it done at Sugarcube Corner,” Apple Bloom was panting slightly from galloping.

“Well then, Ah'm gonna hit the hay,” Announced Applejack with a yawn, “What about you Apple Bloom?”

“Not yet,” Said Apple Bloom, “My heart's still racing from galloping half a mile.”

Big Mac and Granny Smith traded a knowing glance. Nopony else seemed to have caught it, not even Apple Bloom herself, but Apple Bloom's voice lost the accent she usually spoke with when she lied. So Apple Bloom had a secret to tell that needed to kept from Applejack.

“Alright Apple Bloom,” Said Applejack not catching her sister's tell, “Ah'll see yah tomorrow.”

The sisters traded 'good night's' and 'love you's' and Apple Bloom waited for her sister to go up stairs and listened for the sounds of a door opening and closing. After Apple Bloom was sure that Applejack was either in bed or in the restroom, she turned around and went up to her grandmother and brother.

“Do yah have somethin' yah need tah tell us Lil' Bloom?” Asked Granny Smith using the nickname she gave Apple Bloom.

Apple Bloom blushed slightly at the use of her nickname and nodded in the affirmative, “Yeah, Ah do. But it's real important that Applejack doesn't know 'bout it yet.”

There were few things that Apple Bloom would ever keep a secret from Applejack, and the fact that she was only trying to keep it from Applejack temporarily significantly narrowed down the list of things that it could possibly be. It was Big Mac that figured it out first, “Did somethin' happen with that colt that's been helpin' yah foalsit?”

Apple Bloom blushed slightly, “Yeah. Rumble asked me on a date, and Ah said yes.”

“Yer right 'bout needin' to keep it secret from Aj,” Said Granny Smith wryly.

“We can probably give Aj a slightly larger workload tah keep 'er off of you 'nd Rumble,” Said Big Mac as stoically as ever.

“Thanks you two,” Said Apple Bloom with a happy smile on her face, “Ah really appreciate it.”

Apple Bloom brought her hoof to her mouth as she yawned, “Ah'm gonna call it a night, good night and Ah love yah both.”

Big Mac and Granny Smith said good night and watched Apple Bloom head up the stairs, “Looks like Lil' Bloom's growin' up,” Said Granny Smith contemplatively.

“Eeeyup,” Said Big Mac just as contemplatively.

Twilight woke up with blurred vision and a severe headache. Even with her vision blurred, she could tell that she was someplace unfamiliar, the bed was the most comfortable thing she had ever laid in though. Twilight remembered that some guardponies were helping to the hospital, and laid down to go back to sleep.

Twilight's eyes shot open as she realized that the creature leading the guardponies was a Changeling. Twilight sat back up in the bed and tried to channel the magic in her horn, only to get the worst case of Meridian Feedback she had ever suffered. The headache worsened and Twilight brought a hoof to rub the area around her horn in hopes of relieving it somewhat, only to discover the cause of her headache. Twilight could feel a metal ring around the base of her horn with gems imbedded into it. Twilight deduced that this was an Unicorn Inhibitor Shackle. Inhibitor Shackles were made to keep Ponies bound by them from using their magic. Unicorns only needed one around the base of their horns, similar to wedding bands used by Unicorns. Pegasi needed two on their wings to completely ground them, though rope or a giant metal brace keeping them to the Pegasi's side was cheaper and more effective. Earth Ponies needed four, one for each of their hooves. The most annoying aspect of Inhibitor Shackles is that they could only be removed by an Unicorn that knew the spell to disable them, meaning that Twilight was completely at the mercy of her captors.

Twilight was contemplating how she could escape as she awaited for her vision to return. It was another five minutes before her eyes lost all of the clouds that occluded her vision, and another ten before another living creature entered the room. Two Surface Ponies wearing metal armor with the colors of House Platinum, the third was a young Unicorn mare that appeared to be about the age of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. The Unicorn mare's coat was the exact color of Nightmare Moon's eyes, which Twilight took as an ill omen. Her eyes were a deep green, similar to the color of the leaves found in the trees of the Everfree Forest. Finally, the Unicorn's tail and mane were three stripes of white, red, and amber respectively.

If the mare's mane style didn't sell it, her voice certainly made it clear that this was supposed to be an Unicorn from Canterlot, “How are you this evening Dame Twilight?”

If Twilight didn't know any better, she would have thought that this Changeling actually care for her well being, “I'm not falling for it!” Exclaimed the angry and distressed Twilight, “I know that you're Changelings!”

Out of all of the responses Twilight expected from the shape shifter, she did not expect the creature to rub space between her eyes and give an annoyed sigh, “Sargent Gastor mentioned that you might have figured him out, this complicates things,” Twilight couldn't tell if the Changeling was still trying to deceive her or not.

“Dame Twilight, while there are Changelings here at Everfree Palace, I am not one of them,” The damn thing was actually trying to deceive her even though it was already figured out.

“Do you think I am an idiot!?” Twilight was legitimately insulted by the Changeling's blatant lies, “Why would there be Changelings here?”

The Changeling raised an eyebrow at Twilight, “So, because a single group of Changelings attacked Canterlot, you assume that all Changelings are enemies of Equestria?”

That comment actually confused Twilight, “But Queen Chrysalis-”

“Was killed by Prince-Escort Shining Armor and Princess Cadance,” Said the Changeling plainly, “The whole Chrysalis Hive was flung from the top of Mt. Equiss to the southern border of Equestria, the skies in Appleloosa were blacked out by the corpses of the Changelings, and any survivors died upon impact with the cliffs of the Macintosh Hills.”

While it was reasonable to assume that Changelings plotting to take over Equestria would know the names of import Ponies in Equestria politics and society, even some land marks, it was unlikely that they would know the names or existence of a small frontier town like Appleloosa, there were even some Equestrian made maps of Equestria that didn't list Appleloosa or other frontier towns. This was when Twilight realized that this mare was telling the truth.

The mare saw Twilight connecting the dots in her head, “Are you going to teleport out of the Palace to warn Ponyville of the 'Changeling Threat?'”

Twilight shook her head, “No, at least not yet.”

“Are you going to blast everything in case we're Changelings or under Changeling mind control?”

“No.”

The young mare's horn was encased in a wood brown glow and Twilight noticed the headache fading immediately. Twilight felt the Inhibitor Shackle sliding off of her horn and into the hooves of one of the guardponies, guardlings? Thought Twilight. If the mare's words were to be believed, then there were Changelings in the palace that were not enemies, “Are your guards Changelings?” Asked Twilight.

“There would be no reason for them to keep their disguises if they were,” Replied the mare.

“I should introduce myself,” Said the mare, realizing she was being slightly rude, “My name is Legal Procedure, though I would prefer you call me Legalese,” Legalese stoke out a hoof to Twilight.

Twilight nervously shook the mare's hoof, “A pleasure,” She wasn't sure how she felt about Changelings being so close to her.

“The pleasure is mine,” Said Legalese happily, “It is an honor to meet the Element of Magic herself.”

Twilight blushed in embarrassment, “There's no need to give me, or the others, special treatment, you can just call me Twilight.”

“Okay Twilight,” Legalese sighed, “I know you just got out of bed, but I need you to put this blindfold one,” Legalese then produce the piece of fabric.

“What? Why?” Asked Twilight.

“My cousin has demanded an audience with you,” Replied Legalese somewhat grimly, “It's about the Black Resonance you helped Ruby Pinch with.”

“Noblesse Oblige!? How does he know about that anyway?” Asked Twilight. She wasn't sure if she could trust the noblecolt after today.

Legalese needed a few moments to think about how to answer Twilight's question, “It will be more simple if he just explains it himself.”

Twilight wasn't happy with that answer, but accepted it and took the blindfold in her magic. Twilight realized something about the words Legalese used as she wrapped the blindfold around her head, “Legal Procedure? Aren't you Polished Gong's daughter? Celestia's granddaughter!”

Twilight couldn't see it, but Legalese rolled her eyes, “Yes yes, please don't get bent out of shape over that.”

Twilight could feel the guardponies pressing themselves to her sides, like her escorts to the Everfree Palace, “Why do I need the blindfold anyways?” Asked Twilight, it wasn't an odd question, she had been to Noblesse's audience chamber before.

“Noblesse is bedridden,” Answered Legalese, “His bedroom is also hidden. So for your safety, and his own, the exact location of his bedroom will be kept from you.”

Twilight moved with the guardponies at her sides for the next several minutes. The trip probably wouldn't have been nearly as long if Twilight could accurately read the turns the guardponies made with their bodies. They couldn't use words, as that could give the secret location of Noblesse's bedroom away to Twilight. Even if Twilight would never willingly sell out the young noblepony, there were several spells and methods of torture that could make her tell everything she knew. After what seemed like an eternity, the guardponies stopped moving, Twilight thought this was the time to take her blindfold off, but stopped when Legalese's tail wrapped loosely around Twilight's muzzle.

“What are you doing?” Asked a flustered Unicorn. A mare wrapping her tail around another Pony's muzzle was a sign that said mare wanted to be more than friends, it was also commonly used as a gesture to signal more 'intimate' desires.

Though Twilight couldn't see it, Legalese was also blushing furiously, “The guards don't have the security clearance to know the exact location of Noblesse's bedroom, so I'll have to guide you myself the rest of the way.”

“I'm not sure how I feel about this,” Twilight's mind knew that Legalese was simply doing what was needed of her, but the rest of Twilight only knew that a young beautiful mare seemed to be hitting on her, while she was blindfolded no less.

“Join the club Pegasister,” Said Legalese as she started guiding Twilight.

The pair went straight forward for several minutes before Legalese spoke, “Left.”

“I thought you weren't supposed to use words while guiding me,” Said Twilight, pointing out the explanation Legalese gave earlier when the guardponies were with them.

“Do you have any idea where you are at the moment?” Asked Legalese.

Though Twilight couldn't see it, she could almost feel Legalese's teasing smirk on her stupid face, “Point taken.”

By Twilight's count, the pair took one hundred and fifty-seven steps before Legalese told Twilight to stop moving. Twilight could hear the sounds of several stones sliding and something on wheels against the stone tiles of the palace floor as Legalese's tail fell from Twilight's face.

“Take three paces forward then turn right,” Commanded the younger Unicorn.

Twilight obeyed without question. She walked forth three steps then turned to the right. Legalese waited for a good ten seconds before she noticed Twilight's smirk. Legalese rolled her eyes, “Take twenty steps forward.”

Twilight giggled as she walked forward. She heard the sounds of wheels and stones sliding behind her. Twilight was about to take her thirteenth steep forward before she walked into something face first, “Ow!”

Legalese took Twilight's blindfold off and Twilight saw the noblemare's shit-eating grin, “That will teach you to be a smartallec with me♪”

Twilight looked around and saw that the pair were in a near empty chamber. The only things inside aside from the pair of Unicorns, were a couple of long benches along two of the walls. Legalese pushed in the stone on the wall where Twilight smacked her muzzle, the stone was actually right below where Twilight ran into the wall, but the studious Unicorn would never know that.

The stone bricks on the wall slid away from each other revealing a dimly lit bedroom. Twilight didn't need to be instructed to walk into the room. Twilight saw the dozen or so Lighting Stones imbedded into the walls close to the ceiling that were lighting the room. On the left hoof wall, there was was a desk and chair with a three with a three panel mirror inbetween a pair of bookcases. Twilight was too far away to tell if the mirror was affixed to the desk or not, though Twilight did notice that one of the books was missing from the right hoof bookcase.

A voice brought Twilight's attention to the space in front of her, “Welcome Twilight Sssparkle.”

Noblesse's voice brought Twilight's attention to the bed he was resting in. To the right of the bed was a desk with drawer a few bottles on it and a large glass filled with what Twilight assumed to be water. Legalese had already made her way to Noblesse's left side, the royal purple carpeting in the room deafening her hoofsteps. A little ways behind Legalese was one of Noblesse's personal medics, Malpractice if Twilight remembered correctly. The canopy bed Noblesse was resting in had it's all of it's curtains opened, though Twilight could tell that each curtain was made to look like half of the national Equestrian flag.

Twilight didn't notice the bed the Ponies or things around it however, as her horrified gaze was centered around Noblesse Oblige himself. He was under the covers of his bed, only the chest, forelegs, and everything else above that point of the body showing. Though Twilight could see little of the noblepony's body, she could see too much for her tastes. Noblesse was completely without a coat, Twilight had expected that, what Twilight didn't expect were the large sections of skin where Twilight could see his sickly skin due to a distinct lack of scales. Even in the poor lighting of the room, Twilight could see his blood and oxygen veins contrasting against Noblesse's deathly pale skin. Oddly enough, the noblecolt's left foreleg looked completely normal. What really caught Twilight's attention was the piece of fabric covering his eyes. The cloth had one string on each of it's corners attaching the cloth to the bed itself. Most peculiar, was the pentagram pattern stitched into the dark tan fabric with bright silver thread that glowed in the dim lights.

In modern society, the pentagram was used for a number of things: the universal symbol of anarchy, demon worship, opposition of tradition, etc. In Classical Culture however, the pentagram was used an Arcane Rune to symbolize life in general. The pentagram was seen as symbol of healing, similar to the scarlet cross use to signify medics and hospitals today.

After standing there for what must have been several minutes, Twilight Sparkle remembered why she was here in the first place, “Uh, you summoned me your grace?”

Noblesse raised his normal leg, which appeared to still have fur on it instead of the scales his body should have after molting, “Pleasss, Twilight. Thisss iss not a formal occasion, there isss no need for formalitiesss.” Twilight could see Noblesse's new narrow forked tongue that is typically seen in the mouths of serpents.

“What happened to you?” Asked Twilight. A Serpicorn was supposed to have his or her body almost completely covered in protective scales, Noblesse Oblige was clearly missing several rows of scales on the upper part of his body.

“The ball that knocked me out of that tree broke the old ssskin that wass layered on top of mine ssscalesss,” Explained Noblesse, “Which then causssed me to molt before I had all of my ssscalesss.”

“Will you be okay?” While Twilight didn't trust this colt, she didn't wish him any ill will.

“I jussst need to ssspend the ressst of the week in bed taking medisssine, I'll be able to ssstand on my hoovesss afterwardsss.”

“Forgive me for asking, but why are you talking like that?” Twilight wanted to pretend that she didn't notice, but it was getting annoying.

“I am ssstill getting usssed to thisss new tongue, I will probably be ssspeaking with the Ssserpant'sss Lisssp for a few weeksss.” Answered Noblesse. He probably would be stifling giggles at the Unicorn's chagrin, but he was in too much pain to feel too much joy.

“Y-you said that you wanted to explain to me what happened to Ruby Pinch?” Twilight got to the point as the atmosphere in the room was making her uncomfortable. The sooner she could leave, the better.

“I have introdusssed Ruby to the sssame kind of magic Sssombra usssed,” Replied Noblesse nonchalantly, “I have started educating Ruby in Dark Magic.”

Twilight actually needed a few minutes to process what she has just been told, “W-w-why!? How!? Do you know what that could do to her!?”

“Yesss I do, better in fact than you do.”

That comment made Twilight stop panicking. The only experiences Twilight had with Dark Magic was the brief display Celestia made before she and her friends were sent into the Crystal Empire, and the late King Sombra. Twilight assumed that using Dark Magic drove one insane, but Sombra was buried alive in ice in snow for a thousand years after having his physical form obliterated and his soul bound to his shadow. Then there was the fact that Celestia could use it without going mad, and if Noblesse was skilled enough in it to teach others, then Dark Magic probably didn't necessarily drive one to madness.

Twilight calmed herself before she spoke again, “Okay, why Ruby Pinch? Why teach Dark Magic at all?”

Noblesse nodded his head, “Dark Magic doesssn't work the sssame way asss Innate Magic or Academic Magic dossst. You are not born with it, and it can't be taught in the sssame sssenssse asss Academic Magic. One only gainsss the ability to ussse Dark Magic after sssufering through an abnormal amount of pain in one'sss life. Thisss can be literally anything: ssspending life asss an orphan, having night terrorsss early in life, etc. Whatever the cassse, the practitioner hassst been traumatisssed at some point in life and that pain fessstersss in one'sss mind. Thisss fessstering boresss unusual pathwaysss in the meridiansss of the practitioner which allowsss sssaid practitioner to channel their emotionsss in addition to their mana.”

Twilight nodded in understanding, “Okay, that explains how Ruby Pinch can use Dark Magic, but why spread it's usage?”

“It ssspreadsss itssself,” Answered Noblesse, “When practitionersss gather within a certain disstance of each other, their darknesss amasssesss in their sssection of the collective subconsciousss. Thisss darknesss eventually leadsss to the practitionersss first Dark Resonanssse, a Dark Magic Surge. By teaching Ruby how to control it while the ssseed isss ssstill jussst that, she will be better able to control herssself when her nessst Dark Resonanssse sssurgesss.”

“Would she have been trapped in her own mind without help?” Asked Twilight, deeply concerned for any Dark Magic practitioners.

“Ssshe would have broken free eventually,” Replied the colt, “Whether it'sss a matter of hoursss or weeksss isss dependant on the practitioner.”

“Are there any other practitioners in Ponyville?” Asked Twilight urgently.

“Ssseveral,” Answered Noblesse, “You're one of them in fact.”

This had Twilight taken back, “But I've only used it once.”

“The fact that you can ussse Dark Magic at all makesss you a practitioner,” Said Noblesse coolly, “The sssettlementsss in Everfree Provinssse have the highessst consssentration of Dark Magic Practitionersss in Equessstria becaussse of the dangersss of the Everfree Foressst.”

“But I've never heard of somepony going through a 'Dark Resonance' before now,” Argued Twilight.

“Becaussse Equessstria is such a peasssful contry,” Replied Noblesse, “There are ssso few sssircumssstansssesss here for a Pony too actually sssuffer that it rarely buildsss up enough to trigger a Dark Resonanssse. The people of Equessstria alssso put ssso much faith in each other that they're willing to forgive and forget, thisss meansss that ssspite and anger usually isssn't a factor in Poniesss' livesss.”

“How do you even know when somepony becomes a practitioner?” This greatly concerned Twilight as she never told anypony about using Dark Magic in the Crystal Castle. And given how much Dark Magic seemed to revolve around manipulating the mind, it might give one the power to read minds.

“When a practitioner becomesss powerful enough, they can read into the collective subconsciousss and find other practitionersss and what made them practitionersss in the firssst plassse,” Answered the colt, “For esssample, I can 'sssee' that you have ssspent your entire life afraid that you will disssapoint mine great aunt and ssshe will disssown you.”

This comment made Legalese give Twilight an incredulous look, “Really? Do you have any idea how much Grandma raves about you when given the chance? How you're the brightest student she's ever taught? How-” Legalese was stopped by a hoof on her shoulder.

“Enough,” Said Noblesse plainly.

“How can Dark Resonances manifest themselves?” Asked Twilight, “I would like to know what to expect when and if somepony else has a Dark Resonance.”

Noblesse nodded, “Assside from the illusssionsss a practitioner can sssuffer through: they can encassse themssselvesss in a dome of cryssstalsss colored to match whatever emotion happensss to be dominate, while thessse are the ssshortessst in duration, these Resonances are also the most dessstructive as the crystals can attack other lifeformsss. Finally, there are psychotic breaksss like the one you went through during the 'Lessson Sssero' fiasssco.”

“That doesn't actually sound too bad,” Said Twilight.

“Like regular magical sssurgesss, Dark Resssonancesss can vary in ssstrength,” Warned the bedridden colt, “Ssso, while the illusssionsss you and Ssspike went through can be broke by a touch, sssome will sssuffer illusssionsss sssturdier than the onesss Ruby went through.”

A shiver went down Twilight's spine as she tried to imagine what those illusions must be like. Twilight would also most likely have nightmares about the severe cases of the other types of Dark Resonances.

A thought occurred to Twilight, one she should have had much earlier, “Who are the other practitioners in Ponyville?”

Noblesse sighed, in his condition, it was hard to speak for long periods of time, “The onesss you need to care about are: Ssscootaloo, Sssweetie Belle, Rumble, Flutterssshy, Rainbow Dash, and Ssspike.”

“Not Applejack or Apple Bloom?” Asked Twilight. She would have figured that the two orphans would be prime candidates for practicing Dark Magic.

“Applejack wasss mentally sssound enough to bare the losss of their parentsss, and Apple Bloom didn't bound to them like ssshe did with Applejack and Big Macintosh.”

Noblesse started panting hard. The bedside medic approached as Legalese moved out of the way. The medic used her magic to levitate one of the bottles and the glass of water over to her. She hoofed two pills from the bottle and feed them to Noblesse shortly before helping him drink.

Malpractice turned her head to face Twilight, “That's is enough for today, I fear his holiness has pushed himself too far with that conversation.”

“I'll have to lead you out of here,” Said Legalese, “Please put your blindfold back on.”

Twilight grabbed the blindfold in her magic. Twilight started turning clockwise to the door out of Noblesse's bedroom, when the right side of the room caught her attention. In the corner of the room stood a wardrobe, which was odd considering that Noblesse doesn't wear clothes. But what really had Twilight's attention was the table next to it. The table had what seemed to be a cake stand on it, but there were no confections on display. On each of the four tiers of the small cake stand were dolls. On the highest tier sat four dolls, Twilight recognized them as being dolls of Celestia, Luna, and Cadence, by their horns and wings, though Twilight didn't know who the forth Alicorn doll was supposed to be. On the third tier sat dolls of Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Legalese, and an Unicorn that was slightly bigger than the dolls of the foals. On the second tier sat dolls of Dinky Doo, Pipsqueak, Ruby Pinch, and Rumble. Twilight felt shivers go down her spine as she looked at the bottom tier of the cake stand, six dolls of herself and the other Bearers of the Elements of Harmony. Each tier was spinning slowly which allowed Twilight to look at all of the dolls, though what truly disturbed Twilight was the detail with which the dolls were made with. In Twilight's peripheral vision was an open box filled with what crafting materials. Twilight would definitely need Princess Luna's help dealing with nightmares.

“Pay that no mind,” Said Legalese, “Noblesse makes dolls of Ponies who are important to him out of boredom.”

Twilight finished blindfolding herself as she spoke, “Will you be taking me to the palace gates?”

“No,” Said Legalese, “Ponies have been migrating to the larger settlements of Everfree Province. All of that extra magic generated by the increased populations is feeding directly into the Everfree Forest. At the moment, the Ponyville Weather Team is working on containing a large wild storm in the Everfree Forest, so it would be too dangerous for you to try and leave, which means you get to spend the night here♪”

Twilight sighed as Legalese wrapped her tail around Twilight's muzzle, “Joy,” Said the older mare plainly.