The Matron of Equestria (Celestia's POV; A day before her request)

I lift my cup and saucer of tea to my lips, the smell of fresh chamomile leaves and oils meets my approval and with a delicate sip into the wonderful infusion of warm calming glory which reminds me of the sun's warmth, and I close my eyes and smile softly. Often I am asked on why I consume more tea than water, but I have always reminded them that water is a main component of tea, and still receive my fill adequately. Unfortunately, I have a habit of deflecting questions and true to my promise I guard my heart and thoughts close since the incident with Lulu, although few times my public mask has broken in throws of disappointment or fury I like to think I balance myself out quite well.

I think to those who are not close to me would find it surprising that I am a very emotional individual, much like any other pony I too have needs and desires. But for many centuries I have put aside my personal needs for the benefit and welfare of my nation and those that put their trust within my rule.

*Fwomp* CRACK *Fwomp* CRACK

I exhale as my magic feels two exceedingly large one handed axes make contact with my personal barrier and with a thought I redirect the thrown objects physical energy into the nearby walls, with a sickening snap I hear the metal axes impale themselves into the crystal walls of my niece's meeting room. I take another sip of tea and with a calm expression; I open my eyes to the shocked open jaw faces of my niece Empress Cadence and her husband Shining Armor. Both who are baffled that I have calmly deflected two thrown weapons from none other than my good friend Chief Taurus Steelhoof now fully entering the meeting hall.

"Chief Taurus," I calmly begin while staring at him with a friendly expression, "I am pleased to see that you are alive and well how long has it been two centuries?" I ask with another sip of tea and steady even breathing patterns, I haven't had a stressful morning yet, but we shall soon see if that holds any merit.

The Chief approaches an empty chair near the meeting table as his assistant enters the room approaches the wall embedded with his leaders axe's and fruitlessly attempts to remove them. With a side glance, I think that his poor assistant will be relatively unable to remove the weapons as the deflected instruments had just about the physical force of a speeding locomotive, a kind of interesting story for another time.

"Princess Celestia," Chief Taurus curtly states, "-I'm glad to see you are as radiant as ever, good morning," he finishes and relaxes in his chair.

I give Steelhoof a nod of approval and with respect as I set my tea back onto its saucer and look to the still alarmed faces of my hosts.

"A-are you serious?! He just lobbed an axe at your face, and you did not even flinch, show anger, Nothing! How can that be acceptable!" exclaims a much shocked Shining Armor with a wave of his hoof and a very stern look towards Steelhoof.

"P-Princess Celestia, I must concur with my husband, that is not acceptable as a form of greeting in any shape!" stresses Cadence she turns to Steelhoof and fires a scorn at the elder minotaur, "And you! You should be ashamed for treating a peaceful meeting in such a manner; I should have you expelled at once!!" she scolds the leader for his brash attempt at polite greetings.

I giggle at the couple's antics and smile none the less as I observe the conversation between my niece and the elder chief. I take a more attentive look towards the unamused Steelhoof and note the changes since our last encounter, still ever the tall one standing still four hooves taller than myself. The once gray pelt shows sign of age and wisdom with grey hairs near edges, his once blonde hair now whitened with age, but something still present is his sharp green eyes a value much in approval to my tastes.

Something more endearing is the fact that the Chief has now grown a full lined beard, shaped and pointed at his chin along with his freshly filed and pointed horns, I now most definitely approve of his newfound appearance. Noticing his attire I take note he has changed his look a bit and ditched the cotton robes for something more sturdy, a plated and pauldroned cuirass with a flowing violet and black trimmed cape and ear high collar. Not to mention the now two empty axe holders on his waistband, I decide to end the now pressing argument that might take a turn for the worst.

"Cadence," I interject which brings Shining Armor and my niece to turn their gazes towards me interrupting the feud between the gathering. "I am quite alright as you can see, and I do not take offense to Chief Taurus' greeting so please refrain from scolding him and hurting the intentions of the meeting you have requested us to attend," I finish with another sip of tea and a nod of thanks from Steelhoof. Without hesitation, I summon my magic and pour him a now magically enlarged cup of the delicious liquid refreshment himself which he takes gently and with a smile of approval.

Cadence begins to formulate a rebuttal and I silently raise a hoof in objection which draws her silent and with a huff a disapproval she backs down thankfully and the room is once more returned to a peaceful calm, minus the sharp glares to which Steelhoof and I enjoy our tea in tranquility. Although Steelhoof and I do not agree at times, we have settled our differences through preset formal duels now and then which has always ended in a stalemate of my choosing; we might not be the best of friends as we once were but to his culture, I am still a respected mare.

The sound of the opening of solid crystal doors and a sparse glance from my refreshment, I see a taloned claw grasping the edges of the door. As the entrance widens, I see two new faces emerge into the room, one of the noble High Lord Blood Talon opening the door to someone I have not met before to my much curiosity. As the two figures enter the room, the Gryphon and now with more observation Dragoness halt their conversation and greet everyone in the room respectively, and Talon approaches the last two remaining chairs at the table drawing back one for his guest and taking a seat in the last available chair at the table.

"Good morning high lord," I greet with a smile and repeating the same process I pour another cup of tea from the rapidly depleting kettle and place it in front of the gryphon who takes the cup and curtly nods in response.

"Good morning your Highness, Empress Cadence, Chief Taurus," The gryphon greets each of the leaders. I reimmerse my memory of the Gryphon whose dense plumage is a lovely earthen shade, most noticeable of the high lord is one of his family line traits which is crimson tipped feathers giving the Lord a unique look among his kin. Although Talon is one of the youngest of the assembled leaders, notwithstanding the newest face in the room, his kindness and hospitality knows no bounds and is overall very easy to work with.

From issues of border friction to trade negotiations, Talon is easily my most trusted ally as he falls within more reason than those under Dragon King Torch or Chief Taurus respectively. Personally, I believe he's a good person in general, and much can be gained with a friendship with him.

While some of the leaders are idly chatting amongst themselves what draws to my attention, in particular, is the newest addition to the group who I can assume by racial status as possibly the representative of Dragon King Torch. In stature she's not the biggest of dragons I have seen, placing her within the range of a young adult in Dragon terms maybe possibly in her ‘young adult' years more or less, being somewhat of the same height of Sir Spike my pupils assistant and guardian. Her scales are a well-polished cerulean with darkened midnight spots giving her a pleasing look.

Her most particular trait is that of her horn and fin placement as her two horns, a brilliant white and oddly inverted along her jawline is something rare to me as many dragons have outwardly facing spines for threat displays. Accented with her purple spines that flow well aerodynamically she is most definitely a magnificent looking dragon in her kin's eyes. Externally she was wearing something similar to what Steelhoof was attired in, a plated chest piece made of a bronze metal with a scabbard holding something between the base of her wings.

"Excuse me, Miss; I don't believe we had the pleasure of making your acquaintance," I set my now empty cup once more on the saucer, and I focus my attention on the silent dragoness who seems a bit shocked at being addressed. The rest of the room now focused on my questioning they all turn to the dragoness who now has a faint redness in her cheeks after being addressed.

"Ah, yes I nearly forgot about this pup I found her wandering outside the castle looking for the audience hall," the smooth voice of Talon informatively states. "Apparently, she comes from the Dragon King with a message for us in regards to Dragon King Torch's summons," while gesturing idly towards the dragoness.

"So if she's here to bring a message let her state it and be gone, my time is precious, and I have many projects to oversee in Labyrinthia," a very frustrated Minotaur states receiving a various amount of scorned looks from around the table. Sympathetically I ease my gaze back towards the dragoness with a smile, and she relaxes slightly.

"U-Um Hello, my name is Ember, and I bring some new in regards to the summons," She begins with a nervous expression and she shuffles the scabbard towards her front and with much interest to myself and the gathered leaders. She attempts to pull out a large staff, and internally I cringe as I see the cover slip off the scabbard and the gleaming hyacinth gem of none other than the scepter of Dragon King Torch.

"Usurper!" screams the voice of Chief Taurus and with a will of his power he summons his axe's from the wall behind me nearly smashing the back of my head in. Steelhoof flies out of his chair the second his weapons connect to his hands and attempts a mighty swing towards the dragoness who's holding the sacred object of King Torch.

Although I'll admit either in shock or out of surprise over the revelation of the staff, I too was jaded for but only a moment, but regardless of the circumstances the messenger should never be harmed in any shape or form. With quick thinking before the axes made contact with Ember's head, I summon my magic forth in all its splendor and with a loud *SNAP* I quickly recall the memory of the physical prowess of the Chieftain.

With loud gasps and a stifled scream within the room, I open my eyes after the teleport and look down towards Ember who is cringing in her chair expecting to meet the wrath of Steelhoof holding the hyacinth staff in her embrace. With a sigh of relief, I look towards the angry minotaur, and I look to where his weapons have made contact with my forehooves in my attempt to stop the threats from harming Ember I see that his axes have damaged the gilded hoof guards I wear out of fashion rather than utility. And each axe has taken to embed themselves within my left and right forehoof respectively I feel a warm sensation running down near my elbows assuming its life-giving fluids and through the silence, I hear nothing but deep and angry breathing.

As the adrenaline begins to fade from my initial jump, I start to feel the pain of foreign objects placed within my body, and I look at Steelhoof with a disappointed gaze as he merely stares back at me with a fierce stare. I only have time to turn to Cadence and with a smile and I begin to feel my forelimbs tremble through his sheer strength, and the calm facade I typically keep slowly starting to break.

"Cadence, the adults, are going to have a discussion, please do not panic," I state calmly and before she has a chance to open her mouth I use my magic to teleport myself and Steelhoof well outside the Empire's borders and into the cold, unforgiving tundra.

I will admit, the tundra outside is unbearably cold, If not for my internal warmth of the bond I share with the sun, Most would become quite cross at this moment but to some solace, I am happy that it is just chilly and not a howling wind cold.

As Steelhoof and I emerge from my quick teleport, I feel myself and his dense form flung in a different direction as I'm met with the feeling of soft snow to cushion my fall. I take a small moment to collect myself as I rise from the snowy trench my impact has made, the Chieftain Steelhoof emerges from his ravine, dug by his broad and massive body. I know now he is apparently writhing in anger as he picks up his weapons from the snow gazing towards me with an unbemused expression.

"Steelhoof! You should know better than to let your anger control you so, how would your mother feel about you killing a helpless messenger with your full strength?!" I shout across the expanse feeling the ever-growing sense of being alone with an ally I break my mask for the first time in a long while and try to reason with Steelhoof. Even from this moderately short distance away I can see the steam rising off his body. It takes quite a lot to get a minotaur enraged but so something as personal as this I can unders- no, I can FEEL his rage.

"Shut your mouth BITCH! You will not talk about my mother who lies beyond the grave!" He exclaims and starts to pick up his pace and start to charge towards me. I reach into the wells of my magic and extract an object long forgotten these days and as Steelhoof reaches me and swings another full weight swing I materialize a relic from ages past to block his strike.

Although I am a mare of peace and understanding, I know too well of the dangers of the world and within seconds I fully form a large sky steel and gold piped Spear-Halberd and using my magic I lift the weapon and block his opening strike with the center of the staff.

*CLANG*

The sounds of ear piercing metal reach my auditory senses, and my horn feels the pressure from his strike I riposte and strike my opponent with the blunt end of the shaft causing him to retreat slightly. Just as he retreats, I see him return for another attack and to what feels time slowing to the millisecond he uses his left axe for a side uppercut motion and using the same momentum I swing the edged end of my weapon upwards catching the hook of his axe and flinging his blade high into the air.

To punctuate the disarmament, I take the blunt end of the staff and jab him with it sternly in between his eyes as a reward for a well-placed hit I hear the thick snap of a carrot. The minotaur's nose cartilage breaking while reeling his head back in pain, with the continuation motion of the strike I take the halberd and with a rotating motion I smack the side of his head with the flat of the edge launching the minotaur across the snow leaving another deep trench in the soft white powder.

"Stop this senselessness Steelhoof! I too feel your loss, and I understand your fury, but the manner you choose to exact your revenge is unforgivable and honorless!" I state using a voice amplification spell and with the added volume I hear a distant rumbling of an avalanche cascading down a nearby remote mountain. I see movement within the snow and exploding out of the mound of powder like a daisy in the spring I come under the assault of speedy well-placed attacks from the Chiefs remaining weapon.

*CLANG* *SCRAPE* CLANG*

"You know nothing! That elder taught us the ways of the immortal existence, our duty!" states Steelhoof with each swing of his axe I become a bit more fearful that during my time of peace I might not be able to stop the Warriors blows as they increase velocity with each strike. I attempt to gain some space by extending my wings and trying to fly away for a brief moment with my weapon dragging behind in golden magic.

Regrettably, before I could get even half the distance I would find comfortable with an opponent of this caliber; the curt sound of rapidly moving chains greet my senses. I turn my head to locate the source of the offending sound, and I see a fastly approaching battle-dart, a weighted chain weapon, flying towards my barrel and before I can react it wraps a few times around my form and I suddenly feel myself accelerate towards the ground.

As I made contact with the ground before I could get my bearings, the Chieftain does not relent and uses his current advantage and arcs me through a few snow banks much like a wrecking ball through a building. *POMF* *POMF* *SLAM* I feel the strength behind his attack as it crashes me hard into the ground after a few horizontal swings, inside the small crater annoyed thoroughly in the far corners of my mind I can't help but think of the little feeling of exhilaration of this duel. Using my magic, I heat the chain to a red hot glow, and Steelhoof recoils immediately from his grip on the cord and as the melted iron drips from my midsection a snap of my wings and a strong push-off I fly towards Steelhoof with my spear tip aimed straight at his chest.

Although I've never had the intent to kill except in certain dire occasions, fighting Steelhoof with anything less of that conviction would only enrage him more and send him even more off the deep end.

I speed closer and closer towards him I infuse my halberd with the power of the sun and I see Steelhoof wind up his axe with a crimson glow and at the same time our weapons connect I can no longer hear except for a steady ringing noise. I look around, and I see the amount of force we have placed in our attacks which have melted the snow in every direction around us in a nearly perfect circle of harmonious destruction.

As steam rises from the expulsion of power, I see the ground itself has become charred and in some places of metal purity glowing red hot and simmering in the cold morning air. Along with myself, I see that Steelhoof is heavily breathing as I feel quite exasperated for the need of oxygen wafts of steam emanating from our bodies.

With a few more deep breaths we return to our discussion, and I feel my face contort in focus as each of our strikes fastly approaching the level of fatal blows. With every swing of Steelhooves axe, I meet with equal force with my halberd and at the place of impact the ground cracks with power. In the background the glow of the Crystal Empire glistening in the morning sun I chuckle at the irony that I once long ago I fought King Sombra Rex along with my sister with equal tenacity.

Mid-swing of my weapon I was caught off guard as Steelhoof used his offhand to backhanded strike me across the face. With an enormous amount of force, cast down rolling uncontrollably in the soot and ash covered ground. I hear the heavy steps of the Chieftain tromp towards me as I vainly attempt to get up, and suddenly to my surprise feel pressure around the base of my tail as I'm lifted flank first into the air.

I feel conflicted as I suddenly experience an embarrassing warmth upon my face, and confidently looking back with a smug grin towards a confused look from Steelhoof like a cocked spring I plant both my rear hooves into his face sending the minotaur recoiling across the damaged tundra his armor flying in various directions.

With a solid collision into a hidden rock pile covered in snow, I felt a pang of worry for Steelhoof I may have started becoming a tad overzealous, but when a 'bull' grabs you by the tail, you tend to react quite hastily especially if you're unaware of his intentions.

Trotting towards the impact area where Steelhoof is now fallen and I feel even more urgency as I see that he is not moving. Worryingly breaking into a sprint approaching his fallen form I place a hoof on his now bare chest with a shake as his armor had been cast off with the force of the buck I gave him.

"Steely?" I question with another shake of his body and suddenly his eyes open and before I can react he latches onto my forehooves and throws me across the expanse. I summon my halberd and with a roll from my back to my barrel, I balance myself returning my efforts as Steelhoof and I charge at each other full sprint once more primal energies flowing deeply into our weapons as we both prepare to end the fight once and for all. As we rapidly approach one another magical energies cracking with hissing whips of energy flowing from our forms I feel a sudden pressure change and as we both wind up our swings to do catastrophic damage to one another I hear something entirely odd as a little pitched screeching noise entered my senses.

*sssskkkkrrrreeeee*

And right as our blades were about to make contact I feel another presence as the air around us explodes and before the sound occurred pressure from the explosion casting snow and ash in all directions. Suddenly appearing in between the minotaur and myself, a gryphon materialized at breakneck speeds and in each of his bladed talons, he gripped our weapons still held in our respective grasps. And with a change in motion with more force than I would originally imagine for the Highlord, lifted both of us off the ground and with a pinwheel-like motion flung us both respectfully across the scarred battlefield holding onto our weapons in each claw. Making contact yet again with the unforgivingly hard ground. I hear an earth-shattering voice of once someone who I've never known to be loud at all.

"ENOUGH! YOU TWO WILL CEASE THIS FOOLISHNESS!" demands High Lord Blood Talon champion of the western mountains and vicious warlord of the Kingdom of Griffonia. With a flick of his wrists, he forcefully and gracefully throws my halberd with pinpoint accuracy, landing spear first into the snow two hoofs from my face causing a crack deep in the rock below along with the war chief's axe somersaulting with the same force right in between the Chieftains legs near his pelvis.

With a heavy breath, I look at my weapon and the gryphon and my to the former opponent, the adrenaline's effects wearing down greeted by a sharp pain realize how severe my injuries are. I can easily feel that two or three of my ribs could be broken, and I at least have a sprained hoof somewhere; I can't quite put my mind on which hoof, but it's there, not to discount the probably numerous bruises under my alabaster pelt.

Across the way I see Steelhoof assessing his damages, and I see the blood now pouring from his broken muzzle, and I understand my error and attempt being the supposedly bigger mare in reparations. I make an effort to stand and in my efforts, I find that my right forehoof is sprained. Using three legs, I make my way slowly to Steelhoof with a deathly glare from Talon, and I approach the minotaur none the less ignoring the avian.

"Need a hoof Steely?" I query with a neutral expression and extend my non-sprained hoof to him and with a judgemental look, Steel takes the offered limb and with a tug from both tired warriors brings himself upright. Now standing I see that we both have various wounds, none too grave but I still feel sorry for his muzzle that I broke, kind of. As he hunches over in weariness, I use my magic to grasp his face reset his medial bone correctly and with a sickening crack along with a glare from the first shocked then thankful expression of Steelhoof.

"Thanks, good fight Tia," he states while using his hand to attempt vainly to ruffle my ethereal mane, although it steadily moves I still feel the firm pressure of his hand on my head a rather odd yet satisfying feeling as my pelt is rubbed roughly beneath my mane my ears folding back in reciprocation of the strange sensation.

"Hopefully, we can return to the meeting now that we've blown off some steam?" I ask questioningly towards my friend and before he can form a response we are both set upon by a duly triggered avian.

"You two! You are both acting like rowdy hatchings; we are guests here within the Empire and here you two are-," the High Lord pauses and rotates his talons in a rotating motion searching for words, "-conversing, in a manner unbecoming leaders of your nations! You should be ashamed of thine selves!" finishes Talon while approaching us I feel a bit of shame as he is none the less right.

"Not to mention your poor niece," he starts catching my attention, "She is pacing a hole into the palace balcony worried sick about the display and light show you're putting on at the edge of her city, and her subjects have retreated in their homes!" Talon exclaims and at this point I find strange as we didn't put that much effort in our strikes and I take a glance around the arena for our sparring match.

Before where I saw simple trenches and ravines where our bodies hit I now see gaping chasms, the charred and scorched ground is now cooled glassy molten slag and impact marks from the wind force from our weapons have rent nearby hills and rock mounds which I thought were small snowdrifts and rock piles.

At this point, I feel a bit of embarrassment as I observe the damage in the nearby landscape, and can't even imagine what would've happened if I took the fight outside and within the city limits due to sheer laziness.

It was silent for a better of a minute before anyone decided to make a move, and over time and as my heart rate began to slow to normal. I hear a tired exhale from Steelhoof and without a hint of what he was attempting to do he started to walk towards the center of the destroyed area.

The High Lord began to form a complaint most likely assuming that Steelhoof was going just leave when suddenly the Minotaur lifts his right hoof and slams it firmly into the ground causing a small pillar to rise in front of him. The process now repeated a few times alternating hooves, and a small set of crude stairs is being formed and with a final more sturdy stomp a broad flat plateau is jetted from the ground which Steelhoof walks on.

Although personally, I have never seen the Chieftains earth magic, I could feel a slow buildup of adamant energies from his direction and with another loud stomp and a roar of conviction echoing across the tundra his body suddenly becomes engulfed in a crimson glow.

Through a shockwave of energy, that emits from the epicenter that is now the Chieftain. He raises his hands with force and the chasm's begin to loudly close with violent shaking of the tundras floor; the rent hill's return to their smooth slopes, and the stony rock mounds burst in beautiful crystal explosions littering the snow with freshly made geodes adding beauty where there was once none.

As shockwaves and sounds of the vibrations through the area cease, the crimson glow begins to fade from his body, and he slowly turns and walks down his makeshift pillar stairs with a tired gait in his step. As he approaches the High Lord and myself, he gestures towards the landscape with a unbemused expression and raises a quizzical eyebrow.

"Close enough I suppose," Talon states then lifts a single digit with his eyes closed. "-however I also want you to apologize to Miss Ember as well and to Celestia for this entire incident you will make-," before Talon can finish a large amount of snow is suddenly dumped from the arms of said Minotaur and burying the Gryphon completely in powdery coldness.

I can't help but laugh with sharp pains along my broken ribs as Steelhoof marches off towards the Empire walking past and securing his equipment along the way. With a frustrated growl, the High Lord explodes from his snowy tomb and shakes his closed talon at the retreating Steelhoof.

"I SWEAR ON ALL THAT HIS HOLY; YOU WILL RUE THE DAY STEELHOOF!" Talon exclaims at the slowly walking Minotaur who acknowledges his challenge with a dismissing wave his unoccupied hand not stopping towards his trek to the Empire.

Recovering from my painful bouts of laughter I take my equipment in my magic and return it to its magical storage space disappearing in an amber flame. Using a clotting spell, I seal my open wounds and nuzzle the still venting Gryphon who responds immediately by silencing himself and blushing profusely staring at me like I've caught him doing something dastardly.

"Come Talon; I have a lot of apologizing to do to Ember and my Niece," I make an effort to walk towards the Capitol on three legs. I could have flown, but feeling a sharp soreness from my wings, I would rather avoid further embarrassment if I fell in public view flying with tired wings. As I continue walking, I feel a feathery mass support my right side as the still blushing Gryphon uses his body weight to assist my movement avoiding all eye contact with my own. None the less I smile a warm smile as I prepare to dawn the mask that I frequently use in the public eye.

Returning to the Empire proper with a being supported Talon and a brooding Steelhoof we make our way back towards the Palace where we see two rapidly approaching Crystal Guardsponies who stop and bow at a respectful distance.

"Your Majesties, the Empress, has requested to inform you that the meeting has been reallocated to the following morning due to extenuating circumstances regarding Miss Ember," the lead guard states.

I look to my fellow leaders and with various forms of understanding and I nod in approval towards the guard ponies who rise and with a salute return to their duties.

"I could do with a bath regardless," bluntly states Steelhoof who continues towards the palace, "Catch you two later," he absentmindedly says.

With a huff and a talon rested upon the High Lords face I smile and tentatively take a few steps past the Gryphon my injured hoof recovering enough for an unassisted walk.

"Do not worry Sangre" a bold grin highlights my face as I call Talon by his pet name such as Steelhoof's 'Steely' alias which entices a quick response of a venomous look from the avian which I laugh internally to his plight. "-The meeting overall will not be ruined and hopefully tomorrow we can resolve the issue with Miss Ember, and we can continue the meeting," I finish keeping my slow gait towards the castle and my personal quarters.

"Yes, hopefully, we can pursue the conference as planned without a lethal clash of the titans, this time Celestia?" He queries with a tilt of his head catching up to me.

"I make no promises; you know how emotional the Chieftain gets regarding his personal teacher Dragon King Torch especially when someone shows up with his sign of leadership and rule," I say as we make our way up the palace steps the guards opening the doors for our entry.

With a nod of agreement, the Gryphon and I take separate paths leading to our quarters and with time alone to myself for a moment I recollect on the day's events making a note to start the process for the Suns decent for Lulu. As I approach my quarters, I open the door with a touch of magic and enter the spacious room with very basic amenities such as a bed, desk stationery, and a dresser with an entrance to a private washroom. My first goal is to remove my regalia I take off my tiara and chest with relative ease however once I get to my hooves that's where the issues start to arise.

I attempt to take off my rear shoes and with some effort, they finally come off to my relief, the issue I'm having is my forehooves which sustained the brunt of Steely's first strike. When I attempted to pry them off, I recoiled immediately with burning pain, and gazed down to inspect the cause; I see that the two horizontal lines where the brunt of the impact struck that the metal regalia was slightly embedded into my pelt much to my distaste.

With a huff and an action much akin to quickly stripping an adhesive bandage I tore the fragmented metal from the wound and the flow of blood began to trickle onto the crystal floor. I cried in pain as I have not been seriously injured for quite some time and with my adornments removed I could focus on healing myself of my battles injuries.

Thinking about few spells (the first being a clotting incantation for my forehooves) I begin the painful and daunting task of healing myself. Most ponies assume healing magic comes naturally to all Unicorns and Zebras, and any wound can be treated within seconds, as much as I wish that statement to be true it is woefully quite the opposite. The first thing I concentrated on was my cracked ribs; I knew they were there but not knowing where to focus magic would be a waste of power, so the first thing to do was cast a scanning spell to get a sense of where I should begin.

After a quick scan, I take note of the various injuries I've sustained; Two cracked ribs multiple bruises and a sprained right forehoof with two broad impacts on each front leg respectively. I approach the washroom and turn the relatively large bathtub faucet to the hottest setting it can go. After a few minutes, I slowly enter the hot water and cringe as the hot liquid burns my many cuts and scrapes unseen by my scans. Eventually, I fully submerse myself and after a few seconds emerge my head from the surface of the water.

A few things can typically associate with me from my habits according to my staff members, and close friends. One; that I usually am a proud partaker in many varieties of tea, almost bordering the unhealthy to which I still am unsure how tea consumption can be harmful. Two; that I am some invulnerable force of nature, I always know what is best for everyone, and every decision that I make is for the betterment of Equis. Although I would like to believe, the only thing neutral about me is my mask. And unfortunately this couldn't be farther from the truth as I have personal goals and ideals, and as I continue to soak in my bath I see small tendrils of red liquid come from my various surface injuries. Third and final which I have no objections are that of my personal enjoyment of long relaxing baths or saunas and the consumption of my guilty pleasure cakes and pastries.

I absentmindedly sit in the heated water with my eyes closed and my mind blank, focusing on nothing in particular. I turn my thoughts to my charge which is the caretaking of the sun and with a stretch of power I set the motion to bring the sun into its final stages towards the evening to make way for my sister Luna to bring up her moon. Something I've learned over the past thousand years since her disappearance is the ability to release a majority of my power to return my mane to its natural state. Although many ponies admire my pastel flowing hair, I still am quite fond of my light rose colored mane as I find that more beautiful and personal to my tastes.

Releasing the power over my charge slightly the once flowing pastel mane now falls around me in its original pinkish hue and with a smile I take in my magic a brush and slowly work out and knots and damages that may have occurred during the day's activities. I find brushing my mane very relaxing, and I still like to think I am a stunning Alicorn before the duty assigned by my once great friend Starswirl the Bearded many ages ago.

I recall the day when we were approached by Star Swirl and representatives of the three different pony tribes. Although it is very rare sometimes so called miracles happen and sometimes foals are born as Alicorns, So far to my knowledge there are three natural alicorns born to the world Cadence and Shining’s foal Flury Heart, Luna, and Myself. Though there are technically five Alicorns including Cadence and Twilight they are more of ascended alicorns which do not possess the one ability that makes natural borns unique versus ascended.

The gift of long life. . .

Plight of the Eternal

Immortality, to some it is a blessing granted by those who are 'chosen' to change the world. But to those who receive its gifts, it can be considered a curse, for as long as you may live you would be forever imbued to watch your family, friends, even those you love to perish to the sands of time. For natural borns it is as Starswirl put it the achievement of all mortal life to find the door to immortality, I for one would wish to close that door if I could go back in time all those years ago. For too long a there are parts of me that cannot be fulfilled, a never ending torture that I must go on throughout time, investing my emotions and efforts into friends and relationships that do nothing but fade into the void of the timeless existence.

Although more recently it is an interesting twist to have two ascended alicorns appear within a half-millennium span I can't feel extremely jealous that those who are short lived. It's often a subject that I avoid as much as possible, especially to those who are not virtually immortal such as Twilight or Cadence but those who I can confide in are those who were gathered in meeting today. Steely was a Minotaur that I encountered during my time as a foal while my family traveled across the continent, back then it was a time of monsters and magic where seeing impossible demons and creatures of dark magic thrived.

It takes me back to touch upon such memories, almost too painful if I think hard enough. Times of war and uncertainty and times of peace and harmony, it makes me shudder sometimes thinking that someday the peace that I have instilled into my subjects may one day be shattered as a wave strikes the coast of eternity.

I am broken from my train of thought as I hear a knock upon my bedroom door, and woefully I must exit the now comfortable water; I hate personal reflection sometimes.

"Just a moment please," I state loudly to no one in particular and leave the bath using a minor form of a barrier spell to push the water from my pelt onto the floor. I could have used the power of the Sun to dry me instantly, but I still have yet to address my primary healing issues due to the isolation inside the warm bath.

Unsure of who may be at the door I take a nearby towel and expertly wrap my hair to hide the fact that it is not in its free-flowing state, I at least deserve some happiness now and then.

I open the door and stick my head outside, and I see none other than my one of my friends outside one looking a bit worse for wear than I last left him.

"Oh, good evening Steely what brings you to me this night?" I questioningly ask as the tall, hulking Minotaur stands outside my door.

"I need your help Tia," states Steelhoof who has taken the liberty to wrap a good majority of his chest and arms in bandages, quite poorly if I may add with a giggle.

"Why certainly of course," I roll my eyes allowing Steelhoof entry into my personal quarters and I turn and move back towards the washroom to return the towel around my head back to the rack as Steelhoof enters and shuts my door behind him.

I hum a small song to myself as I hear Steely do something outside the washroom much to my curiosity. Looking into the mirror I see my pink mane and for a moment I consider returning it to its tri-color pastel state, but for some reason, I opt against it tonight and walk back into my room with a brush in my magic working out the damp knots formed by the towel.

Entering back into the main room I see Steely sitting on a stool hunched over nursing his arm, and I shake my head and smile as he takes notice of my entrance back into the room.

"That's a surprise, I thought that you lost your beautiful hair a long time ago," Steelhoof states, and I pause mid-step at my friend's declaration with wide eyes.

"W-What did you say?" I shockingly say frozen with a dumbfounded expression.

"Your mane Sunny, last time I saw it was a few centuries ago, thought you got rid of it or something," says Steelhoof lacing his words with a nickname long forgotten from our childhood.

I'm completely frozen with most likely the champion of embarrassing looks, and while my brain attempts to process this amount of unexpected compliments alongside being called by my original name; the smirking laughing lunkhead that is Steelhoof begins a hearty laugh to the point pain; I close my eyes with my face still on fire as I recover from overload. With an aggressive tug of my magic, I completely burn away Steelhoof's horrible display of medical knowledge much to his surprise.

"I presume that you need some help with your injuries then?" I ask venomously starting to prepare spells to mend my friend's wounds sustained in our skirmish earlier this morning.

"Yeah since you screwed me thoroughly earlier today I thought I'd make you at least rub my shoulders a bit ya' know," Steely says with a smirk as I give him quite the death stare unaware that my room door has opened.

"Well Mister," I state applying a mending spell to his chest area, "I wouldn't have bucked you so hard in the face if you didn't grab the base of my tail so hard which was quite rude by the way," I finish.

"Rude? if you wanna talk about rough take a good look in the mirror, it was my first time in a long while so you could have been a bit more gentle on my face you know," Steelhoof quips rubbing his face, and I puff my cheeks in frustration as I continue to heal the Minotaur.

As I'm healing the Chieftan, I see him staring at behind me with a vacant stare; I pause my healing slightly to crane my head wards the door at the now 'hoof over mouth' face of my niece Cadence with a basket with some sandwiches sticking out of it.

"Hi, Aunty. .I-Ill just come back later after I visit Lord Talon," she retreats slowly behind the door with a click of the lock, and internally I sigh with a hoof to my face.

After healing Steely adequately, I slump slightly becoming quite tired expending much of my energy with his mending, with a stretch Steelhoof give a nod of thanks and before I have a chance to react he grips me in a hug pressing my barrel and ribs painfully. With a squeak of pain he stops quickly and gives me a worried glare, and I look sheepishly at him knowing full too well the scolding I'm about to get.

"Tia, are you trying to punish yourself again?" asks Steelhoof with a serious face holding both my shoulders with his firm hands I make every attempt not to meet his gaze, but slowly I look up and meet his burning eyes and feel my begin to water.

"N-No! I was about to tend to my wounds, and you came while I was washing. .I had full intentions to heal myself, this time, I promise Steely," I plead my case to the concerned Minotaur who looks unconvinced.

"Celestia, you know this is not healthy we talked about it, it's why I forbade you from participating in duals some time ago when I discovered you tried to fight me with near fatal injuries, tis not healthy," Steelhoof states coldly, and I attempt to come up with an excuse for my past transgressions some decades ago.

Lulu's banishment was hard on me, if you had asked me a week before the battle of two armies I would have had you locked away for suggesting that I would fight my sister in a duel to the death. But it's regrettably something that did happen and something that I was blind to; my sister felt scorned and hated by her ponies, and I did nothing to stop it I still wish it was just a dream.

I'd never had imagined the scale of conflict that occurred in such little time, tens of thousands of lives gone within a single battle. History writes it as a corruption that overtook my sister, but in reality is was the lack of love and care for my one and only sibling from not only my subjects but of her one and only sister. Even through my battles with Discord the God of Chaos and the tyrant King Sombra Rex none of my subjects were harmed in those battles, the Nightmare's conflict was borderline total war.

Suddenly I felt gravity shift as I was lifted gently into the air by Steelhoof and my attempts and protests were silenced when he carried me over towards my rooms bed and laid me softly on the bed's covers.

I thought about the seriousness of his accusation as for weeks after I banished my sister into her moon, I did not sleep, eat or even leave my quarters or even fulfill my duty to raise and lower the sun. Eventually, the nobility reached out to Steelhoof who was already in route to my castle in the Everfree seeing the strange patterns in the day and night cycle.

When Steelhoof arrived, it was already pretty bad, at first I flat out refused him and even when he was at my door I barred it with every single piece of furniture inside my room. At that point of time, I hadn't seen Steelhoof in a long time since he went to warrior training and I went to Starswirls leadership tutelage with Luna. For days he sat outside my door as my depression overtook my mind, asking every day if I was ready to see him and each and every time I replied with a 'No.'

Eventually, Steelhoof had had enough and with a shower of splinters my door was opened and to a more surprised Steelhoof than myself I was in an awful disheveled state. My mane was clumpy with knots, and I had tracks of tears on my face with my only defense between me, and the intruder was a pillow and a bed cover, which the pillow was thrown at Steely post haste.

Despite my futile efforts of assault pillows, Steelhoof got my life back in order; he woke me every day at five to raise the sun and forced me to sleep at eight to lower it, oddly enough even without my sister the moon retained its proper cycle. Over time Steelhoof became less and less involved in my day to day affairs, but something that he introduced to vent my frustrations and anger were predetermined sparring matches with him which eventually got so big that we moved them to a nearby mountain.

But something that was supposed to aid in my recovery soon became another source of my pain as after each and every fight I started to reduce the amount of healing I gave myself. Eventually, it became so bad that I couldn't walk, and Steelhoof caught on and ended our sparring sessions and hired six different physicians to heal me without my consent one of them being Starswirl himself even in his old age.

Weeks passed, then years, eventually decades as Steelhoof became less involved in my life. But before he completely disappeared he told me one solitary thing that brought me from the brink of my downward spiral 'Be better, my friend once inspired me to strive for great things, but I haven't seen her for a long time maybe one day we'll see if she returns.'

After that the rest is history, my mask fabricated and my emotions withheld in a secure lockbox. I decided on a visual trigger and with a firm grasp in understanding my connection with the Sun I turned my hair into its flowing pastel form for the first time and Princess Celestia the calm was born.

For many years I did not see Steelhoof as my moniker Tia, but the new Celestia made a new friend, the noble and chivalrous High Lord Blood Talon, and as a political powerhouse I continued the charade for quite some time with a few scuffles between Steelhoof now and then my emotional state was quite well.

"Tia your daydreaming again," Steelhoof reminds me of my situation at hand. which he now sits on the same stool from before repositioned towards the edge of the bed that I rest upon.

"I'm sorry Steely," I pause, " I did not mean to ignore you, and thank you for your concern, but there is nothing to worry about," I finish with the same bravado that Celestia would with any personal questions.

"Stop that, I am not a subject I am your friend and this friend will be making sure that you heal yourself before you retire this evening otherwise it will be a very long night," states Steelhoof with a firm expression and body language.

With the feeling that he will not leave until I have treated myself I attempt to start the process of healing myself but with every attempt, I cannot summon the strength to start the spells as most of my power had been used for Steely's mending. As I turn to Steelhoof, I open my mouth but am hastily interrupted with a light pink flash as the basket of sandwiches my Niece was carrying winks into existence on my nearby nightstand.

With a glance at the basket I see a pink card is placed in the center and I pick it up to read the parchment, and the loopy calligraphy of my Niece is neatly written on the card:

Hey Auntie,

Sorry to have interrupted your. .personal space but I wanted to bring you sandwiches as you did not join us for dinner this evening. I forgot to drop off these sandwiches in case you were hungry, but I did not know you would be having company, good luck and always remember the walls are soundproofed.

Love Cadence

I exhale with a hoof to my face, and I look towards Steelhoof who has already taken it upon himself to pick a sandwich from the basket and begin his snacking.

"What's on the card?" Steelhoof asks with a half-full mouth of bread and hay sandwich offering me another of the treats from the basket in his offhand.

"Nothing in particular, Cadence just missed me at dinner is all and was curious to see if I was hungry," I curtly reply taking the offered sandwich, a kale and tomato filled snack with some cheese for good measure.

"I hope she does not get the wrong idea; I already have enough rumors that I have multiple wives across Labrynthia and that alone is a nightmare to squash," Steelhoof states absentmindedly finishing his snack and reaching for another.

"Oh?" I say with mild shock and laced with sarcasm, "-and here I thought you were always one of the herd mentality, my female subjects will be quite disappointed in that bit of news," I quip with a raised eyebrow with a neutral expression from Steely.

"Please Tia you wound me, I have never been bedded before in my life and don't plan on it until I find the right prospect" he states knowingly much to my surprise as he chews another bit of sandwich.

"N-Never?!" I exclaim almost too brashly to his curiosity filled expression, "I find it hard to believe that a warrior such as yourself would easily find a companion," I finish questioningly as the squinting Minotaur eyes me retrospectively.

"Nope," he pauses, "Although I did have one potential possibility however she decided to lock herself away to where no one could reach her, an entirely unfortunate turn of events," he states dismissively with another bite of his sandwich.

My heart flutters slightly contemplating if my once good friend had intentions of furthering our relationship, but I assume that the world does not revolve around me and continue to eat my sandwich as I chew both nourishment and thoughts. My mind betraying my heart I thought of the pros and cons as much a leader would look deciding what was best for their people.

Taurus Steelhoof was unquestioningly strong, probably one of the most physically tough creatures I've encountered other than Dragon King Torch. A being of action rather than words if I had to put a title to the Minotaur it would most likely be 'The Silent Hero' as he performs many acts without unnecessary words. Its quite romantic to think about it, a silent broody hero who saves ponies, almost poetic. But Steelhoof never actually saw himself as a hero as his rule had been questioned by many but received too few answers for the curious.

Once I recall Steelhoof personally assaulting a stronghold of Naga, a powerful serpentlike creature who primarily feasted upon the young of many a species. Although not an issue for ponies with a majority of them residing near Labrynthia, Steelhoof's area of influence, they became quite the night terror. Eventually, I was told that he had enough and set forth towards the Naga nest.

Two days later Steelhoof returned with many of the missing children and unfortunately for some grave news of their young's terrible demise. One by one he delivered children to their homes or passed along the news to others but dutifully he carried his task with conviction. While some were grateful, others arose who were not saying that the Minotaur did not do enough and scorned him for extended periods of time, regardless he ignored their hecklings and continued his path as the Chieftain of his kingdom.

"If your done getting your fill can you try healing yourself," Steelhoof says while prodding my still sensitive ribs as I give him a scorned look. I focus on my chest area and apply the same mending spell that I performed on him with a slower effect as quite honestly I didn't feel any need to be alone for tonight.

With the sound of nothing but the hum of my magic and the soft chewing of sandwiches I dive back into my thoughts about the Chieftain when there was a loud knock at my bedroom door.

"Don't move, I'll get it," says the stern voice of Steelhoof. As he approaches and opens the door, I lean a bit trying to see past his broad form who might be at the door when it becomes apparent that my new guest might be unwanted as Steelhoof attempts to force the door closed with struggles from whoever is on the opposite side.

"Steely who is at my door?" I question with a stern voice. Steelhoof was looking back at me on the bed and then returning his gaze towards the entrance suddenly lets go of his grip on the door which suddenly flies inward with a surprised Gryphon making entry and faceplanting hard on the floor.

"I loathe you," quips a floor-bound Talon, holding a solitary claw pointed at Steelhoof his face still firmly planted into the floor. With a roll of his eyes and a snort from the Minotaur he returns towards his stool and reaches under the basket and draws out a newspaper that I didn't notice was there.

With a giggle, I continue to mend my wounds as Talon situates himself and as he sits there the silent hum of my magic and an occasional page turn from a non-attentive Minotaur is the only sounds that permeate the room for a while. With a pause in my healing I open a cupboard with a momentarily stern look from Steelhoof, he watches me draw out a set of cups and a teapot. With some effort, I gradually begin pulling water from the surrounding air into the pot and start the process of making some warm tea, with a few pre-infused packets from a nearby dry cupboard. Convinced I am not doing anything heinous Steelhoof returns to his paper as Talon drags another nearby stool and sits on my left side opposite to Steelhoof.

With a few side glances, while I continue to prepare some refreshments, I can feel the tension in the room grow as the colossal forces of Steelhoof and Talon face off. Trying to alleviate the pressure I take another nearby sandwich and pass it to Talon who silently accepts it not moving his gaze from his opponent across the room. Although I can obviously see what is occurring here, I hopefully pray that what I'm suspecting is not going to occur as I don't think my heart could take it, but the actual mastermind behind this is my niece Cadence which will receive a scolding much later.

With the tea finished and heated properly I pass a few saucers and one enlarged cup towards my guests. Each accepting their offered refreshment with a nod from Steely and a 'Thanks' from Sangre. With peaceful offerings made I hope I can diffuse the situation that my mischevious Niece has most likely setup.

"So Sangre, what brings you by this evening?" I query with a peaceful expression and a sip of tea returning the progress on mending my injuries.

"Well, I came to apologize first for my actions with you outside, my other goal was to check if you are recovering well from this. .brute's actions," Talon states and with an internal sigh, I look towards Steely who is continuing to read his paper but with enough skill you can see the hint of a frown beginning to form.

Reflecting on my time spent with Talon was quite the pleasant one, always being treated well was a big bonus and with a keen mind and a big heart were many of the warlord's positive traits but with good always comes bad as nopony is perfect.

I was under the constant assault of the Gryphons affections, although they were appreciated numerous times as even myself could not be flustered at being called beautiful time to time. Talon had a cultural difference to mine, and that was that Gryphon females were more or less wed in service to their husbands rather than life long companions.

Leading to a series of serious discussions with Talon as he reassured me that his pursuits were not intended for that nature, but in the back of my mind I couldn't help but believe that it could be possible. Although our friendship was never changed and our countries status's never deteriorated based on the personal reasons, he none the less pursued me occasionally.

Although the idea of interspecies relationships do not bother me as I promote a diverse, healthy culture, there are some within my nobility that if I did pursue such endeavors it could lead to disharmony among my subjects, and that is something that I absolutely could not tolerate. Seeing the Gryphon expecting a response I quickly form a reply to not cause duress.

"Well that is very kind of you as you are forgiven, as you can see I am quite well; and Chief Steelhoof is not a brute I'll remind you he is a respected and fellow leader of a nation as we all are," I say with a firm notion hoping that he understands such offhanded comments will not be tolerated with me.

"I apologize," starts Talon, "However I still find it quite unbecoming for a leader to attempt to destroy a messenger for no particular reason," he finishes with a sip of tea and with another internal facehoof I hear the paper to my right fold unceremoniously.

"No particular reason?" a slightly irritated Steelhoof states, "If you only knew what that 'messenger' as you say had done you would be as furious as I am." Steelhoof declares as he attempts to burn a hole through Talons head with his gaze.

"What, that she was trying to show us a staff? Cause that's relatively petty even for a beast like you-" before Sangre could finish I suddenly stop a mighty fist with my magic attempting to punch the Gryphon through the palace wall.

"Enough boys, since you are very much unaware of what that staff symbolizes and before Steelhoof here redecorates my lovely room I will tell you why it is a personal nature," I declare knowingly releasing the offending fist and giving the offender a stern glare, I return towards Talon continuing my mending.

"The Staff is the Scepter of the Dragon King Torch; it is the symbol of his authority as the King of Beasts and Creatures," I knowingly state; "-what's so important about it is that it is also the source of his power and without it the ever ancient King Torch has not only given his charge to a new successor but has also chosen to give up his Immortality," finishing my statement I feel a somber emotion as I reflect on all the advice and lessons I have received from the Dragon through all my years.

"Wait, you're telling me Dragon King Torch, a fellow immortal has chosen to give up his charge? I thought that was impossible. Isn't he a bearer of Prime Magic?" questions Talon with a head tilt.

"Although King Torch was a bearer of Prime magic his was special due to his connection with nature and more specifically to the planet," I gesture towards Steelhoof who nods solemnly with a face reflecting the graveness of the situation.

"As Chieftain Steelhoof is in charge of the mantle and surface of the planet, and his Zebra Shaman who controls the trees and plants, King Torch was in charge of the mythical beasts and creatures that inhabit them; without the vast knowledge he possessed it will be very hard to maintain the balance of the physical realm for quite some time," I answer Talons question to the best of my knowledge and return towards my healing which is progressing quite nicely.

"I can see why one would be so upset but If King Torch did pass on his charge don't you think it would be in good claws if he passed it on willingly? My position still stands on the unnecessary violence overall," he critically asks looking towards Steelhoof for an answer.

"The Charge of Creatures must be passed through triumph and conflict, as nature is a delicate balance of survival of the fittest the same must occur when chosen-," Steelhoof recites the quote from Starswirl's work on the primal magics.

"-however that may be," he pauses with a stern expression, "at the time of his ascendancy, Torch was one of the few Apex predators of the world that could represent the balance unless he found a way to circumvent the process the magic is now masterless which could spell danger for everyone," Steelhoof finishes stating the open-ended issue that could affect all nations across the world.

Reflecting on Steely's keen knowledge, this could bode dangerous for the physical realm, predators without limits or monsters what have no boundaries would be able to hunt or feast without limitations. If it even progresses as far as total anarchy, deadly creatures from the Everfree could move towards populated areas and extend their hunting grounds resulting in possible loss of life.

"Either way, a successor must be found for his title or if one has already been chosen he or she must be aware of their charge and must accept its role in the balance," I continue the conversation with finality as both Talon and Steelhoof individually take their time reflecting on the matter at hand.

As the silence continues through the room with the sound of tea consumed and the hum of my magic finally finishing my chest, I move my efforts towards my sprained hoof and other minor injuries. Even in the silence, my own thoughts betray me as I reflect on my own time with King Torch, although relatively small in comparison to Steely once or twice I did come in contact with the enigmatic King of Beasts.

The Gift of Life (A century after Luna's banishment)

The first was during my early years without my sister; I was requested through Steelhoof that my presence was required by the King and that denial was not in my best interests. Regardless I made my journey to the fiery plains of Draconia home of the Dragon Lords and Dames, and as I approached the kingdom, I was greeted by a messenger who was an envoy of the King who granted me unmolested access to his nation.

Passing through the grand valleys and rivers of molten earth, I was given the opportunity to witness the fabled ferocity of dragonkin in all its splendor. I saw territorial battles, flocks of dragon hunting parties bringing in their kills for consumption, much to my distaste; it was a land primal and untouched by the conventions of modern decency. Although the brutal nature of the dragonkin was evident something that I am thankful for is that through reserved observation no sentient creatures were being brought for feasting a small glimmer of hope in an otherwise. .disturbing display.

As my guide brought me to the lone mountain in the center of the valley, I see with more observation that It was a large entrance to a cave system to where none other Dragon King Torch would most likely reside as the center of his kind. My guide and I entering the cavern undeterred; I started to see the curious gazes of many lesser drakes and dragonkin, as my guide continued through the mass of reptilian strength, I followed close behind as I was in fear of being snacked upon out of misunderstanding. Some may call it racially profiling; I would prefer to call it being in the air of caution.

Eventually, I was ushered into the Dragon Kings lair, and oh boy, his title did not misrepresent his status as all as for the first time in my life I felt quite insignificant in size much to my shock. If the term Apex predator had any image, it would surely have a picture of King Torch without question. As I now sit fearing that I might pass out from my hearts rapidly beating attempts ordering me to flee, I feel the burning stare of King Torch gazes upon my small form, and as I meet his eyes his round pupils focus into slits which I now believe stare into my very soul but as a leader of Equestria I must make a good impression.

"Dragon King Torch," I exclaim loudly hoping my voice can reach the giant dragon's ears, "I am Princess Celestia of Equestria and I come on behalf of your summons and my nation's honor, how may we be of assistance?" I ask questioningly with a courteous bow in respect of another country's leader.

The cavern goes silent as the other dragonkin now focuses on the tiny white interloper who has entered their Kings lair. Holding my bow the sound of the horde of gold and treasure begins shuffling beneath the massive King and he sits upright from what I thought was his natural position, oh how very wrong I was. The Dragon King now seated at full height his glory on full display, his crest almost touching the roof of the massive cavern. As he moves into a more comfortable position, I take a look at his form, scales glistening azure with dark patches mixed in between. His spines and webbing for his wings colored a bright hyacinth along with his fierce glowing amber eyes, but his most fearsome features being his thick inverse horns that run along his jawline with a grin of bladed horrors for teeth, did I ever mention that giant dragons make me uncomfortable?

"Rise Princess Celestia, you're actions of respect are noted and appreciated, and it shall no longer be required of you in my presence," The deafening boom his deep voice echoing around the deep cavern walls. "I also appreciate your timely arrival in a matter most personal to me as I understand the nature of your solitary rule within your kingdom you have my condolences," finishes Torch with a toothy smile and a -less terrifying- soft expression.

"Thank you for your generous hospitality as nopony that I am aware of has ever been granted passage into these lands," I rise returning a nod and with an act of faith I took to the air and plant myself on a large flat rock closer to the height of his head.

"And for good reason I am afraid," he pauses with a side glance to the other dragons in his chamber, "I have no rules within these borders of what prey is allowed and not allowed to be hunted. However, I do make special considerations for those who accidentally trespass within unaware of the danger." Torch finishes with a broad gesture almost as if reaffirming an ordnance that might have been forgotten.

I take a seat on the warm flat stone, my pelt already starting to sweat with the amount of heat inside the cavern. None the less I attempt to make do with the situation given, and with a smile, I await for the reason I was summoned for.

"As for the reason I bring you here, I must take it to personal quarters after my arrangements for the day. For now, you have free reign to do as you wish within reason, and I will call you during evening meal so we may discuss my request," Torch states returning to his lower rested form which I follow gliding back towards the ground.

"Sorry, " he says, "Not used to having smaller creatures in my courtroom I'll try to be better next time," Torch promises as I giggle softly at his plight for being a larger individual.

"No worries King Torch, It is no trouble to me, and I look forward to exploring your kingdom while you finish your duties, But if I might make a small personal request for dinner?" I ask with a pleading look and with a raised eyebrow and a claw under his chin, Torch answers my request sensing my possible issue with cuisine.

"I am well aware of the 'needs' of equine nutrition Princess Celestia, and I have asked my sea drakes to prepare a meal of seaweed and fresh wheat and oats from our kin to the west if that shall meet your request," he proclaims much to my approval.

"Thank you, your Majesty, I look forward to having dinner with you tonight," I state with a smile as I start to trot outside the oppressive heated cavern.

"And I look forward to having you for dinner," Torch responds, and I reel my head towards the Dragon King with a worried expression and an eyebrow my windswept mane the only thing moving in the cavern.

"Just Kidding," he smiles, a sharp toothy grin.

It's a few hours since my meeting with Torch and I've taken a very leisurely flight around the valley, and for a show of good faith, I performed the Summer Sun celebration ritual for a crowd of dragons. To Which received a various amount of emotions, some claimed a pony trick while some attempted to worship the ground, which I shot down quite promptly as I didn't want another cult started due to my power to raise the sun and moon.

I return to Torch's cavern to which I'm greeted by the same drake that met me earlier. Shortly I'm guided to a hall with a large stone table made with polished obsidian at one end sits King Torch, and another chair has been placed across from him which I approach and take a seat promptly.

"Enjoy your time amongst my kin Princess? he asks as I settle for comfort in the rather hard granite chair and with a few adjustments I finally find some comfort.

"I did your kind are most intriguing and hopefully one day I could send some scholars up here to study and archive your traditions," I gleefully state hoping to make some headway towards open borders.

"Like I said before, I won't stop you from allowing your kind across borders, but if they do, their lives could be forfeit as I do not control what is put on the table so to speak," he coldly reminds me and I make a mental note to make an edict once I travel home on the dangers of entering Draconia.

A pair of similarly colored drakes enter the room with serving trays and skillfully place a stone plate of grilled seaweed and assorted hay stalks with a bowl of oats in front of me. For my host, they carted in a large container filled with an assortment of expertly-cut gemstones. However, I believe that if I was more of the carnivore variety he might be dining on a roast pig. .or something.

We eat our meals in relative silence, after a time we both finish and I rest my hooves under my chin and watch the King with a critical gaze as we drew closer to the announcement of his request, I can see for the first time on his strong face a hint of worry.

"King Torch, although we are meeting me for the first time please be at ease I'm sure the reason you have summoned me is something I can help you with," I say eyeing the elder dragon.

"Princess, it is not doubt in your power that I have its the nature of how personal the request is that I fear you may outright deny," says Torch lifting a goblet of ale and taking a chug of the liquid courage while I tilt my head in confusion. "I need your assistance as the bearer of the Sun, and the caretaker of life, as my situation is of personal sadness and regret. I feel I cannot say that I have tried everything unless I've asked you to aid me in my plight," he finishes with a somber tone, and something catches me by so much surprise that I'm stunned.

The King of Dragon's begins crying, not just sniffles, tears and all its glory. I move from my seat with a flap of my wings and approach the dragon and with a comforting nuzzle around his chin I can feel the wetness of his tears dampen my pelt. In my mind's eye I imagine dragons tough as nails, never moving, never retreating showing no fear towards the world. And yet here is the opposite, an apex predator displaying emotion just as any other individual would it certainly brings sympathy to my heart.

"Torch, I can see that your plight is dire, if it is within my power I will try my best," I reassure the King with a brush of my primaries across his scales. With a single amber eye focused on me, the King looks deep in thought and before he has a chance to back out I offer a gentle smile.

"Even if it involves bearing the responsibility of my children?" he questions and for a real moment, I pause thinking I misheard him. And as he stares at me my face begins to redden deeply, and I feel a strange feeling in my barrel as my heart speeds up in rhythm.

"W-Well. . . I-I mean that certainly is a bold request, flattering even. .but I'm not so sure how we could. .um," I stammer the fire now very much apparent across my alabaster face, and my wings fully displayed in a very undignified manner rubbing my front hooves together.

"What?..NO! I don't mean like that!" Exclaims a now blushing dragon with a shocked expression, "My mate has already laid the eggs but. .since her disappearance I am unable to hatch said eggs due to our specific nature," says Torch and I slightly recompose myself and return my focus to him.

"Our kind is long-lived much as you are, but our long life comes from a unique form of equilibrium, it is true that dragonesses can lay many eggs; however, to hatch an egg comes at a significant cost to either parent which is why there are so few dragons in Equestria," Torch informatively states taking a small pause to catch his breath.

"For a dragon egg to be hatched a parent must donate something which they cannot touch, in essence, dragons are two souls, one part of the parents and one of their own this is why our society revolves on mated pairs. Each dragon pair can only give two children to the world so the parents must choose wisely on which egg to donate, and thus begins my plight to my misfortune as my mate went missing over a decade ago." Finishes Torch and I fully understand his situation and take a seat near the dragon.

For a moment I contemplate on what he is asking, and it's something I definitely wouldn't have thought of this outcome at all. This decision would not be something to decide lightly, and it is something that even I'm unsure that I would be willing to give or even could give what he's asking so being the only sensible thing to do I decide to get some more information.

"Torch," I pause for a moment as his eyes meet mine, "I am truly appreciative of your decision to contact me over this matter, honored even to be considered, but I need to know a few things before I come to a decision would that be acceptable?" I ask with a smile and the King nods with a sincere nod; I trot back to my seat finding that perfect comfy spot, and I begin my line of questioning.

"How many unhatched eggs are there?" I ask neutrally.

"Two." he holds up accompanying digits.

"Have you already contributed your. .part?" I flush a bit

"Yes."

"How long til the hatchling hatches?"

"With a steady flow of magic and affection, half a millennia?"

Why did your mate disappear?

"I still do not know, but she started hearing whispers she told me in confidence."

"Whispers of what?"

"A tormented soul, screaming within her dreams."

"Was your mate a oneiromancer?"

"Not powerful but yes, she was a reader and interpreter of dreams in her own regard."

"When she left, did she say anything?"

"No, she was simply gone by sunrise."

"Am I a beautiful mare?"

I supp-..wait WHAT!?

"Just kidding," I giggle at the stern stare of Torch unbemused by my antics. "But in all seriousness, this isn't an easy thing for me to decide," I state with a somber tone.

It goes quiet for some time and with a few moments to contemplate over some of the answers provided I close my eyes in thought. In essence, I am being asked to be a surrogate mother for these hatchlings. Personally, I think that I am not ready for such an endeavor of being a mother. The idea has crossed my mind once or twice as I am surrounded by very attractive guards within my palace walls; not to include some old crushes who still have a large part in my heart.

"Torch I am unfamiliar with this kind of magic, could you please enlighten me a bit more possibly?" I ask unsure of the repercussions of giving something quite sacred in my book.

"The magic is something that only those of long lives can give. Although there have been variations the magic must remain the same two parts making a whole life," Torch informs with a snap of his claws another of the light colored twins brings a book and sets it in front of me opening the tome to a chapter regarding soul magic.

I read the offered book and notice it is more of a picture book outlining the process pictures of two dragons imbuing a part of a vague force into egg-shaped objects. Looking at the next illustration, I see that the eggs have hatched, and two baby dragons are now holding their parents.

"Although the process requires two separate dragons, there have been cases where long-lived creatures such as the hippocampi have successfully hatched newborns with sea drakes, increasing their numbers quite substantially over the past few decades." Torch says knowingly.

"Wait, you're saying sea ponies exist?" I question doubtfully ask the dragon with a raised eyebrow.

"Surprising to some, but yes the hippocampi or 'sea ponies' do exist although quite reclusively near the bottom of the ocean far from the reaches of any shore. There are a few cases or curious younglings who venture towards the beaches, but the distance between those events lies in centuries at most." With an inhale the King continues.

"The magic will also take the shape of the soul in general, so if female shares her soul the hatchling will be female and visa versa. But if you should choose to aid me; know that a part of you will be in that hatchling, she will gain similar personalities, traits and even partial fragments of memories it is a very personal experience." Torch finishes done with his exposition.

I consider the dragon's words and my biggest roadblock remains, am I ready to be a mother in essence? How would I even raise a child that shares similar traits to my own personality, it could become quite stressful if she would even share my memories of my sister's banishment and the pain I felt in doing so. After a minute or so I decide to make a decision based on the expectant stare of Torch and I exhale deeply and close my eyes, with a slow inhale I make my offer towards the Dragon King.

"King Torch, after consideration to your plight I understand why you have asked me to come, I sympathize with your particular issue and with some consideration I Princess Celestia am willing to undertake such a task," I pause with a deep smile from Torch. "However, this is something that must have conditions if I am to offer support as it is my life that you are asking me to give willingly for another. If I am to understand correctly that if I share my life with this hatchling, it will become she and will partake in certain traits that mirror my own, correct?" I ask Toch who is listening intently.

"Yes, the hatchling will be female, and she will mirror traits of some but not all. I am uncertain which she would take as the choice is random, some hatchlings take kinder qualities while I have seen some take darker features of their donor. It is simply live and let be I am afraid and cannot fathom what would be chosen as I do not personally know you too well other than the most blessed praises from Chieftan Steelhoof." Torch states with a reassuring gaze as I feel a flush appear on my face and I continue my amends to his request.

"Since that is the case, my first request is a swap of sorts," I pause much to the confusion of Torch, " If I am willing to do this I would want to raise the egg that you have inbuned, and you would nurture mine," I state plainly, and I can see the expression darken on the King's face and I hold up a hoof.

"The reason for this is simply because I do not feel qualified to raise a youngling that would closely represent me. Instead, I propose a medium of balance, In your care, you will take my daughter in essence and raise her in Draconia while I take your son and raise him in Equestria. The reasoning for this is that if I'm going to invest something as personal as you have suggested I want to learn something in return such as raising a Drake." I finish with a firm tone as I gaze to Torch who looks infuriated at the suggestion with smoke filling the air with every exhale of his heated breath.

"You're telling me, that I have to give up my son to be raised in a land of ponies, and I would take your daughter and raise her in the land of dragons." Torch reaffirms through gritted teeth.

"Yes, you are correct, would this be an issue?" I ask as the King across the table begins to past the cave in small circles, and I hope that I have not offended Torch.

"This is difficult, not because I have to give up my SON, but because it is unheard of in dragon culture. Our kind raises their children according to gender, dragonesses with dragonesses and drake’s with drake's; Personally, I want to outright deny this request-," Torch stops pacing the hall and looks towards a room and exhales. "-however, it would pain me to allow that train of thought if I am not willing to change for the sake of two lives. Your request does bother me, do not make that mistake, but for the sake of my missing mate's hatchlings and that this is the only way I can save both of them I will persevere." The dragon strains to say, and I hear the frustration in his voice.

"I promise that I will raise your son with love and care Torch," I take leave from my seat and approach the sitting dragon, and I tentatively place a hoof on his claw.

"I have no doubts that you will, I just have personal doubts that my son will become estranged from his own kind." He gazes down upon me his amber eyes focusing on me.

"He will never be estranged, my ponies promote harmony and unity I will do everything in my power to ensure his happiness, and when he is ready, he can come see you at any time," I reassure Torch, and he looks up starting at an unknown object across the room.

"I hope so Celestia, I hope so."

I sit in my bed between the Minotaur and the Gryphon; I recall the ceremony that I performed on the Dragon Kings egg laid by his mate and the only thing I can actively remember is the pain, the nearly insufferable pain of something sacred being torn from my body to give life to another creature. Shortly after I took Torch's hatchling back with me to Equestria while I left my hatchling with Torch, he explained the needs of the hatchling while it gestated into a young Drake requiring a large portion of magic daily to sustain its growth. Although it would be very taxing to perform this transfer, it could be done with a longer hatching time compared to the hatchling I left with King Torch.

Spike, the name of the hatchling I named and took care of was prematurely hatched by none other than my personal student turned alicorn Twilight Sparkle. Through a mix up on my part, the eggs commonly used for magical testing which is no more than chicken eggs was accidentally mixed by a new staff member as a 'special egg' due to its unusual texture and shape. I went looking for the egg myself when its location became aware to me by means of a large reptilian head being forced through a nearby school tower. After I investigated the incident, I was made aware that a young Twilight was the cause of accidentally pouring so much magic into the egg causing it to hatch prematurely. For the first year, I took care of Spike and made sure he was healthy and well cared for, eventually I left the care of responsibility to my student who took great interest in Spike but something that I could not shake was the feeling that something was off or unseen by me. Not something menacing but something that I could not identify between the two but I pushed it more to the lines of unbiased suspicion. Eventually, Spike journeyed through many adventures with his caretaker and in my opinion, mother, in a sense he has grown into a fine drake that we all can be proud of.

With a final wave of magic I finish my healing and for the first time take a huge stretch on my bed which Steely and Sangre both look at me quizzically and I smile softly with my eyes closed.

"You finished there Tia?" asks Steelhoof looking upon my relaxed form I nod with an 'mhm' of approval. "Good It's getting late and I would like to go to sleep sometime tonight," Steelhoof stands from his stool and Talon sensing that I would ask him to leave attempts to make his way to the door as well.

As they reach the door and Steelhoof attempts to open the door suddenly finds the door being held by a golden glow, and he turns his head towards me with an eyebrow raised. Before he can ask a question I snag both the confused Minotaur and a very alarmed Gryphon and effortlessly drop them on my bed much to the angry looks i'm getting from one and the flushed face of another.

"Tia what's the meaning of this, I have shit to do," says Steelhoof unamused by my action.

"U-um a-actually i do. .have some paperwork to do Celestia," A furiously flushing Gryphon asks.

"That's a shame, and here I was hoping to have a sleepover with my two best boys," I quip to them with my eyes closed and snuggled between both leaders.

"Tia, no. I'm not doing this-" Steelhoof starts to argue, and I place a hoof over his muzzle silencing him. "Steely, Sangre, for tonight I want my two best friends to be with me Don't ask why, nothing's going to happen I just don't want to be alone please," I pout with a pleading glare towards Steely who exhales and crosses his arms with a grumble of "Fine.". I turn to Sangre still flushed and look for an answer and he silently nods not sure of what in the world's happening.

I make room and make myself more comfortable between the two and with a flick of magic I turn down the crystal lamps in the room and grab a blanket from the chest at the foot of the bed and cover us all.

But before I fall asleep. . .

Outside Princess Celestia's Door. . .

"Cadence I don't think this is a good idea," States Shining Armor clearly annoyed by his wife's antics and trying forcibly to matchmake Princess Celestia between the High Lord and the Chieftain.

"Oh hush honey, my ships are never wrong; I mean look at us I matched us up-. ." States Cadence who is not gazing at a deadpan Shining armor, "Never mind that, I just want to check and see if-" and before cadence can open the door there was a bright flash of golden light and two very weak and confused ponies.

"What the hay was that?!," exclaims the very glassy non masculine voice of Shining Armor attempting to recovery from his strange dizziness.

"I'm not sure honey I but I feel weird for some reason," states the rough voice of Cadence gaining some baritone.

"Babe what's wrong with your. ." Shining starts but is quickly interrupted by a possible trick on his eyes. Sitting before shining armor is a more masculine version of his wife, if he would have guessed he could honestly assume Cadence was a Stallion. With a quick glance down out of curiosity low and behold she was also equipped with the correct parts as well.

"Honey what's wrong?" Cadence asks and turns to her husband who has lost most of his muscle mass and looks to be about a third smaller than he usually looks now sees the same color tones and cutie marks as her husband but is now more feminine in appearance.

As the couple looks towards each other, they look down and see that they have changed streets so to speak and when they meet each other's gaze Shining Armor takes a unamused look and scolds his wife.

"See, I knew something like this would happen, why on EQUIS do I ever listen to you," Shining scolds crossing his hooves and staring at Cadence.

Cadence on the other hand takes a look down at herself and looks at Shining with a slow gaze and suddenly grins manically.

"Honey, what are you. .NO DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT YOU PERVERT!!!" Shining exclaims with panic across his face and a look of hunger on his partners face.

"Oh~Shining~. . . ." Cadence singsongs her partner's name with a half-lidded stare starts to walk towards Shining Armor who now is attempting to backpedal across the crystal floor ~~his~~ her hooves not making any traction whatsoever.

With a quick effort, Shining turns and takes off away from his ~~wife~~ husband and with a giggle and a laugh Cadence chases ~~her~~ his conquest down the hall as Shining throws nearby tables and objects to block her his path.

As the two royals fee down the halls, one in panic and one in glee two nearby crystal guards stare at the upturned hallway and the fleeing couple and then look at each other.

"That's it, no more cider before the shift, cause I start seeing some weird shit that I DEFINITELY do not get paid enough for," states the Sergeant with a nod from his associate.

A Meeting Reconvened

I wake up feeling very warm and cozy in my bed, to my right I hear the loud snores of Steely, and to my left the chirping exhales of Sangre who have decided to accept my offer and stay the night with me. It's a strange sensation, personally I have never had another share my bed except for my sister both before and after her return. I look towards each of my friends and feel content that I truly am lucky to have such good friends, and If I were honest with myself there was no way I could choose between either of them. With a feeling of tiredness I reach out towards the sun and according to its position relative to my own I sense it's about five thirty in the morning, and like a foal trying to prolong school I close my eyes and mentally say ‘five more minutes’. As I attempt to rest my eyes closed when all of a sudden I feel a tugging from the familiar magic of Luna who is more than likely tired and wanting to go to sleep and with an exhale I tug back across the connection and take control of my sun and nudge it over the horizon allowing Lulu some rest.

A side effect of taking control of the celestial bodies is that my mane would return to its pastel flowing state and still in the grips of waking up I forgot that I had guests in my bed and my mane waved over Steely’s muzzle and before I could react an explosive sneeze decided to shock the avian to my left into an alarmed state with a squawk and with a giggle from me as each leader decided to wake up in their own fashion. After everyone moved from the bed to their morning rituals I took a brush from the desk and started to brush my mane, although its free flowing if not brushed it still gets tangled. I few moments later with the morning tangles sorted I feel a large presence behind me and I fold my ears back as the massive form of I presume Steelhoof behind me and I turn my head to see him gazing down at me.

“Um, Yes?” I slightly question with a tilt of my head as Steely takes a moment to place a stool directly behind me.

“Turn around and face forward; oh and close your eyes,” Steelhoof directs me and I turn to face my head forward with curiosity and close my eyes. After a few moments, I feel my mane being pulled and shifted a few times in an over and under pattern and I take a few breaths and I hear a gurgling noise from my washroom assuming its Talon. Eventually the motion stops and I feel the same pattern on my tail, normally I wouldn't allow many to get close to my personal space, but I let them sleep with me so why not.

“Ok you can open,” Steely states, and as I open my eyes I see that my mane and tail is now braided in a tri-braid manner most common with Labyrinthian females. I blush a bit and turn around and give him a small hug appreciative of his efforts and he walks out of the room most presumably towards the dining hall. Turning back towards the mirror I admire my friends handiwork, although the hair in general is still flowing with the wind the change in style is appreciated at least for once I feel like an individual. But as the promise I made myself centuries ago I feel like I'm betraying myself, I am conflicted on the choice I am about to make.

After a moment's reflection, I hear a short inhale of breath and I turn to see Talon now leaving the washroom with wide eyes. I think to myself that this isn’t helping my decision at all. Instead of pondering what I should do I leave the danger zone and Talon behind as I make my way to the dining room.

After an uneventful stroll through the breakfast hall, I secured a bowl of oatmeal topped with sliced bananas. Garnering a few looks from the morning shift of the crystal guard I couldn't help but feel a bit. .normal, if that is even a feeling. After breakfast I make my way towards the meeting hall hopefully in attempt to finish the conference this time around.

Entering the hall I see that I am the first to arrive, occupying the same seat that I did the prior day, I look around the room evidence of the incident prior still around the walls of the room. The indents of Steely’s axes, the fragments of metal from my armguards which still need to be replaced; maybe I'll have Steelhoof forge me something. Using my magic I attempt to clear the area of debris from yesterday's incident, surprisingly there are dried spatters of my blood on the floors which I remove with a glimmer of golden magic. Content in my seat I now await the others and decide to prepare a batch of my camomile tea for the negotiations hopefully this time there will be no interruptions.

I turn my thoughts to the messenger Ember and truly wonder of her intentions, to bring the symbol of power to a room of immortals was not a smart move for anypony. Although the staff itself isn't magic, the most important component of the staff is the hyacinth gem at its peak. The Bloodstone is an artifact as old as the Crystal Heart itself, Not only does it signify the leader of all dragonkin but it is the object of power for the King of Beasts as the blood of all creatures flows within the stone, it is a symbol of life and living nature without it or its master the world would become desolate and barren.

I hear the door move as the deadbolt is depressed and I refocus my attention towards the room's entrance, at first I was expecting either Steely or Sangre, maybe my Niece but what came through the door was a good surprise. Entering the room was the messenger Ember who timidly peeked into the room and entered seeing that I was the only occupant, she approached the chair she occupied yesterday then paused and decided to sit in a chair closer to me. Normally I would find this strange but after yesterday's events I would understand if she was a bit fearful of anyone other than the pony who saved her.

“Good morning Miss Ember, I hope you are well?” I ask with a smile my braided mane flowing slightly. Ember takes a look towards me and looks towards my forehooves and cringes at the missing fur from Steelhooves initial attack, I see her shrink into her chair.

“I-I’m sorry your Majesty,” Ember starts nervously, “It's my fault that you were hurt yesterday and I am not sure how to make up for it.” As she dragoness finishes I tilt my head and rest a hoof on her shoulder who slightly becomes alarmed at the contact.

“My little dragon, what occurred yesterday was nothing of your fault, Chieftain Steelhoof is a very emotional leader and often acts before he thinks. Although his actions were wrong his heart was in the right place and I am only happy that you are unharmed.” I reassure Ember hopefully with a warm smile, in my magic I take a cup and saucer and fill it with fresh tea and place it in front of Ember. At first she simply looks at the cup and then back towards me and exhales as if something is heavily weighing on her mind.

“Is your name Princess Celestia?” Ember asks to which I nod confirming her suspicions, “I thought so, King Torch always spoke kindly about you, said that you were always kind and lighthearted like a mother would be to a youngling. Though sometimes he would comment and say that you could be Tartarus incarnate when it came to politics or combat, and I am kind of grateful he was half right on the combat part.” Ember finishes her exposition and I look at her with a critical eye, although I can see she is a young dragon she has the face of someone who is burdened with a terrible weight.

“Miss Ember may I offer you some advice?” I ask and with a side glance to Ember she nods, after her approval I reach into my storage space and resummon my halberd and I place it on the table with a golden glow. “Although this is a lesson I prefer not to teach I feel it is a lesson that is necessary, tell me Ember what do you see?” I gesture towards my equipment and the dragon stares at it and reaches a claw towards the weapon and pauses to look at me, with a nod she continues to touch and tap the polearm in various places and looks towards me.

“It's a Sky-Steel Spear Halberd, although piped with golden accents it's still a beautiful weapon none the less. You can tell its origin from the fact it smells like a thunderhead which pegasi used ages ago to forge their weapons, overall I estimate the weapon to be about two meters in length and roughly twenty pounds in mass.” Ember states knowingly, at first I am a bit taken back by her nearly spot on analysis of my weapon I smile none the less and continue.

“Well my little dragon, although your analysis is very thorough the actual weight is around fifty pounds as I use magic to lift my weapon, regardless your knowledge of weapons is quite good however, I was asking more of what it represents rather than what its composition is?” I refocus the question and look towards Ember who has now placed a claw on her thin in thought, after a few moments I see her sigh and shake her head and gesture to the table while giving me a slightly irritated look.

“It's a killing instrument, that's all that it is,” she states coldly and I look into her eyes trying to see her thought process to come to such a serious answer.

“Ember, although it is an instrument that is designed to take life one must understand it is the beholder of the weapon that actually gives it purpose. For example, if given to a Labyrinthian Raider the weapon could be used to commit horrible crimes and untold destruction. To a soldier it would be a weapon he would use to serve his kingdom, as for me I use my weapon as a means of defense to protect those I care for and those who cannot protect themselves.” I state and lift the Halberd into the air with a golden glow, “Even though I have not used this relic for some time its purpose still stays strong as I; its wielder, still intend to bring peace to those around me without its use. However, should the need arise and I would have to wield this blade I would do so with a heavy heart that I may have to use the weapons true purpose in order to return peace and harmony.” I finish my monologue with a twirl of my weapon and look to ember who has a quite perplexed face, if I had to gauge it I would call it my ‘Twilight is learning something new face’ that my loving student would get after discovering something new.

“My father was right, you are pretty motherly in a good way. .you even make a weapon of war seem as harmless as a newborn hatchling,” As ember finishes her statement I stop spinning my weapon abruptly the top of the blade facing the ground and flick my head towards Ember, “Pardon? I don’t think I heard you correctly did you say Father?” I ask now looking for features that would tell if someone is fabricating the truth.

“Yeah, King torch was my dad, he said that you always had this ‘Motherly’ vibe about you and I can agree with it. Although I never was raised by my mother cause she up and left many centuries ago, I thought about going to look for her but my Father forbade it becau-” Ember was interrupted by the heavy halberd being dropped into the crystal floor with a thud impaling it within the jade cast floor. Turning her gaze towards me I can expect she would be frightened as I must have been staring at her intently while breathing deeply in quick breaths my wings fully erect in shock.

This is my daughter, this is my daughter, this is my daughter, my mind screamed over and over in my head. I would always imagine that I would meet her later in her life and quite honestly I am unprepared for this moment, this must how stallions must feel when they get approached by a mare who claims to be their daughter outside of wedlock.

“U-Um, Princess. .are you ok?” Ember tentatively asks and I attempt to recollect myself with a cough and with my hooves I fold my wings down and dematerialize the halberd back towards its storage space, the impact mark still present in the floor.

“Y-Yes my dau-Dragon!” I exclaim catching my mistake mid-sentence with a strange look from Ember, “Tell me did Torch ever talk about your m-mother?” I ask softly shuffling in my chair out of anxiety, internally I keep repeating to myself ‘Don’t break the mask’.

“Well, I didn't know much about her, all I really know is that when I was an egg my mother left Draconia in search of something but before she left she donated her part to give me life. .but the funny thing is that during my teachings from my dad that dragonkin have this sort of, bond between their donating parent and their offspring. He never really liked to talk about it, and sometimes I found it weird that after nights of drinking barrels of ale if I asked he would tell me to come find you cause you might know better that he would.” Ember finishes with a hopeful gaze with the ‘glassy child pleading eyes’ that wound me every time I pass by an orphanage.

What should I do?!?! My mind screams internally as she now is asking if I know anything about her mother. Should I tell her, could I even tell her? These were questions that for the first time in awhile I was not prepared for and I sit on the brink of what I hold are my ideals. But as if fate was playing a cruel joke I hear the hall entrance again begin to open and the rest of the leadership enter the room I turn to ember before they fully set their sights and minds upon us.

“Ember, I cannot discuss this at this time, but please know that when we have a chance I will do the best of my ability to inform you of all that I know as I am sure that your mother cares for you very deeply,” With a tearful eye and a fully enclosed hug wrapped by my hooves and wings I embrace Ember for the first time and my heart breaks as it calls me a coward for not being able to own up to my responsibility.

As the other leaders take seats around the table I release a confused Ember who is touching the areas where I embraced her. Greeting everyone with a smile and a cup and saucer of warm tea. Around the room I see different expressions upon each of my friends faces, Steelhoof a face of neutrality, Talon a questioning gaze towards myself, to the couple of Cadence and Shining I see two quite different faces with my Niece having a look on pure bliss and a disturbing glow with her husband shooting me a glare that could kill.

“Good morning everyone, I trust everyone is ready to get this conference underway?” I ask with various amounts of agreement. “First things first, Miss Ember if you would please relay the message that you were attempting to relay yesterday? I promise this time nothing will befall you,” I shoot a glare to Steelhoof who rolls his eyes and rolls his hand in a motion that tells me ‘yeah I know continue’.

“Well, hello again everyone,” Ember starts with a cough and a meek smile, “As I said before I am Ember and I bring a message regarding King Torches summons to this meeting.” Ember once again reaches back and takes out the hyacinth Bloodstone Scepter as I eye Steelhoof who is now drumming his fingers across the table, Ember looks toward me again and I nod with a hoof on her shoulder.

“I am here to inform you that I Ember, daughter of King Torch and Queen Malygos have taken the role of Dragon Lord of Draconia since the passing of my father King Torch.” With a tearful expression I now fully understand the weight of her message, I once again embrace the dragon with a single wing hug and instead of two axes flying at unreal speeds I hear the voice of Steelhoof.

“So the old Kings finally gone, well; I wont say I didn't expect it sometime or later but my question to you Queen Ember is how did you come by that staff. The reason I ask is that the details are very important in regards to your late father.” Steelhoof states more than what I thought possible, as the room focuses on Ember she slowly begins to tell the tale of the Gauntlet of Fire.

Through her tale, I hear about the actions of a younger Spike, and the meeting of Princess Twilight and Rarity. Although I recall the summons that drew Spike to the dragon lands, I did not receive any sort of information from Twilight about the event which I will have a discussion with her later about. As Ember finishes her tale she leaves the space open for questions and Steelhoof continues his investigation.

“You said when Sir Spike passed you the Dragon Scepter you felt a strange sensation through your body correct?” asks Steelhoof which Ember nods in agreement causing the Minotaur to sigh deeply. “Queen Ember, that feeling you received was not just a simple transfer of authority of Dragonkind, the Bloodstone atop the scepter is an artifact of great power. Tell me are you aware of your late father's duties?” Steelhoof finishes.

“W-Well Chieftain Steelhoof-” she starts with an interruption from the Chieftain, “For now just call me Steelhoof,” with a nod Ember continues. “Well from what I understand he was just the King of Draconia, in fact he's been king so long no one seems to remember if there ever was a previous leader,” Ember states questioningly.

“You are half-right, King Torch was the leader of Dragonkind for longer than most were alive. If you were not aware Torch was an Apex predator who has lived far longer than Equestria, Labyrinthia, or Griffonia were conceived. However, his charge was not only the care of his kind but he was the King of Beasts, his charge was a primal magic that rivals my own of the mantle of the earth. The reason I asked you the nature of how you received that staff was because in order to transfer the mantle the Bloodstone must be passed through conquest or triumph, its nickname was how Torch himself received the stone by killing a rival Apex predator for its possession.” Steelhoof finishes his exposition on the origins of the Bloodstone and the possible new King Queen of Beasts shrinks into her chair.

“If what you say is true Miss Ember,” High Lord Talon begins, “Then you have succeeded you father and are now among the caretakers that bring balance to the world, unfortunately you have some very big shadows to fill I’m afraid.” And with Talon finishing his statement I see Ember slump deeper into her chair overwhelmed with the news that she not only has become Queen of the Dragons but of Beasts and Creatures as well.

“Queen Ember, If I may call you that, please understand that we know this is a lot for you to take in at this time but please know that every caretaker here will love and support you in your endeavours and should you ever need help that Chief Steelhoof, Lord Talon and myself would be more than willing to help you understand your role in this world. We will discuss this later along with the other information after this meeting will be concluded and hopefully we can come to terms with this revelation.” I guide Embers gaze towards my own with a hoof and with a smile she nuzzles my forearm which strikes a pang of guilt internally.

After a few moments of silence my Niece clears her throat and we focus at the matter at hand before life decided to throw a wagon in our path. She takes out a few charts and diagrams and I’m reminded of where Twilight received some of her mannerisms from as I mentally prepare myself for another political meeting.

Revelations

It was early in the evening before we retired from the conference hall, overall I could not be more proud of my Niece who has taken her role as the Empress of the Crystal Empire in full stride and I hope in the future we can continue to grow prosperous. The meeting took an interesting twist when Cadence declared she was attempting to aid her ponies regather their history, it was then she thought about making her Kingdom a Political haven where all races could come together to meet, mingle, and possibly begin a new start. It was this idea that brought another revelation that somewhere deep in the edges of the empire there were possible remnants of King Sombras army deep in the mountain ranges, although this fact was highly improbable the fact that the crystal ponies were all brought from a time long ago it could not be dismissed so easily.

Along with the possibility of a leaderless army within the Northern Wastes strange artifacts of power had been discovered by the Crystal Ponies. Cadence displayed drawings of strange objects appropriated by the guard and when experimented with shown great and alarming destructive power, one such object which was smaller in size no bigger than my hoof made of a curious metal and when a small lever was depressed it barked a loud noise and a projectile was cast from the object at such speeds that pierced a quarantine spell around the area of testing. Although no pony was harmed there was no magic that was detectable from the object and when the lever was depressed again it refused to procure the same results with a solid clicking sound.

I think about what the former Tyrant Sombra Rex would do with such weaponry if Lulu and myself did not intervene after receiving notification of his madness from a brave survivor. If I were to recall his crimes they would be of the most grave, enslavement, murder, intent to perform hegemonial genocide. The list goes on and on, much to my wounded heart, that I have to physically push the memories from my mind. As I walked aimlessly down the halls of the crystal palace I found myself within the throne room, a room filled with colonnades of crystal hewn with gemstone and with the right light it radiates warmth and beauty. But as my memory slowly breaches my reality I remember a much darker version of this room, obsidian and crimson crystal with a darkened throne of none other the Lord of Shadow himself. I recall when my sister and I broke through the thick double doors we shattered many curses cast upon his own throne room door. After a lengthy battle we defeated King Sombra and with a dark laugh we discovered the purpose of the curses which took the entirety of the Empire and sealed it within a pocket of time until Sombra would return.

Breaking my thoughts I feel a presence, nothing physical but I can definitely feel something that I can’t place my hooves on. I look around to confirm that indeed I am alone and I return my gaze towards the crystal throne, I approach the throne and louder and louder the whispers become and as I put a hoof of the dias, and something that makes my pelt stand on end is heard.

“Celestia. . “ an unknown whisper graces my ears.

NOPE. I never knew I could teleport so quickly in my life and I find myself within the comforts of my room with a snap of magic I hear a squeak of surprise. Locating the source of the noise I see someone who should not be in my room in the first place but at the same time, I could have expected none the less from happening.

“Hi Princess,” A timid Ember is sitting on a chair near my stationary, a bit of a different look from the meeting hall as she has removed her chest piece and is carrying nothing but the scabbard with the Bloodstone Scepter inside. I exhale and prepare for the revelation of the century, maybe second best since Lulu made me acquire a scale for personal use.

“Good evening Ember, please call me Celestia, no title is necessary since you are a member of our little club so to speak,” I state while moving towards the room's mirror and I slowly being to unbraid the work Steelhoof did much to my disappointment.

“Sorry for breaking into your room. .” Ember states softly her wings droop slightly and through the mirror's reflection I giggle slightly. I take my brush and make sure to get some of the knots from the braid out of the way.

“I liked how you braided your mane it looked nice. .” Ember offhandedly comments much to my approval as I smile and continue to brush my hair with a small flush to my face.

After a few moments of silence and Ember looking around the room awkwardly she gets out of the chair and starts to head towards the door with a crestfallen expression on her face. “Sorry to have bothered you Princess Celestia. .I’ll just get out of your mane so to speak. .” a defeated Ember admits as she slowly moves towards the door. Internally my heart explodes with guilt and I turn around setting the brush down on the nearby nightstand.

“Miss Ember, please stay, I have something very important to explain to you but it's something that I am even unsure if I can say as it is difficult. . even for me,” with a neutral expression I express probably one of the most throat constricting sentences since I had to tell Lulu that Cadence was not a child of mine to some unknown stallion sire.

Ember retracts her claw from the door handle and in my magic I take a scroll from the desk and write out a few words for my sister to relay to my faithful student regarding Cadences meeting. If I am going to occupy the most of my night with this conversation at least I will get my work done first. With the scroll written, I roll it expertly and take some wax along with a seal I keep in my trunk and wink the letter towards Luna; with a few tugs across our shared magic line letting her know not to drop a letter in the washroom which has happened once or twice before. Now fully situated and with nothing else to interrupt my time with my ~~friend~~ daughter so to speak, better start getting used to that now.

“Ember, come with me please,” I motion towards the center of the room drawing a few seating pillows from a nearby stand setting them around for a good long talking session. As I take my seat in the velvety goodness, Ember approaches tentatively and takes a seat in the offered position. “Ember, what do you think of me?” I ask with an open question which draws a curious look from Embers face as I reassure her with a smile.

“Your Princess Celestia, one of the rulers of the diarchy of Equestria home of the equines. My father said you were once a fierce fighter, a proud spellcaster, and a good friend. According to. .Sir Spike if I recall correctly you are his friend and Twilight’s mother from rumor around Draconia.” Ember states with a small laugh from me as she stated that Twilight was my daughter which couldn't be farther from the truth.

“Close, but wrong only on one account Twilight is my student, not my daughter as much as many believe even within my own kingdom that she is. But in all seriousness, if I am honest with myself I only have one daughter and I could not be more than proud of her,” I state looking at a dragoness who has folded her wings around herself and brought her knees to her chest while looking at me intently.

“I-It must be nice, I never really knew my mother having always been with my dad Torch, always the warrior and hard hand, even after receiving the scepter with Spike’s help he saw me as an unfit ruler even though he stated otherwise for his subjects. .could you tell me a bit about her?” Ember asks with a pleading glance.

“In due time, but first I want to talk about your father and your issues with him one mare to another, so to speak.” I nod with my entire focus on the dragoness.

“Tch, what about him. .” she states dejectedly, “As much as I want to scorn him I can't find it in my heart now he's passed away, it's an unhonorable thing to do to tarnish one's memory like that good or bad.” with a claw ember begins tracing lines within the jade floor and looks dejectedly away from me, it must have been hard living up to the legend of Torch now even more so as she has been given the title of both Queen of Dragons and Beasts.

“My-my, what a noble sentiment, where did you learn such a thing? Surely one as young as yourself didn’t learn that without some help?” I ask with a questioning glance.

“I'm not really sure. .I just know it's the right thing to do, I might not be the toughest, or strongest or bravest according to father but at least I know what's right,” with conviction states her belief and I couldn't be more proud of her. .

“Ember, I don't think that those qualities make who you are-,” I reach my wing out and guide her face towards mine as I want her to understand that there is nothing wrong about her. “-I see a. . talented young lady who has many things to offer as the newfound leader of her kind. You have much to learn but I see great potential within you Ember, I once told a former pupil of mine these same words and she has become many great things and deep inside you somewhere I see the same thing. But in order for you to achieve these goals, you need to do one thing; you need to believe in yourself and cast off your self-doubts. I myself am not a perfect mare and am just as fallacious as any other being much like your father, I have made mistakes, and I have most definitely made errors; but what defines an individual is how they take these fumblings and turn them into something wonderful.” I finish my advice while looking deeply in embers eyes, if one would look hard enough you could see the beginning of a certain wetness hear the bottom edges and before I had time to react I was embraced by the dragoness, who has buried her face in the thicker pelted part of my chest. Unsure of what to do, I simply let it happen and I begin to feel my fur beginning to dampen from warm tears as Ember breathes deeply with a silent cry.

“I can see why father called you a motherly figure, if it means no offense you're like the mother I’ve never had. . “ The muffled voice of Ember states and my heart nearly breaks, as we simply sit there for a few moments I decide to encompass the dragoness with my wings and hooves.

“Ember, what do you know about the birthing ritual of your kind,” I ask absentmindedly as Ember as she lifts her head not leaving my embrace a slight flush on her face.

“Oh please don't tell me you're going to give me the drakes and eggs speech,” she deadpans as I giggle at her reaction with a shake of my head.

“No little one, I'm simply asking if you know about the magic involved in hatching a youngling I understand it's something that most fathers don’t want to ever talk with their daughters about.” I state with a knowing look as Ember looks deep in thought she shakes her head she separates from her embrace and stares at me as much as Twilight would awaiting a new lesson. For a short time I explain the magic of dragons taught by Torch along with some newer information that I received from my dear friend Star Swirl after I performed the act, the entire time Ember had a few questions and I answered them with what I knew and a small revelation appeared on her face as I finished her lesson.

“So. .what your saying is that part of my mother lies within me? She gave a part of herself to give me life?” Ember started rattling off questions and I hold up a hoof to stay her from asking a rapid onset of questions.

“The answer to both your questions is yes, your mother is a part of you but do you remember our earlier discussion about how I would help you with information about your mother?” I counter question as Ember nods, “Are you also aware that your mother was a oneiromancer?” another shake of the head with a tilt to which I think she has no clue whatsoever. “If you are unaware a oneiromancer is an individual who is tied with the dreamscape, it is a form of premonition that involves looking into an individual's dreams. According to your father, Queen Malygos was becoming more strained as she was experiencing a disturbance in her scrying. Your mother was experiencing visions of a tormented soul across her readings, and although your father attempted to ask what was wrong your mother suddenly left one day and never returned.” I finished my recollection much to Embers despair she continued to ask questions.

“Do you know where my mother went? Is she still alive? Does she still think about me? Is there a way to locate her using your-” Suddenly her flow of questions stop as I place a hoof over her mouth her eyes going cross-eyed as she focuses on my hoof. I remove my hoof and she apologizes and I try to answer more of her questions.

“I unfortunately do not know where your mother went it is still a mystery, as for her status I am currently unaware and there's no way I could find out. But I believe that your mother cared for you deeply and had very good reasons to pursue this voice and thought about you daily. And as for any attempts at scrying your mother's location, I am also apologetic as I am not able to locate creatures or beings as that is beyond my scope but there are some who specialize in that sort of magic like my sister.” I state calmly as Ember becomes slightly dejected at the answer that she most likely did not want to hear.

“But there is something most important that I need to discuss with you Miss ember as I feel it is important for full disclosure and I need your help with something.” I stand from my seat and motion for Ember to follow who stands with a confused expression but follows me none the less.

We exit my room and walk down the corridor and after a few silent moments we enter the main hallway and I proceed towards the throne room and as I approach the two guards stationed outside open the doors allowing us entry. As we enter the throne room I see my Niece seated on her throne with her reading glasses looking at some scrolled papers she glances up at me and gives me a quizzical expression which I nod towards her balcony connected to the colonnaded grand hall. With Ember in tow and my Niece curiously following behind I approach the rails and gaze upon the horizon to which my charge is resting gently over the mountains to the west. I hear Ember and Cadence approach behind me and I turn to Ember with a smile.

“Ember I need your help with something do you think you can try?” I ask questioningly as I gaze at her she looks quite confused in both facial expression and body language as she crosses her arms. “I guess. .I'm not really sure what I can help you with though,” she answers back. I motion for her to come closer to me and she skeptically approaches.

“Place your claw on my back Ember,” I say with a look towards Ember who still seems very apprehensive about this whole thing decides to just go along with it. “Now, with your other claw I want you to reach out towards the Sun, I want you to focus on its warmth and its power and internally I want you to repeat the word down over and over while keeping your eyes on it,” I advise and with an even more doubtful look I see her focus and none the less attempt my request.

As Ember focused upon the sun I simply extended my magic towards her and used myself as a magical foci as I wanted to see if this was possible. Over a few moments, nothing seemed to happen when suddenly something wondrous occurred, Ember’s scales started to turn an alabaster white and her webbing on her wings along with her spines started to glow a bright orange as if on fire. But what was most surprising of all was that the sun slowly but steadily started to lower beneath the horizon and after a minute or two it disappeared leaving the crystal empire ready for Luna's night. As I lowered my output I see Ember returning to her natural coloring as my control over the sun started to recede and as she regained her balance after a slight stumble she looked at me with confused eyes as well as Cadence who was observing the entire event.

“Celestia. . why was I able to lower the-the. . OH MY STARS I JUST LOWERED THE SUN,” Ember started to panic as she rapidly looked in between myself and Cadence seeking an answer. I watch Ember fall to her knees and clutch her arms and look away as if she had committed a great sin and using my front hooves I lift her up back onto her feet. “Celestia, I AM SO SORRY I DID NOT MEAN TO STEAL-” Before she could embarrass herself further I place a wingtip over her mouth and smile.

“Ember I want you to think about all the conversations we’ve had today, I want you to think critically why someone like you with my limited support could control something very personal to me. Know that there are no wrong answers and I want you to try and figure this out for yourself,” I finish explaining the question to Ember who now looks at me panicked and shocked at her previous actions in lowering my charge.

I release Ember who starts immediately pacing the balcony in thought her wings twitching every so often. I look to Cadence who is eyeing me critically and I simply give her a vague smile and return to Ember who has stopped mid stride to slowly turn and stare at me.

“Celestia. . you explained that dragon eggs needed a donation of a partial soul in order to hatch correct?” Ember asks as I nod affirming her suspicions. “And I just moved the sun. .the FRIGGIN SUN and that is still something that I can't fully explain as it felt both wonderful and terrifying at the same time,” I nod in agreement again awaiting Embers conclusion to her thoughts.

.

..

...

“C-Celestia. .did you give up part of your s-soul to hatch me?” Ember declares and a gasp is heard from Cadence.

I walk over to Ember slowly who attempts backing up and pressing her back along the railing of the balcony, I can see her wings twitch and I think that maybe her fight or flight instincts are kicking in and this could go very badly if I don't act fast.

“Ember,” I state, the dragon's eyes shrinking to pinpricks as a visible sweat and panicked breath is slowly increasing. And before she can decide to run away I reach out and embrace her in my arms with a firm hold refusing to now let go of the struggling dragon. “Ember!” with a bit more force than I would rather intend it still got her attention none the less, now staring at me fully our eyes meeting in realization.

“Although I can never replace your maternal m-mother, I did willingly give up a part of me; to bring you into this world and I know it seems empty hearted now of all times when I could have been there to love and support you and watch you grow into the strong dragon you are today.” I pause with tears welling into my eyes and with an afterthought my mane returned to its non-pastel color. “I want to be part of your life Ember as tough as it is for me to say and for you to accept. .”

“I am your mother and will care for you no matter what you d-decide,” I state barely audible with my voice quivering in certain areas. As I await Embers response I see a kaleidoscope of emotions cross her face; fear, shock, surprise, anger, but after a few moments a reaction I was not expecting decided to finally emerge and one that made me shatter my mask entirely.

“M-Mommy please don't let go,” Ember weakly says and with a strong determination she embraces me in a strong hug and for the first time I gently kiss my estranged daughter's cheek and for the first time as we both cry tears of joy.

Nearby I look over and see the fainted form of Cadence who is obviously overwhelmed by the revelation. And with a rising moon on the eastern horizon, my daughter and I share our first night together.

Author's Note

I AM SO SORRY PLEASE DOT HARM ME (Although I deserve it!!!)

There were so many issues with that chapter and I wanted to get it right especially the first time. So if your still with me please accept my apology as I worked throughout the night to put this beast to bed so to speak.

I planned to reveal the Celestia/Ember bomb in another chapter but I thought to myself to add it inside this one as we are reflecting on her personal thoughts which added another 15k words to the original chapter. and to those who are curious I was listening to this song the entire time rewriting the end of the chapter over and over

Also I am trying something new by not italicising spoken words to see if it looks better, let me know what you think.