Redux: Lineage

I lay in bed, teetering on the edge of sleep and alertness, merely listening to the sounds of the castle outside my room. I could hear the murmurs of maids and servants as they hurried about, whispers of dinners needing to be arranged, bed chambers to be cleaned, and dresses to be ordered and paid for. I made no motion, but exuded a sense of happiness and content as I lay in bed, feeling the warmth of the blankets and the softness of the pillows I rested my head on provide a comforting embrace, lulling me back to sleep slowly as the world drifted away once more. Though, that was soon interrupted by a knock at my bedroom door.

"Lord Richter?" a young, female voice asked from outside. "Are you awake?"

I cleared my throat quietly, turning over with my eyes still closed and coughing out a response. My voice was still hoarse and didn't come out as clearly as I wanted it to, but it was still enough to be audible.

"Yes... I'm awake."

"May I enter?" she inquired, a hint of nervousness in her voice as she spoke.

"Of course," I said, opening my eyes as the door swung open, revealing a young brunette woman dressed in the castle's maid uniform.

I sat up quickly, rolling my legs over the side of the bed as the maid shut the door behind her, the elegant bow that fastened her apron to her uniform bouncing slightly as she gave the door a brief shove to close it, reminding me that I needed to get someone to fix it soon.

"Leave the door," I said in a casual manner, it still being too early for princely attitudes and conversations. "It's been broken for a few weeks now."

"Um, yes, Your Grace," she nodded, turning around again and putting her hands behind her back, an awkward expression on her cute face.

She was a shorter woman, only barely five feet tall, with mousey blonde hair, dark brown eyes, and a very meek persona. She shifted awkwardly back and forth between her feet, her eyes struggling to stay on me for more than a moment, and seemingly never if I looked at her.

"Is there something I can help you with?" I asked, leaning forward and resting my elbows on my legs.

"Ah, yes!" she exclaimed, seemingly remembering why she'd arrived here. "Your Mother, Princess Cadance, sent me to make sure you were awake and ready for your birthday festivities this afternoon."

It took a solid moment for me to realise what she was referring to, the grogginess of the early morning still having its fingers tightly gripping me. Though once the recollection came, it came as a shock, launching me out of the bed and over to my wardrobe.

"Your Majesty?" she asked in a mix of surprise and concern. "Is something the matter?"

"Yes, quite the matter," I nodded, rifling through my wardrobe for something other than my nightwear. "I was supposed to not be here this morning."

If you don't mind me asking," she began, wringing her fingers. "Why?"

"Because if I'm not here, then I don't get dragged into one of Celestia's damn functions," I said, tearing a pair of brown cotton pants and a white cotton shirt from the wardrobe. "And those things are of the Archdemon, I tell you."

I quickly stripped out of my nightwear, hearing a flustered gasp from the maid behind me, as I pulled on my day clothes, fumbling with my dark blue locks to get them out of my eyes, and fastening a belt around my waist. I headed over to the door, giving a brief nod of thanks to the maid as I went to open the door.

"If I'm lucky, I can grab Grael, duck out the back doors of the castle, and meet Zane before-" I mumbled, swinging the door as I looked at the maid, stepping through it only to charge headfirst into Equestria's own Unstoppable Force.

"Richter..." my Aunt Luna said in a low tone, the large woman crossing her arms and cocking an eyebrow at me. "I hope you're going to thank your mother and father for arranging such an extravagant evening for you. I'd be very displeased with you if that wasn't the case."

"I... uh..." I said, being unable to look the six-foot-five woman in the eyes as she spoke.

"That is the case, is it not?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at me.

"O-Of course!" I said, laughing nervously.

Awkward seconds ticked by, Luna's intimidating form remaining silent for a long second as she continued to stare at me, finally giving a response, and a knowing one at that.

"You were never raised as a politician, Richter, which makes you a terrible liar," she said in a cold tone. "Now whatever escape plan you've almost definitely concocted, I suggest you forget it, and go speak to your parents. They're in the Grand Hall, putting the finishing touches on your birthday function. Go. Now."

"Yes, Aunt Luna," I sighed, hanging my head in shame as I walked past her, feeling the heat of her disappointment burn into the back of my spine as I rounded one of the marble corners in the castle. I sighed in an annoyed manner, having been caught with my hand in the metaphorical cookie jar by the one woman in my family that I'd get no sympathy from in this situation. Luna was indeed a stern woman, but... I'd be a liar if I said I didn't appreciate her keeping me on the straight and narrow at least a little bit.

I was greeted by every one of the maids and servants darting throughout the halls, each giving a 'Good morning' or a 'Happy Birthday' to me as they made their way about their work, rushing around our enormous grounds with years and years of trained expertise, mental maps of each nook and cranny of this ancient place burned into their minds. If I remembered correctly, the castle only hired people who had a certain mental function, some tick or strange ability, that allowed them to memorise more things than normal humans were able to... I needed to ask Twilight about it, she'd know what it was.

I rounded another corner, lost in my own thoughts as usual, just as I slammed into someone else who was doing the same thing. Chin met forehead and both of us staggered backwards, the shorter of the two of us clutching their head and growling in pain, trying to keep her usual habit of cussing the house down restrained.

"Fuck me," she spat under her breath.

And failing miserably, it seemed.

"Annerose," I said, rubbing my sore chin and smiling at my childhood friend. "How nice to bump into you."

"Yeah, witty," she said in a snarky manner, straightening up and looking at the palm of her hand to check for any blood.

The girl was the same age as me, but had grown up in a country far away, in the Unified Kingdoms, and still had her accent as proof, not to mention her very colourful dialect. She was a slender young woman, well-exercised and in great shape, with raven-coloured hair and dark blue eyes, nearly the same colour as mine. She wasn't a fan of the typical feminine attire or behaviours, having grown up in a rougher area and acquired a rougher personality, often preferring to wear trousers and shirts instead of dresses. Not only was a great friend, she was also one of the candidates for my retainers, alongside another childhood friend of mine, Zane.

"So how come you're up and about this early?" she asked me, deciding to strike up a conversation since we were both here. "You're usually not a sentient being until about one in the afternoon."

"Mother sent a personal request for me to see her and dad in the Grand Hall," I said, still feeling miserable about the whole thing. "So I have to thank them for setting up my eighteenth birthday function... because we all know how much fun those things are."

"Usually I'd just call you out for being an ungrateful twat, because, well, you are," Annerose shrugged. "But I'll be honest with you: your royal functions are shite. It's just a bunch of old men droning on for hours and hours about responsibility and duty with shitty alcohol and awful food."

"But at least you don't have to be at the centre of the entire thing," I responded, gesturing at her with my hand. "You just need to worry about showing your face and being civil, and then you can leave. I'm in the hot seat until around three in the morning until all the old fucks go to bed and I can finally start drinking properly."

"Alright, you've got a point there," she smirked. "Tell you what, me and Zane'll stick around for longer and make sure you don't have to be sat on your tod for the whole thing, okay?"

"So we all suffer together?" I asked. "That sounds fair."

"Unless it really sucks, then both of us are out," she said, patting me on the shoulder as she walked past me. "See you round, mate."

"See you, Anne," I said, waving her off before sighing in a semi-relieved manner.

She and Zane weren't going to stop the onslaught of horseshit tonight, but they'd at least help me hold the line when dealing with it. I nodded quickly, heading off through the corridors again, ducking through the main doors in the centre wing of the castle, where the whole place was alive and buzzing with activity and excitement.

"Why do people get more excited for my birthday than I do?" I asked myself.

"Because they get to take a break from work and celebrate," a deep, knowing voice said from behind me. "Whereas you have to take a break from celebrating and actually work for once."

I turned around to the source of the voice, a creature not many would expect to be speaking and lecturing: a Direwolf. The six foot, black-and-white beast sat down on his haunches, looking at me with a disapproving gaze as he did so.

"Surely you can manage one single night without wasting your time on women and wine, no?" he asked.

"I wouldn't call it 'wasting', more 'rationing it wisely'," I shrugged. "And no. No I can't."

"Of course you can't," he chuckled, walking past me, his head standing an inch higher than mine, and padding down the stairs. "Save a drink for me, will you?"

"Yeah sure, what do you want from the table?" I asked him, turning around with my arms out by my side. "Dish water or watered-down piss?"

"Whine, whine, whine," he smirked, making his way through the workers, all of them being more than acquainted with him at this point. "That's all you ever do."

The Direwolf's name was Grael, and he was my familiar. It's an Alicorn tradition for a newborn to be presented with an animal Familiar, and Grael was presented to me as a newborn pup by King Hrrald of the Northern Ice Plains, saying that a good king's tongue is as sharp as a wolf's tooth, and his arm as strong as a wolf's jaw. Of course, my mother was rather unsure about having a wolf watch over her newborn baby, but once Grael was bonded to me, there was no worry from her anymore.

The bond between Grael and I is one formed from an extremely old and extremely powerful magic created by Alicorn long ago. It bonds the spirit of the animal and the spirit of the Alicorn together eternally. The magic forms a telepathic connection between the Alicorn and the animal, as well as granting the latter sapience, enabling them to speak like a human and have their intelligence, making them better able to protect and care for their partner, as well as the gift of eternal life, gained from the Alicorn themself. The bond was signified by a mark that was placed on the back of my left hand and on Grael's forehead, being a two-layer pyramid of rounded triangles, meant to symbolise that usually four-legged animal, shown by the two triangles, lifting up their partner, the single triangle, to heights they couldn't reach on their own.
The other members of my family, the other Alicorn, all had their own familiars. Celestia had Philomena, a Phoenix, Luna has Tormeir, a Netherfalcon, and Cadance has Emiko, a Golden Kitsune, a gift from the Empress of Taiyoshima. They each acted as protectors and advisers to their partner, and held places in this family just like all the rest of us did.

"Don't be late for the function, Grael," I called down to him. "I'm probably going to need you to cry into while I'm there."

"Of course, my friend," Grael nodded. "I just hope you'll be okay with me laughing at you as it happens."

I sneered at the large beast, hearing him chuckle quietly as he walked through an open doorway and disappeared from sight. I headed down the stairs and went through a door on the opposite side of the room, smiling and nodding at all those that greeted me, before heading into a much fancier-looking area of the castle, adorned with gold and silver furnishings, large chandeliers, and expensive paintings of beautiful landscapes and vistas. I was never a fan of art, in any form. Never felt okay with paying thousands of Bits to look at a hill and a shack when I could probably travel to that same hill and shack for ten times less money.

I hurried past it, breaking out into a small run as I came to the double doors of the Grand Hall, looking just as fancy and expensive as everywhere else in this sector, pushing the door open and walking inside. My footsteps were audible in the dead silence of the room and my eyes wandered down to the marble floor so well-kept and polished that I was able to see a perfect reflection of myself in it. I lifted my eyes back up, scanning the room for any signs of my mother and father only to see that the whole place was empty, without a single sound besides my footsteps giving off any signs of life in the place.

It had been set up rather nicely, a large amount of cloth-covered tables scattered across the room, each with a bottle of expensive wine and a candle that probably cost more money each than most people made in a month, with the wide dance floor left open and available thanks to clever placement. Blue banners hung from the ceiling, embroidered with golden silk with my insignia, a Direwolf head with a shield and two swords behind it, and a large stage had been set up in the back of the room with a large podium atop it, which meant that either I or Celestia would be giving a speech tonight.

Gods Above, I hoped it wasn't me giving the speech. I was awful at them.

My ears perked upon hearing the sound of a high-heeled shoe clacking on the marble floor, followed moments later by a very irritated growling noise, and then finished off by a series of loud, quick follow-up steps. Which meant someone was angry with me and heading towards me in a very rapid manner. I turned around quickly, ready to bring my hands up in my defense if necessary.
"You're not supposed to be here yet," my mother, Cadance, snapped in an annoyed manner.
"Luna told me to come here," I said, holding my hands up in a surrendering manner. "I just decided to do what I was told for once."
The pink princess sighed loudly, brushing her fingers through her thick, swooping fringe, as she often did when thinking, before looking back at me with a much softer look.

"Sorry for barking at you a minute ago," she said. "It's just that this was meant to be a surprise... and your father and I put so much work into this to get it nice and perfect for you tonight... only for Luna to ruin the surprise, as usual."

"Do, uh, do you want me to come back later?" I asked, gesturing back towards the door. "I can pretend to be surprised if you want me to?"
"No, no," she said, waving the idea away immediately. "I spend all day around rulers and politicians, so I don't want to have to put up with any more lies and faking. You can just try to enjoy yourself, okay? Just wear the doublet I got for you, shave off that horrible bum-fluff you've got, and try to be formal, okay? I don't want everyone thinking that my son's an uneducated boor."

"What doublet?" I asked in a confused manner.

"The... the one that Cecilia delivered to you this morning..." Cadance said, her eye twitching briefly as her annoyance level spiked. "The one that she should have delivered to you this morning... please tell me you got it."

"Uhhh..." I said, being backed into a corner where she'd be furious if I told the truth and furious if I lied.

Deciding to die as a righteous man, I told her the truth and explained that a maid had come to wake me up this morning, but it wasn't Cecilia and I hadn't had a doublet delivered to me at any point today or yesterday. And then I prepared myself for the end of my life. Cadance's hands clenched down by her sides, her eye twitching again and in a much more violent manner as she stared furiously into the floor.

"Cadance, breathe," my father said, walking out of the store room to the left of the main entrance with a comforting look on his face, placing a hand on his wife's shoulder as she continued to speak. "Look, we both signed off on the delivery for the doublet, and we both know that it's most likely been left in the laundry room where we sent it off to after it arrived. It's not like it’s been set on fire or stolen, all Richter has to do is go and grab it. This isn't worth busting a blood vessel over, is it?"

Cadance sighed quietly, nodding briefly as the tension in her muscles and the room drained away with one, single breath.

"You're right," she nodded. "You're right. I just need to make sure Cecilia gets reprimanded for not doing her job again, and then Richter and I can go and grab the doublet."

"I can get it on my own," I said with a shrug.

"And let you toss it into the back of the wardrobe without even checking to see if it fits?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. "I don't think so. I'm making sure you try that thing on."

"Alright, alright," I sighed, rolling my eyes. "Whenever you're ready."

"Shining, honey," Cadance said to my dad. "I trust you can handle the disciplinary action?"

"Do we want military discipline or civilian?" he asked with a chuckle.

"Civilian," Cadance said. "The poor girl can't handle one hundred laps around the castle grounds."

"Fair enough," Shining nodded, kissing her on the cheek and patting me on the shoulder. "Happy birthday, kid."

"Thanks, Dad," I said with a grin.

"I've got something for you after the party," he said. "Something you've been asking for months."

"If it's what I think it is, then can I have it now?" I asked, eyes alight in excitement. "I'm eighteen now."

"Yeah, not until thirty-seven minutes past three in the afternoon you're not," he grinned. "Until then, be patient."

"Alright, fine," I said, nodding as he headed off towards the door. "See you later."

"See you," he said, disappearing out the door and leaving my mother and I alone. "Does he do that with everything?"

"He tried to do it with my anniversary presents the first year we were married," Cadance nodded. "Tried."

"That must've been a fun healing process for him," I smirked.

"Of course it was," she nodded, suddenly patting me on the back and pushing me forward. "Right, let's go get you your doublet sorted out, Mister."

"Do I have to wear one?" I asked. "I have an easier time moving about in rusted armour than those stupid things."

"Yes you do," she insisted. "Now shush, and get moving."

I was marched through the entire castle, forced to retrieve the doublet, still wrapped in brown paper, and then back into my room where my mother closed the door behind her and leaned against it. I remained still for a long moment, the air hanging still between us, before she spoke in a slightly impatient manner.

"Well?" she asked. "Are you going to try it or not?"

"I'm not wearing any underwear right now," I said in a plain tone.

"Gods Above, Richter, I'm your mother," she said, rolling her eyes. "There's not an inch of skin on you I haven't seen before, and it's not like you've ever been shy when it comes to nudity around people."

"It's still a little weird, though," I said.

"Only if you make it," she said, crossing her arms and gesturing with her hand for me to continue.

Deciding that I wasn't in the mood for this, I did as she asked, stripping down into the nude and beginning to try on the pain in the ass doublet. Though, whether it was a trick of the light or me just imagining something, once I was free from clothing I could've sworn I spotted a slight curl, the faintest hint of a smirk, on the corner of my mother's mouth as her eyes fell on my naked body. There should've been a point, somewhere in my mind, where alarm bells went off or a feeling of nervousness surged through me at the fact my mother seemed to be relishing the sight of my nude body, but...

There was no sick or disturbed feeling, nor a feeling of even acceptance. A strange feeling of pride, a slight wash of ego ran through me for an unknown reason, at the fact that I seemed to be sexually attractive to my mother, or at least sexually pleasing to look at. Looking back on this moment, there was no 'right' about it. It was a moment of disgusting perversion, even for the slightest moment, where both parties involved were guilty ones. And yet... I didn't feel bad.

Maybe it was my primal instinct kicking in, proud and assertive about the fact a female of my species found me attractive. Maybe because, in that mere moment, I felt like a long-buried treasure was not only dug up for a second, but validated too. That the strange, oedipal desire I'd felt for my mother during puberty was a mutual one... that prospect excited me more than it should have in a normal man. But that might be because, as I learned later on, I wasn't a normal man, even by my own species' rules.

I pulled on the rest of the doublet, fastening it as best as I could, and soon found myself standing like a damn mannequin, unable to close my legs entirely and unable to rest my arms down by my waists, instead only able to leave them slightly outward in an awkward manner.

"Perfect!" my mother exclaimed, clapping her hands together by her neck and smiling widely. "Just perfect!"

"Perfect?" I asked in a confused manner. "Mom, I can't move my arms properly and it feels like it's going to tear if I try to."

"Or, now you're just exaggerating," my mother said with a roll of her eyes, walking over to me and grabbing hold of my wrists. "If you just set your shoulders back and push your arms down, the seam of the thing will-"

She cut herself off as an enormous tearing sound coupled with the feeling of air against my armpits and back sounded throughout the room. I cast my head over my shoulder, getting as good as look at the thing as I could with it on, and being able to see my bare back out of the corner of my eyes, making out the smallest part of the enormous tear. I looked back to my mother who was staring at nothing, her eyes falling down to my chest but not recognising anything at all.

"Maybe..." she said after a minute, holding up a shaking finger. "Maybe you have something decent enough for a party with the upper class."
"I have that one coat thing I got when I last visited Andalusia," I said. "Maybe that'll work?"

"Let me see it," Cadance said, taking a step back and looking at the wardrobe.

"Can I take this thing off now, please?" I asked her.

"Sure," she said. "Looking at it's just making me more upset, anyway."

I proceeded to tear the rest of the doublet to pieces, my mother wincing as I did so, but seeming to improve in her mood as, once again, her eyes fell onto my naked form with an admiring glint in her beautiful pink eyes. I opened my wardrobe and began digging through the clothing, trying to find the darker coat I was looking for, only to nearly jump out on my skin when I felt my mother drag a hand over my lower back, just below my right kidney.

"You've got a scar here," she said in a concerned manner. "Where'd it come from?"

"I got it while training with Luna," I answered. "We were sparring near the river out by the south gate and I lost my footing on the rocks. I was only wearing a shirt at the time and it cut right through it."

"I've told her time and again to be careful with you," Cadance said, a hint of annoyance in her voice.

"It wasn't her fault," I said. "I'm the one that fell over."

"You wouldn't have even been in that situation if it wasn't for her," she responded.

I rolled my eyes, turning around and looking up at the taller Alicorn, seeing a worried glaze to her eyes.

"Mom, we've been over this time and again," I said in a comforting tone. "The only way I'm going to be completely safe from harm is if I never train, and we both know that's not an option."

"She... she could at least try to make it safer for you," Cadance said, looking down at the floor in a dejected manner.

"If she starts padding the areas we train in, I'm not going to learn and grow as much as I'm meant to," I said. "I need to be in as real a situation as I can get to learn as much as I can. You understand that, right?"

"I understand it," she said, placing a soft hand on my cheek. "But I don't like it. I hate it when you get hurt."

"Then you've gotta let me get the bumps and bruises from the training to make sure I can keep my limbs and life when it comes to actual battle," I chuckled.

Cadance's eyes trailed back up me, stopping on my chest where she spotted another scar, dragging her finger down my body to the scar, positioned just above my right nipple, and gritting her teeth again. She opened her mouth to say something before eventually closing it, shaking her head and stepping back.

"I'm just getting more worked up the longer I look at you," she said with a waving-away gesture. "Let's get back to finding the coat and be done with this."

I nodded, turning back to the wardrobe, still feeling my mother's warm and soft touch on my body, as I began to look for the coat.

"Wait, hang on a second," Cadance said quickly, sticking her head into the wardrobe and poking a set of clothing. "What's that one?"

I pulled the hangar she pointed it out of the wardrobe and held it out for her to see. Her eyes lit up excitedly, clapping her hands together again, and grinning widely.

"That'll be perfect!" she exclaimed.

"The hunting gear?" I asked, looking over the ensemble.

It was a cotton shirt with a matted, leather jerkin and leather pants, mixed with worn leather gloves and a set of filthy boots tucked away in the wardrobe.

"It's not exactly the most bourgeois thing I own, Mom," I said.

"I know that," she said, taking it out of my hand and holding it, examining every inch of it. "I can get a white shirt, a proper one, stitched up in a few hours, and I can probably get someone to sing some nicer leather into a proper jerkin... I just need to find some dress pants and black boots and once we get rid of these horrible gloves, we'll be perfect!"

I nodded my head along with her explanation, seeing her whirl around, wrap her arms around me, and give me a big kiss on the cheek, a lot closer to my lips than most mothers would've planted it, before heading towards the door.

"Come find me in the seamstress section of the clothing ward in a few hours, okay?" she asked, eye agleam with excitement and ideas. "We'll have the perfect outfit for your birthday that you're gonna love!"

With that, the door was closed as best as it could be with its busted hinges, once again reminding me that I needed to get someone to fix that. I tried to commit it to memory as best I could, getting dressed in my usual daywear and headed back out of my bedroom, wondering what I was going to spend my time doing until the function started at about eight o'clock tonight. I decided to go find Zane, another one of my childhood friends, and have a chat with him, just to pass the time.

He and Annerose had been the first real friends I'd made as a child, though Zane was the oldest out of the three of us, being four years mine and Annerose senior. I'd first met him when I was about eight years old. I was playing outside the castle and had wandered off from my assigned guard, getting quite lost in the pine forest outside the west gates of Canterlot. I ran around yelling and panicking for what felt like hours, getting more and more flustered as more and more time passed, eventually thinking I'd found my way out, only to find my way to a clearing with a large, wild dog eating something it had killed earlier.

I remember yelling in terror, something I regret more than anything, because it got the dog's attention. It had definitely been wild its entire life, and was a dog so mixed I couldn't even spot any defining breed features. It was a mutt, through and through, and one that saw a small, loud child as an easy meal. As this thing came bounding over towards me, another boy, Zane, came from practically nowhere and tackled the thing to the ground, stabbing it in the throat twice with a knife, before rushing over to me.

It turned out that he and his dad had been hunting wild dogs, clearing their population out so it was safer to civilians to travel through the woods, and he'd just so happened to hear me yelling and made it just in time. After that, the two of us stuck together, hanging out and becoming great friends in that time. Obviously my family was willing to give Zane millions and a knighthood for saving my life, and Grael practically stitched himself to me for years after that day, constantly feeling guilty that he'd failed to protect me by not being there the day that this happened.

Meeting Annerose, however, wasn't as glorious a tale as Zane's, and we often joked about it between each other. I'd met her while cherry picking with my Aunt Twilight as few months before meeting Zane. Not a grand or amazing story, but it was a friendship that blossomed and remained strong for years, and still to this very day, with Annerose being one of the very few women I'd never attempted to sleep with. I know that sounds like a rather strange thing to focus on but, believe me, you'll come to understand that she must've been born under a lucky star for that to happen.

I found Zane training with my father in a sparring ring outside. Zane was training to not only become a member of the Equestrian Knights Order, but also to become one of my royal retainers, and he wanted to be as qualified and prepared for the role as he could be. Though, despite Zane's physical and combat prowess, he was still getting rocked all over the ring by my father, a man long past his prime as the age of forty five years old, who was giving the young buck across from him a schooling that most men don't get up from.

Zane was beaten, bloodied, and covered in dirt, while my father was dancing around and nearly spotless in terms of injuries, both men wearing light, leather armour, and holding sparring equipment: a wooden sword and shield. They were rather evenly-matched in terms of size and scale, both men being six-foot-five, both men being about two hundred pounds of muscle, and both men being right-handed slashers with a rather similar fighting style.

I took a seat on a smith's anvil outside the ring, watching the bout go on with Zane being beaten and battered back, further and further to the edge of the ring before my father leaped forward, slamming his knee into Zane's stomach, head-butting him square in the head, and finally booting him in the stomach and sending him flying out of the ring. Shining stood proud for a short moment, a smile on his face and his arms by his sides in a heroic pose, before the middle-aged man suddenly hunched over, panting and laughing in exhaustion.

"Fuck me, Zane" he managed to cough out. "I think that's the closest I've ever gotten to killing myself in a duel. I think I need to lie down for a month."

"Then maybe one of these days I can just yell 'boo' and make your heart give out on you?" Zane giggled from the floor.

"I'm not that old yet, you cheeky cunt," Shining said, offering the knight-in-training a helping hand.

Zane took it and was pulled to his feet, the two of them dusting themselves off and grinning.

"Good fight, kid," my dad congratulated. "I don't think there's anyone else I'd want covering my son's ass."

"I've got over ten years of experience doing it," Zane smirked. "And he still hasn't paid me back for the Wyvern Incident."

"And I'm not going to because you're the one that got us into that mess," I called over to Zane.

"And speaking of the thrifty bastard," Zane grinned. "Here he is now."

I hopped off the anvil and walked over to Zane, clapping hands with him and giving him a shoulder bump before taking a step back.

"You looking forward to your function tonight?" he asked me.

"Of course," I said sarcastically. "Who doesn't wanna waste their coming of age night listening to a bunch of old fucks give speeches about the value of responsibility and adulthood when they could be out drinking and celebrating properly?"

"Now, now," my dad said quickly. "Your mother has put a lot of effort into organising this for you tonight."

"And I'm grateful for that," I said, nodding quietly. "But... c'mon, Pop, even you know this is gonna be awful, don't you?"

"As Cadance's husband, I can only tell you that she's put all of her time and effort as a professional event coordinator into making this function the best she possible could," he said, being quiet for a moment, before leaning in close and speaking in a hushed tone. "But as your dad, I can tell you that I'm really sorry you have to go through this and I did everything in my power to make sure this was as easy for you as I could."

"Thanks, Dad," I grinned. "You're the best."

"What are we conspiring over here, gentlemen?" a female voice asked from beside us.

The three of us turned around to see my Aunt Twilight, hair tied back and glasses on her nose, clutching at a stack of thick tomes in her hand. The short, dark-skinned genius looked at each of us individually before focusing on me.

"Happy birthday, Richter," she said with a smile. "Finally a big boy, eh?"

"Well... big isn't the right word for it," Zane said, dragging a hand from his head down to mine to show the height difference between us.

"Eat shit and die, Zane," I growled.

"Eat shit and live, Rick," Zane chuckled, patting me on the head before breaking away from our group. "Right, I need to go shower and cry for a while, so I'll see you all later. Brigadier Armour, it's been an honour training with you, and Princess Twilight, it’s great to see you again."

"You too, Zane," Twilight smiled.

"See you around, kid," Shining nodded, shaking hands with the younger man.

"See ya, buddy," Zane said to me as he hurried off.

"You better be there tonight for emotional support!" I called out to him.

"No promises, man, but I'll try!" he chuckled, heading up the ramp from the training area and back into the castle.

"I'm still confused as why he still calls me 'Princess'. I've know him long enough for it to be just 'Twilight' at this point," Twilight said with a shake of her head. "Anyway, what are you two gonna be doing for the rest of the day?"

"I've gotta make sure all of the new guys know the routine for the marching ceremony we're doing for Richter tonigh-"

"The fucking what?" I interrupted.

"I tried, bud, your mother's orders."

"For fuck's sakes."

"I know," he nodded before looking back at his younger sister. "What are you up to, anyway? It's rare to see you out of your mad scientist lab nowadays."

"I'm working on a formula for a liquid that can reanimate dead tissue and speed up its healing process," Twilight explained.

"That sounds an awful lot like psuedo-necromancy, Twily," Shining said, crossing him arms.

"Well it isn't... technically... it's not designed exclusively for dead people, and you can't hold the creator accountable for uses that it wasn't explicitly designed for, so it's not illegal per se," Twilight said, rambling as she often did. "But the point is, it's not to be used on dead bodies. I'm creating it to try and reattach limbs that have been amputated. I figure that if a mage or a doctor can repair the damaged or infected limb and restore it after its been taken off, this formula can be used to reattach the dead limb naturally without the healer being put to death for using dark magic to save people."

"Right... that's a noble cause," Shining commented. "You get right on that."

"Will do," Twilight nodded, hugging us both quickly before darting away. "I'll see you guys later!"

The two of us watched her disappear into the castle, Shining sighing in a worried manner, something that got my attention.

"Something wrong?" I asked him.

"That girl's going to get herself in trouble with her experiments one of these days," he said, crossing his arms. "She's bound to try a new miracle formula and blow herself up. She's come close to it a few times already."

"I'm sure she'll be careful," I said, shrugging my shoulders. "She's not one of the smartest people in the world for no reason, remember?"

"Even an expert can experience bad luck, Rick," Shining said in a grave tone. "I've seen soldiers that have been considered legendary killed in battle because they stumbled on a stray rock. Bad luck isn't something you can factor in, no matter how many times you run the numbers."

"I guess..." I nodded, looking at the door she'd run through.

"Anyway, Celestia said she wanted to talk to you about something," Shining said after a brief pause. "She seemed pretty excited to give it to you, as well."

"She's always bubbly at parties," I said, smiling warmly just remembering how happy Celestia got at special occasions. "And she always gives good presents."

"Aye, that she does," Shining nodded. "Anyway, you best go see what she's got for you before she decided to keep it for herself."

"Will do, Dad," I said, patting him on the shoulder as I headed out of the ring. "I'll see you around."

I took off at a light jog, heading back into the castle and making my way through to the location Celestia should be at this time of day. She always had a packed schedule that required a lot of memorisation if you needed to see her at any given time, as she spent practically all of her day in talks with politicians, local nobles, peasants, soldiers, and foreign ambassadors negotiating trade deals and special events between their countries. I believed she'd be having some down time, a half hour break for food and drink, before getting back into her 'needs of the people' block where she'd sit in and judge requests from the people of the city to see if they were worth funding or looking into. I found her sipping a cup of tea in her bedroom, getting a few pages of her book of the week out of the way, and only noticed me in the room after I cleared my throat.

"Ah, just the young man I wanted to see," she said with a wide smile, standing up and walking towards me.

While the rest of the women in my family were tall, Celestia was huge. She stood at seven feet tall barefoot and towered over everyone else, even her sister, whenever she was around them. The way she looked, walked, and spoke commanded respect and adoration from the people around her, as well as being an almost goddess-like beauty, just like her other family members were.

"I'd noticed you talking to our local blacksmith a lot these past few months in regards to weaponry," she began, sitting down at a small table in her room and offering me a chair. "And while I mean no disrespect to our own hardworking smiths, I knew that you deserved something better than a normal human craftsman could provide. So I started looking abroad for someone who could make you something you deserved..."

I was excited at this point, as I'd never had anything from a supposed legendary craftsman before. I'd used regular steel swords and steel armour for my entire life, and was really envious of the custom-made blades the other Alicorn had, and I was now practically bouncing back and forth in my seat with excitement, wondering if I was finally going to get one.

"And I came across a smith so legendary, that her crafting skills are talked about in these very halls, despite her residence in Resheph," Celestia said, snapping her fingers and, in a bright flash of yellow light, summoning a cloth-wrapped object that resembled a sword enough to make my heart start pounding. "After inspecting her wares, I was more than positive that her skill and methods could match even the greatest smiths of our kind, and I knew that she would be the one to make you your own, personal blade. So... here you go, unwrap it and see if you like it."

My hands were practically shaking as I took the blade from Celestia, pure excitement exuding from my entire being as I unwrapped the metal object, starting from the pommel and working my way down, unveiling a black, stained-steel pommel moulded and shaped to resemble the head of a Direwolf, set with what appeared to be sapphires in the eyes. I stared in amazement at the flawless steel, gently gripping the leather-wrapped hilt of the blade as I unwrapped the rest of it, the cloth sheets falling away to reveal a slightly-curved crossguard, expertly forged into resembling wolf teeth.

I slid the blade out of its sheath, the metal being a beautiful dark blue, the same colour as my royal banner, with a sheen so beautiful it reflected light like a mirror, the light dancing up and down the master-crafted weapon as I tilted and turned it, slowly sliding the blade back into the sheath and staring at it in amazement, feeling its solid body and good weight in my hands, feeling more custom to my grip than shoes my mother had imported for me.

"Do you like it?" Celestia asked after a moment. "It looks like you do."

"I... I don't know what to say," I said, struggling to find the words to describe my emotions. "This is the best thing I've ever seen in my life."
"I knew you'd like it," Celestia said, smiling widely. "Oh, and I should mention that it’s a Kairosteel blade. It won't dull or break, so you don't need to waste time whetstoning it after every use. Just keep it clean and it'll never be a problem.”

I set the sword down on the table, hugging Celestia tightly and thanking her several times over. The much larger woman wrapped her arms around me and hugged me back, my smile widening at the loving embrace, but my arousal jumping slightly at the feeling of Celestia's enormous breasts pressing into my chest, as well as the smell of her beautiful perfume wafting into my nostrils. There it was again, the desire, or enjoyment, of sexual attraction to my female relatives, present once more.

I tried to shake the thoughts from my head, but found myself unable to do so, enjoying the warmth of size of her body against mine too much to not be slightly aroused by her. I wasn't stupid enough to keep clinging to her forever. I made sure to be the first one to make a break away motion, and she complied quickly, allowing me to take my seat again and stare at the sword, now needing to force myself to ignore just how well Celestia's dress hugged her body once it was on my mind.

"Thank you so much, Aunt Celestia," I said with an ecstatic grin. "This is... wow, this is amazing."

"You're welcome, Richter," she smiled. "Just... try not to be too eager to use it, okay? I don't want to have to deal with a case in which you've cut down a banana salesman because he overcharged you on bunches."

"So basically don't turn into Luna?" I asked her.

"She's hardly that bad," Celestia said with a chuckle and a roll of her eyes. "But... as nicely as I can say it... yes, please don't."

"Are you two going to be at the function tonight?" I asked.

"Yes. I managed to drag her into a dress shop and get her something she'd be willing to wear," Celestia nodded. "Despite having to fight her tooth and nail to convince her to wear it, we managed to find her something."

"She kill anyone?" I asked with a smirk.

"Thankfully, no," Celestia said, obvious relief in her eyes. "Not this time. We'll be presentable and on time for you to give your big speech tonight."

"My big what?" I asked, horror rushing through me.

"Did Cadance not tell you to prepare one?" Celestia asked in a confused manner, looking me up and down. "She should've."

"No, she didn't tell me to do anything except wear that horrible doublet she bought for me," I said, the panic not only settling in, but also beginning to surge through me. "I can't give speeches, you know I can't give speeches."

"I tried to talk her out of it, but she insisted," Celestia said in a defending manner.

"So?" I asked. "You're her legal guardian. She still has to listen to you despite what she wants."

"Richter, she's a forty-five year old woman. I can't tell her off and send her to her room without supper," Celestia chuckled quietly. "The best thing you can do is try to talk her out of it yourself. Maybe she'll let it slide if you tell her she forgot to tell you?"

"I hope so," I said, feeling like I was going to hyperventilate.

This was one of the reasons I was terrified to turn eighteen. Not because of the responsibilities I'd have to take on, but the public duties I'd have to do. Parades, fundraisers, speeches, ball room events. I was able to stare down wyverns and minotaurs, but was shit-scared of needing to give any kind of public speech or announcement.

"Richter, are you doing alright?" Celestia asked. "You've gone rather pale all of a sudden."

"Just panicking about making an idiot of myself on stage in front of hundreds of people that are supposed to respect and support me, which will most likely lead to them never respecting me or my authority if I ever do decide to start making serious political decisions or moves in my life, leading me to become a prince in name only who is a disgrace to his entire family... just like Blueblood."

"..."

"..."

"I'm going to go have a word with your mother about this speech," Celestia said as she got out of her chair. "Because I am not going through that again."