Vanhoover, Equestria
One Week before Battle of Emona Memorial
Constellation

Luxury… What do you think of when you hear that word? Maybe a bed that you sink into? A fully tiled bathroom with marble and brass fixtures? Maybe a heated towel rack because… Well, why not? See, my definition of luxury is a bit different. It involves a decided lack of dirt clutching to every limb and piece of clothing, a clean bed to sleep in, and not having to sleep with an eye open for fear that someone would stab you in your sleep. What I have now meets that criteria, easily a stark contrast to the Wasteland that I grew up in. But even with these meager changes, living with them for the better part of a year has started to wear on my mind.

In short, I’m bored. I haven’t even had the opportunity to go bash the skulls of the local lowlife degenerates, that duty being taken up by that Sky and her apparent colt-friend Cloud Runner. And when they’re off duty my son Cosmo has been taking care of business, leaving me to wait up to make sure that everyone gets back to the building at a decent hour. It’s an entirely benign lifestyle that most ponies wouldn’t take issue with, but I’m certainly not most ponies.

“Is something wrong Mom?”

I was shaken out of my stupor by the simple questions from my pony-griffon hybrid son, Storm Chaser. “What now?”

“Is something wrong?” He asked again.

“No… It’s the just the usual.” I replied.

“You’re bored?”

“Yup.”

“And Cosmo is out beating up petty street criminals?”

“You guessed it.”

Storm drummed his fingers on the table before he shrugged. “We could go do something?”

“Like what?”

Storm stopped dead at the question before he slumped down in his chair. “I don’t know…”

“So we’re both in the same boat.”

Storm nodded and seemed to slouch down in his chair further. “You’d figure we’d have more to do these days.”

I offered a curt nod in response. “Honestly I’m starting to miss the raiders. At least then we’d have something to keep us busy.”

POP!

In a flash of light an envelope appeared before it fell to the table. It landed face down, with the seal of the Ministry of Defense holding it shut. With nothing better to do I picked up the envelope broke the seal and pulled out the letter.

Ms. Constellation,

It’s been some time since we met, so I’m not sure that you’d remember who I am. However I feel it’s high time we actually meet in a setting more formal than a warzone. As such I feel it prudent to extend you an invitation to come to Canterlot Castle. I’ll be sure to give you the full tour, as I doubt that there was much left of Canterlot from where you came from.

Regards,

General Meteor Shower
Minister of Defense

“Well that’s convenient…” I muttered as I handed Storm the letter. “If I didn’t know any better I’d say there’s some higher power that decided to pay attention to us.”

“You mean like a Goddess?” Storm asked.

I shrugged and nodded “Yeah, just like that.”

“Then why didn’t this higher power get involved sooner? It’s not like we haven’t been bored out of our minds for ages.”

I keep forgetting that I raised a rather bright young colt. Only he would notice the irony of the arrival of this invitation. “Well as far as I’m concerned this is an opportunity to break the day-to-day monotony that we’ve been dealing with. And what did I tell you about opportunities?”

“That you take them when you get them?” Storm wondered aloud.

“You got it.” I said, reaching over and ruffling the fluff on the top of his head. “Now unless I’m mistaken there’s no date on this invitation… So what are we waiting for?”

***

Canterlot Castle, Three Hours Later

If I could say anything about my expectations of Canterlot, I’d say they were rather low. Much of my impressions of the capital had been shaped by the stories of a city shrouded in a pink fog from inhabited by deranged ghouls. But stepping off the lowered ramp of the dropship that flew me and Storm from Vanhoover I already get the impression that I’d be learning something today.

We had stepped off the craft in a garden flanked on three sides by the massive polished marble walls of Canterlot Castle. For what seemed like the first time in my life I was awestruck by something that ponykind had made, not wondered how things were before bombs took everything from our society. By the time my gaze turned to the door that led into the castle I realized that our host had been standing and waiting for me, as Storm had already joined him.

“I get the impression that you don’t get out all that much.” The General observed as I finally joined him. When we last met he was decked out in the golden armor of the Solar Guard, but this time he had traded protection for substance with a well-fitted suit.

“You don’t know the half of it.” I retorted. “It's just… I heard all the stories about how Canterlot died over the course of my life. Now I’m standing on grounds of a palace that I had every reason to believe was a crumbling ruin.”

“That’s right, that whole multiverse thing…” The General mumbled. “Fair enough. So I take it you’re hoping to see more that some walls?”

“Absolutely!” Storm yelped.

I could only offer a reserved smile. “What he said.”

“Then shall we get moving?”

We walked through the halls of the castle in silence, mostly because I was taking everything in. The stained glass windows that lined the outer walls were beautiful, filtering in the soft colors of the sun that hung high in the midday sky. Considering that the only “stained glass” that I had previously seen were windows coated with bloodstains, the artisan quality to such simple fixture was a welcome experience.

“So when did you get promoted?” Storm asked, kicking me out of my stupor

“What do you mean?” The General asked.

“You signed your letter that you were the ‘Minister of Defense’. I thought you were in charge of the southern theater?”

The General finally got what Storm was asking and chuckled. “You can’t oversee a theater of war in a time of peace. So Celestia decided that my talents would best be used in her cabinet, hence the promotion.”

“What is she like?” I asked.

“Who, Celestia?”

“No, the other sun goddess.” I replied.

The General chuckled and stopped so he could turn his attention to me. “She’s a great leader, and a good friend of mine. So believe me when I say that half of the legends that you’ve heard about her are pretty spot on except for one point.”

“And what would that be?” I asked.

“She’s not perfect.” The General instantly replied. “She makes mistakes just like you or me. She drags herself out of bed every morning just like anyone else, easily with the same bedhead. She may be immortal, but she doesn’t act the part.”

“And to think a religion grew around such an imperfect figure.” Storm added in a snarky manner.

I really didn’t know how to react to that. Storm was always an inquisitive young colt, but he had always found ways to stump me on the topic of my religious beliefs. “You’re doing it again…” I groaned.

“And just what did he do?” The General asked, not knowing the point I was trying to drive home.

“I made Mom question her beliefs again.” Storm replied with a smile. “Trust me, I do it all the time.”

Finally out of my stupor I realized that we were standing at the foot of a large stained oak door, easily large enough to let a dragon fit through. When I saw the symbols on the doors I felt my heart flutter. “Is that really what I think it is?”

“If you think that it's the throne room you’d be spot on.” The General replied with a smile. “Celestia is still in a-”

As the door swung open two guards walked out, followed by the familiar mug of the supposedly reformed Dark King of the Crystal Empire. “Believe me General, we’re all set.”

While I didn’t know what the purpose for Sombra’s meeting with the Princess was, it was clear that Meteor Shower knew. “Did you get anywhere?” He asked.

“She’s loaning me a ship with no crew for an extended period of time. I’ll just take that and run with it”.

“Fair enough.” He said reassuringly. “Just let me know if you need anything else.”

“Will do.” Sombra curtly replied before disappearing in a cloud of grey mist.

Storm and I didn’t realize that he must’ve teleported away, but the General certainly recognized that parlor trick. “I hate it when he does that…”

“Did he just teleport?” Storm asked.

“Sort of.” The General replied. “He’s using a parallel dimension to route his teleportation spell to where he wants to go, not straight point A to B like normal. According to him it uses less energy and affords a greater range to the spell… And that’s assuming I believe him.”

“Do you believe him?”

“Well I believe getting pulled along with that spell reintroduced my lunch to the outside world.”

I shuddered at the thought of the General losing his lunch through Sombra’s unique method of teleportation. “Sounds like fun…”

The General motioned to the guards who started the task of swinging the heavy oak doors open. “I’d say you’re about half right on that.”

With nothing more to say on the topic I turned my gaze to the throne room and walked through the half-open doors. I had heard stories as a child that the room was itself a work of art and a monument to some of the most important events in our history. Those stories rung true as I shifted my gaze to the stained glass windows that depicted what I would assume to be some of the major historical events that littered the history of our country. Not that I know what half of them mean, considering I’m not an expert on translating the meanings of artwork, but I can understand enough to know that what I’ve heard over my life is the real deal. But as my boot hit a step at the base of the dias I realized that I had kept marching across the room, distracted entirely by my surroundings.

“I take it that this is your first time in Canterlot?” Came a voice from above me on the throne.

I finally looked up at the sun goddess herself. For a moment I didn’t know what to do before I felt a nudge from my side and nodded. “The stories don’t do the place justice.”

By the time I realized what was happening Celestia was already standing in front of me. She was easily half a head taller, so even at ground level I was still looking up at her to an extent. “I can see the resemblance…” She muttered.

Now I think I have a right to be confused. “What resemblance?”

“Your son Cosmo.” Celestia answered. “He definitely has your eyes.”

Thats right, Cosmo has met the Princess before. “Quick question, just what did Cosmo do for you?”

“I take it he didn’t tell you?”

“He just told me you paid well.”

Celestia nodded and stifled a chuckle. “To put it simply he made the Intelligence Service and our Special Forces look bad on a regular basis. So until we got the ponies in each brought up to snuff he did all the field work for both branches. Hence why he was and still is paid well for his services.”

“So he was a merc…” I muttered, filing the facts that Celestia had presented me for later.

“More or less. But I take it that his skills had something to do with his upbringing.”

“Mom is a good teacher.” Storm added, reminding me that he was still in the room.

“I know who you are…” Celestia said as she ruffled Storm’s head. “Phalanx talks about you all the time Storm.”

Ah, yes. Phalanx. He has taken to Storm and has been trying to be a father figure to him and I can’t complain. Anyone is better than his biological father. “So who don’t you know?” I asked.

“I couldn’t tell you if I don’t know them.” The Princess replied with a wry grin.

I could only smile in return at the Princess’s blunt form of humor.“Point taken.”

“At least you appreciate it.” The Princess said as she led the three of us to a small parlor off the main throne room. She plopped down in one of the rather plush chairs quite unceremoniously but kept that same smile she had out in the throne room. “Now… Tell me about yourself Constellation.”

***

An Hour Later

After a discussion over tea regarding the finer points of life in this new Equestria that I’ve been adapted to, the Princess gave me a pass to the castle library. Now I’m not a major book pony, but when one is given free reign to go through history texts that haven’t been turned to ash you tend to take up the offer.

So for half an hour I’ve had my head stuck in one of the thickest textbooks on Equestrian history that I could find. At almost a foot thick I needed to enlist Meteor to help me move it to a stand that had been specially reinforced to hold books as heavy as it. I didn’t care much for the ancient history, as most of it was loaded with speculation derived from long-destroyed documents. What I was trying to assess where the differences in the lead-up to what we in the Wasteland called “The Last Day”.

Right away it looks like Equestria is still managing to maintain good relations with the Zebra kingdoms and tribes, but that was traded for occasional instability along the Griffon and Minotaur borders. I may not know much about pre-war diplomatic standings between us, but I know enough to know that Wastelanders didn’t simply attack Griffons and Minotaurs like they do Zebras. That has to speak for something…

“You find anything interesting?” Meteor asked as took a glance down at the text.

I offered a nod as I flipped the page to reveal a printed mural of an armored guard staring down a massive Minotaur gladius. “You’ve certainly been busy Meteor…”

The General nodded in agreement. “I’ve had one hell of a run.”

As I turned to face the General something off to the corner of my vision caught my eye. “What’s that?” I muttered. Sitting behind the bookshelf was what looked like an old wooden plank with some carvings. I brushed past the General and knelt down next to the shelf. I grabbed the plank and pulled it out, revealing that it was in reality a wood-bound book. I waved the book at the General and shrugged. “What the hell is this?”

It took a minute for the General to register what I was holding, but his look of confusion turning to one of absolute elation was a suggestion that I was holding something of great importance. “That’s one of the two surviving pre-Discordian texts. And it’s been missing for decades.”

I looked down at the book, then back to the nook that I had pulled it out of before returning a now confused gaze to the General. “Then they did a shitty job trying to find it.”

The General obviously wasn’t listening, as he already had run off to find whoever he could and inform them of this discovery.

But let's back up for a moment. Judging by the General’s reaction this book is incredibly important.

After a few minutes both the General and Princess Celestia came running into the library. “I’ll be… She did find it!” Celestia exclaimed.

At that point I recognized that I was still holding the book… And therefore had all the leverage. As I charged my horn a simple fire spell began channeling though my free hand. “And ‘she’ has a few demands if you want to see this thing as anything other than kindling.”

The General’s jaw just about hit the floor when he realized what I was doing. “You wouldn’t.” He whispered.

“I would, assuming that my rather reasonable demands aren’t met.” I retorted.

The General was about to offer a response, but the Princess cut him off. “Name your terms.”

I felt a cocky grin develop and chuckled “Two percent of the royal treasury, and a decree that acknowledges the Northern Guard as an independent organization that can act under any means to ensure that Equestria and its people remain safe.”

“That’s preposterous!” Meteor yelled.

But judging by her facial expression the Princess didn’t feel that way. “Consider it done.”

The next few hours were rather uneventful. While the General clearly couldn’t get over what he had just witnessed, the Princess didn’t seem to take issue with had been asked. As we were waiting on the Pelican to leave, she arrived and handed me the sealed decree.

“I must admit Constellation, what you did in that library was quite unexpected.” The Princess observed.

I nodded and sat back in my seat. “Is this where you threaten me to make sure that something like that doesn’t happen again?”

The Princess shook her head. “Meteor will likely cover it eventually.”

“Then why are you here?” I asked.

“To offer you some words of wisdom.” The Princess said as she walked off the ramp. “Keep in mind that the house always wins.”

As the dropship picked up from the courtyard I found myself going back to the Princess’ words. “What did she mean by that Mom?” Stormy asked.

I didn’t respond. I already have a feeling that Celestia was giving me a warning… And if the Immortal Sun Goddess is telling quoting that age old casino adage, I get the feeling that decree and funding will come with some other cost.

Author's Note

Well this was the second idea that I came up with. Instead of just a Constellation one-shot, I decided that the story could be something more... And with the cliffhanger at the end of The Long Road, we'll soon have somewhere to pick up (in addition to some cover art in the pipe). Stay tuned!

In the meantime, anyone got questions? Like what you're seeing so far? Hell, maybe have some gripes? There's a comment section and the Mirrorverse Codex. Read and comment away, because I want to hear from you fellow denizens of this corner of the internet. Until next time gang!
-Striker