Canterlot Castle, Eight Hours after Endeavor’s Return
Archer

For once I think that I may have shocked the intelligence officers that were tasked with debriefing me after this latest crisis. Judging by how they started things off they seemed to believe that our interview wouldn’t take long. Suffice to say they were woefully wrong, and our interview stretched well to the late hours of the afternoon. Every intelligence officer I passed on the way to the main dining room all had the same expression of shock, likely at the sheer depth of information they had received that would somehow need to be included in their reports. What actually confused me was the rapt attention that many of the castle staff were paying to some papers they were holding. But by the time I reached the dining hall I put those musings to the side and slid into an open chair.

“Hey Archer, you look bored.”

Turning my head up I saw Spark, having found a shower and a clean set of clothes, slipping into the chair off to my left. “How’d it go with the spooks?” I asked.

Spark chuckled. “If I didn’t know any better I’d say they thought I was crazy.”

“I’d think that’s a safe bet.” I offered. In reality most of the analysts were probably thinking along the same lines as the ponies that interviewed Spark. I did notice a decided absence of servers approaching us and asking us what we’d want to chow on. “Is it just me, or does it seem like the entire staff decided to take five?”

“I’m no expert on castle protocols-” Spark droned “-but you’re right… Something is definitely off. None of the servants I passed were paying attention to anything except some papers they were reading.”

“Good to know I’m not crazy.” I observed. “You want to bet on what’s got these ponies so interested?”

Spark shook his head. “Not on your life.” As he said that, Dusk quietly slid into one of the chairs directly across from us. “Hey Commander long time… What the fuck are you wearing?”

Spark was certainly more observant than I was, because he picked up on Dusk’s rather dressy black and gold garb well before I could’ve hoped to. Suddenly it clicked what he was wearing. “Dusk? Why does it look like you stole something out of Prince Armor’s wardrobe?”

“Ya… You’re right. What’s with the fancy threads boss?” Spark asked.

Dusk’s head just sunk down. “I really don’t want to-”

“Ah, Your Highness!” One of the servants called out as he approached. “Apologies for keeping you and your associates waiting. What can get for you?”

If I was shocked and confused at the servant’s words, so was Spark. Dusk simply sighed. “Any chance you’ve got any ninety percent rubbing alcohol?”

“Rubbing alcohol sir?” The servant asked.

“Ya… It’s probably the only thing strong enough to help me forget the last six or seven hours.” Dusk groaned.

“...I’ll just get you a lemonade then.” The servant said, briskly walking away from the clearly frustrated stallion.

“Did that colt just say ‘Your Highness’?” Spark asked.

To my shock, Dusk nodded. “I’m assuming that you two have been living under the rock known as Equestrian Intelligence for the better part of the day then?”

“I think that most of them are probably thinking of us as the rock.” I offered.

Dusk nodded. “That reminds me, I should take care of that… Kibitz!”

An older mustached stallion suddenly approached from out of my line of sight. “Yes sir?”

“Tell Equestrian Intelligence to instruct their agents to file their interview recordings instead of full-blow reports. And make sure that if the agent has any observations that they add them in notes submitted with the recordings. That should do fine considering the mountain of stuff that’s getting dropped on them at the moment.” Dusk said, sounding somewhat tired as he spoke.

“Anything else sir?” The stallion asked.

Dusk shook his head. “That should be all Kibitz.” As the stallion disappeared from sight I heard Dusk sigh. “That’s a perk I could get used to…”

“I still don’t even know what’s going on!” I protested.

“Oh right… Kibitz!” Dusk called out.

The stallion returned far quicker than I would’ve thought possible for one his age. “Yes sir?”

“Do you have one of those announcements that the court released earlier? I really just don’t want to explain this whole royalty thing yet…”

“I assume that would be because you don’t know how?” Kibitz asked as he fished something out of his coat.

Dusk nodded. “You can read me like a book already… You and I are gonna get along just fine.”

As Kibitz again took his leave Dusk handed me the papers that the stallion had given him. “Kibitz said it best. I honestly don’t know how to explain it… So I’ll just let the publicists take care of it for now.”

With no other way to get answers out of Dusk, I turned over the paper in my hand and started reading.

Dear Subjects,

For many years I have not been honest with you. Long has it been believed that the Royal Family only extended to my sister Luna and those who joined the throne by their ascension. Almost fifty years ago, well before Luna’s return, I married a young stallion and had a child. Many of you know that stallion as General Meteor Shower, one of the greatest champions that Equestria has seen in hundreds of years. And while our son Sonar has mostly stayed out of public life, our grandson Dusk has not. Ideally we would have made this announcement years ago, but the time never felt right. This morning’s events have shown me that there hasn’t been, or ever will be, a right time to make this announcement. Storm clouds are gathering once more over Equestria, and in the absence of certainty I find that we need a beacon of hope to light our way once more. So it is with my great honor that I announce the long overdue coronation of Dusk Light, Crown Prince of Equestria.

Warmest Regards,
Princess Celestia

While I hadn’t read anything that the Princess had written before, what Dusk handed me certainly read like something that a benevolent leader would say to her people. The other piece of paper was the date and time of the start of the coronation and its subsequent events; tomorrow morning at 9:00 sharp. “So… I guess you just wanted to get away from this personal hell that the Princess has created?”

Dusk nodded. “The whole time we were talking she had some mare, Rarity if I remember the name right, measuring me for a full set of vestments for tomorrow. This is just the first one that she managed to finish before I snuck out Celestia’s study.”

“And how many of these-”

“I need three full sets just for tomorrow.” Dusk said, cutting Spark off. “And here’s the kicker. They’re all identical and I need to change between the different events.”

“That seems rather wasteful…” I observed.

“I know, right?!” Dusk exclaimed. “I mean come on, is somepony gonna notice the microscopic fleck of dust on my pants that I’ve only had on for an hour?”

“Ah, Your Highness!” A bubbly-sounding mare called out, much to Dusk’s apparent displeasure. As the purple-maned unicorn finally stepped into view, I noticed she was holding a black colored bundle that matched Dusk’s clothing perfectly. “So I was thinking-”

“Really now? You were thinking Rarity?” Dusk said in a tone of mock-surprise.

The mare just rolled her eyes and practically picked Dusk up out of the chair, draping the fabric she was carrying around his shoulders. “As a matter of fact I was. Specifically that capes are in this year.” She said, sounding rather matter-of-fact in doing so.

Dusk certainly pulled the look off, that’s for sure. “Well you definitely look the Crown Prince part…” I observed.

“At least somepony-” Dusk suddenly stopped dead in his tracks and was staring off down the dining room at something that I couldn’t see from where I was sitting. Suddenly he just broke off into a run towards whatever he saw, immediately followed by some rather stallion-like giggling.

Getting up from my chair, I could see why Dusk took off. Dart finally managed to find him. Of course before I could say a word, my radio beeped to life. “Blaze Squad, this is Meteor Shower. Meet me in the War Room. Emergency meeting in five.”

***

Castle War Room, Six Minutes Later
Archer

“General, I’m telling you that having Redoubtable and Paris put down for repairs at Ghost Base is pointless!” Admiral Baxter protested as the small entourage that I had gathered filed into the War Room. “You know as well as I do-”

“It doesn’t matter Tim. You’ve known we were planning on moving ship repairs to Ghost for the last two years.” Meteor countered. “We’ve got ten berths there capable of handling ships as large as a Halcyon. You’ll be fine.”

“But the base isn’t even staffed. How the hell are we supposed to get the fleet patched up?!”

“That’s what we’re going to be discussing.” Meteor replied, motioning to the holotable in the center of the room. “Anyway, it looks like everypony is here. Grab a chair and kick back, we’ve got a lot to discuss.”

“Like what? I thought we kicked ass this morning.” Pumyra offered as she claimed a spot on one of the open benches.

“The child is right Meteor.” Starswirl said from somewhere behind me. “I may have been aboard the Endeavor, but I do believe that we did triumph over Euripides.”

“It wasn’t without cost.” The General countered. “The Coral Sea isn’t worth salvaging, and we lost one hundred ninety seven naval officers during this morning’s events. In the grand scheme of things Euripides barely lifted a finger. That’s unacceptable.”

“So what do you expect us to do about it?” Dusk asked.

“It’s simple. We’re going to change our strategy.” The General said as he hit some keys on his control panel. “Now then, a handful of you might remember the old Enclave base in the Badlands. About eight years ago we started a rebuilding effort at the base. Like I was saying when you all walked in, there are now ten cruiser-sized drydocks at the facility, and the damage that we dealt during the war has all been repaired. However once we completed the work we kept the equipment for the base stored until such a time that we felt it time to activate the facility. After the events of the last few days I believe that the time to bring what we’re calling Ghost Base into service is now.”

“So you’ve got a bunch of drydocks and an empty base. Mind telling me what we’re doing here?” Dusk questioned.

“Simple. Blaze Squadron is going to escort the supply convoy out of Canterlot tomorrow morning during the coronation. Now normally I wouldn’t bother an escort, but primarily the squad will be protecting the support equipment for the Atlas and Illustrious.” Explained the General, as the hologram changed to outlines of two wedge-shaped starships, easily half Endeavor’s size if the measurements were any indication. “I sent the order an hour ago. Captains Sentry and Sandstorm will be detaching from the UNSC’s fleet in the Epsilon Eridani system. They’ll be in orbit by this time tomorrow.”

“Stellar Forces finally decided on a destroyer design?” Dusk observed.

The General nodded. “Finalized and laid down just after you disappeared. They’ve been on shakedown with the Third Fleet for the last three months, and right now they’re the only two remotely combat capable starships we have at our disposal.”

“What are you planning to do with them when they get here?”

The General just smiled. “That’s something we can worry about later Dusk. For now, that’s all I’ve got for you lot. Now go get some rest, tomorrow is going to be a busy day.”

Author's Note

Ya, that's right. Dusk is Crown Prince of Equestria. Someone cue up the outrage machine now that we get a reluctant royal now part of the equation. A royal that, might I add, is going to be acting far from royal until the very last chapter.

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-Striker