Getting Everyone To Agree Is Hard
“So, think we have enough bubble wrap?” I placed the trio of bubble wrap rolls on my palace living room floor—or at least it would be the living room once I had furniture for it. Right now it was pretty empty aside from a few unopened boxes. One of the problems caused by Tirek blowing up the library was that nearly all my personal possessions had been destroyed, along with the furniture. There were a lot of things that needed replacing, assuming the objects in question could be replaced to start with, as well as a bunch of other things that needed to be taken care of—like the damaged armor of Shadow Kicker.
Storm looked between the large rolls of bubble wrap and Shadow’s Armor, the armor itself now resting on a stand, waiting to be packed up into the crate we had brought back from the post office. “I think five pounds should be enough.”
“Good, because I don't want it to get damaged even more on the trip to Canterlot.” As I examined the Armor, I couldn't help but notice how badly it had been dented in by Tirek, and I grimaced at the knowledge that Storm had been in it.
“Agreed.” Storm’s eyes flicked to the large pile of packing supplies. I had thought it prudent to purchase an extra bit of everything.
“Great! Let's start packing it up.” I levitated a roll of bubble wrap and started getting to work with Storm’s help.
A couple of minutes later, Cloud Kicker came trotting into the living room. “Hey Twi, I was wondering if you had any books about—” She paused when she saw the partially wrapped Armor.
“Oh, hey Cloud!” I waved her in. “Good to see you.”
“Likewise,” Cloud said, her eyes not leaving the armor.
“You were saying something about a book?” I offered.
“Uh ... not important.” Cloud waved vaguely at Shadow’s Armor. “You’re busy.”
“I can always take a few minutes for a friend.” Sure, the Armor was definitely important, especially for what I had planned for it, but my friends were super important too. “We were just in the middle of wrapping it up for transport.”
Storm nodded. “We will be taking it back to Canterlot to finish repairing it.”
“And that's way important than me needing to borrow a book,” Cloud said. “My stuff can wait until after you’re done with that.”
“We’ve got a few hours before our train arrives.” A frown worked its way to my lips. “Unfortunately, I can't repair the Armor here in Ponyville. Not after all my tools got blown up alongside the rest of the library.”
Cloud grunted and gave me a chaste hug. “Losing your house ... yeah.”
I hugged her back and sighed. “Yeah. I'm still getting over the shock of that, I think, but I'll be alright in the end. Nopony was hurt too badly, though Storm got pretty beat up.” I tried not to wince at the memory of Storm’s admission to the hospital immediately after the battle.
“It's nothing to worry about, Highness,” Storm assured me in her usual stoic manner. Though I knew under Armor she was still sporting more than her fair share of bandages.
Still, it wouldn't do to dwell too much on Storm’s injuries, especially when she wouldn’t want me to bring them up again. “I'm trying and not complain too much about my home being blown up along with all my possessions.”
“No more than you’re entitled to under the circumstances,” Storm said. Though she probably had some room to complain too. Everything she had brought to Ponyville had been blown up alongside the library. She hadn't lost as much as I had, but it still couldn't have been fun.
I put a brave face forward and grinned at my captain. “Now you're not just saying that because I'm a princess, are you?”
I caught a subtle grin on Storm’s face. “Royalty is allowed certain privileges.”
Cloud snorted. “You two flirting again?”
I rolled my eyes at Cloud being Cloud. “We're not flirting.”
Storm nodded. “We are simply being appropriately friendly.”
Not content to let Cloud get too much momentum with her her-ness, I turned back to Storm. “So was your cousin always like this, or did she grow into this?”
“There was a time when she was far more respectable,” Storm duly answered. “I even admired her and wanted to grow up just like her.”
I chuckled. “That’s hard to believe.”
Cloud frowned. “Yeah, yeah, I'm a real shame now.”
Storm tensed at the sudden change in Cloud’s demeanor. “That is not what we meant.”
I grimaced. It looks like we’d struck Cloud’s nerve where her family was concerned. I had hoped that she would have had most of those feelings settled by now, but it seemed her she still had some issues. “I didn't mean it like that, Cloud.”
Cloud sighed and shook her head. “'Course you didn't. Sorry, just ... old baggage.”
“You okay?” I asked, nuzzling her.
“I did not mean to reopen old wounds,” Storm added.
Cloud grinned wryly. “Yeah, just the same old bundle of unresolved issues wrapped up in a sexy mare I've always been.”
“You're free to talk about it anytime you like,” I offered with the best smile I could manage.
Cloud waved the issue off. “Thanks, just ... been a crazy couple of days.”
“You're telling me,” I said. “Tirek pretty much upended the balance of my life. Hopefully visiting Canterlot will help.”
“Yeah, I kinda have to visit everyone before...” Cloud motioned vaguely at her stomach.
Ah, right. Cloud’s unexpected pregnancy—something she hadn't taken all that well when she had found out. She seemed to have her hooves under her a lot better than when she had first found out, but I could tell she was still off-balance. “Right, that. You probably have a lot of ponies to tell the big news.”
“Sure do,” Cloud said with a long sigh.
I struggled to find something to say to Cloud. “So, if you want to, you can come with us to Canterlot. I'm sure it'll be nice to go together.”
Cloud shrugged. “I might as well if we're all headed there.”
“Great. That will let all of us catch up,” I said. “It's been a while since we've really done anything together.”
Cloud didn't meet my eyes, and sounded distracted as she spoke. “Yeah. Great.”
“Would you be good to head out in a few hours?” I asked. “Spike’s packing what we need upstairs and we only need to finish packing the Armor.”
Cloud shrugged again. “No time like the present.”
Hopefully the trip would help Cloud feel better. Sometimes all a pony needed was some time away from it all to feel rejuvenated. At the very least, spending some time with her family should do some good.
“Sounds like a plan, then.” I started carefully covering the Armor in bubble wrap, rolling it so that all of the Armor would have a protective layer. I frowned slightly as I paused. “Even if the Armor is a bit cranky about being boxed up. The entity inside it says being covered in bubble wrap is beneath her dignity.”
Cloud rubbed the back of her neck. “I can't imagine it being happy about that.”
“But we don't want it to get damaged in transit.” I returned to my packing work. “It's pretty badly beat up already and I don't want it to get any worse.”
The Armor itself I wasn't too worried about, since that was just a matter of beating it back into shape or replacing broken parts. What was more worrisome was the damage done to its spell matrices and the runes carved into it. Enough damage to those could ruin Shadow’s Armor as a magical item. Why I was playing it safe with the packaging and taking it to Canterlot where I could procure the best tools available to repair it.
“Her Highness is taking every reasonable precaution,” Storm agreed.
“It is an irreplaceable artifact,” I pointed out. “I think I'm being justified in being careful.”
“Better safe than sorry, right?” Cloud’s eyes flicked to the Armor, or at least the few parts of it that were still visible..
I nodded. “That's what I thought. I just need to get access to the tools I need, and then the Armor will be as good as new.” I rubbed my chin as I finished securing the Armor. “Hm, I might even ask Princess Celestia a few things just to make sure I do the job right. She did help enchant it to start with, and it would be a good idea to check with her about the repairs. Especially when I was thinking to do a few upgrades while I was at it.”
Cloud’s ears perked. “Upgrades? What sort of upgrades?”
“Make the Armor a bit stronger, for one,” I explained. “Enchanting has come a ways in the last eight centuries, and I think I can make it more effective all around. Make it more resistant to damage, add a few comfort enhancements, those type of things to start with.”
“And perhaps do something about the security protocols.” Storm frowned deeply.
“That's something I should definitely talk to Celestia about before I start messing around with it.” I rubbed the back of my mane as I thought thought forward to that uncomfortable talk. As it stood, only a pony of the Shadow Kicker’s bloodline who was also ‘Pure of Heart’ could wear the Armor. I knew I wasn’t the only one who thought that was a messy and subjective qualifier for who could actually use it. Plenty of ponies from the Kicker Clan had tried to use the Armor in the past for noble ends only to be rejected as unworthy, a fact that was only messier when Storm had convinced the Armor to let her use it through ... irregular methods.
Cloud scowled. “They were a bit ... restrictive.” Little surprise, Cloud was still bitter over not being allowed to bear the Armor during the Battle of Canterlot. Especially when all she wanted to do was protect her home, her clan, and the ponies of Canterlot from Queen Chrysalis and her swarm.
“I don't really see a reason to have such a restrictive set of qualifications that it can't even be used when ponies need it,” I said. “It just isn't practical.”
Storm nodded in agreement. “Precisely. If I hadn't found a loophole...” She shook her head. “And I don’t think Shadow likes the restrictions either.”
“She doesn't?” My head tilted as I studied the big ball of bubble wrap that now covered the Armor.
Storm shook her head. “From what she has told me, she finds them constraining.”
That was interesting news. I had spoken briefly with the spirit in the Armor, but sadly it hadn’t been terribly forthcoming with answers all the questions I would have liked to ask it. It seemed to be more annoyed than anything. You would think that after sitting around for decades at a time, it would like to make some friends when it was actually out in the world. Or maybe it just got along better with Storm.
“One of the upgrades I was looking into will probably help it communicate,” I explained. “I think I can give it the capability to let the spirit in the Armor project itself and thus allow to communicate with more ponies than just whomever is in direct contact with it and is a blood relative to Shadow. Right now it's fairly restricted in being able to talk with ponies, to say the least.”
Cloud gestured to the mass of packaging. “But why would the armor need to do that when it's in the Vault all the time?”
I carefully levitated the Armor into its crate. “For when it's not in the Vault, or when ponies are visiting.”
Storm didn’t quite meet her cousin’s gaze. “And ... it might not be in the Vault quite so much.”
Cloud’s eyes narrowed. “And what’s that supposed to mean?”
I knew we were straying into precarious territory with Cloud’s feelings, especially now. “Like if Storm wants to keep wearing it, for one.”
“It would be useful for protecting Her Highness,” Storm added cautiously.
Cloud frowned. “That's not what it's for.”
“What is it for, then?” I asked, feeling a debate coming on.
“It’s meant to protect the Kicker Clan and Equestria as a whole.”
“It's not exactly doing that in a vault,” I pointed out.
“It's ready for when we need it,” Cloud countered. “Like it always has been.”
Storm interjected with her own pointed question. “Such as when changelings invade Canterlot and besiege the Compound?”
Cloud grimaced and struggled with a reply. “Point.”
“Kinda why I'm not thrilled with how restrictive its use is,” I said. “You could have done a lot of good when the changelings attacked if you had been able to use the Armor, and I can’t help but think this problem will keep coming up in the future if nothing changes.”
“I get that, but that doesn't mean we get rid of all the rules,” Cloud argued. “It's dangerous. There’s a reason the Armor has the restrictions it does.”
I sighed and rubbed my forehead. “I'm not saying get rid of all the rules. At least not without replacing them with something better.”
“Who decides what's better?” Cloud asked. “Do you think you can make better rules than Celestia?”
I shuffled in place. She had a point. Princess Celestia had a whole lot more experience and wisdom than I did. Was it even possible that I could do better than her? Should I even try? “That is true...”
Cloud patted me on the back. “Just let us handle this one, okay? The Armor’s a clan thing, so we'll sort it out for you.”
“She is not wrong,” Storm reluctantly agreed. “Celestia and Shadow were both quite clear about that. It should probably be the clan that decides if anything should change.”
I pursed my lips. The Armor was both a historical relic, in addition to being a very powerful suit of armor. Anything beyond basic maintenance was something I should discuss with the Kicker Clan. “Let's finish packing this thing up then, and we’ll figure everything out once we get to Canterlot.”
A few hours later, we were all on the train to Canterlot. Shadow’s Armor was safely stored away in one of the shipping cars, and the train station had insisted on giving me my own car despite my protests that I didn't need all that space to myself. In the end, Storm and Cloud talked me into letting the train station have their way about it. Storm pointed out that it would be better for security, even if I thought she was being a bit paranoid. Granted, it was her job to be paranoid.
We had all made ourselves in the spacious seating now available to us until the train left the station. It at least let me do one of my train ride activities without worrying about bothering anypony: creating backup checklists.
“... and then we'll need some opals, meadowbrook herb, and silver dust,” I told Spike, my eyes moving down to the next item on the list for things I would need to work on Shadow’s Armor.
Spike dutifully scribbled down the ingredients. “Gotcha.”
“Oh, and some new chiseling tools, and a chemistry apparatus.” I rubbed my chin. “I’m going to need some measuring tools too, but I’d better create a sublist for those.”
“Uh-huh,” Spike said, nodding as he wrote some more.
“And then we need some chalk.” I was going to need a number of things just to repair Shadow’s Armor, much less improve it if the Kicker Clan approved my ideas. It struck me as only sensible to make sure we got everything during our first shopping trip, and certainly having some double- and triple-check lists for supplies couldn't hurt.
“And new sex toys,” Cloud added with a grin.
Spike started absentmindedly writing that too when he stopped and blinked. “Wait, what?!”
My own eyes widened. “Cloud!” I was suddenly very happy we had put cart all to ourselves. I think I might have died of embarrassment if she had done that in public. “You're terrible, you know that?”
Cloud held a hoof to face as she snickered. “Sorry, I couldn't resist.”
“I am sure you could have,” Storm said dryly.
Cloud gave us that typical shameless grin of hers. “Okay, guilty. I didn't want to. At least we know Spike was paying attention.”
Spike jabbed his quill in Cloud’s direction. “You're a pervert, you know that?”
Cloud gasped in exaggerated surprise. “Me? A pervert! I never would have guessed.”
“Then you don't have much imagination,” Spike shot back. “That would explain your lame jokes.”
“Ouch, I see you taught your pet to hit where it hurts,” Cloud said.
Spike crossed his arms over his chest and glowered at Cloud. “I'm not a pet.”
Oh dear. I knew Cloud had just been kidding about the pet thing, but it was a bit of a sore point for Spike. I stepped in to do damage control and gently laid a foreleg around Spike’s shoulders. “Spike's not a pet, Cloud. He’s part of my family.”
Cloud saw the disapproving looks she was getting from Storm and Spike and sighed. “Right, sorry. I was joking and forgot to actually be funny.”
The tension in Spike’s shoulders and his smile returned. “It's okay. I just don't like getting called a pet, is all. It makes me sound like Angel.”
“And nobody deserves to be compared to Angel.” Cloud grimaced. “Having to put up with him is definitely one of the worst parts of being at Eepy’s place.”
“Right, and could a pet be Twilight's number one assistant?” Spike asked.
“Nah, Storm's definitely not a pet.” Cloud let that hang in the air for a second, a grin slowly growing on her face. “Well, unless she—”
Storm covered Cloud’s mouth with a hoof. “Do not finish that sentence.”
Spike looked between the two Kickers with a suspicious frown. “I have a feeling I don't want to know.”
“You don't,” I assured him. Spike already knew more about Cloud’s illicit affairs than I was comfortable with. No sense adding to that knowledge base until he was ... something much older.
“I do not want to know,” Storm agreed quite emphatically.
Cloud pouted exaggeratedly when Storm removed her hoof. “Bah, spoiling the pregnant mare's fun.”
“I suppose we should let you have at least a little bit of fun,” I allowed. “It is a perk of being pregnant. As long as you don’t have too much fun.” Cloud having too much fun had a tendency of leaving me pretty embarrassed to one degree or another. Of course, that was probably one of the big reasons she did it.
“One of those weird rules, I guess.” Spike shrugged.
“Yup.” Cloud took advantage of the fact we were alone in the passenger cart to lounge across two seats. “And the pregnant mare needs food.”
Spike’s eyes sparked as the opportunity to help somepony presented itself. “I’m on the job! Anything you want?”
“Hm.” Cloud stroked her cheek as she thought. “Nachos and hot chocolate?”
Spike raised an eyebrow. “You sure about that? That’s kinda a weird combo.”
“A pregnant mare's cravings can be kinda weird Spike,” I told him. “Just roll with it if they have what she wants on the concessions car.”
“As long as I don't have to eat that combo myself,” Spike said, hopping down from his seat.
“I'm not pregnant enough for cravings yet,” Cloud huffed. “Just in the mood for hot chocolate, and the nachos smelled good on the way to our car.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Spike said as he waddled out.
Storm sighed, giving her cousin a reproachful look. “You are going to milk being pregnant for everything you can.”
“Hey, I didn't want this to happen.” Cloud stretched out on her seats languidly. “Being pregnant isn’t fun, so I might as well enjoy the silver lining.”
“Well of course you have that opinion,” I teased. It was still a bit weird thinking of Cloud as a mother-to-be, especially when I wasn’t even sure who the sire of her foal was. As Cloud said, she hadn’t expected to find herself expecting.
“You know...” Cloud stretched again, giving me a wry smirk. “My rump is cramping up. I could use a princess massage there.”
Storm rolled her eyes. “You see what happens when you encourage her?”
“I figured something like this would happen.” I couldn’t help but smirk at Cloud’s typical antics. “I do find her at least moderately amusing, after all.”
Cloud puckered out her lip in an exaggerated pout. “Only moderately?”
“Okay, pretty amusing,” I allowed, not being overly eager to deflate her self-image of being the most bangable thing on the block. “Maybe amusing enough to help you with your poor rump.”
“Highness, what did I say about encouraging her?” Storm asked with a note of reproach.
“That it will encourage Cloud to be Cloud,” I said. “Like pretty much everything does on some level.”
“I can't do much other than be myself,” Cloud said with a serious nod.
“Of course, rubbing your rump will probably cause Spike to ask all sorts of questions,” I said, teasing Cloud with a potential denial.
Cloud fluttered her eyelashes for me. “I'm willing to take that chance.”
Storm crossed her arms over her chest. “I am not.”
“Of course Cloud is willing to take that chance,” I said. “She’s not the one that's going to have to answer those awkward questions.”
“What questions?” Spike asked as he crossed the partition into our car. He carried a tray covered with a quad of nacho servings and a mug of steaming hot chocolate.
“Twilight and Storm were debating what to get for lunch,” Cloud quickly answered.
Spike held up the tray for us. “Well I got some nachos for everypony if they want them.”
“Sounds good to me.” I levitated a serving to everyone. “Thanks, Spike. You're a big help.”
Cloud grasped her nachos and her eyes sparkled with obvious hunger. “Yeah, thanks.”
“Sure thing.” Spike took a seat next to me and started munching his nachos.
We all went about enjoying our little meal. Storm carefully and in a manner that would have fit at any Canterlot banquet, daintily nibbled her nachos. Cloud and Spike showed significantly less restraint as they enjoyed their nachos. For myself, I had to admit that I was a lot more hungry than I originally thought I was, and once I got going, I started eating with gusto. I was nearly done with my plate when Storm cleared her throat softly and offered a napkin.
“Hm?” Snapping out of my food hypnosis, I absentmindedly took the napkin. It was then that I noticed that I had gotten some cheese onto my coat. A lot actually. “Oops! Sorry about that. I guess this cheese can get everywhere.”
Spike jabbed a thumb in Storm’s direction. “Storm's doing alright.” As Spike pointed out, Storm didn’t have a drop of cheese anywhere on her.
I opened my mouth to reply, but realized I didn’t have a dignified counter to that, and closed my mouth. Cloud snorted and waved her hoof. “Nah, Storm's eating wrong. If you don't get even a little messy, you're missing half the fun.”
“I doubt she would see it that way,” Spike said, grinning.
Storm sat as erect as she could, the very picture of dignity. “You would be correct.”
“Hey Storm, aren't you making your princess look bad by having better table manners?” Cloud tsked and shook her head. “Shame on you.”
Storm gave her cousin a long, flat look before she dipped the tip of her hoof in her cheese and then flicked a glob of cheese onto Cloud’s muzzle, causing her to blink in surprise.
Spike pressed his claws to his face as he giggled. “Uh-oh, food fight!”
Storm sniffed at the idea. “That would hardly be dignified.”
“And more important, it's a waste of good food,” Cloud agreed, licking the cheese off her muzzle. If Cloud was bothered by her cousin hitting her with cheese, she didn’t show it.
Spike shrugged, then returned to his meal.
I decided to switch topics before things between Cloud and Storm got out of hoof. “So, you two have any plans while we're in Canterlot?”
“Well, naturally I will want to visit my family,” Storm answered. “I did see them just a week ago, but...”
Cloud nodded. “Same here.”
I smiled faintly. “Spike and I were planning on doing the same with my parents.”
“Are you going to introduce Storm to your parents?” Cloud waved vaguely at me and Storm. “What with her being your shadow these days.”
I glanced Storm’s way as I thought it over. “It might not be a bad idea. I'm sure they would like to get to know you anyways, what with you being the captain of my bodyguard.”
Storm nodded in agreement. “I would not mind.”
“If you like, Cloud, you can always come too,” I offered. “No sense leaving you out, and you've already met my parents.”
Cloud smiled warmly. “I won't say no. As long you don't think I'd be intruding, anyways.” Her smile took on a sinister edge. “I know letting your parents meet the girlfriend for the first time is a big deal.”
I instantly felt my cheeks flush. “We're not like that!”
Much to my chagrin, Spike tried and failed to hide a snicker. “Hey Twilight, how many of your books involved some princess getting swept off her hooved by her big, strong bodyguard?”
“Spike!” Sure some of my books were like that. But only some of them! It’s a common trope in novels. Why wouldn’t it be? It’s a nice fantasy to dream about sometimes. Nothing unusual at all to enjoy books like that.
Cloud chuckled as she watched my face run through a couple different shades of red. “Nice one, little guy.”
“You bet,” Spike said, hoof-bumping her.
“Oh no, Cloud and Spike have started conspiring together.” I buried my face in my hooves. “I'm doomed.”
Cloud nodded gravely. “Utterly doomed.”
“Spike, who feeds you gems?” Storm asked, jumping to my defense.
Spike froze in place, then slowly answered. “Twilight.”
“Bear that in mind when considering your actions,” Storm said with dreadful seriousness.
“I'll keep that in mind,” Spike replied, not quite meeting my or Storm’s gazes.
That little crisis dealt with, I turned my attention to Cloud. “And I trust you can behave for my parents, Cloud?”
Cloud waved me off. “Of course, I know when to turn it off.”
Storm fixed Cloud with a flat look. “And yet, you do not.”
“That's because I don't want to,” Cloud stated with an utter lack of shame. “Not because I can't.”
“Cloud is capable,” I agreed. “I've seen her do it once or twice.” Granted, she had flirted with my mom last time she saw her. Something I never wanted to see ever again.
“Gee, thanks for your endless optimism, Princess Purple Plot,” Cloud said with a grin.
“You know you like acting the way you do,” I shot back.
Cloud nodded. “It's true, it’s true.”
Spike turned to Storm to address her. “So, are your parents going to want to meet Twilight?”
“Probably,” Storm confirmed. “They only had a bit to meet her when they visited Ponyville. We have to visit the Compound to sort out the business with the Armor anyways.”
“Yes, your clan needs to decide what you want done with it,” I said, setting my plate aside. “I figure at the very least you’ll want me to patch it back to normal. Anything after that is up in the air, though.” I had written up a list of everything I could do to upgrade Shadow’s Armor, though I wasn't sure how much of it the Kicker Clan would be up for. Not when it was both a historical relic and religious icon for them. They might see me tinkering with it as some form of blasphemy. The only want to know for sure was to talk to some of the senior Kickers and see how things worked out.
Storm’s eyes flicked towards the cargo train carts. “Uncle Tor will almost certainly consult with Mother and Father on the matter.”
I nodded. “That would make sense,” I said. “I don't really want to get to work on the Armor until everything has been talked over.”
“Smart way to do it,” Cloud said, finishing off her nachos with a pleased murmur.
“Besides, it would be nice to get to know your parents, Storm,” I said.
Storm nodded. “I know they would like to get to know you better as well.”
“Might as well do that while we're here then.” I smiled at the idea of getting to know Storm’s better. “I do like being productive with my trips and getting multiple things done.”
Spike snerked. “That's Twilight for you: it can't just be a business trip or a friendship thing. It has to be as many thing as she can cram into her schedule.”
“She does have an itemized list with 232 tasks and objectives,” Storm agreed.
Cloud looked over Spike’s shoulder to glance over one of the lists sitting next to him. “Actually, she's added five more since the last time you checked.”
I grinned sheepishly. “What? I like to keep busy.”
Spike took his plate and stacked it on top of mine. “There's busy, and then there's being a workaholic.”
I rolled my eyes. “I'm not that bad. I like having fun now and again too.”
“Uh-huh.”
Storm cleared her throat. “I do regularly have to remind you to eat and sleep.”
“I sometimes lose track because I don't need to eat or sleep as much anymore.” That sounded better in my head, admittedly. “Alicorn physiology is very durable.”
Spike’s frown deepened. “That was your excuse before you became an alicorn. How many time have I found you sleeping with your head in a book?”
“Sounds right,” Cloud agreed. “I remember the time you were so into a book that you didn't notice me until I goosed you.” Her grin became shameless again. “That did catch you attention, though.”
“Moving one of her things out of place usually works too,” Spike duly added.
I crossed my arms over my chest and puffed out my cheeks, not particularly liking being the object of criticism for my work habits. Sometimes I just got really focused and into my work. “Okay, okay, point made.”
“I think that is enough,” Storm announced, finally coming to my aid.
“Fine, no making Princess Twilight grumpy.” Spike let out a long, melodramatic sigh.
“She's only grumpy because she knows we're right,” Cloud stated.
“Her Highness is entitled to be grumpy with you for pointing out her flaws,” Storm said primly.
“Let’s try and not to make a big deal out of it.” I waved the issue off. “So, you feeling comfortable enough, Cloud?”
Cloud stretched her way across three seats with a contented groan. “Yeah, I'm fine. Have to say, have to enjoy this royal perk of getting all this space for ourselves.”
“I admit, it can be nice to stretch out sometimes.” Seeing no reason not to, I stretched across a couple of seats as well. “Might as well enjoy what perks I've got.”
I was a bit embarrassed to take advantage of my status like this, but the train station had insisted I take all this space. It’s not like I had to feel that guilty about using what I was given.
Cloud nodded. “Seems a shame to let all that room go to waste”
Spike leaned back, his claws behind his head. “I think so.”
“It shouldn't hurt to get a bit of rest before we get to work once we get to Canterlot.” Despite myself, I found myself yawning, suddenly feeling tired. “Maybe you have a point about me getting more sleep. Now that I’m not up and doing something, I feel like taking a nap.”
Admittedly, I hadn't gotten much sleep since Tirek’s attack. There had been so much to see to since then that I had hardly stopped. Now that I had been forced to sit down and rest, I realized just how beat I really was.
Cloud stretched out her wings and shifted to a more comfortable position. “A nap does sound pretty good.”
“Rest if you need to, Highness,” Storm said. “I will keep watch.”
“Alright then.” I yawned, covering my mouth as I did so. “I think I'll go ahead and do just that.”
“Same here,” Cloud said. “Hey Storm, make sure no stewards offer us things or ... whatever else happens on a train.”
Storm grinned ever so slightly. “I will protect Her Highness. You are on your own, Cloud.”
“I’m hurt, Storm,” Cloud said, grinning back. “I’m hurt to the core. You should feel terrible hurting your pregnant cousin like that.”
“Be nice you two,” I said, giving them a mild warning.
“She's just teasing, Twi,” Cloud assured me. “Don't worry, Missy Goody Four Shoes won't let anything happen to me.”
“Storm's a pretty good pony like that,” I said, content to leave the matter at that.
“Yeah.” Cloud gave her cousin a wistful look before shaking her head. “Hey Spike? Mind getting some pillows and blankets?”
“Sure!” Spike hopped down and headed for the door. “Just give me a few minutes to get some.”
Cloud yawned and nodded. “Thanks, little guy.”
I found that yawn contagious and laid my head down. Soon I fell asleep. Though some hazy part of me felt Storm sneak a pillow under my head and then gently pulled a blanket over me.
We arrived in Canterlot a few hours later. The first thing we did was drop off Shadow’s Armor at the palace, then immediately headed to the Kicker Compound to try and find Tornado Kicker. As the paterfamilias of the Kicker Clan, he seemed the best ponies to approach first about the Armor. After asking around the Kicker Compound we found out that Tornado was in the Kicker Clan Museum.
The museum had a martial theme to it—little surprise when the Kicker Clan had a long history with the Royal Guard, and the militant Pegasopolis before then. A pony would be hard-pressed to turn any direction without finding themselves looking at some set of armor, weapon, or banner. I had been here once before in a date with Cloud, so the thing that caught my attention was a group of ponies setting a new display near one of the walls of the museum. At the center was Tornado directing everypony to set up a replica of Shadow’s Armor wrapped around a ponyquinne, in addition to posters with the history of the Armor printed on them were being put up along the flanks of the centerpiece.
Spike’s head turned slowly as he took in the museum. “Wow, this place is pretty neat.”
I smiled, happy that taking Spike to all this museums in the past had left an impression on him. “How about you look around while I talk to Guard-Captain Tornado?” I saw no reason not to just let him wander around while I took care of business. It’s not like we were going to talk about anything he didn't already know anyways, so he might as well let him learn while enjoying himself.
“Sure.” Spike shrugged and hopped off my back. “Call me if you need anything.”
“Can do,” I said as he headed to a display showing the development of the wing blade over the centuries. That taken care of, I headed over to Tornado with Cloud and Storm.
Tornado caught sight of us as we approached and bowed for me along with everypony else. “Princess Sparkle.”
I smiled and motioned for everypony to get up. “Hello, Captain Tornado.”
“Hey, Dad.” Cloud hugged her father.
“Cloud, good to see you.” He nodded to Storm. “You too, Storm.”
Storm saluted him and spoke with her ‘I'm on duty right now, so please excuse me while I act the part of a respectable officer’ voice. “Captain.”
“Setting up a new display?” I asked.
Tornado nodded. “After what happened with Tirek, we thought there might be new interest in the Armor, and so we're bringing out some old displays about its history.”
“Sounds interesting,” I said as my eyes scanned what had been written about the Armor.
Cloud shuffled slightly in place and her eyes briefly darted to her cousin. “I guess you'll be adding Storm to the list, won't you?”
Storm coughed and shifted slightly also, careful not to look in Cloud's direction.
“I suppose we will at some point,” Tornado said, glancing in the direction of a plaque that listed the Armor’s previous bearers.
That was a perfect segue. “Actually, I wanted to talk to you about Shadow's Armor, if you have a few minutes.”
Tornado’s ears perked. “Of course, Princess.”
“Well, the good news is that I'm confident the Armor can be repaired,” I told him. “It will take some work, but otherwise it should be fine.”
The tension that had been building up in his body relaxed when he heard that. “Glad to hear it. The Armor's been damaged and repaired before, but we were still worried.”
“It did get pretty badly beat up this time.” I cast a glance Storm’s way and felt a twinge of guilt over how she had been hurt trying to protect me from Tirek.
“It kept me alive,” Storm said, as though reading my mind. “I cannot complain too much.”
“If you say so...”
“It will be a relief to have it back in the vault,” Tornado said, thankfully moving the conversation in a less awkward direction. If only slightly.
I rubbed the back of my neck. “Thaaaaaat’sone of the things I wanted to talk to you about.”
Tornado tilted his head slightly. “Oh?”
“I wanted to tell you that I could give the Armor a number of upgrades, if the Kicker Clan wants them that is.” I pulled out a list that itemized the various improvements. “Shadow's Armor is nine centuries old, so while its enchantments are pretty potent, some of them are getting to be pretty dated, relatively speaking.”
As I feared, that prompted a frown from Tornado. “What exactly were you planning to do?”
In too deep to back out, I continued. “I can improve the basic runes and enchantments to make it stronger, easier to use, and more durable, for one. Then I think I might be able to add a couple new features to it.”
Tornado blinked at that. “What did Princess Celestia say about that?”
“Um.” My ears wilted. “I haven't talked with her about it yet, to be honest. That was on the agenda before I did anything. I wasn’t going to do anything crazy like change how it picks its bearers before talking with her first.”
Tornado raised an eyebrow. “Changing how it picks bearers? That sounds dangerous.”
“It was kind of an issue when it wouldn't let Cloud or Star use it to defend against the changeling invasion,” I pointed out. “‘Purity of heart’ is a bit... imprecise as a qualifier.”
Cloud scowled. “That was a huge design flaw.”
Tornado grunted neutrally. “I'm sure Celestia had her reasons for making it the way she did. She usually does with whatever she’s doing. Either way, I'll need to talk to a few ponies too before you do anything to it.”
I nodded. “That doesn't surprise me. I figured you would want to talk to the other senior Kickers about this.”
“Certainly my sister and Ty,” Tornado said. “This isn't just a clan issue, it's a religious one.”
“It is a relic of our clan's most famous figure,” Cloud said as she examined the replica of Shadow’s Armor.
“So doing anything to change how it works is a thorny issue,” Tornado stated.
I let out a long sigh. “So Cloud and Storm warned me.”
Cloud shrugged. “Honestly, I'd say you might wanna just leave it be. There’s less ways for anything to go wrong.”
I frowned as I thought of a counter to that argument. “The Armor is a bit more than just some old relic that should be left in a museum.” I waved at the displays surrounding us. “It could do a lot of good out in the world.”
“It does not do the world any good locked away,” Storm agreed.
Tornado focused his attention on his niece. “Why would you need to keep wearing the Armor? There's no danger now.”
Storm drew herself up, not quite challenging her uncle but still not backing down from him. “You never know what might come up. It would let me do a better job of protecting Her Highness, and I would rather have it close at hand if another emergency comes up.”
Tornado grunted unhappily. “That might be so. We’ll see what the Armor thinks once it’s been repaired and what Princess Celestia says should be done.” He shook his head. “Either way, I’m going to have to talk it over with some ponies to see what should be done. I trust your list covers everything you’d like to do with it, Highness?”
I nodded and gave him the list. “I have everything listed there.”
“Thank you,” he said with a nod. “It's rather hard to debate how much we'll allow without knowing what you plan to do.”
“And if you have any questions I'll be more than happy to answer them.” I was feeling more than a little bit frustrated over the issue, but there wasn’t much I could do at the moment. I felt like the Armor could do a lot of good, especially if Storm wanted to use it. But they did bring up some good points about it. Maybe I would start to feel better about the whole matter after talking with Princess Celestia about it.
“Thank you for bringing this to our attention, Princess.” Tornado rolled up the list and tucked it away, then turned to me with a soft smile. “Really, we do appreciate what you’re doing, even if I’m not sure about changing the Armor.”
I smiled back, feeling a bit better about all of this. “I'm just happy to help however I can.”
Cloud grinned and nudged my side with a wing. “That's good old Twilight, always eager to be sweet and helpful.”
Storm nodded. “Her Highness is very thoughtful.”
I blushed slightly and had to resist the urge to hide my face behind a wing. “Okay, now you're starting to embarrass me.”
“Now, now.” Tornado tsked. “We can't go embarassing royalty.”
I shot Cloud a writ grin. “That doesn't stop some ponies from doing it anyway, though.”
Tornado sighed as only a father can. “Cloud, try not to be too bothersome for her.”
“She isn't, really,” I said in her defense. “I do consider her a good friend.”
Cloud stepped closer to me and grinned. “Yeah, Twi just loves me for my charm.”
I grinned back at her and poked her with a wing. “You do have a way of growing on ponies.”
Tornado chuckled and shook his head. “Don’t I know it. I was the first pony to ever love her. Well, maybe second after Nimbus.”
Cloud chuckled, her cheeks flushing faintly. “Okay, that's real sweet, Dad.”
“Helps when you're pretty sweet, Cloud,” I teased, knowing she liked the odd compliment now and again.
“Okay, now you're just flattering me,” Cloud retorted.
“Not that I mind Storm at all either,” I said, trying to keep my compliments balanced. “I’ve been pretty happy with her as the captain of my guard.”
“Thank you, Highness.” Storm tried to maintain her stoic demeanor as she said that, but I could hear a trace of happiness at my words.
“Good to hear you find her service acceptable,” Tornado said.
Before we could continue, a guardspony in the white and gold of the Solar Guard walked up to us. He whispered into Storm’s ear. Storm frowned slightly and looked to me. “Highness, it seems that Princess Celestia is ready to see you at the palace now.”
As soon as I heard that Princess Celestia wanted to see me, I said my goodbyes and set off immediately. Cloud had wanted to spend time with her dad and had stayed at the museum with him. When given the choice of attending another meeting meeting or to continue to explore the museum with the permission of the Kickers, Spike had opted for the more stimulating experience. The Kickers’ offer of a nice home-cooked meal after looking around the museum had probably played a part in that decision.
That left me and Storm to go to the palace. Once there, we were escorted to the royal quarters of the palace. Finding myself before a reinforced steel door, I was told that Celestia was waiting inside. Storm took position by the side of the door alongside another guard, and I pushed open the door to enter.
I found myself in a room I had never been in before. A first glance told me that it was some sort of armory—if one that went with the aesthetics of the rest of the royal wing of the palace. White marble floors and walls stood in contrast to the weapons that lined the walls. The collection of weapons adorning one wall looked to be of exquisite quality. A great axe and greatsword had arcane runes running along their lengths, and each was decorated with gold trim and sun motifs. On the opposite wall sat a row of shelves, each covered by a collection of gems, rods, talismans, and other magical trinkets that served a variety of functions. Across the room was a gold-painted set of platemail armor sitting on a stand, a sun emblem adorning the front chestplate, and I could feel the power from its enchantments from the doorway. It was an extremely large set of armor, one that could have only fit one pony I knew of.
Princess Celestia stood in the middle of the room, her gaze falling on the crate I had brought with me. She didn't say anything as I entered the room and closed the door behind me. I smiled up to her. “Princess Celestia, it's good to see you.”
Celestia lifted her head returned my smile. “Hello, Twilight. It's good to see you too.” She lifted off the lid of the crate with her magic and then carefully levitated out Shadow’s Armor. She slowly pulled the layers of bubble wrap from the armor, a process that took a couple of minutes due to just how much I had covered it with.
She grimaced when she finally got to it. I couldn't exactly blame her; the Armor was dented, badly scratched, its metal torn in a few places, one of its wing blades had been bent into a bow, and half of the helmet’s decorative plume had been lost. If it were a normal set of Guard armor, it probably would have been marked for recycling.
Celestia gently touched the helmet and her eyes seemed to focus on nothing. “Hello, old friend.”
The unusual nature of the Armor made me wonder what type of relationship the princess had with it. The Armor had some level of sapience, and was based off the soul of Shadow Kicker—a pony Celestia had known very well in the past. Could a pony have a friendship with a sapient set of armor? It at least seemed theoretically possible.
I also grimaced as I saw the sad look in Celestia’s eyes. “Sorry it doesn't look very good at the moment. I haven't really had the chance to get started on its repairs yet, what with my home being destroyed, along with all my tools, and I just got to Canterlot where a bunch of decisions still need to be made...”
Celestia gave me an unreadable smile. “That's quite alright, Twilight. I prefer repairing it myself anyway.”
My ears wilted slightly. “I didn’t really think about the fact you might want to fix it yourself.”
“Don’t worry about it,” she assured me. “I did help forge it and I have more experience than anypony else repairing it.”
She did have a very good point. It was hard to think of a pony that was more qualified to fix the Armor that her. Now I felt a bit silly for thinking I was going to patch it up. Not wanting the conversation to go silent as Celestia continued to study the Armor, I changed the subject. “I've studied it from top to bottom and it really is a work of art. The runes were expertly carved into the armor, and the leylines of the magical matrix are as interwoven as anything I've ever seen.”
“Thank you, though I only deserve partial credit.” Celestia gently put the battered helmet onto a stand. “Argentium, Morning, and your ancestor Sunbeam did a lot for the work too. And under some pretty difficult circumstances.”
“I have to admit, that list almost makes me feel small when I think about working on the Armor.” All of those people were individuals I had read in history books. The idea of getting to work on something they had all collaborated on was something I had been looking forward too. The Armor was a piece of history, after all.
Celestia flashed a maternal smile. “You're more than qualified, Twilight. In fact, I wouldn't mind an assistant with repairing the Armor, and I can hardly imagine a better pony to do so than you.”
“Really?!” My mouth spread in a big smile. “That would be great! I did come up with a number of ways the Armor could be improved—if you want to, that is.”
“You mentioned as much in your letter.” Her smile took on a teasing edge. “I had no idea my work was so inadequate.”
My eyes went wide. “I-I didn't mean to make it sound like that! It's just enchanting has come a long way since the Armor was made! There's nothing inadequate about you or your work! I don't doubt the Armor was the peak of armor enchantment for its day!”
Celestia placed a restraining hoof on my shoulder. “I'm teasing, Twilight.”
“Oh...” I took a long moment to suppress the panic that had been building on me. No reason to panic over nothing, even if I’d had perfectly good reasons to panic before she reassured me there was no reason to panic.
“Still, I'm sure I don't need to tell you how potentially thorny any change to the Armor is.”
I let out an exasperated sigh. “So I've been getting told by everypony. All I want to do is help, but half the time I'm being made to sound like I'm wanting to touch up a famous work of art. Granted, I kinda am in a lot of ways, but it's still frustrating. In fact, the good points they’ve raised only make it more frustrating.”
Celestia patted my shoulder. “But I know you have the best of intentions.”
It was good to hear that the Princess understood what I was going through. That wasn't the same as her agreeing with me, but it was something at least. “Thanks, though I'm starting to feel out of the loop on this one.”
“How do you mean?”
I rubbed my brow as I felt stress build up. “I've pretty much been told I don't have a say in what's going to happen with the Armor, since this is an internal Kicker Clan decision.”
Celestia nodded. “They are rather defensive of it. To be fair to them, it is a dangerously powerful artifact, a priceless family heirloom, a cultural treasure, and a religious relic. It's literally irreplaceable, and the only one they have. Losing it would affect their very self identity. It's only reasonable they want to see it protected.”
“Is there anyplace where this doesn't get extremely complicated?” I grumbled.
Celestia shook her head. “I'm afraid not. Being royalty means everything is complicated. I once set off a panic just by mentioning I didn't like spinach. Apparently half the spinach farmers in Equestria tried to switch their fields to something else. Ever since then I've tried to be very careful about anything I say about food.”
“I'm not sure whether I should find that funny or sad. That sounds ridiculous but somehow I know it's true.” After becoming the Princess of Friendship ponies had certainly seemed to pay more attention to whatever I said—be it something friendship related or some royal business.
“Probably because it's a bit of both,” Celestia said with a wry smile.
“You're probably right. I just hope ponies don't take everything I say quite that seriously.” My gaze fell on the Armor, and I felt the urge to ask something that had been bothering me. “There was something I wanted to talk to you about, if I can.”
“Of course. You’re always free to ask me question, Twilight. You know that.”
I shuffled in place. Despite her assurances, it still didn’t feel right to question her like how I was about it. “Isn't the current requirements for bearing the Armor ... restrictive? Purity of heart is pretty ambiguous for determining who should be able to use it.”
“Yes, that’s how they were designed to be,” Celestia said. “It’s all in the eye of the beholder.”
“But Cloud wasn't able to use the Armor even when she only wanted to use it to protect everypony in Canterlot,” I pointed out. “I can't think of a much purer purpose than that.”
Celestia inclined her head in a slight nod. “Shadow evidently disagreed.”
I frowned. That … really wasn’t a sufficient argument. Granted, it had been hard to get any information out of Cloud on exactly why she had been denied. There might be details that I hadn’t been made aware of. “Maybe, but Storm...” I bit my lip as I considered my next few words, since I was bringing up a potentially sensitive topic. But if I couldn’t be honest with Princess Celestia, then who could I be honest with? “And Storm was initially rejected by Shadow until, well, she kinda tricked the Armor to let her use it.”
Celestia raised an eyebrow. “Oh really?”
I grimaced, not at all comfortable as I continued. “She told the spirit in the armor that she wanted to protect her princess.”
Celestia’s face became in impenetrable neutral mask, and seconds ticked by until she answered with a simple, “Ah.”
I could easily guess the reason for her discomfort, however well she hid it. Shadow had been extremely dedicated in her quest to serve Celestia. If there was anything Shadow was likely to sympathize with it was a pony wanting to protect her princess.
“So I'm wondering if there might be some problems with this system,” I said carefully. “Not that you didn't have perfectly good reasons for putting them into place to start with, though! But now might be a time to at least talk about it. There isn’t any harm in debating it, right?”
“Probably not, no.” Celestia stepped over to the armor, her gaze taking it in. “I suppose we could ask the Armor what it thinks.”
I rubbed my chin. “That doesn't sound like a bad idea. It’s another opinion at least, and an important one at that.” I moved a hoof over the Armor. “Shall we then?”
Celestia nodded. “We shall.” The two of us touched the Armor, and the world faded away.
When I opened my eyes, I found myself outside in the Kicker Compound training yard. Before us the the mindscape reality stood Shadow Kicker—or at least the copy of her spirit that inhabited the Armor.
“Princess Sparkle,” Shadow said to me. He gaze then shifted to Celestia. “And ... Commander.”
Celestia smiled sadly. “Old friend.”
The two of them stared at one another, neither one approaching or saying anything else to one another. I sensed there was something passing between the two of them, though I couldn’t tell exactly what.
“Um, hello?” I did my best to give her a friendly smile as I interjected myself. “Nice to see you again.”
“What brings thee here?” Shadow frowned slightly. “I do hope thou art not here to bombard me with questions again.”
“We do have a few questions for you.” I grimaced. “Sorry, but it’s pretty important.”
Shadow let out a breath. “Ask, then.”
“We wanted to know what you thought about how you were used,” I told her.
“What little use the Armor sees,” Shadow grumbled. “I was not made to sit in a vault for years on end, yet ‘tis often decades between the times I am allowed to see the sun.”
“Some ponies kinda disagree,” I tried to say as neutrally as possible, my eyes flicking to Celestia.
Shadow’s head tilted slightly to the side. “Is that so?”
“Your armor is an artifact of power that must be used carefully,” Celestia explained. “It is simply too powerful for anything less. As you well know, it could be easily abused if allowed into the wrong hooves.”
Shadow’s eyes narrowed. “I agree the armor should not be used lightly, but it should not go unused either.”
“They kinda want to protect you from, well, getting damaged like you are right now,” I pointed out.
Shadow’s wings flicked, but she continued to speak in a level tone. “I can appreciate that much, but their protection will leave me rotting away unused.”
“Right, and a lot of them aren't wild about the idea of me giving you upgrades,” I said with a sigh.
“I have some trepidation on the topic as well,” Shadow said.
Celestia held up a hoof in a reassuring motion. “I assure you, we won't make any changes to the spell matrix that might threaten your existence. Harm to you is one of the last things we will allow.”
I nodded in agreement and summoned a list of all the proposed changes we could make to the Armor. “You can see for yourself what we’re considering.”
Shadow’s scanned list before looking to Celestia. “Your thoughts, Commander?”
“I'll need some time to evaluate it all, but I have every confidence in Twilight,” Celestia said.
“Of course, the Kicker Clan has to consent to any proposals.” I frowned at the memory of my last few encounters with the Kickers. “As they like to remind me.”
Shadow turned her attention back to me. “Are you having trouble with my descendants?”
“Not exactly trouble, but they have been resistant to my ideas,” I explained. I didn’t want to give the wrong impression about her descendants. “Or at least, some of them.”
“For what reason?”
“That's pretty complicated,” I said. “Some of them are worried that I'll break you, while others are more comfortable with the idea of you being in the Vault most of the time—both to protect you and to make sure you’re not abused. You are a religious relic to them. It’s not really a surprise that they don’t want anything to happen to you.”
Celestia nodded. “Many of them are afraid of the changes that will come.”
“So I see.” Shadow turned to face a rack covered with practice weapons. “Armor is a practical tool to be used, not a relic to be revered. I do nopony any good sitting around collecting dust.” She snorted softly. “I had hoped the cultic foolishness Sunbeam encouraged would have died out by now.”
I bit my lip, knowing she wasn’t going to be thrilled by what I was to about to tell her. “Sorry, but if anything, it's going stronger than ever. Your cult is pretty popular in the Guard as well as the Kicker Clan.”
“Bothersome.” Shadow turned a pointed look Celestia’s direction. “A pity they were not dissuaded from partaking of such foolishness.”
Celestia let out a soft sigh, closing her eyes. “Shadow, I could hardly dissuade everypony from having an opinion. It’s not my policy to tell ponies what to think as long as they aren’t hurting anyone.”
Shadow turned to put her back to Celestia. “Thou couldst have made more of an effort. It was never mine intention to be an object of veneration.”
I got the feeling that this was a topic these two had talked about before, and those past talks hadn’t been particularly pleasant. It made me wonder how many difficult talks these two had had in the past. Maybe I could help seal the rift between them, if only a little bit.
I cleared my throat to draw their attention my way. “I don't suppose it would make you happy that your cult makes some ponies happy?”
“Oh?” Shadow said with careful neutrality.
“They do teach a lot of your ideals and Old Pegasopolian virtues,” I said, feeling a lecture coming on. “They do try and promote good behavior in ponies, even if you’re not wild about them worshipping you.”
“The Cult of Shadow has added much to Equestria,” Celestia agreed.
Shadow took in a long breath and stared off to nothing in particular. “I see. I suppose that is some small benefit. But ‘tis still bothersome.”
“You could always say what you want,” I suggested. “I'm sure ponies would listen to you.”
Shadow shook her head. “Actually, I cannot. There are limits to what I can tell ponies of my clan to do. We did not want mine armor ruling. A dead mare should not should determine the course of her clan.”
“Oh right, that.” I had been so absorbed in the conversation that I hadn’t fully thought out the implications about letting a dead pony, especially one as influential as Shadow, make suggestions to her descendants. It would be too easy for her to dominate her clan, even if unintentionally. “It would be a bit of an issue.”
“Just so.” Shadow pointed to a nearby standard carrying her clan’s flag. “They must make their own choices, not have their decisions be dictated by me.”
I sighed, feeling my frustration growing. This issue was just refusing to simplify itself no matter how I tried. “So much for asking you for what you want then.”
“I cannot dictate clan policy, but you have heard my wishes,” Shadow said, a tad more gently than before. “What I wish is to be used in a good cause for good reasons. It is as simple as that. That, and I would not mind Storm to continue to be my bearer. She is a worthy descendant of mine, and I am sure she would use the Armor well.”
I nodded. “We can tell them that. Thanks for letting us know and answering our question.”
Celestia smiled for her old friend. “Thank you for your help, Shadow. We appreciate it.”
“Of course.” Something flickered over Shadow’s face that I couldn’t read. “And ... thank you.”
“For what?” I asked, tilting my head.
“Speaking with me, and seeking to improve me,” Shadow said. “It seems all too rare that ponies ask me what I desire, and I appreciate it that thou hast done so.”
I smiled, feeling a little bit better about myself. “I just like helping, is all.”
Shadow nodded her head. “I know. It speaks well of you.”
“Thanks, that's really nice of you to say,” I said.
Celestia smiled warmly to me. “Shadow is very kind, in her way. Though if I might, Twilight, could I ask for some time alone with her?”
“Of course, I'll step out...” I looked around, not exactly seeing a door out of the dreamscape around me. “Or whatever you call it when you leave a dreamscape. I really need to read up on the proper terminology for that.”
“Do not worry thyself too much, my descendant.” I felt her nudge me gently with an effort of will, sending me back to the material world.
Author's Note
I would like to thank my editors Chengar Qordath, Comma-Kazie, and JakeTheGinger for all their help, and Rodinga, Trinary, and Swiftest Shadow for all their help prereading this chapter.
Arguments About Armor Arrive At An Arrangement
After my meeting with Princess Celestia, Storm and I picked Spike up from the Kicker Clan museum and then headed to Sparkle Manor. It had been a while since I had seen my family, so now seemed as good a time as any to see them.
The towers of the manor slowly poked up into my vision as we approached it. The architecture of the manor always drove the organizer in me a bit crazy. Instead of its expansions being planned in any orderly manner, generations of my family had simply added another wing or tower to the structure in whatever manner they thought they could get away with. ‘Eccentric’ would probably be the single best word to describe it, and there wasn’t anything that could be done about it unless we tore the whole structure down and then rebuilt it from scratch. A sadly expensive proposition, and thus Sparkle Manor stood in all its strange glory as a testament to the will of thirty generations of Sparkles.
“It should be nice to visit home for a bit,” I said as we approached the front door. “It's been too long.”
“You can say that again,” Spike agreed. “Especially since your parents give me a gem every time we come to visit.”
“I see where your priorities lie,” I teased. Spike never did waste a good opportunity to get himself more gems. One of the reasons why he was always willing to help Rarity whenever she went to the gem mines.
“Just saying, there’s plenty of good reasons to come back to Canterlot,” Spike reasoned.
“As long as you don't take this as an opportunity to gorge yourself,” I cautioned, though I only got an eyeroll from Spike in return.
Storm stepped forward to get the door for us. Opening doors was another of those activities Storm considered to be beneath my royal dignity. “I hope I make a good impression.”
“I'm sure you'll be fine,” I assured her as I stepped inside. “I can't see a way that you'll make a bad impression. You’re always so polite and formal. Plus the uniform should help. Hard to look disrespectful in a uniform.”
“I would expect so.” Storm closed the door behind us.
“Mom, Dad, you here?!” I called out. Trying to find anyone in the manor could almost be an adventure all in itself. Often it was a lot simpler to just call out and see if anypony was at least within hearing range.
“In here, Twilight,” Dad called from the parlour.
I found my parents sitting together on one couch while Shiny, and Cadey sat opposite them on their own. I smiled at the sight of them. “Hey everypony, nice to see you.” I stepped to the side and motioned to Storm. “This is the captain of my royal guard, Storm Kicker. I thought everypony might like to meet her considering I'm going to be working with her so closely.”
Cadance smiled warmly. “It's a pleasure to meet you.”
Storm bowed to Cadance. “The pleasure is all mine.”
Shining stood up and saluted Storm, which she returned. He then looked Storm over with the scrutinizing eye of both a big brother and Royal Guard officer. “So you're the mare in charge of keeping my little sis safe?”
“It is my duty to do so,” Storm confirmed.
Mom hid a smile behind her tea cup. “She certainly looks the part.”
Shining seemed to think so, for after he was done examining Storm he extended a hoof to her. “Nice to meet you, Captain Kicker.”
Storm took his hoof. “Likewise.”
“Go ahead and have a seat.” Dad waved at the collection of couches and seat-cushions. “Plenty of places to sit and relax.”
Cadance patted an open spot on the couch and I took the offered seat. Spike sat in the opposite side of me next to Shiny while Storm sat on an open cushion.
“I hope our daughter isn't giving you too much trouble.” Mom shot me a slightly teasing smile. “She can be a bit of a hoofful.”
I sighed as I was hit with the volley of maternal guilting. “I'm not that bad, Mom.”
“Her Highness has been the very exemplar of a perfect royal,” Storm stated with loyal professionalism.
Mom smiled knowingly. “I'm sure she has been. So you've been eating right, Twilight? No forgetting meals or running entirely on caffeine while on a reading binge or working on one of your projects?”
I cleared my throat as I fell under my Mom’s scrutiny. “Um, I haven't exactly been perfect...” Eating right was something Mom brought up pretty regularly—one part general motherly worry and one part precedent, since I hadn't always made a good diet a high priority. Admittedly, those habits hadn’t gotten any better since I had become an alicorn.
Storm coughed, the motion not entirely natural. She probably knew better than anyone how many meals I had skipped except for maybe Spike. “Her Highness is a very eager and dedicated scholar.”
“She's pretty much as bad as she's always been about that,” Spike added, treasonously ratting me out to my parents.
“Twilight...” Cadance let out a chiding sigh. “She was bad about that even as a filly.”
“She always has been.” Mom shook her lowered head. “No more skipping meals. I don't care if you're a princess and an alicorn now, you need to take care of yourself.”
I sighed. “Yes, Mom...”
“At least now you have somepony to look after you.” Cadance smiled, a glint in her eyes as they looked at Storm.
“Storm certainly does that, at least,” I agreed.
Storm nodded. “I do my duty.”
“Though are you doing alright after Tirek's attack?” Mom asked. “That did give us a bit of a scare, and everything is only now starting to calm down after that. Tirek draining magic from everypony made a big mess out of the Sealed Repository. It scared me to death when I heard you got into a fight with that monster.”
Shiny grunted in agreement. “That's putting it mildly.”
“I'm fine, really. I barely got hurt at all.” I grimace me as memories of the fight with Tirek came to the surface. “Though the library was destroyed, and we pretty much lost everything we owned.”
Shiny winced. For his part, Spike crossed his arms over his chest as he glowered. “Tirek was a big jerk. I lost my entire comic collection!”
“At least you made it out it out okay,” Dad offered. “That's the most important thing. Your things can always be replaced, and we aren't that hard up for money. It'll be fine once we get everything sorted out.”
Shining nodded and gave Spike a one-armed hug. “That stuff's replaceable. You guys aren't.”
I let out a long breath and nodded. They were right, of course. Losing the library still hurt, but that was a pain that should fade with time. Especially when I got used to my new castle... Someday.
“You weren't hurt, were you?” Cadance looked me over.
I shook my head. “I'm fine, really. Storm got more beat up than I did. Scared me when I heard she was in the hospital, though.”
Dad frowned deeply. “You got hurt protecting Twilight?”
Storm nodded slightly. “I was merely doing my duty. It was nothing too serious.”
“Thank you,” Dad said. “You're always welcome under our roof.”
Shiny frowned. “That's ... not an easy thing to say thanks for. You look like you're doing okay now, so I'm glad for that.”
Storm shifted slightly on her cushion. “Thank you.”
Probably sensing Storm’s discomfort, Mom shifted the conversation. “But enough of all that. How about we concentrate on something happier?” She hummed as she stroked her cheek. “Now that I think about it, you probably need a lot of things for your new home—clothes, blankets, family photos, the works.”
“Not to mention Spike's comics.” Shiny smiled down at Spike. “I bet you'd like to visit the old comic shop later.”
Spike beamed. “Sounds good to me!”
Cadance snickered. “I'm sure Shining can help you with that. Especially when it'll give him an opportunity to shop for himself while he's there.”
Shiny smiled in that goofy way he did as he rubbed the back of his head. “It has been a while since I've been there. I'm kinda curious if any of the old gang are still there anymore.”
“Whatever you need, we'll help you,” Dad told me.
Mom nodded in agreement. “We'll make sure you have the basics before you leave. No sense you going back to Ponyville without everything you need.”
I couldn't see much of a reason to disagree, not that it was likely to do much good if I tried. Besides, it would be nice to replace some of my lost things that couldn't be easily bought, like family photographs. “Thanks. I'd appreciate the help.”
“Captain Armor,” Storm addressed my brother. “If you can spare some time while we are in town, I would appreciate your opinion on expanding Princess Twilight's guard.”
“We were talking about that before all the craziness happened,” I explained. “And Tirek blowing up the library had kinda kickstarted the need to get that project moving along.” Big surprise, Tirek attacking me personally made some ponies think that I should expand my guard beyond just Storm.
Something flashed over Shining’s feature before he nodded. “Right, makes sense in light of the recent mess. It'll make me feel a lot better to know that Twily’s got a full guard watching out for her. Just say when and where, and I'll be happy to help.”
“Whenever is convenient for you and Her Highness can spare me,” Storm said.
“I'm sure we can make time for that while we’re here,” I said. As the former Captain of the Royal Guard and the captain of the Crystal Guard, Shiny was singularly qualified for this. Even if as my big brother who had seen me face everything up to and including the Spirit of Chaos, he was tempted to wrapped me up in a bunch of bubble wrap to keep me safe.
“Alright.” After a moment’s consideration, Shiny added, “After comic shopping.”
Cadance chuckled. “You have your priorities.”
“I think that's pretty important,” Spike said with a firm nod. “Besides, you're not going to send me back to Ponyville without any new comics after the big meanie Tirek destroyed everything I own, right?” His eyes widened as he unleashed a sad puppy-dog look that he had perfected over the years.
“Don't worry, Spike.” Cadance leaned over to peck him on the top of the head. “I can do without my husband for a few hours.”
Shiny grinned. “Besides, if Twily's here, she's got more than enough guards to keep her going for a bit longer. Spike's comic collection, not so much.” He looked at Storm. “Don't get me wrong, Captain—if you want to talk shop about Twily’s guard first, I can. But if you don't mind a small wait...”
Storm shook her head. “I do not see any terrible urgency to our business.”
“I can add a meeting to our schedule,” I said, pulling out my planner and checking it over for a good time to squeeze in a meeting.
“Alright, but make sure to leave time for us to actually spend some time together,” Shiny told me. “You're here to relax for a bit, Twily.”
I stopped looking over my schedule to face my brother. “I didn't exactly come here on a vacation, Shiny. There are a few things I need to do while I'm in Canterlot.” Fixing Shadow’s Armor was going to take time and effort to complete, and that was only the tip of the iceberg.
“Do not overstress yourself, Highness,” Storm said in a reproachful tone.
“It sounds like you've done enough of that already.” Shiny snatched my schedule from me with a smirk. “So how about you relax for a bit? I doubt you have anything that needs done right now, or you'd have mentioned it by now.”
“Maybe,” I reluctantly allowed. “But it's not like I'm tired or anything.”
“Twilight.” Cadance placed a hoof on my shoulder. “If all your friends and loved ones are telling you to relax, maybe you should listen to them.”
I signed, knowing I wasn't in a fight I could win. “Alright, alright, I'll relax a bit while I'm here.”
“I think you'll be a lot happier for it,” Mom said. “In fact, I think you could stand to spend some time with your family.”
“We don't see you nearly as much as we'd like,” Dad said.
“Me even less, these days since I'm all the way up in the Crystal Empire.” Shiny squeezed Cadey’s hoof. “Cadance and I both, really.”
My ears wilted in face of the criticism. “Sorry. I really need to do better about that.”
Storm stiffened. “Her Highness is very busy attending her royal duties.”
“We've all been busy,” Shiny said gently.
Mom sighed and nodded. “It's one of those things where we need work to make time. Night and I could certainly stand to try and get away from work so we can visit our kids a bit more often.”
“We can work on scheduling some things while we're here,” I suggested. “That would help set aside time for just us as a family.”
“That might not be a bad idea,” Cadey said.
Storm suddenly got up and cleared her throat. “I will return momentarily. Might I ask where the bathroom is?”
Mom pointed to the doorway. “Down the hall and last door on the left.”
“Thank you.” Storm headed out of the room.
Once she was gone, Cadance grinned conspiratorially and leaned closer to me. “So, I can't help but notice that your bodyguard is very ... devoted.”
“Um, she is, yes.” I smiled despite the fact there was something in the way she had said that which told me she was up to something. “It's kinda nice to have her around to help. She is very devoted to me. Even if I'm still getting used to having a bodyguard.”
“Well, I'd hope she'd have a devoted bodyguard,” Shiny stated.
“I think it's a good thing that Twilight is finally getting her own guard,” Mom said. “She could use some ponies to make sure she's safe.”
“Especially considering all the dangerous business she gets involved in,” Dad agreed.
Shiny scowled deeply. “Nightmare Moon, Discord.” He scowled in revulsion. “Her. Sombra, and now Discord again and Tirek at the same time.”
“And knowing our luck, there's more trouble on the horizon,” Dad added. “There always seems to be something new coming to cause trouble.”
“Okay, okay, point made,” I grumbled. I had heard all of these arguments in detail already and I didn't need to hear them again. Especially when I had already agreed to the whole bodyguard thing. I was even pushing for having a barracks made in Ponyville to help facilitate the expansion of my guard.
“But enough worrying.” Cadey’s smile widened. “How are you and Storm getting along? It seems like you're doing much better than when you started out.”
“Things were a bit rough starting out, but we're getting along much better now,” I said. “It was just a matter of us adjusting to one another, and me growing used to having a guard around all the time.”
“Yes, you two seem quite fond of each other now.” Cadey’s smile took on a feline quality. “It's important to get along with your partner.”
I jerked back from her. “Wait, you think Storm and I are—involved?!” My brain raced to respond. Spike snickered while my mom covered her mouth with her teacup. Shiny’s eyes widened and his jaw fell agape. Dad’s only response was to let out a long put out sigh. “W-we're not! Storm wouldn't! S-she's so-so proper!”
Cadance smirked as I spluttered. “So she's too proper ... not, ‘I'm not interested?’”
My mouth worked wordlessly as I failed to form a response to the question. That had been what I had said, but, but, but...
Shiny was quicker to recover than I was, and he placed a hoof on Cadey’s shoulder. “Now Cadey...” For a moment I thought he was going to tell her to ease up, but then his mouth spread in a grin that filled me with dread. “We all know opposites attract. We should be happy Twily's found somepony who can keep up with her new station. In addition to take care of her.”
“I certainly think so,” Mom said with a serious nod that was undermined by a poorly hidden smirk.
“She could do a lot worse,” Dad added. “An officer in the Guard, next in line to be the materfamilias of the Kicker Clan, and a mare dedicated to her princess. It certainly wouldn't hurt to patch relations with the Kicker Clan.”
My cheeks burned terribly as my family ganged up against me. “But, but, but...” Finally, I managed to get my brain and mouth to work together. “You’re all conspiring together to tease me, aren't you?”
Shiny finally lost it and started laughing uproariously. “S-sorry. T-the look on your f-face.”
Cadey giggled at my humiliation. “We're just happy for you.”
I groaned and buried my face in my hooves. Family—what more was there to say?
The next day Storm and I were up in the Sparkle Manor attic—one of its attics, anyways. With all the disorganized towers that had been added to the manor, it didn't technically have only one attic. At my parents’ insistence, I was looking about for anything I might want to take back with me to Ponyville. That, and it probably gave them more ammo to tease me with like they had the previous day considering I was up here alone with Storm.
In any event, the trip was proving productive. The attic was filled with old furniture, clothes, dishware, and a variety of other odds and ends. Even if a lot of it was terribly disorganized and covered with dust, I was finding at least a few things I could use for the new palace.
I was in the middle of shifting through some paintings when there was a knock on the attic door. “Come on in!” I called out, curious about who would feel the need to knock before entering an attic.
The door swung open to reveal Star Kicker. She trotted in and bowed before me. “Your Highness.” She then smirked at her sister. “Skunky.”
“Star, how did you…?” Storm lifted a wing and examined it. “I thought I had gotten all of your trackers off of me.”
“Should have been more careful about eating your cereal in the morning,” Star teased—probably.
Storm let out the long sigh of a put-upon older sister.
“Hi Star,” I said, pushing my way into the conversation before this became another conflict between them. I had already experienced one of those firsthoof during a prank war, and I was in no hurry to go through all once that again. “Nice to see you.”
“Likewise, though I'm here on business.” Star rummaged through her saddlebags and pulled out a letter with Luna’s seal. “Her Royal Highness, Princess Luna, formally requests your presence at her tower at your earliest convenience... Though all that's said a lot fancier in that letter.”
“Is that so?” Star had been a part of the Lunar Guard for a while now, so it probably wasn't much of a surprise to see her serving as a messenger. I just wondered if Star had asked to come or had been sent due to her being Storm’s sister.
I opened the letter and confirmed that the contents of the letter were exactly what Star said—including the bit about the much more formal and archaic language. Luna had gotten much better about using modern vernacular while talking, but the fact she was a pony from another time showed through in her writing. “I might as well as take care of that. No sense keeping Luna waiting when everything here should be exactly where we left it.”
“Did you want me to come along, Highness, or...?” Storm trailed off as her eyes flicked to Star.
Star leaned towards me and stage whispered, “She wants to hang out with me but is too uptight to actually ask.”
I smiled, having come to that conclusion. Storm was a bit too duty-driven and polite to just say what was on her mind on occassion. Sometimes that just meant I had I jump through hoops to let her be happy. “Captain Storm, I grant permission to spend time with your sister in an act of sibling bonding, and thus relieve you of your duties for the length of time that takes.”
Storm’s lips curled in the slightest of smiles. “Thank you, Highness.”
“And don't worry about me,” I told her in a lighthearted tone. “I'm sure I'll be safe here in Canterlot. But just to put your mind at rest, I'll stick to well traveled streets, look both ways when crossing the street, and be back well before dark.”
Star added to the reassurances. “And if the meeting runs long, I'm sure Princess Luna will give her an escort back.”
I nodded. “Exactly. It's not like they're not used to late night work shifts.”
“Kinda goes with the territory,” Star confirmed.
Storm nodded. “That sounds fine, Highness. And thank you.”
Star snorted and poked her sister for her formal behavior, soliciting a scornful look from Storm.
“Have fun you two!” I closed the door behind me before the sibling rivalry could catch fire and really get going.
Now, to the business at hoof. I had to wonder what Luna wanted. It probably wasn't any kind of emergency, or else she would have sent a more urgent message.
When I arrived at the Royal Palace I was escorted to Luna’s tower within the royal quarters. I soon found myself in what I could best describe as a trophy room: all along the walls and in display cases were old flags, arms and armor, badges, medals, jewelry, and—much more disturbingly—the stuffed corpses of animals and monsters. I tried not to look took hard at the long-dead owlbear that loomed near the doorway, perpetually stuck in the beginning stages of a pounce.
I found Luna passively standing before one of her displays: the preserved head of Queen Chrysalis. Her fangs were bared in an eternal and silent scream. The mere sight of it made me grimace—both for the macabre nature of the trophy, and my history with the changeling queen. More than a little bit of me hated her for what she had done when her swarm had invaded Canterlot, yet it still sickened me that I could truly wish she were really dead.
I tried to ignore to the gruesome trophies and instead concentrated on Luna. “Um, Princess Luna? You wanted to see me?”
She turned to faced me and smiled serenely. “Hello, Twilight Sparkle. I was sorry to hear about your home, but you did well defeating Tirek.”
“Positives with the negatives, I guess.” I shrugged, not really wanting to talk about my blown-up home yet again. After a certain point it just became irritating to think about, however good intentioned everypony’s well wishes were. “I'm ... adapting, I suppose. There’s a lot to get used to after what's happened.”
Luna nodded. “That I understand well. More than once I have had to deal with some great upheaval in my life, and I know what a disruption that can be. It might be cold comfort right now, but time should heal your pains, and you can rebuild after this travesty that has befallen you.”
“Thanks,” I said. “Though mostly I’m just trying to move forward at this point, and get back to some point of normality again.”
“Understandable,” Luna said. “Is there anything I might do to aid you?”
“I'm mainly waiting on all the paperwork to go through so that I can get my new ... home refurbished,” I finished. It was still very odd to think of the new castle as my home. It just didn't feel like home yet. Maybe that was just something that would change with time.
“I will expedite the process as much as I can,” Luna declared. “There seems little point in delaying you getting the income you need to re-establish yourself.”
“Thanks, I'd appreciate it.” One of the reasons I was spending some time in Canterlot was to give that paperwork time to get through. Anything that hurried that along would help me.
“But of course. However, I called you here on another matter.” She stepped over to examine an elaborately embroidered suit of antiquated gryphon armor. “I understand you've been discussing what should be done with Shadow Kicker's armor?”
I nodded. “No surprise you heard about that. I've been talking with a few ponies about that—including your sister.” Now I had to wonder how widespread the fact I had brought the Armor to Canterlot was. Word did have a way of traveling fast in Canterlot.
“I suppose then you will not be surprised to learn that I have an opinion on the matter too?”
I shook my head. “Not really, no. So what do you think? I'm kinda curious now that you bring it up.” At the very least, Luna should be able to offer some advice on what to do with the Armor. Millennia-old alicorn had a way of doing that.
“I do like to think I have something of a unique perspective.” She faced me, and a deep frown crossed her face. “On account of being the only alicorn to ever face the Armor in battle. To be frank, I do not think you realize just how dangerous it is.”
I blinked, taken aback. “What do you mean?”
Luna looked away from me, and her tone became more somber. “That armor faced a mere projection of my power during the Lunar Rebellion in the form of the Avatar of Nightmare Moon, but it allowed a mortal pony to face me in battle as an equal. Even at my full power it is not something I would lightly cross blades with.” Her eyes narrowed. “Imagine what that power could do in the wrong hooves.”
“But it couldn't be used by the wrong pony. Its restrictions... Oh.” My teeth clenched as some very unpleasant thoughts came to me. “I hadn’t put too much thought into how it might be misused if it fell into the wrong hooves, since that hasn’t been a problem in the past. I've been concentrating on all the times somepony could have used it for good but couldn't because of the restrictions.”
“Indeed so.” Luna’s words became all the graver. “You would relax the defenses on one of the most dangerous weapons in existence. Imagine if somepony like Sombra gained such power.”
I shivered at the idea. “That's something I don't really want to imagine.” Sombra had broken just about every law of magic on the books, and had done a lot of really nasty things while ruling the Crystal Empire before he was finally beaten. I couldn't imagine him using the Armor for anything good if he ever got his hooves on it.
“Nor do I.”
“Though that would depend on how exactly the restrictions are changed,” I said. “Unless somepony with enough skill and magical ability got ahold of the Armor and played with its defenses, anyways. Changing its enchantments isn't exactly easy.”
“Just so, but weakening the defenses diminishes the strength of the spell matrix and leaves an opening for others to do so,” Luna said.
I grimaced. “That could be a big problem, yes.”
“I would suggest you face somepony wielding that armor in battle before treating it so lightly.” Luna waved at an old painting of her facing gryphon reivers in battle. “Spar with your captain while she wears it. Watch as your best spells do nothing against its defenses. Then you will know why it should not be used lightly.”
I let out a long sigh. “You have a point.” Magic was my main way to defend myself. If that was countered in a fight, then I would be in a lot of trouble. “Now I'm feeling kind of foolish not thinking about that.”
“It is why I wished to speak with you.” Luna put a hoof on my shoulder. “If you must make a decision about the Armor, then you should at least make an informed one and be aware of the dangers of your actions.”
I nodded. “Thanks for that, then.”
“Of course.” Her gaze shifted to the floor as she looked away from me. “Though I suspect my sister made the Armor in her melancholy caused by my banishment—in no small part because she feared she might follow my example.”
I blinked, not sure if I understood what she was saying. “Excuse me?”
Luna’s shoulders slumped. “Why else entrust an armor capable of striking down an alicorn to another? And in the aftermath of a civil war? I suspect she feared that those who opposed her might have been right to do so.”
“B-but she's Princess Celestia!” I objected. “She's not evil! Not even close!”
“Neither was I,” Luna murmured.
“But that's—you're not—I mean...” I fell silent. What could I say in face of that? It all felt so wrong, but I couldn't deny the facts. Luna had fallen. Even if the pony before me seemed completely different than Nightmare Moon. Was it at least theoretically possible that Celestia could fall as well? It might have seemed so after Luna’s banishment. From what I had read Celestia had been pretty depressed for a pretty long time.
“I can see ... how she might think that.” My ears wilted. “Not that I like thinking about her like that, or you for that matter.”
Luna nodded. “Nor do I. It is not a pleasant thought, but a difficult one to dismiss.”
I rubbed my forehead. “That is a lot to absorb. I’m going to need time to think about this. It's not exactly an easy balance between making the Armor more accessible but keeping it from being abused. Especially where the Armor is concerned. Now I'm not sure what to do with it.”
“Dealing with difficult truths is one of the burdens of royalty,” Luna stated. “We do not have the benefit of hiding ourselves from them.”
My shoulders slumped. “I know. It’s just want to believe in ponies, you know? I want to think the best of them. Not the worst.”
“I want to believe that too,” Luna said. “But I still keep mindful of the dangers involved.”
“I think I'll talk with the Kickers some more once they've had time to talk about what they want done with the Armor,” I told her. “It is theirs, after all.”
“That sounds reasonable.”
“Thanks for bringing all of this up with me, Luna.” I smiled wryly for her. “I know this couldn't have been easy for you. And I appreciate that you’re trying to help. Even if you did make everything a lot more complicated for me.”
She grinned back at me. “No, I merely ensured you knew of what complications already existed.”
I shrugged. “Can't argue with you there. The facts are what they are.”
She had certainly given me plenty to digest. This conversation had been an eye opener, and part of me felt bad for not thinking about these issues earlier. All there was to do was take those facts into account, and make a decision later.
Feeling that the conversation over the Armor was over, I look at one of the displays in the trophy. “If you have a few minutes, I am curious about what some of these things are.”
“Oh?”
I nodded. “I bet there's some really interesting history in here, and as you probably know, I do like history.” That, and I figured it would make Luna feel better to show off some of the things in her trophy room. Really, it was win-win.
Luna ears perked and she smiled. “Certainly. Was there anything in particular you wanted to know about?”
I pointed to a crown that sat prominently at the center of the display. “How about that?”
“Ah yes, the crown of gryphon king Dietmar. I slew him while reclaiming Manehattan...”
Later that day Storm and I went to her parents’ home to visit them and Star for dinner. Storm had wanted her parents to meet her boss, and I hadn't seen any reason not to accommodate her. Besides, I wanted to get to know my bodyguard’s family anyways.
Dinner turned out to be pretty enjoyable, and it was nice to be able to chat with everypony. It was definitely a nice break from everything that had been bothering me for the past few weeks. After dinner I ended up in the living room with Storm. I offered to help clean up, but it seemed that having a princess help with the post-meal cleaning was another one of those things that was beneath my dignity, or at least wasn't something Storm’s parents wanted word getting out about. It probably wouldn't look good if they had a princess cleaning their dishes regardless of my thoughts on the matter.
“I hope Mother and Father made a good impression,” Storm said, sitting on the couch next to me. Probably to protect me from such vile threats as her own little sister, who was lurking somewhere in the house.
“Oh definitely,” I told her. “It was a really nice dinner. It was nice to get to know your parents, and your dad makes some really good casseroles.”
Storm’s chest swelled ever so slightly. “I am glad to hear it.”
“I hope I made a good impression.”
Storm nodded. “I would think so.”
“That's good to hear.” I lowered my voice so as not to be overhead. “I know this meant a lot to you.”
Storm’s eyes flicked to the kitchen. “I did hope you would think well of them, yes. That and—”
Storm stopped talking when her dad, Typhoon Season, stepped into the living room. “Princess Twilight, I was wondering if I might have a moment to speak with you?”
“Um, sure.” From his tone, it sounded like he wanted to talk about something serious. “Did you want to talk alone?”
Typhoon nodded. “If you wouldn't mind.”
Storm stood up from the couch. “I can go help in the kitchen, then.” She moved towards the kitchen, but then stopped when she stood side by side with her dad. Fixing her dad with a level look, she said in a deadpan, “Please do not assassinate the princess, Dad.”
Typhoon snorted softly. “Since you asked so nicely...”
I couldn't help but chuckle. “I would really prefer if you didn't. That would make our talk awkward.”
“So it would.” Typhoon sat opposite of me as his daughter left for the kitchen.
“So, what did you want to talk about?” I asked, curious about what made him want to have a one-on-one meeting. Since I had become a princess, I had learned that ponies often wanted to talk about one piece of business or another. Came with the territory of being a reigning monarch.
“I expect you will not be shocked to learn that it's about the Armor?” he asked.
I sighed and shook my head. “No, a lot of ponies seem to want to talk with me about the Armor as of late. I really shouldn't be surprised anymore.”
Typhoon nodded as he settled on his cushion. “It is the topic on everypony's mind.”
“That it is, and it's ... complicated,” I finally settled on.
“And I am afraid I might make it moreso,” he said with a note of regret. “For what it's worth, I'll try not to be too much of a burden, but I would be remiss not to mention the religious implications of any actions you might take where the Armor is concerned.”
I groaned and rubbed my forehead. “Right, the religious implications. Can't forget those.”
As the head of the Shadow’s cult, it shouldn't have been a surprise he would want to throw his two bits into the conversation. Granted, it would be an important opinion to a lot of ponies. The Armor was a religious icon—the single greatest physical connection they had to Shadow Kicker.
“Alright, let's hear this out then,” I said, seeing no reason not to let Typhoon speak his piece. “It only right I hear your word on this before I go tinkering around with your one-of-a-kind religious icon.”
“Well, what are you expecting me to say?”
I took a deep breath. “That Shadow's Armor is a priceless relic for your religion, and a source of inspiration for both the Kicker Clan and followers of Shadow's cult. That having access to Shadow's spirit within the Armor is important to the Clan, and gives you a source of sage advice from your founder. Also, the Armor serves as emergency protection in the event of an attack against your clanhold. So you would really prefer if I just patched up the Armor and put it back into your compound’s vault for safekeeping.”
The corner of Typhoon’s mouth smirked. “That saves us both quite a bit of time, doesn't it?”
I smiled, feeling awkward as I did so. “Hope you don't take that the wrong way.”
Typhoon shook his head. “Not at all. Though I do think that perhaps we sometimes focus too much on the mare and not enough on what she teaches us.”
“She ... isn't exactly wild about the level of attention she gets,” I admitted.
The Shadowvar nodded. “I suspect that the spirit in the armor would prefer we not venerate her.”
“That's pretty much what she told me.” I frowned as I remember some of my conversations with the spirit of the Armor. “That, and stop asking her so many questions.”
Typhoon snorted. “And by all accounts she could be somewhat irritable. Well, we all have our flaws. Even Honored Shadow.” He shrugged. “In any case, I admit I am somewhat torn on the whole matter.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Is that so? Not exactly what I was expecting. I figured a priest in Shadow’s cult would have pretty clear ideas about what’s to be done with her armor.”
“I would like to think I understand the Cult's doctrine a bit more than most, and that that knowledge can give me unique insight,” Typhoon stated. “And I know that it is her beliefs that matter, not some relic she left behind. If the Armor can do good out in the world, it should.” He held up a hoof before I could reply. “However ... it is still a symbol of the mare herself. If it were lost...”
I nodded. “Right, there's no replacing it. Both points have been brought up already.”
“It's a difficult balance, isn't it?”
I let out a long huff. “It really is, and I haven't been able to find a satisfactory balance between those two opinions.”
“Neither have I,” Typhoon said. “So I suppose we're in good company, at least.”
I smiled wryly. “I would like to think so.”
Typhoon hummed to himself. “Which end of the balance do you lean towards?”
I thought over my answer carefully. “I think it should be allowed to be useful instead of just collecting dust. It just seems to be a waste otherwise.”
“On the balance, I agree.” Typhoon’s gaze shifted to the kitchen. “I'd rather not leave it doing nothing for fear of the dangers. That's not something the Cult believes in.”
“Right, but the tricky part is figuring out how to do that without all those negative consequences we're worried about. Assuming there is a balance.”
Typhoon gave me a paternal smile. “Well, I think as long as you're careful with it, we won't have to find out.”
“I am going to be working with Celestia and the senior Kickers on that,” I said. “Hopefully we can make this work out for the best. I'm reservedly optimistic at the moment.”
“A good attitude to have,” he said.
“I like to think so.” I smiled, this one feeling legitimate. “It seems to work for me most of the time.”
“Myself as well.” Typhoon stood up. “But I think I’ve taken up enough of your time. Best of luck, Princess.”
“Thanks. Both for the talk, and letting me visit your home.”
Typhoon smiled back at me. “It is our pleasure to have you, Princess.”
“Oh by the way.” I summoned a scroll and a quill to write on. “Would you mind giving me that recipe for that carrot casserole while I'm here?”
The next day I was back at the Kicker Compound. The elders of the Kicker Clan were in the middle of a debate on what exactly to do with Shadow’s Armor, and they had granted me an audience to weigh in on what should be done. I was more than a little nervous about talking with everypony, especially over something as important as this. But this was something really important. If I was going to give my opinion to everypony before a big decision was made, it was now.
Thus, I made my way into the central keep of the compound and was escorted to a large meeting hall. On a raised platform was a desk where a dozen ponies sat, among them Guard Captain Tornado Kicker and his sister, Colonel Wind.
I stepped before them all and gave them the best smile I could. “Hello, everypony. Thank you for seeing me.”
Tornado nodded and addressed me. “Of course. We could hardly turn down a princess when she wishes to address us.”
Wind shuffled some papers on the desk before giving me a smile. “We're all rather curious about what you have to say.”
“Hopefully I don’t disappoint then.” I pulled out some notecards I had prepared and cleared my throat. “I realize that the subject of Shadow's Armor is a sensitive one to a lot of ponies, and especially to those of you in the Kicker Clan. That became clear to me after speaking with a lot of ponies about the topic. It means a lot of things to a lot of ponies. To some it's a particularly powerful set of armor, others a religious relic, and others a legacy. So it's little surprise that I got a lot of different opinions on what should be done with it. That being said, I hope you will all will at least hear me out, whatever your final decision might be.”
“We can certainly do that much, at the very least,” Tornado said. “So how about you go ahead and tell us what you came here to say?”
I nodded and shifted to my next notecard. “First, I would propose that the Armor receive a general performance upgrade. This can be done safely, and it’s something Princess Celestia has already done periodically over the centuries. Considering it got pretty badly damaged by Tirek, now seems like a good time to do this.”
“If Celestia has done so in the past, I see no issues so long as she oversees it all,” Wind said. “She did make the Armor, after all, so she would know what to do.”
Tornado grunted skeptically. “What are the risks involved, and how likely is this to compound the current damage?”
“Very small,” I assured him. “I’ve carefully studied the Armor, and updating the magical matrix is just a matter of changing some of the runes to make them more powerful. Most of them have very few direct connections to the central management matrix that makes up the spirit of the Armor, so there’s little risk of damage that by changing the surrounding magic makeup.”
Wind frowned slightly. “How small is very small?”
“One percent or less, I would say,” I told her. “The chances of us doing damage to the central matrix is pretty remote since we’re not working on it directly. Most of the upgrade work would be on components parts, and if any mistakes were made with those then we can just redo it with a fresh slate of armor. It's more time consuming in that event, but it can be done.”
Tornado grunted and nodded. “I'm still not entirely sold, but we can't leave the Armor as it is. Besides, the recent battle made it clear that an upgrade wouldn't go amiss.”
“That's one of the reasons why I'm suggesting the upgrades.” I certainly didn’t want to see Storm getting hurt either, and me giving it the best upgrade with Celestia I could might go a long way to keep that from happening again. “If it doesn't receive periodic upgrades then its basic abilities will eventually be equaled and surpassed by basic enchanted Guard armor.”
“And that won't do at all,” Wind said. “I presume Celestia has approved all your planned upgrades?”
“I've gone over all my proposed upgrades with her, and she's endorsed them wholeheartedly.” Celestia had gone over everything with a fine-toothed comb, and even made an improvement or two to my own work. Needless to say, she was heavily invested in making sure her friend would be alright.
Wind wrote something down on a notepad. “Those improvements sound like a good idea then.”
“Thanks.” Seeing that move of the rest of the Kicker elders seemed to be satisfied with that, I moved to my next notecard. “Though there was a couple of potential changes I would also like to speak with you about that might be a ... bit more controversial.”
Wind’s head tilted slightly, and the atmosphere of the room became stiffer. “Did Her Highness endorse these more controversial changes?”
I took a deep breath through my nose. “She said that you should decide for yourselves if you want them. She told me to tell you that these changes are fundamentally sound magically, and shouldn't be a problem to enact. It's the ... higher concepts that make these changes controversial.”
At first it had surprised me that Celestia was taking such a hooves-off approach to what I was about to raise, but she had insisted this was a case where her ponies needed to make a choice for themselves. The Armor did belong to the Kicker Clan, after all. That, and she trusted all of them to make the right decision. Even if I couldn’t disclose everything she had confided in me.
Tornado sat forward slightly. “I'm listening.”
I took a moment to steel my resolve, knowing that this wasn’t going to go over well with some of the ponies before me, but I pressed onwards. “I propose to make the Armor's selection process to be less restrictive. Namely, I argue in favor of letting the Armor decide for itself who can use it instead of a somewhat vague qualification to be the judge. I've spoken with the Spirit of the Armor, and she says the Armor should be used—not sitting in a vault collecting dust. As long as the cause it's being used for is just and its wearer is somepony acceptable, in any event.”
Wind slowly tapped the top of the desk. “That's not a small change. It has a lot of implications if we did it.”
I shook my head. “No, it's not a small change, and it's something I've put a lot of thought into over the last few days. At least in my opinion, the Armor is a little too restrictive to be practical, and I think the Spirit of the Armor can be trusted for something like this, in addition to there being other safeguards.”
Tornado rubbed his chin as he thought the proposal over. “Those protections were put in place for good reason. Repairs are one thing, but that's a substantial change to its original intent.”
“If the Armor falls into the wrong hooves...” Wind frowned as she left that idea hang in the air. “And Ty has always been very clear that the ... entity within the Armor is not Shadow.”
“More exposure means more risk,” Tornado pointed out. “Both to the Armor and its wearers—and with all respect, Princess, we've done just fine over the centuries on our own.”
“I’m not making any complaints about the Guard’s performance,” I assured them. “My opinion is just focused on what to do with the Armor.”
Wind shrugged. “I can't see a terribly compelling reason to make such a radical change, at the moment.”
Tornado nodded. “It’s something we’re going to have to debate at length before making a final decision.”
I did my best to keep my voice neutral and official. “That's ultimately your decision. I just hope you’ll consider my points when you debate between yourselves.”
Wind tilted her head slightly, and spoke with a more soothing voice. “Tell me, why are you so eager to change what isn't broken?”
I carefully flipped to the notecard I had prepared if this question was asked. “Because the Spirit in the Armor wants it to be changed, and because there have been multiple instances where ponies could have been protected by the Armor, but instead it was the other way around.” Thinking carefully about my next point, I decided to go ahead and say it. “And because Storm wants to continue bearing the Armor to protect me. That isn't me saying I want greater protection, merely that Storm wants to have the abilities of the Armor to protect me. That brings up one of my problems with how the Armor operates: Cloud and Star couldn't use the Armor even when they only intended on using to protect the Kicker Compound. Storm was also initially rejected too, but she kinda used some extenuating circumstances to get it to let her to use it. Namely, by telling it that she wanted to protect me, a princess.”
It was a long moment before Wind finally grunted. “Ah.”
“That is ... important to know,” Tornado allowed. “It's something worth discussing.”
Wind sat back in her seat and rested her head on her hoof. “Well, considering my personal stake in the matter...”
Tornado hummed loudly. “The problem with your approach to the matter is that the Armor isn't some multiuse field knife, Princess. It's not quite on par with the Elements of Harmony, but it is equally hard to replace and intended for threats of a similar caliber.” There was a pause before he continued. “That said, Storm's shown she has the aptitude for it and I'm willing to allow her to continue wielding it for the time being.”
Wind nodded. “Naturally, I have every confidence in my own daughter.”
“As do I,” Tornado said.
I smiled at that news. Being able to wear the Armor had been really important to Storm. “That is good to hear.”
Tornado looked at some of his fellow clan elders. “Of course, we will have to debate the issue to confirm that this is the course we’re going to take. We have a lot to talk about. If that's all, Highness, we’d like to start on discussion among ourselves.”
“I understand that,” I told him. “Though before I leave you, there was a third and final thing I wanted to bring up with you...”
A couple weeks later, Storm, Star, Princess Celestia and I were standing on the Kicker Compound practice yard. It had been quite a bit of work, but Celestia and I had finished repairing Shadow’s Armor, and with the repairs done it was time to test the Armor out.
“So how's it feeling, Storm?” I asked.
Storm did some basic stretches while wearing the Armor. “Good. Very good.”
Celestia circles Storm as she examine Storm and the Armor. “The sizing runes are working correctly? Getting them to work just right has always been a bit tricky.”
Storm nodded. “Yes, it is a perfect fit.”
Star smirked as Storm took a couple of practice swings with her wing blades. “Try not to break it again.”
The only dignity that Storm gave the comment was to roll her eyes.
Celestia smiled knowingly, having had her own experience with sisterly teasing. “I know I would appreciate it if you didn't. Sometimes accidents happen, but do be careful.”
“I have no intention of anything happening to the Armor,” Storm assured her.
I pulled out my Shadow’s Armor Performance Checklist. “So then, how about we put the Armor through a performance review? Nothing too strenuous right away, just some basics to make sure it's working right.”
“That sounds prudent, Highness.”
I pointed to some practice dummies standing along the edge of the practice field. “How about you test the blades on those?”
Storm stepped up to one of the dummies and extended her wing blades. They turned red hot and she swung one of the blades. It carved right through the dummy with barely any resistance, hissing as it slashed through the air. The head and shoulder of the dummy fell to the ground, the path the blade had taken burning. Storm looked at the broken dummy and then her wing. “I think we need stronger ones.”
I whistled and took down some notes. “I'll say. Shame something like solid steel practice dummies would be pretty expensive. Still, promising results. So, are you impeded by this darkness spell?”
I cast a spell, and an impenetrable globe of darkness fell over Storm. To make sure she was seeing inside of that I created an illusionary changeling in front of Storm.
“No,” Storm called from without the darkness. “And your changeling illusions do not fool me either, Highness.” Before I could ask her to, she used the Armor’s inherent ability to create light and cancel out the darkness spell.
“Sorry, just had to make sure all of its abilities are working,” I told her. “So want see if the Armor's magic absorbing capacity is working?”
Storm nodded. “Certainly.”
“Dibs!” Star was quick to say, smirking evilly at her sister.
Storm took one glance at her sister and frowned. “You just want an excuse to shoot spells at me.”
“Nooo,” Star announced with maximum sarcasm. “Why would I ever want to do that?”
My smile became a bit more strained at the idea of Storm getting blasted by spells. “Nothing too extreme, please? At least until we make sure the Armor is working right. We did just talk about breaking the Armor, and setting your sister on fire isn't something we really want to be doing.”
Star snorted and waved a dismissive hoof. “Relax, I'll settle for annoying.”
“That should come naturally,” Storm stated.
Star shot her sister a flat look and then hit her with a tracking spell.
I just let them have their moment of sisterly bicker and concentrated on monitoring the results. I knew that it was usually best to stay out of the crossfire between cursing siblings, and it wasn't like this was anything serious to start with.
In any event, Shadow’s Armor easily absorbed the spell cast on its user.with everything seeming to be working just fine, I said, “See if you can cast the absorbed spell, Storm.”
The corner of Storm’s mouth turned up in a grin and fired Star’s spell back at her. It pinged loudly as Star tracked herself, and Star cried out in surprise.
“Excellent, that's working just fine.” I wrote down some notes. “We'll want to see what its limits are eventually, but we can do that over time, and carefully.”
Star frowned in an exaggerated pout. “So ... I don't get to set Skunky on fire?”
“Do you want her tossing fire spell back at you?” I asked.
Star thought that one over for about a whole second. “Good point.” She let out a whimsical sigh. “I suppose if I did set Skunky on fire, I'd never hear the end of it.”
Celestia grinned. “Your mother might have a word with you if you did that.”
“And Storm would bring it up every time she wanted to get on my case.” Star mock-imitated Storm’s voice. “Remember that time you set me on fire? Because I cannot remember the last time I reminded you when you set me on fire. Because you did set me on fire once. Just to remind you.”
Storm let out the sigh of a long suffering older sister and turned her attention back to me. “Well then, Highness, what shall we try next?”
“How about we check if the astral projection illusion working?” I smiled widely. “That was one of the two big changes we made to the Armor, so I’m curious to see how it’s working.”
“Let us find out.” Storm closed her eyes and concentrated on activating the new ability of the Armor.
There was a shimmer in the air next to Storm, and a large pegasus mare wearing identical, antiquated armor slowly took form.
I smiled warmly to the illusion of Shadow Kicker. “Hey Shadow, nice to see you!”
The Spirit of the Armor blinked a couple of time and then looked around her. “Princess Sparkle, descendants.” Her gaze eventually settled on Celestia and she looked up at her. “Commander.”
Celestia smile warmly, though there was a tinge of sadness to that smile. “Hello, old friend.”
Shadow looked between everypony gathered and frowned contemplatively. “It seems this new function of the armor works.”
“Great!” I scribbled some more notes as I confirmed that the illusionary projection was working exactly as intended. “We thought this would be a more convenient way for you to communicate when you want to. At least it seems more practical than entering a mindscape just for a chat. Especially when you can only do that with blood descendants.”
“It is ... interesting to see the world,” Shadow hazarded. “This will take some time to grow accustomed to.”
“I think you will get a fair bit of use out of this,” Celestia said.
Shadow nodded. “I plan to.”
“And now you can do things like make friends with ponies,” I told her. “Isn't that great?”
“I ... had not thought upon making friends.”
“Oh, I’m sure you’ll do just fine,” I assured her. “But if you need any help you know who to ask.”
Star stepped up to the illusion, a look of keen interest in her eyes. “So, now that they fixed the standards for who can use the armor, could I?”
Shadow shook her head. “At the moment, I suspect your primary reason for wanting to do so is sibling rivalry rather than the good of Equestria.”
Star frowned at that answer. “Bah.”
Celestia placed a hoof on Star’s shoulder. “Sorry, but the Armor still has its greater purpose. Not that you can’t still serve Equestria in your own way.”
“We loosened the standards a bit, but Shadow's still going to decide based on what's best for Equestria,” I told her.
“I am sure you would be perfectly worthy if the circumstances called for it.” The slightest of smirks grew on Storm’s features. “I am just moreso.”
Star rolled her eyes. “Is that the sort of behavior a savior of Equestria should display?”
Shadow looked between the eternally feuding siblings and let out the long-suffering sigh of a parent. “Clearly, upgrading the armor to allow me to experience things like this was a worthwhile use of resources.”
Star flinched at that. “Sorry, Honored Shadow.”
“Don't worry, Lieutenant,” Celestia said. “That's just Shadow's form of humor. I assure you, she is quite happy right now. Even if she might not be showing it in a way your recognize.”
Shadow nodded. “Yes. Despite what my cult would claim, I did have one of those.”
Star grimaced. “Right. Sorry, just adjusting.”
“Of course, descendant.”
“I just need a bit to wrap my head around the idea of honored Shadow being alive and talking to me.” Star’s mood visibly shifted as a big smile found its way to her face. “Just imagine being able to benefit from Honored Shadow's wisdom. There are so many questions the Shadowvaar would like to learn from you.”
Star’s smile proved infectious, for I found myself smiling widely also. “I know, right? I have sooo many questions I want to ask her. Like about everything Shadow experienced during her life.”
Shadow stiffened as her eyes flicked between me and Star. “And precisely how many questions will you ask?”
“Oh, lots and lots. I wrote up a whole list.” I cast a summoning spell to retrieve the large scroll I put all my questions on. “There’s so much we could learn from you.”
Star nodded enthusiastically. “And I would love to discuss the finer points of Cult doctrine when you have a moment.”
For whatever reason, Shadow sighed again.
Author's Note
I would like to thank my editors Chengar Qordath, Comma-Kazie, and JakeTheGinger for all their help, and Rodinga, Trinary, and Swiftest Shadow for all their help prereading this chapter.
