Clash of the Legends

The Architect prowled the camera studio, awaiting his assistant's return. His orders, as simple as they were, had only just been carried out days after he had issued them. He desperately wanted to know why the teams seemed to be working together, and why the BUCK was romance blossoming between members?! He'd been signed up for the job so he could tell citizens of Equestria that the Princesses were not just for show, and that they were tough. Yet here he stood, his brown fur illuminated by the constant moonlight that had stayed since Luna left. He may as well have been waiting for the wedding invitations. He emitted another low growl to himself, cursing with such a vocabulary that even Twilight would be ashamed, and sighed. A sudden thud across the room signalled the entry of his assistant. The Architect muttered under his breath, before trotting over to the mare stood by the doorway.

The stallion glared at the grey mare for several seconds, before finally speaking. "About time." He hissed.

"I-I'm sorry, sir." the mare whimpered. "I-it's just that...um..."

The Architect continued his mental image of her head on a pike.

"Well?" he spoke louder.

"Er...the recording team doesn't know." The Architect's eye began to twitch, his pupils shrinking as his blue eyes went wide.

"They...Don't...Know..." he trailed off to himself. His assistant began to slowly back away, trying desperately to get out of the room before he unleashed his inner madpony. "No. They REFUSE to know! YES!" The Architect turned around, standing in the center of the room. Silence ensued for around five seconds, before he began to laugh. Slowly, but ever-so-certainly, it got louder. And louder. And louder. Up to the point where he was stood laughing to himself as his mare assistant bolted out of the room and down the corridor.

Followed by the camera crew, techies, reporters, and simple assistants, before the Architect eventually exploded with rage, throwing tables and chairs and many other things around with a dark magic. The maniacal laughing echoed through the night, rousing sleeping ponies and encouraging an angry mob to start in Canterlot.

"...so, then Cadence found me, shot me, and here we are having this conversation." Celestia finished proudly, magenta eyes shutting as she made a noise that would make Buck Norris 'd'awwwww'. Aerlion had sat listening to the whole story, trying to piece together what had happened over the past few days in this false Equestria. The Princess and her Guard knew that they shouldn't be working together. But, considering Princess Luna and Scorch-Mane were in the same situation as they were, they both assumed that for the time being it would be perfectly fine. Luna's radio message had brought up questions a-many. As far as everypony knew, Scorch-Mane had 'died'. But as far as the contestants knew, the unicorns who designed this sickening game had decided to put in an entity that probably didn't kill. In all likelihood, its attack on the Lieutenant had the same effect as a bolt to the head, abeit millions of times scarier. But what if the contestants did, in an unfortunate circumstance, actually die? Would they still come back? And after the competion was over, would they still be themselves without their old bodies?

Luna's message was quite clear. "Sister, I have accidentally run over Scorch-Mane. I'm saving him, he may die in the cold weather. Luna out." Quite simply, from what the solar goddess could gather, Luna was having her mind messed with. Still, even if it was a trick, they still had the advantage of mind control over Scorch-Mane. She turned her attention to Aerlion, who was curling up into a ball and covering himself with hay for the night. Just as he removed his helmet, Celestia spoke up.

"You know," she said to him in her silky voice, "it may make more sense to share body heat." Aerlion stopped, looking over at the princess, a sly grin on her face. He considered it was a trap, but she did have a point. Appaloosa was cold at night, and without central heating in the barn they would slowly receive hypothermia. He stopped, considered her offer, and immediately darted over and under her wing, a submissive expression on his face as he gently snuggled up next to the princess. In less than three seconds the heat from the combined sun goddess and over-worked guard had warmed the both of them up. A few minutes of gentle nuzzling and quiet thankings for what the princess was doing for him, he asked her an important question.

"Why? Is this because I helped you stay alive after you were attacked?" Aerlion murmured, desperately trying to keep his eyelids from fluttering shut so he could hear the answer. A sudden warmth against his forehead immediately destroyed all resistance against the princesses' charm. His eyes closed fully as he let out a relieved sigh. His brown head and neck dropped onto the hay-pile as his white mane was covered by Celestia's wing.

"No." Celestia replied. "It's because I love you." With that comment made, the injured princess quietly put her right forehoof over Aerlion's tired body before closing her eyes to get some decent sleep.