The Northern Crown

Chapters

Chapter 2: Disorder among nobility
Chapter 3: A Queen's Gem
Chapter 4: Birth of a shining star
Chapter 5: When crystal meets light...
Chapter 6: An Heir's Excitement!
Chapter 7: Magical beginnings
Chapter 8: A show of bravery
Chapter 9: Her motivation
Chapter 10: Corona's effort
Chapter 11: A shady offer
Chapter 12: A dark horizon
Chapter 13: Unlikely Allies
Chapter 14: A Tragic Miracle
Intermission: The Road ahead
Chapter 1: The Next Generation

Chapter 2: Disorder among nobility

The five mages lower the moon and raise the sun, illuminating the cloud covered winter sky. Ponies arise from their slumber to go about their morning, the Kings and Queens however feel rather uneasy about today. While their intentions are pure in stating that their empires should one day unite as one, opinions of a union between two different cultures are split, despite the crystal ponies being their allies, some fear that there may be negative consequences of enacting such a bold change. However, the four ponies that ponies glorify like deities must remain strong in their convictions, as both sides question whether their societies are ready for such a thing.

The nobles of both lands have gathered together for a big meeting in the grand congressional hall, a tall building lit by many torches and with rows of seats for the nobles. At the front of the hall are four thrones, one for each of the Kings and Queens. Normally there would only be two thrones but in light of the arrival of Diamond and Harmony, two more thrones were set out so that they could all sit. Around 10 AM the Canterlot knight detail that was ordered to guide everypony to their seats starts to file all the Equestrian and Crystal nobles into their designated seats, Crystal nobles on the left side and Equestrians on the right.

Many conversations are going on at once, some just being minor chatting while others are heated arguments about the winter that continues to plague the land, rumors of windigos being the cause of the cold, while others attempt to dispel the rumor as there is no hatred among the citizens of Equestria like there was with the ancient pony tribes. After some time a knight holds up his horn and blows on it to silence the crowd of nobles, after they quiet down he puts his horn away.

"We ask everypony to hold their questions and concerns until our Kings and Queens have addressed the nobility" he says as the door on the wall behind the four thrones open, out from the door comes their leaders. They each walk towards their designated throne and sits down, the nobles clapping their hooves for them and then silencing as they sit.

Diamond looks over at Helios and they both nod and look back at the crowd of ponies. Helios clears his throat and lowers his hoof "I understand that you all must be concerned with the statement we have made yesterday, while it may have been sudden, we have planned the course of events that are to transpire in the next few years."

Virgo nods in agreement "Yes, this is not something we intend to do within the immediate years, we want our subjects to grow closer together and form strong bonds, because we will stand far stronger together than we ever could apart, both in military standing, and in economics.

An equestrian noble raises their hoof and Helios nods for them to speak, "Your highness with all due respect, as much as we value our alliance with the Crystal ponies, I do not believe that our cultures would be able to mold together like you wish."

"Yes, while we may be sworn allies for what has been countless generations, we live in completely different ways, and i'm sure that the peasants will see this as well, some even believe that the alliance is unnecessary as we haven't faced a serious threat in a long time."

The statement makes a large portion of the ponies nod in agreement, another noble on the crystal side stands up to speak. "Yes your highness, while we have faced serious threats in the past that only one of our countries could not handle, during those times we would always help the other deal with that problem. We don't see the point in a permanent union, all it would mean is a dissolution of each of our cultures, which would make some ponies spiteful towards the other."

Diamond raises his hoof to make them all silent and she soon lowers it back down, "While we may have been able to deal with threats in the past, there is no telling what evils we could face in the future, so why not prepare for them in advance? What you said is true, however an enemy could strike with a swift motion that completely overwhelms one side, leaving the other vulnerable and unable to assist the other country. There is still a plethora of knowledge that we do not possess about the lands outside our borders, cultures we have yet to be exposed to, magic we have not seen, which means we will not know what comes next."

Helios nods "Yes other lands are bound to possess secrets, just as there are things about our home that others do not know, and we intend to keep it that way. As for a union of our lands, this will create a much more imposing force for enemies to reckon. Instead of facing two split countries, they will be fighting one united land that possess all the resources of the Crystal Empire and Equestria. The prospect of this will ward off potential foreign invaders, and possibly bring more opportunities to grow economically."

The statement causes silence and the nobility think about the idea of this, causing brief discussion about the logistics of the potential economical advantages of unification. Some still seem to be uncertain of this which makes Harmony smile, she raises her hoof and everyone silences.

"Rest assured my little ponies, this is not a change that will happen overnight, this is something we will work towards together, to pass onto the next generation. I understand that change is sometimes scary, but if given the chance, change can bring about something beautiful," she stats in a soft and elegant voice in a way that reminds many of them of their own mothers, soothing many of them in the process. Harmony then smiles and closes her eyes, signalling to Diamond to close the meeting.

"We are ready for any form of concern that you may have everypony, but you must trust us when we say it will be for the better. And to show that this bond will create a beautiful kinship between our lands, our heirs will be raised together, and through them we hope that our subjects will see that the union will be worth it. That is all for now, me and my fellow royals shall further discuss this matter, if we were not able to relieve your weariness to this, then please come and speak with us," Diamond then stands up with Harmony, Helios, and Virgo, everyone bows in respect as they leave the hall. The guards then start to dismiss different rows so as to not overflow the doors.

*****

Diamond walks ahead of the group a little as they make their way to a fireplace to relieve themselves of the chill of winter. Their hooves click on the cold marble floor and echo through the halls. He takes a deep breath and sighs "I swear sometimes they have no faith in our judgement, dealing with the nobility is by far my least favorite part of being royalty" Diamond states in slight frustration.

Virgo nods slowly and lets her wings relax a little at her sides, "Yes they are rather taxing... it seems like there is nothing that they wont gripe about."

Harmony giggles softly and cant help but agree with them partly, "I'd like to think that they are simply looking out for the well being of our subjects, however I know some are always out for themselves unfortunately." Harmony opens the door to the castle study and walks in with Diamond to have some quiet reading time. "Wont you join us?" she says to Virgo and Helios.

"I'm afraid i have some meetings to attend to regarding security for the coronation, the Canterlot Knights always need to have my input on things," Helios states in a slightly boastful manner, causing Diamond to roll his eyes and smirk.

"Alright we will see you later tonight for tea" Harmony says with a smile as she gives Virgo a hug.

"We'll be there" Virgo says back with a warm smile as they turn to leave, closing the door behind them with magic, leaving them to have some privacy.

Harmony sighs in relief as she returns to lay down, simple tasks like political discussions taking a lot out of her due to her pregnancy. She lays down next to Diamond and rests her head down to fall into a deep slumber. The sight of his beautiful queen sleeping so soundly on his hooves, it soothes his soul enough to bring him to a euphoric rest, enjoying the warmth of the fire as well as his partner.

*****

Helios walks out onto a castle balcony overlooking the mountainside that Canterlot rests on and sees that Iron Shield is already there overlooking the land.

"Late as always my old friend" he says as he looks back at him with a smile, a war scar going over his left eye, tarnishing the brown fur on his face.

"Well you are kind of hard to keep up with Iron, always there half an hour early. Unfortunately I actually have work to do" Helios snaps back with a confident smirk.

His remark brings out a hearty chuckle from Iron, "Right, because i'm not picking up the mess you make"

Helios rolls his eyes and walks up to the edge of the balcony "The coronation will be very soon, i anticipate that our foal as well as Harmony's will be born within the next few days. We must have a strong security detail of both equestrians and crystals, if ever there was a time for our enemies to strike it would be the Coronation, and we must be ready for it. There may not be an attack but we can't be sure."

Iron nods slowly and looks at a table with a simple map of Canterlot, "Since you four will be revealing your foals in the castle courtyard, there will be plenty of room for guests and VIP'S in the courtyard, as well as a banquet for everypony to enjoy, and our mages can keep a bubble around the area to keep the cold out temporarily. I know for certain that the foals would perish if they were to come in to contact with this winter right after being foaled." Iron points to the different strategic positions along the castle he has set for his Knights.

"Of course if we are to be fair, our knights must also be allowed time to celebrate with their friends and family, so we will cycle them out in shifts" Helios states firmly, wanting to make sure that all of his subjects get the chance to enjoy the festivities.

Iron nods slowly "I'm sure Starswirl would agree with you there, loyalty is all about keeping moral high after all" he says as he rolls up the map and puts it in his bag. "I will go over the plan with my subordinates during tonight's briefing, we will be on standby for when the royal families are ready for the coronation," Iron bows his head to pay his respect and walks to the exit of the balcony

Helios turns his head and watches him leave "I'm sure your wife will want you to be with her now that you two are parents, I will be overseeing everypony's safety, I already take you away from your family enough."

Iron stops in his tracks and sighs "I want to be there for my wife and son... my father was a knight as well and we barely got to spend time with one another. But I always admired him as my hero, wishing that one day I could be just like him, and... now that i'm where i am now, i'm afraid I will be the same distance away from my son that I was to my father," he says as his head falls.

A sad expression forms on Helios's face as he walks over to Iron Shield and puts a hoof on his shoulder "I won't let that happen for you, you've done your country a great service Iron, maybe it is time for you to retire. You've trained many worthy candidates that could take your place so that you can be with your family."

Iron looks up at his friend "Yes I've thought of that but... I want my son to have something to look up to as well, not just a father that tells him stories of the past. I want to be able to tell him of amazing things I have done every day, to bring a look of wonder upon his face... I must push on."

Helios sighs and chuckles softly "As stubborn as ever, if that is how it must be I will make sure you will have time with them," he says as he gently pats his shoulder to comfort him, "We'll figure this out, we have a very bright future coming soon, and i'd love for your foal to be friends with ours" he says with a big smile.

Iron looks back up at him and nods slowly with a smile on his face "Y-yeah that would be wonderful, i'm sure Topaz would love that"

Helios gives one last pat on his back before walking forward ahead of him to leave "Cheer up Iron, it will all work out," he says as he walks down the hall leaving Iron on his own.

Iron looks at the ground and chuckles softly "He always knows how to cheer me up," he says as he walks towards the archway. He turns towards the sky and watches the sunset on the horizon, splashes of amber coat the partly cloudy sky, truly a sight to beheld in his eyes. The sunset brings a happy grin to his face as he walks off from the balcony to go home for the day, looking forward to finally getting some relaxation.

*****

Iron slowly opens the door of his stone brick house and steps in, the crackling of a distant fire teases his cold ears as he closes the door behind him and shakes off all of the snow on his coat. His horn glows blue and the light surrounds his coat as he hangs it up. He makes his way down to his living room and he sees the love of his life laying on her side near the fire. Her ivory crystal coat glows beautifully from the orange light of the fire. As he trots closer to his wife he notices a tiny little foal that looks just like him if he was a crystal pony.

"There are my two precious ponies" he says as he floats a piece of rock candy to her and lays down next to her, "A little piece of home for you."

She smiles and gives him a gentle kiss on his cheek before giving her treat a nibble "You spoil me again my love, I took little Topaz outside to see the festivities, but couldn't be out for too long so he wouldn't freeze."

Iron nods slowly as he lays down next to them and looks at his son "To think we were all once that tiny..." He uses magic to lift a blanket from their sofa over to them and gently lays it down over him and his wife. "I trust Topaz has been doing well?" he says as he looks at her with concern."

"Oh of course! our little colt is a happy little ball of energy, its only a matter of time before he takes his first steps," she says as she looks down at him proudly, "He's handsome just like his father" she says as she rests back on Iron, resting her head on his hooves.

"That may be so, but he has his mother's muzzle, which I think means he will have your grace" he says with a warm smile, enjoying the heat of his wife and the fire. He looks down at his little colt and grins from ear to ear "You know Pearl... Helios and Virgo want their foal to be friend's with our's! I think it may be the same for King Diamond and Queen Harmony's as well! Isn't that amazing!"

"Really?" she says in surprise at the sudden statement, "That's quite the honor! I'm sure Topaz will get along with both of them nicely." Her ears perk up as she feels Topaz nuzzle into her side, whimpering softly. "Well... I think he's hungry" she says as she lays on her side and moves him under the blanket. Relaxing on the soft rug and closing her eyes. "I love you Iron...." she says as she drifts into a peaceful slumber.

"I love you too Pearl... I love you too..."

Author's Note

Hello readers, sorry this chapter took so long, things have been crazy busy over the past month, but I should be able to get chapters out more frequently. Hope you enjoyed and be sure to leave any feedback! Have a great night everyone :)

Chapter 3: A Queen's Gem

Days of celebration have made the cold winter days seem much more warm and inviting, but even in times like this ponies can feel nervous, no one knowing that better than the royal families. The sounds of slow but constant hoofsteps can be heard clicking on the floor outside the nativity ward. The door to the waiting room opens up quickly and in walks Helios and Virgo.

Virgo looks into the room and sees Diamond pacing back and forth with a nervous look on his face, "We just got the news, how Is Harmony!?" she says with concern for her friend.

Diamond looks over at them and breaths a sigh of relief, "I'm glad you two are here... she's been in labor for about an hour now" he says with a shaking voice, "I'm so nervous... I wish i could be there next to her but they aren't letting me see her until it is all done..." he says as he looks at the door. "She was so scared... I hope it will all be over as fast as possible." The thought of finally meeting his young foal for the first time is rather overwhelming for him, his heart beating quickly as he's never felt this nervous before.

"You must calm yourself Diamond, being nervous like this won't help anything, she is being helped by some of Canterlot's best birth specialists, they will make sure she is healthy along with the foal" Virgo says as she opens her wing over her friend, wanting to comfort him as it is making her nervous for Harmony as well.

"It's not like you Diamond, you're normally always composed" Helios says with a hoof on his shoulder. "It's just like Virgo said, Harmony and the foal will be just fine, there is nothing to worry about" Helios then moves to hug Diamond and Virgo does the same.

"Thank you... that makes me feel better, I just want everything to be as easy as possible for Harmony... I wish they would let me be in there with her, but as the tradition is... the mare must always be the first to see the foal.... from all the labor they went through carrying them" he says as he sits down near the door, the sounds of his wife's pain on the other side of the door hurts his soul. "Be strong Harmony my love... be strong..."

*****

Two hours have passed but Diamond couldn't help but continue his nervous pacing, his ears are down as he tries to block out his wife's pain, but after a few moments he notices that things suddenly got much more quiet. He raises his head in surprise and his ears perk up as he looks at the door, he listens for any sounds at all as he was told that foals cry after they are born. His ears are practically on the door as he listens to the room, feeling worried when he doesn't hear any crying. "Oh no... something must have gone wrong! I-I have to go inside!"

His horn glows as he takes hold of the handle to open it but before he can the door slowly open and a nurse mare pops her head out of it and smiles "It was a perfect procedure!" she states with a big grin.

Diamond sighs in relief and nearly falls over from the weight that was lifted off of his shoulders, "Oh thank the heavens..." Diamond then looks back at her with concern "May I see them now?..."

The nurse nods slowly and motions for him to be quiet as she lets him in and closes the door.

Diamond feels the heat of the room and he gulps as he slowly walks forward into the room, a curtain blocking the area of the room where his wife laid, his heart pounds quickly and hard as he feels a combination of adrenaline and nervousness as he approaches the curtain, his quiet hoof steps echo in his ears as everything goes silent for him. "The nurse seemed happy from the operation... so why didn't my foal cry?... is there really nothing wrong?" he says in his mind as he reaches the curtain. Diamond slowly lifts his hoof to part the curtain to reveal what lays on the other side, but as he moves the curtains little by little they feel like they weigh a ton to him.

With all of his strength and willpower he slowly parts the curtains and walks through them, the sight that lays before his eyes nearly brings him to tears. There on a bed rests his beautiful wife laying on her side with a very exhausted expression, and as he looks down her body he sees a tiny little ball of fluff near her belly, the tiny ball of fluff being a regal looking royal blue. The little foal's tiny hooves fade from royal blue to white and has a mane and tail of silver with white tips, the foal's fur sparkling beautifully thanks to his crystal father. Diamond's eyes start to sparkle with tears and he sobs softly as he moves to hug Harmony tightly, sobbing into her mane as he feels a huge weight lifted off of his shoulders, "I-I was so worried about you..." he says with a shaken voice.

Harmony smiles weakly "you make it sound like it was hard..." she says in a quiet frail voice. "He's beautiful isn't he?..." she says as she looks down at her little colt, curled up and nestled into her fur.

"O-Our foal's a colt?... I had a feeling it would be a filly" Diamond says as he looks down at his son, "He is beautiful... he looks a lot like his mother" he says as he climbs up onto her bed and lays down next to her to support her.

"You flatter me... as always..." she says as she lays her head on his hooves and rests her tired eyes.

"I was scared something went wrong when I didn't hear any crying... it's not normal for newborns to be quiet right?...

"No... but he is just fine... he's just a quiet gentle foal..." she says as she nearly falls asleep "he recognized my voice and hasn't moved from that spot since he was cleaned..."

Diamond looks down at their foal and smiles as he lays his head on her's, "Thank you for this wonderful gift Harmony..." he says as he finally lets go of his stress and falls into a peaceful slumber, listening to the sounds of his wife and foal's breathing.

*****

The gentle nudge of a loving muzzle awakens Diamond from his slumber and he yawns in defiance, not wanting to wake up from such a relaxing sleep. He feels the nudge again and groans as he slowly opens his eyes and sees that it is Harmony.

"Shhhhh look" she says with a quiet voice and she looks over towards her belly and sees her little foal finally waking up for the first time, he raises his head and perks his little ears up as he looks around curiously. "Stay still and quiet" she says as they both watch him try and get up on his hooves but soon fails in his endeavors, he whimpers and then neighs softly for his mother, using his front hooves to crawl and try to find her.

Harmony lays her head down with her eyes closed and stays completely still as her little foal continues his search for his mother, eventually she hears him crawling right in front of her face, she then feels his tiny nose sniffing her muzzle and once he does she opens her eyes and looks at him, surprising the foal and making him yelp in surprise. When he realizes it's his mother he giggles and hugs her muzzle which makes Harmony smile warmly and rewards him with a loving nuzzle.

Diamond smiles as he watches their touching moment, but within moments Harmony lifts their colt up and sets their colt down in front of him.

"Say hello to your father little one" she says in a reassuring voice as she gently nudges him towards Diamond.

The colt whimpers softly but after her encouraging words he looks at his father's hooves and slowly crawls over to them and sniffs them, he then smiles and tries to crawl over them and hug them. The sight of this makes Diamond feel butterflies in his stomach and he chuckles softly, "You weren't kidding when you said he was quiet, but it seems he also has a good sense of curiosity."

Harmony nods slowly and kisses Diamond's cheek, "It seems he likes you darling." Diamond blushes at the sudden move but nods slowly with a shy smile "I was worried he wouldn't." Diamond looks down and sees that he was successful in climbing his hoof and is now trying to chew on his fur as his stomach growls. Harmony giggles softly and gently picks him up and moves him under her blanket for his breakfast. "He's got an appetite like his father."

Diamond gasps exaggeratedly and scoffs playfully "Excuse me? are you saying I eat too much?"

"No you silly colt" she says as she pokes his nose with her hoof "He's just going to be a big handsome stallion like you." Diamond chuckles softly and shakes his head, "No I think he get's his beauty from you."

Harmony rolls her eyes with a grin and lays her head down to relax with her Husband and foal.

"Well.... I think it is about time we gave our little one a name, unless we want to call him foal for the rest of his life," Diamond says as he looks down at where his son is, "Any ideas? I was thinking..... Zircon."

Harmony thinks about it for a little but soon shakes her head, "No... I've thought long and hard about his name, his name will be..." she gently pulls him out after he is done feeding and he yawns cutely and curls up.

"Corona... Corona Borealis"

Diamond smiles and nods slowly, loving the name as he thinks it is a very noble name "It's perfect Harmony, I love it." The compliment brings a big smile to her face as it makes her feel confident with his name, as she looks down at him they both hear a knock at the door and they both look at the door.

"Oh that must be Starswirl, come in" he calls and the pony at the door opens it, and as he predicted it was Starswirl.

"I was told the miracle finally happened, I wanted to give you three time before I visited," he says as he shuts the door quietly, in case the foal was asleep. "So what did the foal end up being? was it a filly like you predicted Diamond?"

Diamond shakes his head as Starswirl makes his way over to them, "Our little angel is a colt" he says proudly.

"Would you like to see our little darling, and your future student?" she says to Starswirl as he stands before them. A smile crosses his face and he nods slowly "It would be an honor to meet the young prince."

Harmony and Diamond smile at each other and she gently lifts Corona up with magic and sets him down in front of her so Starswirl can see him, Corona looks up at Starswirl curiously and tilts his head. Starswirl looks at him and smiles with his teeth "Hello there young Prince, my name is Starswirl the bearded." Corona looks confused for a little but soon reaches up for him with his front hooves, sitting back on his flank.

"Seems like he wants you to pick him up" Diamond says as he motions for him to pick him up, giving Starswirl his approval. With that Starswirl nods slowly and sits down at the foot of the bed and gently picks Corona up with magic and brings him to his hooves, when Corona sees Starswirl's horn glow with magic he looks at it in wonder, the glow of his horn reflecting off his pupils. Starswirl chuckles softly as he sets him in his hooves, "It seems he already has an enthusiasm for discovery, this is my horn little one" he says as he lifts Corona up to his horn. Corona reaches over to his horn and touches it gently with his hoof, when he touches it Starswirl's eyes widen in surprise as he feels a sudden sensation of warmth flow from his horn to the rest of his body. The warmth brings a feeling of tranquility to Starswirl's soul that he hasn't felt since the last time he felt his mother's warm embrace before she passed to the next world. The sensation brings tears to his eyes but can't be seen by Diamond or Harmony because Corona blocks their view of his face.

"It would seem he likes you as well Starswirl" Diamond says which snaps Starswirl out of his trance and he shakes his head and uses magic to dissipate his tears. "Y-Yes it would appear so..." he says in a slightly shaken voice.

Harmony notices his shaken voice "Are you okay Starswirl? you seem a little flustered."

"O-Of course" he says as he shakes his head again, "He's just.... so adorable you know" he says as he tries to mask what happened as he himself doesn't know. He gives Corona a gentle hug then gives him back to Harmony, he gently touches Corona's horn with his hoof, "He will be powerful, just like his parents, this I know for sure," he states with confidence.

Corona giggles when he touches his horn which scores a laugh from all the adult ponies, Harmony gently kisses his head and Corona lets out a soft high pitch neigh that she finds adorable.

Diamond lifts a pitcher of tea that was brought to them earlier and pours two cups of it "Would you like some tea Starswirl? it's still warm."

Starswirl originally planned on this being just a small visit but after that experience with Corona, he feels fascinated by it and hopes he will see the young prince do something else, being that unicorn foals have such unstable magical outbursts. "I would love some tea, thank you Diamond."

Author's Note

Hello everybody, my apologies for the long waits, a lot of big life changes are happening at the moment, moving to Florida on the 8th, but I should be able to write significantly more often when the move is over. I'll do my best to get at least one chapter out a week. The pace of the story will pick up once we get character introductions out of the way, don't want to go too fast and mess it up. Anyways thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed. :)

Chapter 4: Birth of a shining star

Magic takes on an infinite number of forms; whether it be the simple yet amazing levitation spell, or the miracle of the birth of a new life. For mages like Starswirl the euphoria of discovering new magic has been their driving force for their lives, even into old age. The thought of creating a new spell that could benefit the entirety of ponykind is a very exhilarating thought after all, the levitation spell was once considered a ground breaking spell, but now if you were a unicorn that could not do the levitation spell to some degree, you were considered to be uneducated. Yet there were still entire frontiers of magic that have yet to be discovered, for the earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi alike. But one magic has been sought after for many generations, a magic that seems achievable and yet, all of the mages in the past have not been able to uncover it's secrets. It has been so long in fact that most scholars consider it to be an impossibility, however Starswirl believes it is possible.

"If that magic can be achieved through potions.... how could it not be possible to achieve it on a higher magical level!..." he says as he furrows his brow, a series of magical records rest on his back as he leaves the Canterlot archives. "That warm sensation... Corona may just be the key we are looking for."

Starswirl walks out into the castle gardens and goes to his favorite place to study, under a tree near the west tower. He curls his hooves under him and lays down a book in front of him and starts to flip through the pages "I know I've felt that sensation before...."

After flipping through the pages for a few seconds he finds the section that he is looking for in his book, "Healing remedies."
A smile crosses his maw as he looks over the different potions and side effects of them, when he finishes reads through multiple different potions and brews he notices a correlation in them.

"All subjects feel a warm and comforting sensation throughout their body... due to the endorphins that are released from the healing properties of the potion. I'm sure that is what I felt!" he says as he continues reading through more to make sure that the correlation isn't mere coincidence.

"If that is truly what I just felt.... Prince Corona may be the first pony in equine history to discover healing magic.... and in doing so will be the first magic healer." His face soon turns to that of a serious one, "If that is the case.... then I fear for the young prince's safety..." he closes his book and sits up from his spot "I will not let any harm come to the young prince or to the heir of the equestrian throne... it is my duty as the head mage of Canterlot, and as their teacher" he says as he puts his books back in his saddlebag. He then pauses and takes a deep breath and sighs, "But I do hope to be a great teacher for them... I've taught plenty of young ponies in my day but... the offspring of the royal 4.... they're bound to have deep innate abilities that we may be unable to control or fathom..."

"I'm glad you think that highly of us my friend" he hears coming from behind him, he turns his head around and chuckles softly.

"You know it's not polite to sneak up on old ponies Helios" he says with a coy smirk, watching his king approach him in his reading spot.

"You old? compared to me you're still a newborn Starswirl" Helios says after Starswirl's remark, enjoying how he is treated like a normal pony around the old mage.

"Ah yes, but unlike you I show signs of aging by the day" he states with a warm smile. Helios walks up to his friend and looks over his shoulder to see what he is reading, tilting his head as he reads the unique style of penmanship.

"Potions and Brews.... that's an odd book for you to be reading Starswirl, what prompted you to acquire such a book?"

"Well... something happened to me when I first held the young prince.... something that I know I have felt before. It took me awhile to remember what it was, but I think that I finally figured it out" he says as he moves the book into his view on the ground.

When Helios reads the page he is on and sees the thing they have in common circled in ink by Starswirl his ears perk up. "You think he.... used a healing spell on you?" he says as he looks at Starswirl in disbelief.

Starswirl nods slowly "Magical impulses are very common in unicorn foals, this i'm sure you know... but what I felt when I first held Corona, there's no mistaking it... that was the exact feeling I experienced when I drink healing remedies..."

"If that's truly what it is... then we must do our best to draw that out of him in the future as that can be a very useful tool for our alliance to have. It would be a huge breakthrough in magic and would help us tremendously in defending the front lines of any invading attack..." Helios states seriously.

"That may be true Helios... but we still have little knowledge of the lands beyond our borders, for all we know our oppressors could already possess healing magic..." Starswirl replies, making sure they both know to cover all bases when thinking about the logistical future of Equestria.

"At the same time if any of our enemies were to possess said magic, they would have already taken a chance to invade our lands would they not?"

Starswirl shakes his head "Not necessarily... even with such a magic they would still need to have a strong enough force to break our armies, and magic strong enough to counter our mages."

Helios nods slowly and rubs his head as he tries to think of a good strategy to defend Equestria.

"As drastic the change is.... furthering our alliance with the Crystal ponies is the best course of action here. One of my late students, Clover, taught me that you will always stand stronger when you are united in friendship and trust," Starswirl says as he closes his eyes as he shuts his book.

Helios nods slowly at the old mage and helps lift him up to his hooves, "The magic that the crystal ponies share when they are within their borders is the closest thing we've had to healing magic... but it is only when they come together for celebrations like Harmony's crystal fair. So I guess it is no surprise that Harmony's colt just might be the key we've been missing on this magical lock..."

Starswirl nods slowly and stands up with his help "But... your foal is bound to have great potential as well, I just hope that the foal will have better manners than it's parents" he says with a playful smirk.

"H-Hey! I am not bad mannered!.... in public at least..." he says as he looks down with an embarrassed frustrated face.

"Oh don't pout my friend, not being serious all the time can be a very admirable quality in a leader, it makes your subjects feel like they can relate to you more," Starswirl remarks as he lifts Helios' chin "I understand your fear, it is the very same one that Diamond had when Harmony's labor came. But just like Corona, your foal will be just as healthy."

Helios' eyes move up to look at Starswirl and he nods slowly, taking a deep breath and letting it out to try and relieve himself of his stress, "You're right... they will both be fine, I just need to put on a brave face for Virgo."

"That's the spirit my friend, do not fret, before you know it this whole situation will" he stops as he hears the shout of a guard from inside the castle door leading out to the garden "Your highness! the time has come" he says as he bows his head respectfully, "I was ordered to make haste to deliver this news to you."

Helios' eyes widen and he starts to feel his heart race again, "You're sure of this?! then I must go immediately!" he shouts as he opens his wings and takes off at a very fast pace, leaving a gust of wind behind him that nearly knocks over the messenger.

"I must go as well" Starswirl says in a more composed tone as he runs off with the guard leading him there, the bells on his cape and hat jingle in the same rhythm of his hoofsteps.

*****

Diamond and Harmony are both are laying down on a sofa facing each other. Corona is sitting between them and Diamond lifts up his hoof near Corona and his head perks up in surprise and he lifts up his little hoof and pats at it like a cat. This prompts a chuckle from Diamond and he quickly moves it closer to Corona which makes him jump on it to wrestle it, gnawing at it with his mouth.

"Precious foal, and soon he will meet his first friend" Harmony says with a soft laugh, she then looks over at the door as Helios blows through the door, shattering it to pieces. His abrupt entrance spooks Corona and he quickly scrambles behind his mother to hide from the big pony he saw.

"Please don't tell me I missed it" he says with a look of desperation in his eyes, not wanting to miss his foal's first moments. He looks over at Harmony and she shakes her head, "No Helios you're just in time, to tell you the truth we've been nervous for her too but little Corona has helped us take our mind off of it."

The door to the maternity room opens and an angry looking nurse walks out "What in heaven's name was that!? Her majesty is giving birth and your making all of this!...." she pauses when she sees it is her king and she quickly bows, "A-A thousand pardons your majesty..." she says as she quivers a little, fearing punishment.

"No my lady.... I am sorry for my brash entrance" Helios says in a surprisingly calm tone, considering his nervous condition only moments prior. "May I please go in and be with my wife?...."

The nurse feels surprised and looks up at him in disbelief, but after a moment she shakes it off and nods slowly as she leads him into the room and shuts the door.

Helios walks with haste to the side of his wife and sees she has a blanket over the lower half of her body, sweat on her face as she pants in exhaustion. He sits down next to her and moves his hoof to her's, "I'm here for you Virgo... i'm sorry that I am late" he says as she takes his hoof and grips it tightly to help cope with the pain.

"I'm glad you're here... I thought you wouldn't NGH!..... make it!" she says as she feels the sharp pain of another contraction. The fearful face she has soon starts to fade away and transform into a more brave and determined look now that her husband is here, his support giving her the mental strength she needed.

"I'd die before I miss you bring our miracle into the world" he says as he cringes a little and a nervous bead of sweat goes down his cheek when she grips his hoof, "She's going to break my hoof" he thinks to himself as he smiles nervously. His face however soon turns into that of a serious one as he sees her starting to put her attention and efforts into birthing the foal, feeling any pain is worth it to help her get through this as she squeals and cringes from the pain from the contractions.

Helios never leaves her side and the hour that has passed feels like the longest hour of his life, it pains him to see his wife in such discomfort, but eventually the doctor calls to her "Keep going your highness your almost there!" A nurse swiftly moving to replace the wet cloth on her head with a fresh cold towel to keep her cool.

"Come on my love you can do it! you are strong enough for anything!" Helios says firmly to her as he holds her hoof with both of his, listening to her squeal in pain one last time as she gives one last push before her head falls from exhaustion. Helios's ears and head perk up as he looks at her worriedly, thinking something bad to her, but that worry swiftly fades away as they both hear the sound of their crying foal, almost instantly calming their souls and bringing tears to their eyes, especially Virgo's after going through such a painful ordeal. The sound of her crying foal ringing in her ears is more than enough a reward for the pain she endured.

The doctor swiftly takes the crying foal and tenderly cleans it with the assistance of the nurse, the foal crying out for it's mother. The nurse smiles warmly and wraps it in a blanket and carefully goes to Helios and Virgo to present them with their foal. "Congratulations your majesties, shes a beautiful little filly" she says as she gently puts the filly into her hooves, seeing her eyes tearing up as she sees her filly for the first time almost makes the nurse start crying, tears of joy however were unavoidable as Virgo gently holds her filly to soothe her.

"Shhhhh mommy is here my little girl...." she says in a gentle motherly voice as she nestles her into her soft and warm chest fur. Helios looks over his tiny princess and sees that her coat is a beautiful snow white and she has a little pink mane and tail. Her cries start to calm down and she opens her eyes for the first time to look up at her beautiful mother, sniffling as she hugs her fur.

"She's as beautiful as her mother..." he says as tears fall from his eyes, his body shudders as he realizes he has finally became a parent after living for so long, the fact this moment is finally here is overwhelming for him and feels like a dream come true.

Virgo looks at him and smiles warmly as she gently turns her filly around so she can face him, she looks up at him curiously but also a little scared. Helios looks down at her and fears that she will not like him, but he slowly moves his muzzle down to her and he puts on a smile. "Hello my precious daughter" he says in as gentle a voice he is able to muster, "I am your daddy."

The filly whimpers a little in fear but when she hears his gentle voice she shyly tries to crawl towards him and puts her tiny hooves on his muzzle, making his heart skip a beat. "I can not get over how adorable foals are..." he says as he gently moves her to his hooves.

"First you make me a King and Husband.... and now you've made me a father.... you are truly the best thing in my life..." he says as he kisses Virgo's forehead. His action forms a smile on her face as his warm words touch her heart, "And you have made me a Queen, wife and mother, now we have a little angel to take care of..." she says as she lowers her head as the last of her strength fades away, drifting out of consciousness for her well deserved rest.

The nurse smiles at the heart warming scene and walks back to the door and opens it slowly then closes it behind her. She then looks at Diamond and Harmony and bows her head respectfully to them, "It is finished, but they are to be alone for a little while."

"Of course, I wanted that to when I had Corona, we'll come back another time" Harmony says as she stands up with Corona on her back playing with her feathers. Diamond chuckles softly and he follows suit, standing up next to Harmony as they both walk to the door. "Make sure they have peace and quiet for at least a day or two before letting the public know about their foal's birth."

Harmony's ears perk up and she stops when she hears him say that and looks back at the nurse, "By the way Altha, was it a filly or a colt?" she says with a happy looking face.

Altha grins from ear to ear, "They had a beautiful snow white filly!" she says with a squeaking voice.

"Awwwww! I can't wait for Corona to meet her!" Harmony says as she gives Altha a hug. She then lets go of her and turns to walk off with Diamond, "Take care of them Altha."

She bows her head out of respect and cant remove the shining grin on her face, "Absolutely your majesty."

Harmony looks at Diamond as they walk outside, "You hear that darling? a filly! if Corona and their filly were to..."

"Yes Harmony... but we must not make the mistake of pressing that relationship on them" he says as he stops, having a serious tone in his voice, "I would never marry my son or daughter off only to improve our relations with other lands. Not even Equestria... and I would expect the same from Helios and Virgo with their daughter," he says as he looks into Harmony's eyes.

Harmony pauses as he cuts her off but when she hears his words she thinks about them and nods slowly, "Yes... but I can feel it in my heart... there is a bright future ahead for them both... and for the future of our lands."

Diamond smiles and puts a hoof on her shoulder, "Do not worry my love, we'll see how they react to one another when they meet for the first time soon," he states with a jovial tone which gives a feeling of reassurance to Harmony.

"Right!" she says with a happy laugh. Seeing his mother laugh makes Corona copy her, giving an adorable giggle which prompts big smiles from both of his parents, their pupils widening as they look at their adorable colt. "Awwwwww" they both say in unison.

Author's Note

Phew, sorry once again for the late post, a bunch of stuff from moving to a different state to starting a new job (concrete :raritycry: ) that is very demanding on my body, leaving my very tired at the end of my shifts. But i've gotten used to most of the changes so now that I have no big changes coming I should be free to write with more freedom! Anyway i'm relatively satisfied with this chapter and I hope you all enjoyed it!

Chapter 5: When crystal meets light...

"I hope they like each other...." says a nervous Harmony as she walks through the castle halls by herself, her hooves clicking gracefully on the marble floor, keeping good posture as she walks so Corona doesn't fall off her back. "I'm being silly.... why wouldn't they like each other, Corona is a gentle foal and loves meeting new ponies, well... at least when i'm around." She turns her head to look back at him and sees Corona looking up at her with a confused look. Harmony smiles sheepishly and stops, "Your right... silly mommy is talking to herself again."

Corona giggles and wobbles up to her neck and hugs it cutely, babbling foal nonsense as if he is trying to talk to her, the sight makes Harmony giggle and continue walking. She looks outside the window and sees that it is a beautiful sunny day, the pegasi crossing the sky carrying the clouds with them to clear the rest of the sky, the day already feeling a little warmer than the week prior. She turns down a corner after admiring the view and starts to climb the tower in which Virgo and Helios sleep as that is where she told her to meet her, her wings open up a little to make sure Corona doesn't fall off her back who seems to be in his own world, a brave young explorer discovering the uncharted lands of his mother's bridge perhaps.

She chuckles softly and soon knocks on the double door of the royal couple's chambers, after waiting for a few moments she hears hoofsteps on the other side of the door and soon the door opens, revealing her best friend in Virgo. "Glad you made it Harmony, me and the foal have been feeling lonely since Helios had to go off with Diamond for the defense meeting."

"Right... it has been the same with me and Corona" she says as she walks inside, Corona looks up and sees Virgo and he babbles cutely at her as he reaches for her, but he soon loses his balance and falls on his front, the sight making Virgo giggle softly as she lifts him up with magic and brings her up to her face.

"Well aren't you the most precious colt in the land" she says as she looks at him with a happy look. Corona giggles when she lifts him up and he holds her muzzle, his horn soon has a glowing silver aura and the aura surrounds Virgo as he lifts her up off the ground. Virgo's pupils shrink as she gets lifted up "Ahhh! Harmony is this normal!?" she says in a panicking tone as she flails her hooves.

Harmony laughs at her reaction, after enjoying it for a few moments she walks up to them and gently touches Corona, "Time to come down little one" she says in a soft motherly voice, Corona's little ears perk up when she calls to him, her voice causes his magic to calm down and he falls into her hoof and drops Virgo with a thud "Owww....."

"Apologies for that, and to answer your question yes, Unicorn foals have unstable magic remember?" she says as she puts Corona back on her. She reaches down to help her stand back up and gives her a hug.

"Right... I keep forgetting about that, this whole mother business has made me glance over quite a few simple things, and to think i'll start having to deal with that soon as well..."

Harmony nods slowly, "I know what you mean... I have been through many different events from droughts to internal crises, but none of that even comes close to the feelings I've been experiencing over the past two weeks, I've been a nervous wreck worrying about Corona's well being... wondering whether I fed him enough or if I forgot to put him to bed."

"Speaking of sleep, my little one should just about be done with her nap." she says as she leads Harmony to a pair of pillows big enough for them to lay on. "Let me go get my little angel, I can't wait for you to meet her!" Virgo squeals with a big grin as she trots off to the nursery her and Helios had built in their chambers.

Harmony cant help but grin as well at the sight of her enthusiasm, when she disappears behind the door she lays down on the pillow with Corona and she nuzzles him, "Hear that Corona? you're going to meet your first friend!" Corona laughs and pokes her nose, not knowing what she is saying but finds her voice comforting, he then rolls over onto his front and looks around the room curiously from her back, never seeing this room before. Soon they both hear the door of the nursery open up and out walks Virgo with a proud smile planted on her maw. She walks up to them and calmly lays down on her own.

"Harmony, meet my daughter Celestia" she says as she lifts up her precious filly with magic and moves her to her front hooves so Harmony can see the adorable snow white filly, her mane are a lovely light pink that fades slowly into lighter shades of pink, when she opens her eyes Harmony sees they are a beautiful magenta. The sight of the adorable filly makes Harmony's pupils widen and almost cry, "She's absolutely precious..." she says as she feels Corona pressing up on her neck, obviously wanting her attention and wondering what is going on. Harmony giggles softly and gently lifts Corona up and lays him down in her front hooves, Celestia looks at Corona with wide curious eyes and when Corona sees her he does the same.

Corona's mouth opens a little as he reaches his hooves forward on the pillow to try and walk towards Celestia to investigate the new pony he's never seen. Celestia has her head perked up like a meerkat, staring at Corona as he waddles towards her. He moves his muzzle close to her head and sniffs her, Celestia backs up a little and raises her hoof. Corona stops and tilts his head in confusion, when he stops she feels curious of him as well, waddling towards him and sniffing him. She then smiles and laughs while patting her hooves on the ground. Corona giggles along with her and he looks around and sees one of her stuffed animals, his horn glows and he floats it over to him and holds it in front of her, offering it as a gift even though it was already her's.

Celestia giggles and takes the stuffed pony and squeezes it, she laughs and decides to return the favor by floating her mother's crown down and putting it on Corona, only he was small enough to squeeze into the crown. Corona pops his head above the tiara and he giggles as he puts the tip of it in his mouth.

"Well it looks like I need a new crown" Virgo says with a laugh as she watches the two play, feeling a sense of relief that they are getting along, feeling like their fears of them not liking each other were for naught.

"It would seem so! I hope she doesn't steal my crown!" Harmony says with a giggle as she nuzzles Corona in his new tiara, he laughs as she nuzzles him as he feels ticklish, he then picks up the tiara and floats it onto his mother's head, putting the crown on top of her's which falls on the side of her face, making her laugh softly as she floats it back to Virgo's head.

*****

Diamond trots slowly round a corner to see Helios standing outside the door of the meeting chambers, Helios looks over at him and nods slowly, letting Diamond know that their military officers are ready for the meeting to commence. Diamond stands in front of him and nods in confirmation "Right..." both are dressed in formal royal regalia due to the importance of the meeting, Helios opens the door and they walk into the big room, in the center is a large circular table with many of their highest ranking officers sitting in their seats, as soon as they see their King's walk into the room they all stand up instantly and salute in unison.

"At ease everyone, you may be seated" Diamond says and they all comply to his order and sit down while maintaining focus on them.

"We have requested an audience with you to discuss very important matters that must be kept from the public" Iron Shield says, standing up with good posture as he fills the room with his voice, his helmet resting on the table along with his fellow officers. "We have seen movement on the northern borders of the Crystal Empire and on our southwest border on our own border with the desolate desert lands, we are not sure the Yaks or Zebras are making a move or not, but considering how close together these events unfurled, I do believe that we should treat this as a potential coordinated strike between the two tribes on us."

Most at the table with the exception of Diamond and Helios as they wait for everyone to speak to state what is on their mind. After a few moments a dark grey mare with sky blue eyes stands up, on the table in front of her is the cover worn by the commanding general of Equestria's military.

"That is an intelligent evaluation of the enemy Captain Iron Shield, but we must not forget that we have been able to fend off our attackers for generations, ever since the brilliant leadership that was my grandfather commander Hurricane our defensive capabilities have only grown stronger in fending off any would be oppressors, and I will be damned to Tartarus if I let that reputation crumble at my hooves," she states with confidence but also maintains a level of poise with her words.

Iron Shield nods slowly but also looks concerned, "Yes... the leadership of your family has never led us astray, but with all due respect General Typhoon, we must never underestimate the enemy for that could be the undoing of our military."

Helios nods slowly in agreement, "Yes I must agree with Iron Shield on this, we have little knowledge on what lies beyond our borders, only that the tribes we have encountered desire to steal our magic, and have been trying to do so for generations."

Typhoon nods her head in concurrence "Yes that we can agree on, and considering the desolation of the desert they live in, I can see why they would want to invade our territory, I suggest we send troops to those borders in a show of strength, in doing so we may avoid a conflict and casualties at the same time by making our enemies run away in fear."

Most officers at the table concur with their commander's proposition, but Iron Shield shakes his head, "I disagree with this General... sending more troops to the borders may be seen as a form of unprovoked aggression, they may even think we will intend to invade their land, prompting them to raise their armies for a coordinated strike against us. While I do agree with you that we should be mindful of their increased presence, I suggest strengthening our defenses at our key locations, such as our cities and garrisons. Without knowing their true intentions we simply can not make any aggressive moves as that may prove to be disastrous."

Typhoon slams her hoof down on the table causing it to shake which startles quite a few ponies in the room, but Iron keeps his composed expression, "It is that lack of action that will lead to our downfall Captain Shield!" she snaps back at him in an aggressive tone, "Our job is to protect the ponies of our land! And to accomplish that mission we absolutely should not let them just march right up to our city's doorstep and attack! that would lead to hundreds of civilian casualties!" she stats while shooting him a glare.

Iron Shield sighs and sits back down, knowing this will be a losing fight since her word holds more weight than his does. After a few moments of discussion about the two possibilities between the crystal and equestrian officers Diamond raises his hoof and they all silence immediately.

"You both speak truth in you words, but unfortunately Iron Shield... I am to side with Typhoon in this matter, we should not allow the possible battleground to be in a place that could bring harm to the civilians," Helios states and the officers nod slowly.

Iron sighs and slightly lowers his head, "Yes your highness."

"We have those that are precious to us that we must protect, and now with the birth of my son Corona and Princess Celestia, we also must protect the next generation of the royal families if our union is to come to fruition in the near future, the crown must endure when our time to pass comes, whenever that may be," Diamond stats with concern.

The doors to the meeting room open slowly and the sound of bells ringing can be heard as head mage Starswirl trots into the room, "You are absolutely right King Diamond, but there is much more potential in your legacy as well as King Helios' than you could even fathom." he says as he walks over to his seat and sits down. While not a military officer, Starswirl is held in high regard amongst not only magic scholars, but also the military due to his contribution in offensive and defensive spell innovations.

"What are you referring to Starswirl?" Diamond says out of confusion, not expecting him to bring up his son and the princess for the meeting.

"I am elevated at the thought of how much magic the prince and princess possess. Princess Celestia radiates with more magic than any foal I've ever seen. While magical outbursts are common in foals, it normally takes more than a month for those outbursts to begin, this is the first time I have witnessed a foal lift up an entire pony as a newborn filly."

"Really?... I haven't seen her do such a thing yet," Helios says in slight disbelief as he looks at Starswirl, Diamond also turns his attention to him and clears his throat.

"The way you say that you said that made it sound like you've seen some sort of anomaly with my son as well, I hope it was not a bad one," he says in a voice of concern, remembering his reaction when he first held Corona.

"I can assure you that it was not a negative outburst," Helios replies with a calm voice as he puts a hoof on his friend's shoulder.

"He's right my king, quite the contrary in fact," Starswirl uses magic and pulls out the several books he was studying and puts them down on the table, the officers move closer to the edge of the table, while Typhoon looks over his shoulder since he sits next to her, she sees that they are all books related to remedies and potions, she tilts her head in confusion "Potion making?... what does that have to do with Prince Corona?"

"Patience my dear, I was getting to that" he says as he flips the books to their respective pages and shows all the notes he has taken on the different potions, showing particular interest in healing potions. He also pulls out a much bigger book that contains all known studies of magic made in Canterlot's magic institution, he turns the big cover of the book and flips through the pages, "When I first held the young prince he touched my horn and did something to me that caught me completely off guard. For awhile I couldn't figure out what it was, but I knew I had experienced that feeling before, the warming sensation reminded me of my mother and a select few cherished memories I shared with her and my father."

The officers listen to him closely but also take the different books to read through his notes and what he was reading, Typhoon maintains her focus on the large book, Diamond also listens intently and is feeling a sense of surprise from what he says, and as he mentions it he remembers Starswirl cried for a few brief moments when holding Corona.

"I spent the next couple weeks practically pulling my hair out trying to figure out what I felt, then I finally remembered it. Years ago me and a few fellow mages were working on creating new spells involving a pony's mind, we were specifically trying to create a spell that tampered with a pony's sanity to immobilize them so no lethal force was needed to incapacitate them. Unfortunately due to an error we made we accidentally inflicted the unstable spell on myself, driving me into a paralyzing state of insanity, and despite us not wishing to inflict it on ourselves, we at least knew we found the spell we were looking for."

Helios nods slowly, "Yes I believe I remember that debacle, you were in that state for weeks and we couldn't wake up no matter what or remedy was tried on you."

Starswirl grins and looks at Helios, "I'm glad you remember that, and it was a lovely potion maker by the name of Abilene who brought a remedy that finally cured me of my ailments. It was that potion that game me that warm feeling, that filled my mind with those happy memories of my family and friends in my youth, pushing away all the nightmares I was having and finally bringing me back to consciousness."

"So.... you're saying that Corona brought you to that state that the potion did?" Diamond says as he keeps his gaze firmly on Starswirl.

"Yes but it is far more than that, Prince Corona is the key we have been missing to unlocking the magic we mages have worked tirelessly to unravel the secrets of to finally be able to use, if what I believe is true, the young Prince will be an invaluable asset for the future of our lands as well as our ability to defend against any would be oppressors."

Typhoon starts to put the pieces together and then sees the page that Starswirl finally stops on, a Chart that categorizes all forms of known magic into different purity levels, and at the bottom, where the magic is at it's most pure form he points to, the ponies look down at the book and eyes widen at the sight.

"That's right my friends" he says with a big smile as he looks over at Helios, "Do you remember the scar that the accident gave me?"

Helios nods again "Of course, it was a big scar on your chest under your fur, you were lucky you were able to grow that fur back."

Starswirl's smile grows bigger as he pulls his cloak down and spreads the fur on his chest to reveal that the scar is gone. Helios' eyes widen as well as Diamond's and everypony else's in the room.

Diamond is especially shocked as he stares at how the scar is gone, "T-then that means that he...."

"He is the one that will finally unlock the secrets of healing magic, the purest form of magic in the entire world. And the reason why that is so is healing magic is a part of life energy itself, it may even be the very essence of life for all we know," he says with a look of pure excitement, Helios not seeing a look on his face like that in a very long time.

Typhoon looks at him in disbelief "Y-You really think he could hold the secrets to healing magic?...."

Iron Hoof picks up on Starswirl's enthusiasm and feels happy at the prospect of even the possibility of unlocking magic, "That would be a tremendous asset to have for our military and edge against other forces! Why if he can discover the secrets behind healing magic then he would be able to teach other's!"

"Yes Captain Iron that is why I am enthusiastic about this, I will do my best to teach the prince and princess all I know about magic, so that both of them can unlock entire new facets of magic that we couldn't begin to fathom the depth of." Starswirl turns to look at Diamond and Helios and bows his head, "I thank you from the bottom of my heart for choosing me to be their teacher."

"No pony else would be more capable of doing it than you Starswirl, we are certain that under your tutelage their magical talents will be significantly magnified," Helios says with a look of confidence in Starswirl.

"Thank you your highness, now... to everypony in this room. The news of the prince and princesses' magical capabilities are not to leave this room under any circumstances, if word were to get out about their gifts, I fear for the safety of the princesses' life, and I have no doubt that our enemy may try to abduct the young prince, possibly even make him their slave to try and take the secrets of healing magic for themselves," Starswirl says with a sudden serious tone and the room silences, all realizing the trouble this information would cause in the wrong hooves.

Diamond nods in agreement, still processing the information he was just given from Starswirl, not expecting the news of his son's capabilities, Helios feeling the same about Celestia. After a few moments of contemplation Diamond stands up and everypony else follows suit, "Now does anything else need to be tended to in this meeting?" he says as he looks at each of his officers, none of them replying, once he's gone through them all he looks at Helios and nods.

"Very well then, General Typhoon you will be in charge of our border defenses, Iron hoof will be the commanding officer of the northern border defenses, and I will oversee preparations for our southern defense before relieving that duty to you General," Helios says with a composed and commanding voice.

Typhoon salutes him and so do the rest, all shouting "YES KING HELIOS" in unison before putting on their covers and and turning to leave the room, Diamond and Helios soon following suit to return to their wives and foals. After they all leave and the room turns silent Typhoon looks at Starswirl and puts a hoof on his shoulder, "Do you really believe that the prince and princess possess that much potential?" she says with a voice of uncertainty.

Starswirl meets her gaze and nods slowly, showing no doubt in his convictions, "Yes,they will be worthy heirs to the thrones their parents hold, and as much as I want to believe everypony in the Crystal Empire and Equestria are just as enthusiastic about the unification of our nations as the Kings and Queens are, I do not believe we will be able to accomplish something like this without the young prince and princess."

Typhoon pauses as she processes his words and after a few brief moments she nods slowly, "I trust in your wisdom Starswirl."

Starswirl smiles at the compliment and pats her shoulder with his hoof before walking to the door, Typhoon watching him as he leaves, "Do not worry so much General, good times are in our foreseeable future, with heirs to the throne finally being born, it's only a matter of time before they lead us into a new age of prosperity the likes of which we have never seen," he stats with confidence as he looks back at her with a warm and comforting smile before leaving her view.

Typhoon looks down at her hooves after watching him leaves and after a few quiet moments a warm smile crosses her maw and feels his words are the truth, wanting more than anything to enjoy an era of peace, not one of hardship and conflict like she is used to.

Author's Note

Just for anyone that is wondering, for my story I want Celestia and Luna to be like Magnaluna's designs for them as I just think they are too perfect and much better than the show's designs. So all credit for their designs belongs to Magnaluna, I will include links to the picture's I'm referring to when their appearances come up, or if they change. In this case Celestia's mane and coat will be like so, sorry if my description of the colors was bad in the chapter, I am very... VERY bad with colors x'D. Anyway's I hope you all enjoyed chapter 5, I had a lot of fun writing it and think it's the best one yet.

(Also if anyone knows of a good artist that does commissions please let me know :) )

https://www.deviantart.com/magnaluna/art/Flowers-for-her-empress-664304208

Chapter 6: An Heir's Excitement!

The idea of war is taxing on the mind for most ponies, and because of this fact the higher ups in the Equestrian military as well as the Crystal's military have kept the information of the possible threat from the public so as to not cause an upheaval during a time of celebration that they have not seen in a number of years. After careful consideration on a southern defense strategy she decided to apply a few aspects of Iron Shield's plan into her own, sending more soldiers to their southern settlements near the border, but still far enough to keep them out of sight so as to not arouse suspicion from their impending invaders. Much to the royal's glee nothing has come about from their borders for the next few years, leaving their officers to conclude that there is no present threat. Because of this most soldiers have been ordered to return to their home stations, leaving only a few to guard their southern and northern border.

The weight on the shoulders of Helios and Diamond being lifted has been a big relief as they have been able to spend more time with their families, though even then it is sometimes not guaranteed since they have taken on most of Harmony and Virgo's duties so that they can always be with Celestia and Corona to nurture them without being impeded by their duties. With a few peaceful years the young prince and princess have each been taught the basics of magic by their mothers. They were also taught simple history of Equestria and the crystal empire, as well as telling them that one day they will be big and strong leaders just like their parents are. Corona and Celestia grew very close to their mother's and always enjoy being in their company in their young eyes they are like angels with all the magic in the world, completely oblivious to the great power of their own that rests within them.

With time they were also informed that they would both be older siblings which brought an elevated level of excitement for them, with that news and knowing that they will be starting learning magic under the tutelage of the great Starswirl the Bearded, which they have always been told is the greatest mage to ever live by their parents. How could they not be happy with so many great things happening to them. But after all they are a Prince and Princess so everything will be great for them...... Right?

*****

"Mommy mommy mommy wake up! Today's the first lesson with Starswirl!" Celestia says as she bounces up and down in excitement, shaking the bed as her mother groans softly from the covers.

"It's already time?.... alright Celestia I'm up i'm up..." she says as she slowly sits up and yawns, maneuvering in an awkward manner due to her grown belly once again. Since she has been in this situation before it is nowhere near as difficult as it was the first time, but that still didn't get rid of all of the challenges pregnancy had to offer.

Celestia has a big smile on her face as she watches her mother get up, Virgo looks down and sees that her faded mane is brushed and her fur groomed. Virgo chuckles softly and kisses her head, "I see you are excited for this, you even brushed yourself this time" she says as she climbs off her bed and floats a brush to her so she can do the same, looking in a mirror as she does.

Celestia nods quickly and looks up at her in wonder as she brushes her long beautiful mane "I'm sure Corona is doing the same! we couldn't stop talking about it when we were out playing yesterday in the courtyard!" she says with a voice of high spirit, "We're going to learn so many magic spells today! We'll be just as good as you mother!"

Her enthusiasm brings a warm smile to Virgo's face as she listens to her bold claims, "I'm sure you will be Celestia, but it will take more than a day for you to become a strong magic wielder."

"Really?" she tilts her head in confusion "How long will it take mommy?" she says in a slightly worried tone.

"It could take many years Celestia, you must learn to be patient my dear, I know you want to be a great princess, but those things take time. If you stay dedicated to your teachings you will be a greater princess than you could ever imagine, of this I am certain," she says in a gentle and wise voice as she looks down at her filly.

Celestia pouts and looks at the ground as they walk towards the door, "But I don't wanna wait that long... I wanna be a strong princess now!" she says with a tone of impatience, prompting a chuckle from her mother, remembering her impatience when she was a filly, and how quick to fire up she has become now.

"This isn't something to be rushed my little star, you need to learn to enjoy the journey because that will make the destination all the more rewarding," she stats as she floats her brush back to the nightstand and opens the door for her and Celestia to pass through.

"Yes mommy..." Celestia says with her ears down, feeling a little down that she has to wait for her dream to come true, following her big and graceful mother out onto the balcony, Virgo kneels down and Celestia gets up on her back as she opens her wings. "Hold tight!" she says with a grin as she flaps her wings and takes to the sky, not going too fast so Celestia can stay on her back.

*****

Corona grunts in frustration as his regalia is tightened to his body uncomfortably, "Must I wear this mother? it's so uncomfortable" he says as he pouts up at Harmony.

"You have to dress formally to make a good impression Corona, remember this will be the first magic lesson you and Celestia will have, you need to show Starswirl that you are taking it seriously. And as a prince you need to maintain your appearance," she says as she puts on the last of his horseshoes, the silver on them shining elegantly.

"Yes mom..." he says with a sigh as his head sinks, letting her finish and brush his mane.

"I understand it can be hard my son, just be glad it isn't a delegate meeting" she says as she nuzzles his head which brings Corona to soft laughter, his mother always knowing how to cheer him up. "You're my handsome little prince right?"

Corona nods up at her and gives her a big grin with his eyes closed, "Thanks mom! me and Celestia have been so excited about this! I wonder what amazing spell mister Starswirl will teach us today!" he stats bouncing with glee as he runs to the door and reaches his hooves up to push it open, taking a bit of effort considering how big the doors are compared to his tiny body. He then steps to the side and looks at Harmony, "After you mother!"

"Awww well how polite of you my chivalrous prince!" she says with a giggle as she plays along with him, walking through the door with him as they walk off to the magic school that isn't too far from where they already were. After a few minutes they soon reach the school of magic and Corona looks up at it in awe, a twinkle sparkling in his eyes and his coat sparkles brightly. The look of excitement makes Harmony feel a little envious as she misses when she had those eyes of wonder when she was a filly.

"Now then... shall we go..." Harmony says before being cut off by another voice.

"Hello Harmony!" Virgo says as she walks towards her and Corona, when he hears her voice Corona's ears perk up and he looks at her like a deer, when he sees Celestia's head poke out from her back he jumps in excitement, "Celestia!" he exclaims with glee as he runs over to them, the sight of his best friend making the day all the more better for him.

"Corona!" she says with equal excitement as she jumps off her mother's back and runs to hug him, Corona returning the hug eagerly. "I'm so excited about today! I couldn't even sleep last night!"

"I know I couldn't either! I'm going to learn so many spells today!" he says with a happy and confident grin.

"Oh yeah! well not as much as I will!" she says as she sticks her tongue out cutely, bringing a frown to her mother's face.

"Now now Celestia, be polite now" she states as she looks down at Celestia and nudges her with her hoof, "Sticking out your tongue at another pony is not lady like."

Celestia blushes and lowers her head in a little embarrassment, "S-Sorry mommy... I-I'm just so excited about learning new magic."

"I know you are sweet heart, but always mind your manners understand? It is unbecoming of a princess," she states sternly at Celestia, prompting her to nod slowly as she doesn't want to be scorned by her in front of her best friend, "Yes mom..."

Corona looks at her concerned when she looks a little down and he lifts his hoof up to put on her shoulder to comfort her, only to be interrupted by Harmony, "Alright then, I think we've kept Starswirl waiting long enough, come along little ones" she says while she opens the double doors with magic and walks in with them. As they walk in Corona and Celestia see a lot of adult ponies, most of whom being mages or practitioners of magic, they quickly move out of the way of their Queens and bow for them as they walk past with their foals. Corona and Celestia blush as they still haven't quite become used to the sight of having many eyes on them.

After some quiet moments of walking through the halls of the school Celestia looks over at Corona and how well groomed he looks, as well as his shining regalia, feeling glad she isn't the only one that came formally dressed and groomed, "Corona... your regalia looks nice" she says softly so that their mother's can't hear. Corona smiles shyly with his face turning red, "Y-You think so?... I was thinking that I looked overdressed..."

Celestia smiles warmly and shakes her head, "No Corona it looks great!"

Corona laughs softly and looks over at her, noticing her elegant regalia as well, "T-Thank you... you look great in your's too" he says with a slightly shaking voice, not used to taking compliments from her so it threw him for a loop.

Celestia giggles and gives him a quick hug, "Awww thanks!" she says with more confidence than Corona had, not really thinking too much about it.

"Alright little ones we're here!" Virgo says as she knocks on the door of Starswirl's training room. After waiting a few moments the door soon opens and the foals giggle at Starswirl in his goofy attire.

"Ah I'm glad you are finally here your highnesses, I must admit I am rather excited for this as well, I will take the prince and princess and teach them everything I know," he says with a beaming grin, still having some of that foalish excitement coursing through him that he first felt years ago when he discovered their latent magic.

"We are confident they are in the perfect hooves Starswirl, Now say hello to your teacher you two" Virgo says looking down at Corona and Celestia, nudging them both forward.

Celestia laughs softly and looks up at the old stallion, "Hi there misters Starswirl! my name is Celestia!" she states happily looking up at him with an adorable smile.

"And my name is Corona Borealis!" They both look at each other with a foalish grin and say in unison, "And we're best friends! And we'll be the bestest unicorns the world has ever seen!" they say in perfect unison, obviously practicing it prior to today. The sight makes Virgo and Harmony giggle and Starswirl chuckle as it looks very adorable to them.

"Well with enthusiasm like that I'm sure you will be" Starswirl says with a smile and soon looks over at his Queens, "Have a good day your highnesses, and make sure to take it easy now that you have two more heirs coming..."

"Of course, fortunately for us our husbands have shouldered a lot of responsibilities for us so that we may rest," Harmony says which makes Virgo nod in agreement. "Do not worry about us my friend" Harmony says as she gives Starswirl a warm hug, Virgo soon follows and does the same.

Corona and Celestia look up in wonder, seeing how much respect they are giving the old unicorn and how they treat him like a close friend, Celestia walks up next to Corona, "Whoa... he must be a really important pony for mommy to be treating him like that..."

"Yeah... my mother is the same way... maybe he's not a goofy old stallion..." Corona says softly, thinking he wasn't heard by his mother but is soon met with a hoof to the back of the head making him yelp in surprise as he feels the back of his head "Oww!..."

"Show some respect Corona, Starswirl is one of the greatest innovators Equestria has ever had, you will not be disrespectful understand?" she says sternly at Corona. His ears go down and his head sinks "Yes mother... I'm sorry Mister Starswirl..."

"It's quite alright Harmony, I've been teased about my age plenty of time by my fellow mages" he says with a chuckle.

"Yes but they are your peers, Corona needs to learn respect," she says as she looks down at him and sees his head is down. Her smile sinks as she feels a little bad, thinking she scorned him a little too hard; She lowers her head to nuzzle him softly "Corona it's ok sweet heart... just please mind your manners in the future."

Corona's ears stay down and he nods slowly, "Yes mom..." he replies in a down voice.

Smiles and slips her hoof under him to hug him and kiss his head, making Corona giggle as it tickles a little bit, "Cheer up my son, it was just a little slip up" she says as she puts him down and Corona looks up at her with his ears perked up, a big smile on his face, "Thanks mom!"

"Of course son, make sure you pay attention and learn a lot!" she says with an equally happy smile as she turns to walk to the door with Virgo, they both give their foals a wave goodbye before shutting the door behind them.

"Now then... What say we get started shall we?" Starswirl says to his two new students.

Corona and Celestia look at each other and then at him and have big happy grins on their faces, "Yes Sir!"

Author's Note

Sorry, this chapter was supposed to be published last Wednesday but when I was just about finished with it I realized it wasn't cohesive with the last chapter in the slightest, so I had to completely rewrite the chapter, I have however kept the contents of the tossed chapter in a file for potential future use. Anyway's thank's for reading and hope you enjoy! :)

Chapter 7: Magical beginnings

Corona and Celestia sit down in their seat and looks up at Starswirl with big sparkling eyes, ones of curiosity and seeking adventure. Starswirl smiles when he sees their enthusiasm and he straightens his beard, "Now... Magic is when you physically manifest your own life energy, and each race has a way that they use magic."

"Wait sir! I thought Unicorns are the only ponies that used magic," Corona says tilting his head in confusion, not knowing other races could use magic.

"Why yes Corona, while other ponies may not be able to outwardly show their magic in flashy ways like unicorns can, they still possess magic that is imperative for the survival of our kind. The Pegasi have the magic of flight which allows them to tend to the weather and bring water to our crops across Equestria, and the Earth ponies have a magical connection with the very land itself, able to grow food at an astonishing rate that we unicorns or the pegasi would not be able to replicate," He says as he shows a picture of the three pony races and how they all work together for one another.

"And now that you are under my tutelage it is my duty to teach you the secrets of magic and turn you two into strong magic wielders," he says with a serious look as he stands in front of them. "I have taught many great mages in my time, but this is the first time I've been tasked with teaching members of the royal family, so the standards are going to be higher than they were for other students, Understand?"

Corona and Celestia nod nervously, not quite old enough to understand the weight that was placed on their shoulders, now they only think about the idea of learning new magic. Starswirl nods slowly and he walks with them outside the classroom and to a secluded garden that he likes to teach in, "I prefer to teach outside if that is fine with you two," he says as he sets down his scrolls.

Celestia nods quickly "Yes sir! Outside is always better!" Corona soon repeats her "It's much better than a cold dark room!"

"Good... now to begin our lessons we need to first go over the fundamentals of magic before we learn any spells," he states as he opens two scrolls and lays them out in front of them, "Now... magic is not some power that we are given, it is a part of us, our very life force. Magic courses through our veins, but no one pony's magic is the same as another's, as an example my magic is significantly stronger than most ponies due to it being easier for me to manifest it physically, while other's magic is weaker by either not possessing it in as high a quantity, or they simply can't bring it out. Magic is also often linked with a pony's special talent, mine for example is developing new magic with fellow scholars."

Celestia looks up at him in wonder and Corona does the same while taking mental notes on what he says, Celestia looks down at her scroll and sees the diagram of the three pony races, "Wait a minute mister Starswirl, what about Mommy and Daddy? They have both horns and wings!"

Corona's ears perk up and he looks up at him as well "Oh that's right! My Mom and Dad are the same way! Why do they have horns and wings?"

"Yes your parents are very special individuals, you see they did something that has never been done in pony history, which is why they have lived longer than I have. From what your parents tell me they come from a line of ponies that are born with the strengths of two races instead of one, for example if you were born with the strength of the Unicorns and Pegasi, you might have wings and the high concentration of Unicorns, or have a Horn but the lightness of the pegasi, but don't possess the durability and connection to the earth that the earth ponies do. Or they could be born with wings but also have the durability and connection to the earth that earth ponies do," Starswirl says while pointing at the corresponding parts of a scroll that his statements apply to.

"But Mommy and Daddy have all three, how is that possible?" Celestia says looking at where he points on the scroll "Do they have all three?"

Starswirl nods slowly, "Very good Celestia, that is quite observant of you. The Kings and Queens have all managed to master the magic of all three Equestrian races, however there is a forth magic that belongs to the Crystal ponies."

Corona's ears perk when he mentions his kind and he looks up at Starswirl, "You mean love magic mister Starswirl?"

"That's right Corona, something you may not have known though is love magic is different from the other forms of magic, from the years of research we have put into our pursuits of magic, we have learned that love magic is like an amplifier for other magic," Starswirl says as he rolls the scroll down more to show the diagram of love magic, "Love magic will push the limits pony's have when ponies have something they love that they fight for, whether it be another pony, or their country. This is one of the most important lessons you will ever learn my students...." he says looking down at them with a serious look, "Those that have something to fight for are the only ones that will have the strength and resolve to push to new heights. Find something that you are willing to fight for, something that gives you the strength to fight through any pain or struggle."

Celestia and Corona look up at him in wonder as they listen to his words of wisdom, not knowing just how relevant those words would be one day.

"It will be my job to help you two find what magical gift has been bestowed upon you two, whatever it may be," he says with a confident tone that instills an assuring feeling on the young prince and princess, they both nod in unison and grin from ear to ear "Yes sir!"

"Good, now we will try to learn one of the most basic manifestations of magic, or "Spells" to put it simply, the levitation spell" he says as he rolls up the scrolls and puts them in his bag sitting on the ground.

Celestia jumps up to her hooves and beams from ear to ear, "Mommy does that all the time! What are we going to lift?! A bookshelf?! A tree?! Maybe you!" Corona jumps up as well and looks up at him wanting to know what they will be lifting.

Starswirl chuckles softly, "While I admire your enthusiasm, I'm afraid all of those things are well out of your skill level you two, for now you must start small" he says as he floats out two small glasses and lays them down in front of them. Corona and Celestia look down at the glasses with a look of confusion and slight disappointment.

"This is all?" Corona says while tilting his head curiously, Celestia nodding in agreement, "How is this going to make us great magic wielders?" she says while looking closely at the glass, wondering if there is something special about them.

"All great mages started small, such did every great pony start out as a little foal" he states wisely, "Besides, this may end up being harder than you imagine it will be" he says with a sly smirk.

"Oh yeah! Well we will lift these glasses in a few minutes flat! Right Corona!?" she proclaims confidently as she looks at her friend. Corona looks at her a little surprised from the sudden proclamation but he soon smiles confidently, "Yeah!"

"Well, I will leave this to you two for now, I am going to speak to some of my other students," he states while turning to leave the garden, "Good luck you two, you'll need it."

"Like we need it!" Celestia says as she stares at the glass in a pouncing position, her horn pointed at it as she tries to lift it, "Aaaaand lift!" she lifts her horn up with her eyes closed tight, "Did I do it Corona?" she asks quickly.

"It... didn't leave the ground Tia" Corona says bluntly to her as he looks at the unmoved glass.

Celestia's eyes open in surprise and she looks at it in disbelief, "What?! that's impossible! it's just a tiny glass!...."

"Here maybe I can do it" Corona says as he aims his horn at the glass, he closes his eyes tightly and concentrates on lifting the glass up, he grunts a little as he tries and soon his hooves shoot out and he falls, "oof."

Celestia giggles at the sight as she finds it amusing "Seems like we're in the same position, I wonder what we are doing wrong..."

"Maybe we need to concentrate harder!" Corona says as he close his eyes tighter and grunts again as he tries to lift up, saying "Lift the cup" repeatedly in his mind over and over. After a few moments he opens his eyes and sees that the cup is still on the ground, "Awww!" he sits down as he sweats a little, the effort he tried to put in making him sweat a little, he then looks at the glass and tilts his head a little, trying to figure out what he is doing that is wrong.

Celestia pays attention and after a few moments her ears perk up as an idea comes to her mind, "Hey Corona, maybe since we aren't lifting the cup at all with what we are doing, we should try doing the opposite!"

Corona looks back at her and tilts his head in confusion, "What do you mean Tia?"

"I mean maybe we shouldn't think about it as much, maybe we should try thinking less!" she says as she lays down with her hooves tucked under her, closing her eyes and breathing softly her horn sparks and it soon begins to glow which makes Corona look in awe. The aura starts to appear under the cup and it soon falls onto it's side, Corona gasps in excitement as he saw it fall.

"Tia you got it to fall with your magic! That means you were able to lift it a little," Corona proclaims with glee. Celestia pants as she tries to catch her breath as it took a lot more effort than she imagined it would, "Mister Starswirl wasn't kidding when he said that this was hard..."

"Yeah... let me try with my glass," Corona says while copying what Celestia does and begins trying himself to lift the cup.

*****

Starswirl makes his way back to the garden after his lecture for his older students, "Unless I'm mistaken... they should have at least been able to lift the glass slightly off the ground by now," he says to himself as he takes a step outside into the soft spring grass and sees his two young pupils, "How is it coming along my little ponies?" he says with a smile.

Celestia turns around with a big grin and lifts the cup up for him and she closes her eyes with her big smile, giggling cutely,
"I did it Mister Starswirl!" she exclaims with joy.

Starswirl raises his brow in surprise when he sees how easily she managed to lift the cup up well off the ground, a hearty chuckle soon emits from his maw and he looks down at her, "Just what I'd expect of the young princess" he says with a prideful beam on his face. He then looks at Corona and sees a look of discouragement on his face staring at the glass, "Something wrong young prince?" he says as he stands next to him to look down at his cup.

Corona's head sinks and his ears go down, "I couldn't lift it at all... it only took Celestia ten tries..." he says in a soft voice as he turns his head away from Starswirl. Celestia looks at her friend in concern and has a sad expression on her face, not realizing how down he was feeling.

"Well Corona if it.... wasn't for your idea I wouldn't have lifted the glass this soon..." she says softly to him as she walks up to him to put a hoof on his shoulder, the sparkle in his coat faded to a dull shade thanks to his emotions.

Corona looks at her and then back at his glass, "Thank you Tia.... but it was all you... don't try to give me credit... especially when I can't even lift it myself."

Starswirl raises his brow as he sees the downed colt's sadness, "It takes some ponies longer to learn to learn certain things Corona, Celestia may just be born with better magic control than you, you mustn't let this get to you, you'll get it soon enough with enough persistence."

"Yes sir..." Corona says softly as he looks at the glass, he slowly stands up and starts to attempt to channel his magic into raising the glass, sweat goes down his face as he grits his teeth. After a few moments the tip of his horn begins to emit a few sparks before he lets out a heavy breath and falls down. His face turns red and feels an overwhelming sense of embarrassment that he isn't able to do such a simple task in front of his best friend and new teacher.

Starswirl puts a hoof on his shoulder, "Stand up Corona and keep trying, and as for you Celestia it is time for your second test," he says as he pulls out a canteen of water and he pours the water into the cup, "You may be able to lift the cup now, but your hold on the cup is unstable. You must learn how to hold a steady unwavering grip on the glass with your magic; In other words, you must hold the cup with your magic for two minutes straight without spilling a single drop of water." The water in the glass soon reaches the very top so if she shakes it even the slightest it will spill.

Celestia's eyes widen in surprise and she looks at Starswirl, "But that's impossible mister Starswirl!" she bluntly proclaims in protest to her new task.

Starswirl smiles and he pulls out three more glasses and fills each of them with water all the way to the top, controlling all three cups perfectly as well as the canteen, he then floats two of the cups to Celestia and Corona and even makes them rotate up and down while floating them, not spilling a single drop even when it is upside down, "I figured you two must be thirsty as well" he says while giving Celestia a coy smirk.

Celestia pouts and takes her glass with her hooves while sitting on her flank, "Show off" she says as she drinks the water from the cup. Corona quietly does the same and soon finishes his. When he finishes he feels his mind calm itself and he looks at the glass and he takes a deep breath and sighs, he lays on his hooves and focuses on his horn to try and channel his magic through it. After a few brief moments sparks emit from his horn once again and slowly it forms a silver aura around his horn, Corona winces when he feels the foreign sensation of his channeling magic but he then tries to focus on the cup now that his horn is visibly showing his magic. A light of silver starts to form on the glass and he cringes as his focus begins to waver as he feels the weight of the cup, being surprisingly harder to lift than he thought. Soon his magic fades away and he pants heavily, he opens his eyes and he sees that the cup has tilted over. Corona smiles a little when he sees that he managed to tilt the cup with his magic; he turns his head to tell Celestia but he sees she is trying to keep the cup steady and is doing surprisingly well. The sight of this makes Corona's ears go down and lets out a sigh, Celestia making this look easy despite him trying just as hard as her over the course of the day.

"I think that is enough for today my students, we can get back to this tomorrow," Starswirl says as he takes all of the glasses and stacks them up next to a tree, "I'm sure your parents will be excited to learn about the progress you made today," Starswirl says with a smile. Celestia immediately jumps to her hooves and grins from ear to ear at the idea, "Yeah! Daddy will be so excited to hear what I did!"

Corona stands up slowly, not showing the same enthusiasm Celestia did, "Right.... I'm sure mother will be excited to hear that I tilted a cup over...." he says while he walks to the door Starswirl came through. Celestia looks at him and soon runs to catch up with him, "See you tomorrow mister Starswirl!" she calls out to him as she leaves his sight.

Celestia quickly approaches Corona and matches his pace as she walks next to him, "Whats wrong Corona?... you seem really sad..." she voices with concern, not wanting to see her best friend in such a downed state.

"I-It's nothing Celestia... I just... wished I was able to do more today, you made it look so easy..." The statement brings a few long moments of silence as they walk through the halls, their small hooves clicking on the marble floor as they make their way back home.

"W-Well it wasn't easy... I struggled to do a few things here and there," she replies with a nervous tone. "Yes Celestia but you still managed to do it all in the single day! That usually takes ponies weeks to learn!" Corona snaps back a little harshly which surprises Celestia, making her stop in her place. Corona's eyes widen in surprise as he feels a heavy wave of regret for how he responded to his best friend, "I-I'm sorry..." he says to her and runs away from her, soon disappearing from her sight and leaving her alone with her surprise. "W-What was that....."

*****

Harmony rests on a floor pillow reading a book on a tower balcony, she looks up from her book and sees the sun setting on the horizon. She smiles and closes her eyes as she feels the warmth of the sun's light against her fur, but her peace is soon ended when she hears the door open and the small hooves of Corona trotting to his room, she turns her head to look at him and she sees a sad expression on his face which concerns her a bit. She stands up and walks back into the tower to follow Corona, she finds that his door is shut and she gently knocks on his door, "Is... everything okay Corona?..."

She puts her ear up to the door and hears the soft cries of her son, prompting her to open the door to poke her head in, "Corona what's wrong?..."

"I-I'm fine mom..." he says as he rubs the tears from his eyes, only to soon be replaced by more soon after. Harmony lays down next to her sobbing son and nuzzles him to comfort him, "What happened Corona? you're normally more enthusiastic than this."

Corona sobs and rubs his eyes and nose, "I... wasn't able to do anything today... and... Celestia made it all look so easy... It only took her a few tries to float the cup... even kept most of the water in the cup in her second test... a-and all I could do was tilt it over by the end of the day..."

"Well... Celestia may just possess a natural gift for it son... At least you were able to do something right?" Harmony says trying to bring him comfort.

"It's not fair!... I tried just as hard as she did and I didn't do anything!..." he yells as he cries in her arm. Harmony's lips sink as she feels bad for him, knowing it must be hard to be outdone like that. "It just comes harder to some ponies Corona... but... maybe that means your gift is somewhere else," she says as she kisses his head.

His ears perk up and he sniffles while rubbing his nose again, he looks up at Harmony with eyes sparkling of tears, "S-Somewhere else?..."

Harmony smiles warmly and nods slowly, "Of course son, everypony has a special gift that they can share with the world, maybe Celestia's gift is being naturally gifted with magic."

Corona considers what she says and his tears start to fade away and he rubs the last of them off, "I...I guess that makes sense, but... what is my gift mother?..."

"Only time will reveal the answer to that question Corona, but no matter how well or poorly you do in the future, you'll always be my special little prince," she says as she nuzzles his back which makes him giggle from how ticklish he is. "You must keep your head high Corona, you will find your calling one day, and I'm sure it will feel incredible when you discover it."

Corona looks up at her in surprise at her inspirational words, her warm motherly voice bringing a warm soothing feeling to his soul, washing away the sorrow that permeated his soul just moments ago. "R-Right, thank you mother... that means a lot to me," he says with a now beaming smile on his face.

Harmony returns his smile and she nods, "Of course, I will always be here for you my little prince, now I believe it is time for you to get some rest, I'm sure it must have been an exhausting day under Starswirl's tutelage."

"Y-Yes ma'am... he makes simple looking things incredibly difficult..." Corona states while slipping under his covers, the sun now disappearing on the horizon and making room for the moon to take the stage that is the sky. The sweet tender voice of sleep calls to Corona and draws a yawn from his mouth as he begins to close his tired eyes, "Good night mother...."

Harmony gives him one last kiss on the head and lifts the covers to his neck, "Good night son... let your dreams wash away your troubles and bring clarity to your mind," she whispers to her son before leaving the room and closing the door, she stops and turns to look at him one last time, "You will be a great leader one day... as long as you give yourself room to grow.... you and Celestia," she states with confidence and closes the door to let him rest in peace.

Author's Note

I apologize for taking too long on this chapter, work and making sure my grandfather is healthy and doesn't catch anything that I may possibly bring home takes up quite a bit of time. As for the story my next few chapters will be accelerating by a pretty sizable amount so we can get into the more interesting parts that I have in mind, I will do my best to make it as fluent and understandable as possible but it will probably be challenging. Anyways thank you for reading and let me know what you think! Stay safe everyone! :twilightsmile:

Chapter 8: A show of bravery

Celestia and Corona wait outside her mother's chambers with Celestia feeling a large sense of nervousness to meet her new younger sibling, wondering if she will have a little sister or brother. Starswirl looks down at his students and he smiles, "Do not worry little one, you will meet your sibling soon, the mares inside only need to make sure that the foal and Virgo are ready to see you. Maybe you and Corona can practice your magic while you wait."

"O-Ok mister Starswirl" Celestia says with a nervous voice as she stands up with Corona. Corona feels concerned for her and moves to give her a hug to try and cheer her up, "Just imagine how amazing it will feel to have a little brother or sister Celestia!...." Corona says softly to her, wanting to lift her spirits back to her contagious cheerfulness.

Celestia looks at Corona for a few brief moments and nods slowly, "Your right... how about we go outside to practice?" she pitches to him. Corona nods slowly and they both leave the room to go out to the castle garden where they always practiced. Corona looks at her and notices her nervous expression hasn't changed which makes him realize what it is really about.

"You're nervous about tomorrow aren't you..." he says to break the long silence, the sudden statement making Celestia perk up in surprise.

"So you figured it out... Guess I shouldn't be surprised with that brain of your's..." she states and takes a deep breath to let out a hefty sigh. "You're right... I'm not nervous about my little brother or sister's birth at all... in fact I don't think I could be more excited about it. But tomorrow.... I'm not just nervous about it I'm.... scared...." she admits as she stops and lowers her head and ears in sadness.

Corona stands in front of her and lowers his head to be on her level, "Tia... you are the best most talented magic wielder I know, I'm sure you're going to smash tomorrow's trial into a million pieces! besides... mister Starswirl is the wisest mage in all of Canterlot, he wouldn't have signed you up for it if he didn't believe you couldn't do it Tia..." he says as he lifts her chin up and gives her a happy and warm smile. Celestia look up at him in surprise with wide eyes and after a few moments her frown morphs into a big smile and she quickly wraps her hooves around his neck and squeezes him tightly, making him gasp as he falls down with her. She grins from ear to ear as she hugs him, pressing her cheek on his mane, "Thank you... I really needed that.

Her warm words brings a smile to Corona's face and he lifts his hoof to hug her as well, glad that his kind gesture was able to reach her and pull her out of the depression she was in, "Of course Tia... I'm your best friend, I'll always be there to cheer you up, as you did me. You're going to smash that test tomorrow no sweat ok?"

Celestia nods slowly and after a few long moments she gives him a quick kiss on his cheek which makes him blush in surprise, Celestia then lets go of him and stands up, "Right! Well if I'm going to do well tomorrow we need to practice! come on Corona!" she proclaims with a big grin as she runs off to the garden. Corona remains stunned for a few seconds but soon shakes his head to snap out of it when she runs off, he quickly gets on his hooves and chases after her, "Hey wait for me!"

*****

A golden glow forms around Celestia's horn as she lifts up a few really large and heavy stones and floats them above her, spinning them around in a circle slowly and she opens her eyes to see her work, Corona watches and feels amazed as ever, "And to think it's only taken you seven months to pull this off, you really are amazing Tia" Corona says with a smile.

"It's been a lot of fun learning to harness magic! and it helps a lot that I've had my best friend there to support me" she says as she looks back at him, grinning jovially.

"Haha and don't forget me!" a voice says which makes Celestia break her concentration and drop the stones, all of them putting dents in the ground and making a rather loud boom when they land. Corona looks around for the source of the voice and soon looks up to see a brown colt with a short but thick mane of black sitting on a tree branch, "Hi down there!"

"Topaz!" Corona exclaims as he sees his other best friend, "What are you doing here??"

"I came to see my friends of course!" he says as he opens his wings and glides down to them, having a little running landing before stopping in front of them, he flaps his wings and then folds them after giving them a confident and happy smile.

"Oh great, now I have to babysit another foal" Celestia says with a smirk on her face as she rolls her eyes. Her comment makes the other two laugh and Topaz looks at her with a devious grin, "Oh yeah?? Think cause you know a few magic tricks you think you're the best in the group??"

"Well... yeah! If I'm the best that means I'm in charge!" Celestia says as she meets his confident gaze with her own, feeling a sense of competition in the air.

"Oh yeah well I'm an ace flyer! the best in my class!" he proclaims with fortitude. "And I'll be an awesome royal guard like my daddy one day! And all of Equestria and the Crystal Empire will think I'm the greatest hero ever!"

Corona gives a grin and closes his eyes a little nervously, "Well... you have a bit of ways to go before then Topaz, you haven't become a squire yet" Corona states to bring a level of realism which makes Topaz's head fall, groaning as he says that. Topaz quickly lifts his head up to face Corona, "Come on Corona I'm trying to be cool here! And I'll be a squire really soon! And what about you!? Celestia's been smoking you with magic hasn't she!" he states with a pout on his face, annoyed with his friend for popping his ego like a balloon.

Corona lifts one of his back legs in surprise and backs up a step, "W-Well yeah... but I've learned a few new spells!..." he stumbles to say to try and defend himself.

Topaz moves his head back and he smiles happily, "Lets see them!" Celestia nods and looks at Corona with a grin, "Yeah! Show him what you've been practicing!"

Corona closes his eyes and smiles with a nervous bead of sweat going down his head, "It's nothing special... but I'll give it a shot." Corona takes a deep breath and lets it out as he starts to channel magic to his horn, white light begins to shine around him and he soon vanishes and appears about ten yards away from that spot, his mane and tail are singed and his eyes spinning as he falls to the ground, he hears tweeting birds, "Oooohhhhhh....... still haven't perfected.... that yet" he says with a very dizzy voice.

Celestia giggles at the state of her friend, "Good job Corona! I think that is farther than last time!"

Topaz grins from ear to ear as he moves his head down to Corona's to look him in the eyes, "Wow Corona that was really cool! Daddy says the teleportation spell is hard to learn but is very useful for getting out of sticky situations!"

"Yeeaaahhh..." he replies as he shakes his head to try and be rid of his dizziness, "But Celestia mastered that spell a month ago, I try my best but she's always ahead of me" he says with a soft chuckle.

Celestia turns her head and blushes shyly, "I wouldn't say that... You're really good at figuring out how spells work!..."

"Right... it seems I fit in well in the support role..." he says as he stands up slowly, brushing off his fur. Topaz looks at his friend with concern and moves a hoof around his shoulders, "Hey... there's nothing wrong with that right?"

Corona looks at him with his ears down and nods slowly, "Right..." he replies with a voice void of enthusiasm, "You seemed to be in a more energetic mood than normal."

Topaz looks confused for a brief moment but his eyes soon grow wide and he has a shocked look, "Oh my gosh I can't believe I forgot!" He soon grins with confidence and he throws off his cloak and turns so they can see his side, Corona and Celestia look at him curiously firstly noticing a wooden shield on his back, "Oh that's a cool wood shield Topaz!"

Topaz looks at them in confusion but then sinks when they don't notice, "Guys not the shield!" he says with a dumbfounded voice as he turns so they can see his flank, displaying the symbol of a shield there when it used to be blank.

Corona's eyes light up at the sight of it as does Celestia's, "Oh my gosh you got your's! That's amazing Topaz! How did you do it?" Corona asks in a louder tone.

"Yeah! Yeah! Tell us Topaz!" Celestia says in concurrence with Corona.

"It was incredible!" Topaz says as he remembers the recent event that showed him his destiny.

*****

"Alright what are the rules?" a young filly's voice says to a group of other young ponies as they gather in a circle in the woods outside of Canterlot, the overall brightness in the trees being lower than the outside of the woods. The smell of the oak trees and pine needles brings a pleasant outdoor smell to the young foals.

Topaz grins at his friend, "It's very simple Cirrus! One person is "it" and has to tag somepony else to start the next round, and the pony that is it has to count to ten so the rest of us can hide!"

The white and sky blue filly nods quickly, "Alright Topaz counts first!" she says as her and the rest of their friends run off to hide behind trees or in bushes. Topaz rolls his eyes and begins to count with his eyes closed against a tree.

Cirrus runs far away from where he is counting and she opens her wings to glide over a few rocks to hide further down the mountain and hides on a ledge and rock, she giggles with confidence, "he'll never find me!"

Topaz soon stops counting and he cackles mischeviously, "Ready or not here I come!" he says as he opens his wings and flies around the forest to try and find one of his friends. As he makes his way through the forest he notices that it is unusually quiet, "Well this is something else... didn't think everypony would take the game this seriously" he says to himself as he lands after a few minutes of searching. The wind blows through his mane and tail as his only company in the ominous silence, "U-Umm... Guys? If this is a joke it's not very funny..." he says as he looks around, feeling alarmed from the feeling of being alone, thinking he would have found one of his friends by now. The whispers of the wind in his ears make him think he is hearing one of his friends but soon comes to realize it is only the wind. He starts to walk through the forest and looks around at the trees and shrubbery, "M-Maybe this wasn't such a good idea..." His body starts to shake from his loss of nerve. The loud crack of a branch makes his ears shoot up and his pupils shrink as he looks around frantically for the source of the sound, he slowly backs up away from where he think's he heard the sound only to bump into someone which makes him yelp in surprise and jump away from it, only to see it's one of his friends.

"Don't scare me like that Vulcan!" he yells with a visible look of frustration in his eyes. His expression soon turns into that of concern when he sees an alarmed look on Vulcan's face.

Vulcan's pupils are small with fear, "Topaz a mountain lion is attacking Cirrus on the cliffside! we need to run now before it get's us too!"

Topaz's eyes widen in shock when he hears she is in danger, "Wait did she fly away?!"

"I don't know! all I could hear was her screaming for help!" he says as he continues to pant heavily from running so far.

"If she needs help we need to help her escape!" Topaz says as he runs through the forest to where the cliffs are without a second thought, using the beams of sunlight to tell him where the sun is and thus which direction is the right way, adrenaline pumps through his blood as sprints over fallen trees and rocks. The end of the treeline soon comes into his view and he skids on the ground as he stops by the cliff.

"CIRRUS!" he screams out and his voice echos echos down the mountain, he looks around frantically and he soon hears the scream of his friend from higher up on the mountain. His eyes shoot up to see an upper ledge where a mountain lion is prowling on her, baring it's teeth as it corners her, "CIRRUS FLY!"

"I can't it hurt my wing!" she says as her back hoof knocks a few edge rocks off and down the mountain, three deep claw marks are in her side and the blood stains her feathers.

Topaz flies up quickly and he hits the lion in the head which stuns it long enough for her to jump to a ledge behind her, Topaz quickly runs to her side and they run up the ledge to try and make it back to the forest, Topaz looks at her and moves a wing under her to help her keep her balance, "Come on we're almost there!" He turns his head to see the lion running at them as fast as it is able to, but the small ledge keeps it from going at it's full speed. They turn a corner to climb down the ledge but Topaz slips on a loose rock and falls down about 20 feet to the ground below, when he sees that Cirrus falls with him he grabs her and turns so his back is what hit's the ground and they land with a hard thud, small rocks fall and hit them as well, a cut goes across the side of his forehead, the blood flows down his eye and he cringes as he slowly sits up when she gets off of him.

When Cirrus sees him and his bad condition tears run down her cheeks, "I-I'm sorry... I shouldn't have...." the sound of low grumbling stops her words as she slowly looks in front of them to see the eyes of a predator staring them down. Her pupils shrink in fear as she slowly backs away while pulling Topaz with her, Topaz weakly lifts up his head and sees the lion as they are backed into the rocky wall. The lion growls in frustration and lunges at the two foals to devour them to satisfy it's hunger. Topaz perks his head up at the sight of it and he feels magic radiate through him as he picks up his wooden shield with his magic and puts it between them and the lion. The shield shines with Ivory runes and the shield suddenly strengthens as the lion collides with it, Topaz gasps in surprise as the magic runs through him stronger with his adrenaline and he grits his teeth with his eyes closed as he uses his instincts to slam the shield into the lion after it was blocked. The shield hits the lion and sends it flying back, rolling limp on the ground as the sudden force knocked it unconcious. Topaz's eyes are wide as he breaths heavily in confusion and shock at what just happened.

"T-Topaz what did you just do!... That was incredible!" she says as she admires the look of the shield which continues to shine with magic. After a few moments the magic from the shield slowly begins to fade away and appears again like his normal wooden shield.

"I-I don't know!... I just... thought about protecting us and... it happened!" he states with confusion as he turns his shield to look at it, "I... I need to ask father what I just did, I'm sure he will know..." He thinks about it for a moment but his deep thought is cut off by the grunts of pain from his friend and he shakes his head, "We need to get you help..." Cirrus nods slowly as he stands up, limping a little as the fall hurt him quite a bit but his shield took the brunt of the impact since it was on his back. Cirrus soon tries to stand up as well but whimpers in pain and collapses as her wounds bring a heavy dose of pain with them.

Topaz looks down at her with a look of concern and worry as she collapses, "I... Can't leave you by yourself... I'll carry you back to Canterlot..."

Cirrus looks up at him in surprise when he suggests that, "But y-your leg is hurt too!.... there's no way you'll be able to..."

Topaz puts his hoof on her mouth to keep her from finishing her sentence and he gives her a comforting smile, soon turning into a happy grin, "Are you kidding me? I've taken way worse than this! You should see what happens when I make Celestia mad!" he proclaims with confidence as he slips under his friend and lifts her up. Topaz immediately feels a sharp pain in his front hoof as he stands with her on his back, he puts the shield on her back and he begins to walk back to where the path to Canterlot is, carefully trotting past the lion so as to not wake it up which would mean death for both of them.

*****

Corona and Celestia stand speechless as he finishes his story and they have eyes wide with wonder when he finishes his story. Their jaws drop a little as well, "Y-You did all of that?..." Celestia says in amazement and a little disbelief.

"Yeah... I was shocked when she later pointed out to me that I got my cutie mark, it was right when a doctor took us to patch us up," he says in a calm voice as he looks down with a look of regret.

Corona sees this and his heart sinks a little, "Nothing happened to Cirrus... right?" he asks in a worried tone, fearing the worst had happened.

"Oh no she's fine!... she just needs some time to recover... I visited her today and she was resting..." he quickly says to reassure his friends.

They both sigh in relief and Celestia looks back at him, "Then... what's the problem?..."

Topaz takes a deep breath and breaths it out to try and calm himself, "Nothing I just... wish she didn't have to get hurt like that... it was my idea to play in the forest... It was foolish of me to think doing that without a grown up pony there to watch us..."

Corona steps towards his friend and puts a hoof on his shoulder, "Topaz... you mustn't think of it like this... you saved her life from a mountain lion!... I couldn't imagine doing something like that..."

Topaz chuckles softly and looks up at him, "You underestimate yourself Corona, you'd be surprise what you are capable of when you need to need to protect your friends...."

"Heh... maybe you're right... but this day you're the hero, I'll bet your father was super proud of you..." Corona says as he feels down inside, wishing he could say the same for his father but he does well in keeping his sadness from showing.

"Yeah... he was mad at first but mother made us a big dinner for us to celebrate me getting my cutie mark, so it actually was kind of nice!" he says with a more enlightened smile. He then turns his attentions towards Celestia, "You've got your big test tomorrow right? maybe tomorrow you'll discover your special gift!"

Celestia giggles and nods quickly, "Yeah that would be amazing! but I can't help but feel really nervous about it" she says while rubbing the back of her head.

"You'll do well Celestia I know it," Topaz states with confidence. Topaz soon looks up at the sky and notices the blue sky has turned into a beautiful amber color as the sun shines on the clouds and sky as it moves slowly under the horizon to rest itself and make way for the moon. "Well... it's time I go home" he says while putting on his cloak and waves at them with his bandaged hoof, "Good luck tomorrow Celestia!" With that Topaz opens his wings and flies off to leave them alone.

Celestia waves at him as he flies off and she smiles warmly, "He's such a happy bubble of energy... it's quite infectious" she states and looks at Corona to see if he agrees, only to see a look of depression in his eyes despite the smile on his face.

"Yeah... Topaz is an incredible colt... he's already found his gift and it's one of a hero, to protect like a shield," Corona states while he sees his friend disappear over the castle walls.

Celestia's smile starts to lower when she sees his lack of happiness. She tries to think of a way to lift his spirits, "How about we... practice some more before we leave for dinner?"

Corona looks at her and slowly nods, "Sure... we want to have you at your best for your big day right?..." he replies with a tone that sounds like he is trying to lift his spirits but is having trouble.

Celestia smiles and moves to hug him, "Thank you... I'm sure I'll do well with your help..."

Corona feels her hoof around his shoulders and it brings a visible smile to his face as he lifts his hoof to hug her back, "It's the least I could do for my best friend."

Author's Note

Well chapter 8 is finally out! Hope everyone enjoys our good friend Topaz! I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy (And finding ways to alleviate the unbearable boredom :twilightsheepish: ) Let me know what you think and maybe tell me what you'd maybe like to see in the future! I was thinking of maybe writing fun short stories of adventures with Corona, Celestia and their friends that don't have much to do with the main plot of the actual story, just some fun slice of life stories!

Anyways that was enough rambling, let me know if you like the idea or any ideas that would improve the story!" Stay safe everyone :heart:

Chapter 9: Her motivation

"I don't know why I feel this way... I'm normally not nervous about anything... but this test has been getting to me..." Celestia says as she looks down at her hooves, sitting next to her father as they wait outside the maternity ward for Virgo to be done. Because they have been through this situation before they are both significantly more composed than when Celestia was born, but he can't help but feel a minor margin of nervousness as he waits.

"It's something that everypony goes through Celestia, sometimes it can be rather surprising what gets to you," Helios says to his daughter, finding comfort for himself in giving her his wisdom.

Celestia looks up at him with a look of uncertainty, "I just don't know if I'm ready for what comes tomorrow... I know me and Corona practiced a lot today but..."

"Then you have nothing to worry about, practicing your magic just shows how much you care about excelling in it, you must have faith in your abilities my daughter." Helios looks down at her and a smile soon forms on his face and he lifts his front hoof and gives her a big grin, "And besides, you are my daughter after all! And your daddy is a pretty awesome stallion!"

Celestia giggles and brings a hoof to her mouth as she does, "I don't know daddy, you always seem goofy to me."

Helios's head sinks and he groans, "Awww come on.... I'm not at least a little cool?..."

Celestia scoots closer to him and hugs his hoof, "You're the coolest daddy ever" she says with a warm tone which makes Helios lower his head more to nuzzle her which makes her laugh a little as it tickles her a little, "Ahhh!"

Helios chuckles softly at her adorable reaction and soon lifts his head back up to look at the door, enjoying the warm moment with his daughter as it has nearly alleviated him of all of his nervousness. After about a minute or two Celestia looks back up at him as a question comes to mind.

"Daddy?... what do you do to face all of the challenges you take on?... Mommy tells me of the battles you fought... What gives you the strength to be a leader?"

Helios listens to her question and feels a little surprised as it is a rather smart question to ask for her age. After thinking over for it a little he has a serious look on his face, "Its true... I've lived for hundreds of years and seen many hard times and fought to protect our land... And for the longest time there was one thing that kept me strong, and... that was your mother." When Celestia looks up at him she sees his serious look has turned into a happy smile and his eyes are watering up. "I would always think about the warmth of her when she embraced me everytime I came home from battle... The love she always gives me makes any fight or pain worth enduring. And the same thing can apply to you Celestia," he says looking down at her.

"I-It can?" she says as she looks at him in wonder, "I... I guess I never thought of it like that..."

"You're true strength comes out when you have something to fight for, that motivation is what brings out your inner strength, power that you can not tap into on your own. When you someone you hold dear... the magic within you will rise and allow you to prevent any harm from coming to them, you will surprise yourself what amazing things you can do. And while your mother terrifies me sometimes and... has hit me over the head for being stupid more times than can be count," he says with a big grin on his face as he looks at the door, "That mare has always brought out the best in me, and is one of the most amazing ponies I will ever know. And I will continue to fight for her to the day it is time for me to pass on to the next world."

Celestia's whole body shudders a little at his words, never seeing such wisdom come from her normally goofy father, "I... can be that strong?"

Helios nods slowly and pets her head, "Listen to your heart Celestia... and it will tell you who gives you your strength, and when you find out who they are... hold them close and never let them go, because like with me and your mother, they will bring out the very best of you." He kisses her head and lays down so he can hold her in his hooves, "And besides... now I have two more to fight for."

Celestia curls up in his hooves and closes her eyes as she enjoys the warmth of her father, when she hears him she looks up at him, "Really? Who are they?"

"Why you and your sibling of course," he states with a grin and tears of happiness run down his cheeks.

Celestia giggles softly and hugs him quickly and nuzzles him, "Awww daddy.... you're such a big softie..." she feels a sense of worth when she hears that she is one of his motivations.

After a few warm and quiet minutes the door soon opens and they both look at it to see the doctor come out, "It was a complete success" she says with a big smile, "They are ready to see you now."

Celestia gulps nervously but Helios soon stands up and she looks up at him as he does, "Come on Celestia, lets go see your mother" he uses magic to lift her up and place her on his back and they both walk into the room and they both see Virgo laying down resting on her side, Celestia looks at her with wide eyes and she sees a little ball of light blue fluff snuggled up to her. Celestia's eyes widen even more when she sees the younger foal and her father soon lets her get down onto the bed with her mother and he sits down next to her on the floor.

"Be gentle now Celestia.... Say hello to your baby sister, Luna..." she says as she moves so Luna is revealed a little more. Celestia carefully walks towards her and sits near her baby sister, after a few brief moments she sees her slowly lift her tiny head and scrunch her muzzle. She looks around curiously and her eyes soon fall on Celestia, she tilts her head curiously and coos at her.

Celestia's mouth opens a little in surprise when she sees her looking at her and soon she moves to pick her up. When her hoof nears Luna's muzzle she sniffs it and after she does she lifts her wobbly front hooves to hug it, the adorable sight nearly brings her to tears and she gently picks up her sister and holds her carefully. "S-She's so small..."

"You were once the same sweet heart," Virgo says as she rests her head against her pillow.

Celestia looks down at her and Luna giggles at her and paws at her muzzle with her little hoof, Celestia feels a need to be protective of her. Her father's words ring in her ears and when she sees her little sister, she can feel exactly what he was talking about, feeling like she now has the strength to take on her test tomorrow when she sees her little sister. "Daddy..."

Helios looks at his little filly, "Yes Celestia?" he asks in a curious tone.

Celestia smiles from ear to ear and looks at her father, "I think I know who I am fighting for" she states with a proud confidence, her eyelashes sparkling from her tears.

Helios looks at her for a few brief moments and a smile soon spreads to his face as well, "Very good.... never let go of that."

*****

Celestia feels herself shaking a little and her heart beats quickly as she sits on a bench, the big event only an hour away, ponies gather from all provinces of Equestria and even some from the Crystal Empire to see the next generation of magic wielders, but especially wanting to see the magic of the two heirs to the royal thrones. Most can only imagine how incredible their magic must be considering who their parents are. The crystal spectators are also elated to see the young prince of their rulers and the magic that he will show them all, both being the pride of their respective nation. What they do not know is the level of pressure that it puts upon the young heirs.

Corona wipes the sweat off of his brow and his breaths are shaking. Celestia sees the stress in his face and she feels bad for her friend, she slowly makes her way to her friend and puts a hoof on his shoulder. "Corona?... are you ok?..."

"I'm... not ready for this... but... I can't not participate because of all of the ponies that came to see me... You are so much better than me in every way Celestia... I know you are going to be amazing out there.... I'm not able to do the incredible spells that you can, I'm not.... worthy of my crown," he says with a soft and depressed voice, his ears are down as he looks at the ground. "Even Topaz is better than me..."

"Well..." Celestia moves to sit down close next to her friend, "Maybe it's because you don't believe in yourself, you spend most of your time praising how amazing other ponies are, but you never take time to realize your own self worth," she softly speaks to him in an effort to reassure him, not liking to see him in this saddened state.

"I know Celestia... I try to believe in myself I really do, I just.... don't feel like I have a reason to believe in myself.... I haven't done anything incredible like you have and... I'll just embarrass my parents crown..."

Celestia lifts his chin with her hoof and looks him in his eyes, "You can do it Corona... Please have faith in yourself," she says with words of confidence, believing without a doubt that he can shine too on this day.

Corona looks in her eyes with a look of disbelief at first but when he sees her unwavering look of confidence in him he slowly nods and gulps nervously, "R-Right.... if you can believe in me maybe... I can believe in myself."

Celestia smiles happily and helps her friend up to his hooves and she walks to the door with confidence, Corona sees her leading the way and he gets a sense of confidence that is stronger than her normal level of confidence. "Celestia?...."

She stops and turns her head to look back at him, "Yes Corona?"

"What is it that... is giving you this confidence?..." Corona asks as he walks up to her but stops behind her to her side.

Celestia turns her head back to the door after he asks and she smiles, "I met my little sister... and I want to be her hero," she proclaims in a strong tone as she opens the door to leave, "And when I think of her face... I tell myself that I can't fail, for her sake."

Corona looks at her in wonder and opens his mouth to reply but can't find any words to follow up such an amazing proclamation, after a moment he nods slowly and follows her out to go to the Canterlot coliseum.

*****

The Canterlot horns are blown as the coliseum is filled with spectators and the nobility from the two countries are taken to higher spectating booths with the royal booth having the best view, the cheers of ponies makes the stones that form the structure vibrate. The kings and queens are soon led to their seats and once they are they all wave their hooves in unison to silence the stadium. Once everypony takes their seats they all look down at the stadium floor in anticipation as Starswirl soon walks onto the floor to reach the center of the stadium.

He quickly reaches the center and he clears his throat, "Greetings to all that have journeyed from afar to see the bright and blooming future of pony kind! And I assure you that your journey was not in vain for we have many talented young ponies that have trained very hard to show everypony what they are capable of!" he says with great confidence." The echoing acoustics of the stadium help his voice to reach everyone and he also uses a spell to elevate his voice's volume. His strong words of confidence make the spectators roar in approval and the nobles smile in anticipation. "It is my honor to once again host this wonderful event Equestria holds every hundred moons to give young ponies a chance to shine their brightest! And as we always do we will start with the younger foals and then move to the yearlings. And of course... The nation's pride and joy, Princess Celestia and Prince Corona Borealis have been under my tutelage and it has been my privilege to help the two young heirs to the throne bring out the incredible latent magic within them. With that being said on behalf of King Diamond, King Solaris, Queen Harmony and Queen Virgo we hope everypony enjoys today's festival!" Starswirl concludes as the ponies all roar in excitement as he leaves the stage as an announcer begins to call for young ponies to come to the stage to display their unique talents and abilities.

Corona hears the speech from the sidelines and he takes a deep and sighs as he tries to relax himself, "He sure is raising their expectations for us..." he says in a nervous tone.

Even with her confidence from before Celestia can't help but feel a little nervous as well, "Yeah... But that gives us all the more reason for us to not fail them, right?..." she says to Corona in an attempts to not only give him confidence but herself as well.

"Yeah... that is a good point, I'm just... not sure what spells I am supposed to do to impress the nobility and our subjects," Corona states to her as he looks out at the other foals as they go up, pegasi showing off feats of agility and weather control, the earth pony foals showing feats of strength, and the unicorn showing either the strongest spells they know or unique spells they have created, one pony even managed to make the stone floor into glass which erupted cheers from the crowd.

Celestia looks in awe at all the new spells and abilities but Corona gulps in nervousness as he feels even more outclassed than he already did, but he looks at Celestia and sees and sees how she is looking at the other ponies demonstrating their skills, and after one more foal the announcer looks down at his list and he grins.

"And now we will be given the privilege of seeing our beloved princess, Princess Celestia!" he calls out with his words causing a great roar from the crowd.

Corona looks at her and he puts a hoof on her shoulder and smiles, "Good luck... you'll do great."

His words of confidence brings a feeling of comfort and strength to her that she needed as a final boost, "Right... thank you Corona." She hugs him and soon lets him go so that she can walk out to the arena stage, when the spectators see their princess they all cheer in support of her and Celestia feels a bit small as she walks up onto the stage and is surrounded by ponies as they watch in anticipation. Helios and Virgo look down at her in pride and are sitting up in their seats a little as they are eager to see the progress she has undoubtedly made with Starswirl teaching her.

Celestia takes a deep breath and slowly breaths it out to calm herself and focus on her spells, she focuses her magic into her horn and wind blows through her and she soon emits a burst of light and when the light dies down there are five of her, she opens her eyes and sees that her spell was a success and she grins from ear to ear. The ponies in the crowd cheer in awe and the nobility move a little closer to the edge of their seats to get a better look, feeling surprised that a young foal, even though shes the princess, was able to master such a complicated spell at her age. Helios smirks as he looks at them with a sly smile, "Weren't expecting that were you."

Virgo giggles softly when she sees her husband acting so boastful about their daughter. She soon uses magic to lift up the young princess Luna so that she can see her older sister perform her magic. Luna looks in wonder at the stage as she sees her sister shine brightly as she positions her multiple forms away from each other, each clone channels magic and soon beams of magic towards each other, but instead of colliding into each other at the center and exploding in the center, they mold into each other and form a condensed large ball of magic which shows incredible magic control that even catches Starswirl off guard. Celestia and her clones are all closing their eyes tightly as they feel the struggle of condensing such a large amount of magic taking their complete concentration. When they feel that they can't hold the ball together anymore they begin to release the magic from the ball and it flows out across the coliseum seats, giving them all an incredible light show for them all which leaves them in complete shock and awe. When the light dies down they all see it is now only her and her clones have vanished, she pants heavily as she catches her breath and she feels the sweat go down her face which she wipes with her hoof. She hears the roaring cheers of her subjects and they all stomp their hooves on the floor for her on the amazing spell she displayed for them, as she finishes catching her breath. She takes a deep breath and lets it out as she tries to summon the magic she needs for her last spell, her magic sparks and she grits her teeth as she feels the strain on her body and magic. She cringes as she feels her magic deteriorating and she feels all of the eyes of the spectators on her and she feels her heart racing as the pressure weighs down on her. She looks up at where her parents are and her eyes catch her baby sister looking down at her with her big blue eyes, the moment she sees her her mind begins to clear itself as she feels her magic beginning to soar now that it is free from the confines of her thoughts. Her aura begins to glow around her entire body as her eyes glow bright white and her body begins to release a light as bright as the sun which causes everypony to shield their eyes instinctively. After the light slowly fades away to a more tolerable level the spectators and nobility look back at their princess and their eyes widen in shock. The royal four rub their eyes as they recover their eyesight and when they see her they are also in shock, Luna giggles and reaches towards her sister in her mother's lap.

Overflowing magic blows across the stage and fills the coliseum with a gorgeous sun light energy and flame, Celestia's eyes still glowing bright white but her mane have changed into a mane that looks like a flowing sunset enhanced by the very sun itself, her tail receiving the same treatment as it flows in the gusting wind.

"Look at the sky!" a pony calls out in the crowd which prompts the crowd to all look up and they see that all of the magic she is channeling is moving the sun all on her own, something that makes even Starswirl's jaw drop in complete shock, the rest of the crowd being equally as speechless as she moves it across the sky. After a few long moments her front legs soon give out as she pants heavily and she stops controlling the sun, but the magic continues to flow around her and spark around her body like lightning. After she collects herself she slowly rises and lifts her head with confidence and poise raising a pair of wings that she hasn't noticed she has yet. The spectators and even the nobility bow in shock and respect as they all feel overwhelmed from the fact that they just witnessed the birth of a new alicorn.

Celestia turns her head back and sees the big wings of white feathers with orange amber feather tips. Realizing what she has just done she quickly turns to look up at her parents and when she does she sees a look of pride and love in their eyes as they are both at the verge of tears, and by that of course Helios is balling his eyes out.

She quickly turns her eyes to Corona and runs down to him and hugs him tightly, "Corona did you see what I did! I'm just like mommy and daddy now!"

Corona nods with a happy grin, "That was incredible Tia! You lifted the whole sun by yourself! nopony has ever pulled off such a feat! And..." he glances over her shoulder as he sees something on her flank, "Look!"

Celestia feels confused at first but she soon turns her head to look at what he is pointing, she sees an elegant mark of a sun on her flank, with one flare of the sun running down her outer thigh. Seeing that her cutie mark finally appeared she grins from ear to ear and squeals even louder and runs past Corona and grabs his hoof, making him zip with her, "Come on Corona we have to show them my cutie mark now!"

*****

Corona and Celestia soon arrive in the royal booths and she jumps in front of her parents with a big grin and eyes of pride, "Did you see what I did! I'm like you two now!" she says while she tries to flap her new wings but isn't quite able to move them very well yet.

Helios quickly scoops her up and is crying in an almost drama queen like fashion as he hugs his little filly, "Oh my little filly is becoming a mare right in front of meeee!" he shouts with streams of tears shooting out of his eyes.

Virgo feels equally as proud as her husband is but when he starts to get too loud she frowns and gives him a quick smack on the head with her hoof, causing him to drop Celestia into his lap and grab his head with a yelp in pain, "Owww!"

The exchange between them causes the rest of them to laugh in amusement.

Diamond then smirks slyly at Helios, "Still as big a pushover as always eh?"

Helios looks over at him with a scowl, "Sh-Shut up!..." he says as he rubs his head. He then turns to look at Virgo and his pupils shrink in fear as his ears go back in fear when he sees the angry look she has, feeling like he has shrunk to the size of a foal and is about to be punished by his mother. She moves closer to him and he yelps again as he closes his eyes in fear for the wrath she is about to unleash upon him, only to feel a gentle kiss on the spot on his head that she smacked, "Behave yourself darling, there are times to be flamboyantly expressive but in front of the nobility is not one of those times."

Helios gulps and shakes a little as he opens his eyes, feeling like he just dodged a hurricane, "R-Right!... Sorry... h-heh..."

Virgo smiles in approval and moves back to sit up in her throne with the proper posture befitting a queen, she then looks at Celestia and floats her up to her lap and kisses her head, "I'm very proud of you my little shining star, had it not been for us being here needing to maintain proper manners I probably would have responded the same way your father did," she says with a happy grin on her face.

Celestia smiles and nods in understanding and quickly hugs her mother, "Thank you mommy!... that means a lot to me I made both of you proud."

Helios chuckles and sits himself back up as well, "Celestia we will always be proud of you, you have always been our pride and joy from the day you were born, which means you will always have our love and support!" he says as he confidently lifts his hoof and gives her a big grin.

Celestia jumps up onto her hooves and lifts her hoof the same way he did, "Yeah! And mommy and daddy will always be the most awesomest ponies in the world!" As she proclaims that she feels something little crawling at her hooves and she sees her baby sister babbling adorably at her and reaching up for her. Celestia giggles softly and sits on her flank and gently picks Luna up and nuzzles her, "Did you see me out there little sister? I did that all for you."

Luna hugs her and nestles into her sister's soft fur and yawns as she lays in a way that's comfortable to her and falls asleep. Celestia finds the sight to be the most precious thing she's ever seen and it almost brings her to tears, feeling that she was successful in making her little sister proud and she nuzzles her lovingly, "Thank you Luna... it was all for you..."

Corona finds the sight to be heart warming and walks over to his parents to leave the sisters be to have their moment. Corona looks up at his mother and father and they smile down at him.

"Good luck out there son, I'm sure you will do great, you are a student of Starswirl's after all," he says with a confident smile, believing his son will be able to put on just as great a performance as Celestia did.

"Of course you will, you're my little gem after all" Harmony says as she gently pets his head with her hoof, "Today is your day to shine Corona, make us proud!" she proclaims with a warm and confident voice.

Corona smiles happily at them when he sees they believe in him he grins from ear to ear, "I'll do my best to make you proud!" he states happily as he runs to leave the booth to go back to the waiting area, but as he runs down the halls his pace gets slower and slower as he comes to a stop. Thinking about the incredible magic Celestia just displayed and how she lifted the sun across the sky and even became an alicorn which hasn't happened since their parents did a few hundred years ago. His face soon turns into that of shock when he realizes the weight of his situation and he feels he is in a dark void on the stage with the sounds of laughing ponies surrounding him. "I-I'm supposed to... follow that up?..."

Author's Note

Hello everyone! I managed to cut my chapter time by a day or two so I'm making progress on getting a chapter out every week! I really am trying but my job kicks my butt :raritydespair: But anyways I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please let me know what you think! Hope you all are staying safe and have a great rest of your day! I'll try to get chapter 10 out even sooner than this one!

Chapter 10: Corona's effort

Corona slowly walks through the halls of the coliseum as he makes his way back to the benches, his hooves echo in the hall since everypony is out in the booths and seats. He feels his heart practically beating out of his chest as he feels like he is about to have a panic attack. Due to his lack of attention to his surroundings he bumps face first into Topaz and falls to the ground, rubbing his muzzle as they both groan in unison.

"Corona!... watch where you're trotting buddy," he says as he stands up and shakes his head to shake off the stun, "You ok?..." He looks down at his friend and sees him breathing heavily with eyes of fear as he holds his head for comfort. Topaz moves his hoof to his head and this brings Corona out of his trance as he looks up at him with his scared eyes, "T-Topaz?..."

"What's wrong Corona?... you're turn on the stage is almost here..."

"I-I can't go... up there Topaz..." Corona says in defeat as he looks at the floor, feeling unworthy to talk to him from how heroic he was when his friends were endangered but he is cowering on the floor, afraid to follow up such a show of magic that would only occur once in a millennium.

"Do you have stage fright?..." he says with concern as he tilts his head.

"No it isn't the stage... I just..." Corona slowly stands up but still has his head tilted down towards the ground, "How am I supposed to follow what she did?... I always knew she was incredible but... lifting the sun by herself?... ponies have thought such a feat to be impossible to pull off! and here she does it in the coliseum!" his face turns in to that of a frown in spite towards himself, "No magic I know would even approach the first spell that she did!... I'll humiliate my mother and father! The crystal ponies will think I'm a joke and not worthy to succeed my-" his rant is abruptly interrupted with a smack on his head which makes him yelp in surprise and feel his head where it was hit, "What the hay Topaz!"

"You need to stop Corona" he says firmly as he looks him in the eyes. "Yes her performance was a spectacular one, but that absolutely does not mean that you can't be just as amazing."

Corona stops to listen to his words and he soon looks up at him, "I can?..."

"Don't think I don't know about all the effort you put into practicing your magic, I'm sure that effort will pay off," he smiles and puts a hoof on his shoulder, "Corona... you've always been there to give me advice... you have wisdom beyond your years. I still remember the words you told me when we first went to school as friends," he says with a warm smile.

His words ring in Corona's ears and he soon looks up at him from the floor, "You... do?... I don't remember..."

He chuckles softly, "And that just proves my point, you give the best advice a pony could ask for but you don't listen to your own words." Topaz puts a hoof back on his shoulder in a comforting manner, "I was feeling nervous about my classes and whether I would perform well enough... and you told me "If the ponies you love believe in you, you should do the same!"

The statement surprises him and he remembers the conversation they had a few years ago, and how happy he made his friend after giving him those words. "R-Right... I guess I did say that..." he says as he rubs his head bashfully.

"You really brightened my day when you told me that... and... I think those words are what gave me the confidence I have to this day... That gave me the courage to act when my friends were in danger... because I was able to believe that I could act," he says with a happy smile that takes Corona by surprise. "I have you to thank Corona, and I'm sure Celestia would also agree, you always give praise to others and their accomplishments, it's time you did the same for yourself."

Corona takes a few long moments and he looks down at his friend's arm, "But... I don't have any accomplishments like you and Celestia..."

Topaz chuckles audibly and he moves his hoof back and cocks it with confidence, "Then go make one for yourself!"

Corona gasps in surprise at his proclamation and his mouth opens a little to respond, but after a few more moments it morphs into a smile and he grins from ear to ear and he cocks his hoof like Topaz, "Right!"

"I'll be watching your awesomeness from the stands! If you give up I'm going to kick your flank after it's all over" he says as he bumps his shoulder and walks by him to go back to the spectator's stand to continue watching the event.

Corona looks back down at his hooves and he chuckles softly, "What would I do without you Topaz..." he says as he looks back up and walks back to the waiting area, puffing his chest out a little more than he did before now that he had the confidence boost from his friend.

*****

The sound of constant talk among the ponies watching, Topaz squeezes through the rows of ponies and eventually reaches his mother and sits down next to her, "Hey mom I'm back!"

She smiles and looks down at him, "Welcome back, did you congratulate Celestia?" she asks cheerfully.

"Yeah! and I happened to literally bump into Corona on the way back! He looked so nervous so... I tried to help him" he says with a look of concern as he hopes that his words truly reached his friend. He looks down at the remaining fillies and colts that have yet to go up and he sees his friend and he feels his heart beating a little quicker in nervousness, "You can do it Corona..."

Iron Shield looks at Topaz and pets his head, "You're a good friend son, he needs ponies like you in his life if he is going to be a great leader like his parents."

Topaz looks up at him and smiles as he pets him, "Thanks dad! I try my best to help him like he helps me, I just hope he will finally get a chance to shine."

Iron chuckles softly and hears the announcer taking the stage after a performance, "Well... it looks like it is time to see if that moment is now."

Topaz soon looks back at the stage and listens closely to the announcer, "And next we have the pride of the Crystal Empire, the son of the great warrior King Diamond and the mother of peace Queen Harmony, I think I can say with confidence that we will be in for a display just as impressive as our princess Celestia! Introducing prince Corona Borealis!" he proclaims with confidence, causing the spectating crystal ponies to rise up and roar with cheer for their prince, rivaling the equestrian cheers for their princess before.

Corona gulps nervously but takes a deep breath and sighs, trying to remember the words of confidence from his friend and he slowly rises up from the bench and walks up onto the stage, his heart racing as adrenaline pumps through his body. Reaching the center of the stage he feels all of the eyes that are now on him and it makes him feel puny. His body shakes as he tries to maintain his composure.

"Calm down Corona, Calm down!" he yells at himself in his mind as he tries to clear his mind of his fears, "Just... remember your practice..."

The wind begins to flow around Corona as he channels his magic to his horn and a silver light surrounds his body, "Come on Corona...." The light around him grows brighter and after a few moments of focusing his magic he quickly opens his eyes, "Teleport!" he says as he vanishes in a flash of light and it makes the spectators gasp in surprise and look around as to where he has gone.

Corona soon opens his eyes and he sees that he is standing on the ledge of the royal booth, he looks around in surprise and looks around to see that he really teleported and he jumps and laughs happily as he jumps back off the ledge and falls down to the ground, causing ponies to stand up in fear for him getting hurt, but as he is about to hit the ground he teleports and appears with a skid on the center stage. Seeing him being fine it makes ponies sigh in relief and stomp the floor to applaud his display. Corona feels the happiness of his success of pulling off the teleportation spell and it causes him to completely phase out the crowd around him and his magic surges higher than it has before. Celestia looks down at him in awe, seeing his horn glowing again she watches from the edge of their booth with her hooves curled over the rail. After a few moments she sees him cast another spell and soon clones of him appear all over the stadium.

Celestia's eyes widen in wonder as they are more clones than she created for her demonstration, feeling strong wind blow against her mane as she watches Corona demonstrate his new spell that she's never seen before. "How could he create so many clones!?"

Her comment makes her parents as well as Diamond and Harmony chuckle. Celestia looks back at them in confusion, "What is it?"

Helios looks down at Celestia, "He's not creating clones of himself, what he's doing is something far more impressive that most ponies won't even realize," he says as he walks over to the rail and looks down at the stage, seeing all of the different Coronas taking on a variety of happy poses, seeming like he doesn't have a care in the world as the crowd watches in awe.

"If they aren't clones then... what are they?" she says curiously as she looks down at the stage, feeling confused as they clearly look like clones.

"They are after images Celestia," he says while he lifts his hoof to pet her head. Diamond nods in agreement "That's exactly right, I'm surprised you were able to see that," he says with a cheeky grin.

Helios's face turns to that of a scowl as he looks back at diamond with a vein popping out his forehead, "What are you trying to say!" he yells at him. Harmony looks at Diamond with an unamused face as she bumps his side with her hoof, "Stop instigating Helios, it's unbecoming."

Diamond chuckles and nods to her, "Sorry... It's just amusing," he says looking at her, expecting her to laugh, only to to see that she is glaring at him with her still unamused face. Her sky blue eyes feel like they are piercing his soul and he gulps nervously, "H-Heh..."

Harmony glares at him for a little longer and she soon smiles and looks back at the stage, "It is somewhat amusing."

Helios looks at her in shock and his head sinks in defeat, "Aww come on... I thought I had someone on my side for once." He takes a few moments to regain his composure and he looks back at the stage, "Anyway they are after images, they are an illusion that is created when a pony moves at speeds high enough to travel back and forth from multiple places and make it look like they are actually multiple ponies. At his age... he shouldn't be able to move at such speeds, in fact only us four and a few others are able to do the same thing, we can also see those movements as well while normal ponies aren't able to see. Now that you are an alicorn like us you may be able to see little glimpses of his movements."

Celestia looks back at the stage and she stares at one of the after images and her now sharper eyes are able to pick up little flickers of the image disappearing but soon reappearing, "B-But how is he doing that!..."

Diamond chuckles softly, "My guess is that this is a magical outburst and so doing all of this by accident, probably triggered by his happiness after performing the teleportation spell at the start of the performance. His magic is flaring up due to the positive emotions and is unknowingly enhancing his body's physical limits by using his magic, but it doesn't seem like he even knows what he is doing."

Harmony nods in agreement, "He probably doesn't realize that he isn't even doing a teleport spell to begin with, but is just running on pure adrenaline now, but moving at this speed at his age can do serious damage to him, he needs to stop soon."

As if on queue the images soon stop appearing and Corona soon appears in the middle, breathing heavily as he feels the whiplash from the intense physical exertion he brought upon his body, nearly collapsing on the ground when one of his hooves gives in.

The ponies of the crowd look in confusion and mutter amongst one another. "I get that the clone spell is a difficult spell but... to exhaust him this much?" one of the nobles states to another,

Another nods slowly, "Our princess lifted the sun and even transformed and yet was still able to stand. This spell is impressive.... but rather underwhelming after what Princess Celestia unveiled for us all."

"Still though, at least he is dedicated to his studies so he may turn out to be a promising prince, but I'm not sure of him inheriting the throne of his parents," a noble states to give Corona some credit but still criticizing his inability to follow up Celestia's performance.

Corona's ears perk up in shock as he looks up as his heavy breathing continues, he hears all of the ponies questioning him and he feels panic starting to weigh down at him again. He soon stands up and looks around with an alarmed look as the voices seem to sound louder to him.

Celestia and Topaz notice and they move up to the ledge and try to shout to him but the voices of all the other ponies blocks out their voices. Celestia has a worried expression as she sees her friend panicking, wanting to rush to him to comfort him but knows that she can't disrupt the event in any way as it would anger the nobility and shine a negative light on herself.

Diamond looks down at his son with concern but a stern expression remains on his face, "Maintain your composure son..."

Celestia watches as Corona falls back on his flank as the area goes dark around him, seeing the dark faces of ponies laughing condescendingly at him. Seeing the hallucination brings a look of fear on his face.

The condescending comments the nobles are making ring in Topaz's ears and he grits his teeth in anger and he glares over at them, "Shut up you stuck up ponies! You don't know anything about Corona!" he yells at them which catches them by surprise and they look at him with shock and confusion, only to then turn into scowls.

"How dare you speak to a pony of noble descent in such a way!" one responds with spite in his words at the young colt.

Topaz grits his teeth and ignores their words as he opens his wings and flies off before his father can grab him, "Topaz get back here now!" Iron shouts at him as he fails in grabbing him.

Ignoring his father's order he flies swiftly down to the coliseum floor and skids on the ground and runs up to the stage and looks at his distressed friend, "CORONAAA!" he screams as loud as his young lungs could manage.

The sudden voice shouting at him knocks him out of his hallucination and his pupils widen in shock as he looks over to the source of the voice and sees Topaz standing by the stage, the sudden action surprising Celestia as well as their parents.

"SNAP OUT OF IT AND SHOW THEM WHAT YOU'RE MADE OF! OR I WILL PERSONALLY COME UP THERE AND MAKE YOU DO IT!" he says with a firm voice of concern that also scolds him a little.

Corona listens to his words that pierce his panicking mind like a sharp blade as he opens his mouth to reply, but before he says anything he slowly stands up and looks over at his friend.

Topaz looks around at the other foals and he sees one of them has a big and durable rubber ball that they used for one of them used for their demonstration and he picks it up onto his back, "Remember the game we would play with our playing ball?"

"T-The one where we kicked it as hard as we could at each other?..." Corona replies with an uncertain voice.

Topaz nods slowly and tosses the ball up to him onto the stage and it lands in front of him, "Remember how much faster our bodies and reflexes got??"

Corona looks at him for a few moments and he looks down at the ball and slowly picks it up with his hooves, "But... that was just a game... you think that that would be enough to impress everypony?..."

Topaz chuckles softly and winks at him, "Yes of course! Do you remember what our goal was?"

Corona's eyes widen at the mention of it as he puts the pieces of what he is saying and he soon smiles as he slowly stands up and floats the ball up, "Right, thanks Topaz," he says as Topaz hugs him just before two knights escort him from the stage.

"Good luck buddy" Topaz says as they take him back to the stands.

Corona looks down at the ball and takes a deep breath and lets it out as he floats it up in front of him and cringes as he tries to focus his magic into preparing what he thought was his teleportation spell. Corona's eyes close as he calms his mind, "Our goal..." The area grows dark around him once again, but this time he doesn't hear laughing ponies, instead it is only him in complete silence. His eyes soon shoot open and he tosses the ball up high in the air directly above him and he turns around and as the ball get's within a few feet from the ground Corona kicks it as hard as he can, sending the ball flying across the coliseum at incredible speed, he then shoots magic through his body to do what he thinks is his teleportation spell and he zips across the ground and catches the ball before it hits the ground, a feat of speed that catches the nobility's attention and it makes all of the ponies in the crowd cheer when they realize what happened.

Hearing the cheers of the equestrian and especially crystal ponies makes him smile happily as he kicks the ball again and zips behind it again and hits it high in the sky, reappearing behind it and striking it hard, making it slam on the ground, "The goal... to be fast enough to catch our own ball" he says with a look of satisfaction, but his look soon morphs into that of exhaustion and his eyes close as he falls from the air towards the ground. Seeing this Diamond quickly stands up and appears under his son and catches him carefully and lands on the ground as Corona falls limp on his back, his body exhausted from the incredible exertion on his body.

"That was a valiant effort son..." he looks up at the crowd and sees that some are cheering but others aren't as impressed with his performance as it only seemed like a few teleportation tricks, nothing that a unicorn scholar couldn't pull off with a few years of education at the school of magic.

"Truly not something to be compared to Celestia's performance, perhaps he hasn't inherited his parent's great magic," an Equestrian noble says as she stands up to leave.

"Perhaps they aren't as powerful as our King and Queen say Adara," her husband says as he stands up to leave with her, "Rather disappointing if you ask me."

The rest of the nobility are all escorted out first guarded by royal knights before the peasant ponies are let out of the stadium.

Harmony watches all of them leave and then turns her attention towards Diamond and Corona and she smiles, "Good job my little gem... you got over your fear and tried your best, you may not have won the affections of our subjects yet... but you've made me proud, as well as your father.

Celestia sees Corona limp on his father's back and she looks down with a regretful expression, seeing this Virgo stands next to her, "What is troubling you Celestia?"

"I... I wasn't there for him... he was always there to help me practice and feel better when I messed up on a spell, and when he needed me most I wasn't there to support him... And yet Topaz didn't give it a second thought, not fearing the prospect of getting in trouble in the slightest, I guess that means that I'm not as good a friend as he is..."

Virgo smiles warmly and kneels down with her four hooves closed under her to move closer to her little filly, "That isn't true at all Celestia, you have an appearance you need to maintain as royalty, Topaz doesn't have that restriction."

"I know mother... but this was supposed to be his moment to shine... like it was for me," she states with a downed voice as she looks over her new form, "But the nobility insulted him... they don't even know how hard he works to be the best he can be..."

Virgo listens to her words and she feels them hit her a little, feeling a little upset at the nobles for their claims against Corona as well as his parents since they are close friends to her. "It simply isn't his time yet... I know it's hard on him and he wants his chance to shine brightly like you did, and that time will come someday. He only needs to remain patient and he will have his moment."

"But as each day passes, his self esteem grows lower and lower... he has little confidence in himself, and it breaks my heart as his mother that I haven't been able to alleviate him of his depression. I wish I knew what to say to make him realize that he is just as special as the ponies around him..." Harmony interjects as she stands to leave with them.

Virgo puts a hoof on her shoulder and gives her a comforting smile, "Give him time Virgo, I'm sure that he will climb out of his depression. And he has wonderful friends that will help him get stronger as a pony and a leader," she states as she looks down at Celestia, "You and Topaz are very special to him... don't ever forget your friendships because they are your strongest asset."

Celestia looks up at her with her sad face but she soon smiles a little and nods slowly, "Right, thank you mommy."

*****

Adara separates from her husband a little to use the restroom, as she steps inside she locks the door behind her and a green aura surrounds her horn and her eyes turn green with a flame of the same hue enveloping her as she turns into a blackened bug like pony, strange holes dotting her hooves and horn. Her ears perk up and her green eyes glow as she hears a voice in her mind and she nods slowly, "Yes your highness, I was able to infiltrate the event without being discovered, their security is rather pathetic."

She looks at her body in the mirror as she temporarily removes the noble clothing she was wearing, "The equestrian princess is exceptionally gifted in magic, but I think that the prince of the crystal empire will make a better target for your brilliant plan." She looks into her eyes and changes them back into the eyes of Adara and she nods as she is given orders, "Yes your highness... I will keep watch over the royal families, but we will need scouts in the Crystal Empire to watch over the Crystal's royal family as well when the attack comes, they must be there before security is tightened." She stretches out her body before putting the clothing back on and changing back into her stolen form as she makes her way back to the door, "I will be ready," she replies as she releases the spell before leaving to return back to her victim husband.

Author's Note

Hello again everyone here's chapter 10! Hope you all enjoy and be sure to let me know what you think! I hope everyone is staying safe and keeping moral high during these hard times. Hopefully my story is bringing some smiles and maybe excitement to your day!

Take care everypony! :) Chapter 11 coming out next week.

Chapter 11: A shady offer

"You tried your best Corona, that's all you can ask for," Topaz says as he sits down next to his downed friend, days after the magic show. He lifts a hoof up to his shoulder and gently pets down Corona's back to try and make him feel better. "The speed you reached when doing the trick was incredible!..."

"Maybe... but it wasn't enough to earn the admiration of the equestrian ponies, and not even my own kind..." Corona replies with his usual quiet and gentle voice, his coat instead of the elegant sparkling royal blue is now a dull uninspiring blue. "I'm sure you could do it if you were on the stage, you're an amazing flyer for your age," he says back to Topaz to try and move the conversation away from what he thinks is his failure.

"Corona there you go with that again... you need to stop looking at how awesome everypony else is and realize how awesome you are, if you just..."

"Celestia lifted the whole sun by herself!... How could I ever consider myself to be her equal! She's always been amazing and ahead of me in everything we've done!.... But today... she didn't just step in front of me, she jumped far ahead of me!... it's like I'm always watching her from behind! I can't help but... feel envious of her, everypony always highly regards her for being such a bright beacon of hope for our future!... I've even overheard a few of the nobility saying that they believe that Celestia will be the first alicorn to become a deity!.... what could I possibly do."

"I don't know Corona.... I couldn't give you a straight answer, the only thing I can tell you is that if she is leaping so far ahead of you, that just means you need to run faster," he says with a smile. "You have the makings of a great king like your father, but not unless you give yourself time to improve it will never happen. Celestia just picks things up significantly faster than anypony I know, but you have the mind to figure things out Corona, and the wisdom to bring out the best in others. I'm telling you, you should try using your own words on yourself," he says as he turns to leave.

Corona hears his hoofsteps slowly growing more and more distant until he isn't able to hear them any longer. He soon looks up at the sky and notices that storm clouds are starting to be formed by the pegasi above. A cool breeze blows through his fur which helps him calm his mind, after a few long moments he takes a deep breath and sighs. His eyes soon shoot open and he stands up on alert. He slowly turns his head to search for the presence he sensed.

"It would appear you have very sharp senses, it's a shame you can't seem to bring out your true potential when you show such promise," a female voices says as he searches for the source of it.

"Who are you and what do you want with me?" Corona says with a serious voice as he stays on guard, "I am a prince of the Crystal Empire! It would be unwise to harm me.

"Oh I already know quite a bit about you young prince" the voice says as a form of a pony shows made of a haunting looking smoke, the eyes of the smoke figure are a glowing green which makes Corona step back a bit, feeling a slight sensation of intimidation. "For example, I know all about your desire for power," the figure says as it wraps itself around him, whispering in his ear with a set of creepy grinning white teeth. "And I can give you that power if you so desire it."

"What are you talking about?... I'm fine!" he says with false confidence, something that the mystery pony instantly picks up on his doubt. The pony moves it's head right next to his, "I can feel the need.... deep inside you, a need to be strong and powerful. You want to be admired by your subjects don't you? And respected by your friends? Your parents to be proud of you?"

Corona looks down at the ground as each question the pony asks further confuses him and makes his uncertainty rise higher than it ever has been./ "Is... Is she right?... does everypony... really think down on me like that..."

"Of course I'm right!" the mare says as she looks him in the eyes, "They all look at you and think you're weak! They pity you!"

Corona looks up into the green eyes and lifts a hoof in disbelief, "N-No that isn't true! They wouldn't think I could do better if that were the case!..."

"Most of the ponies in the audience that saw your performance and saw it as being average, maybe even slightly above average. Certainly nothing to be compared to the young princess," the smoke says as it's head moves next to his and whispers eerily into his ear, "I can give you what you need to be as powerful as her, maybe even more powerful~" it says as it's teeth grin again. "You need only to let me in, let me take all of those negative emotions away.~"

Corona looks down at the ground and his coat dulls further as the words the pony speaks start to make more and more sense to him, he feels the darkness starting to seep into his body. Images of a powerful version of himself filling his mind, strong and confident, not timid and shy like his real self. Gaining the approval of his family, friends, and subjects seeming very alluring to the young colt. "S-Should I listen to this pony?...."

He looks around him and sees darkness surrounding him which catches him off guard, making him raise a hoof as he looks around in alarm, "Hello!" he shouts into the black void, hoping to hear a familiar voice call back to him but he hears nothing until the creepy face of the pony fills the void. Evil green eyes and that big white grin looking down at him, "I am but a humble servant of my all powerful master!" it says in a very discomforting voice, "He can grant you the power of ten suns if you simply devote your life to him! All you would need to do is get rid of all the things that are holding you back! Which of course includes the ponies that you call friends," it says with a voice of confidence, believing she is effortlessly influencing the young colt to join her."

Corona's eyes widen when she mentions him needing to get rid of his friends and he grits his teeth in outrage and stomps his hoof on the ground, "No way! I will never do that to my friends! I don't care if you gave me all of the power in the world! I may desperately want to prove myself like you said!..." he looks at the ground, "But I would never accept power if that meant harm or sadness for my friends."

The creepy face changes to a noticeably upset face, "You reject such an offer!? I thought you would be smarter than that," she says in a tone that shows disappointment.

"I guess I'm not," he says as he looks back at the face, giving a look that shows he is not going back on his word.

"Those ponies have done nothing for you! All they have done is pity you and think condescending thoughts towards you! They always think they are better than you!" she says in a slightly desperate tone to try and persuade him otherwise, knowing her master will be very upset if she doesn't come back with his prize.

Corona steps back away from the smoke pony and stomps at the floor, "I will never betray my friends! Leave me alone!" Corona's coat becoming less and less dull as his confidence returns, not listening to anything that the pony is saying now.

The pony growls in frustration and starts to grow in size, "If you will not come of your own accord, I WILL TAKE YOU BY FORCE," it says as it rushes at Corona like a snake. Corona gasps in surprise and turns to run away from the pony and shouts for help, thinking he's no match for a full grown pony. He looks back and notices that the smoke is getting closer as his heart starts to beat faster than a hummingbird's. His eyes widen as he trips over a tree root and falls roughly on his face and chest, giving him a few scrapes as he stumbles to the ground. The smoke surrounds him and Corona looks up in fear as the terrifying face lets out a horrifying shriek as it charges down at him. Adrenaline pumps through his blood as he covers his eyes to keep him from seeing what would happen to him.

The horrifying shrieks stop and Corona feels nothing happen to him which confuses him, not that he is complaining. He looks back up at the smoke to see that it is desperately trying to enter and corrupt his body, but each time it tries to enter his body it is sharply repelled and shrieks in agony. The smoke face shows clear anger as it glares down at the young prince, "What is going on here!" she says as she charges at him again, only to be repelled once again, making her presence weaker each time she makes an attempt. She growls in frustration as she backs away slowly as Corona stands back up, "What is going on! You should be under my control!"

Before Corona can respond to her they both hear a distant voice, "Corona!!!" The voice catches him by surprise as he instantly recognizes that the voice belongs to Topaz. The smoke pony grits it's teeth and glares down at Corona, "You will regret not accepting his power when you become the laughing stock of your kingdom," it says in a spiteful tone as it vanishes with the wind right before Topaz arrives, Corona backing away a little as her words plants a seed of fear in his soul, "Would I really?.... become the laughing stock of our homelands?..."

His train of thought is soon derailed as Topaz runs up to him panting a little, "Corona I waited for you to come back for a little but you didn't show! Are you okay?" he asks with concern, seeing the alarmed look on Corona's face tells him something isn't good.

Corona looks up at Topaz, "We have to go and tell mother and father something urgent!" he states with urgency as he soon starts galloping towards the castle.

Topaz lifts a hoof in surprise when he sprints off and he soon flies up to catch up to him, noticing the scrape on his face, "What happened to you?!" he yells as the wind blows against them.

"I fell down while a creepy smoke pony was chasing me! she was trying to get me to do something awful," he says as they run through the castle gates, the guards saluting with their spears because of the presence of Corona.

Topaz gulps as Corona recalls the story to him, not paying attention to where they are going they soon bump into Iron Shield, falling to the ground with a thud.

Iron jumps a little in shock but soon realizes who bumped into him, "Oh, there you are son, and good afternoon young prince," he says with a warm smile, soon morphing into a face of concern as they look at him with distressed looks.

"Mister Iron Shield, we need to speak to mother and father as fast as possible!" he requests with quick words, not wanting to waste any time.

Iron nods slowly and lowers himself so they can both climb on and he flaps his big wings to take off as fast as he can to the castle, hoping that it isn't anything too serious, but judging from him seeing the scrape on Corona's face makes him a little nervous as he may have been attacked by somepony.

*****

"We haven't seen any activity on the southwestern border sire, our troops have remained on high alert but have taken it a little easier as of recently. Officers have been ordered by General Typhoon to allow their soldiers working under them to take shifts for leisure time, to help boost moral," Starswirl says as he finishes reading the scroll that was sent from the border.

Helios nods slowly as he takes the scroll to give it the royal seal to confirm that he received it, "Keeping moral high is important, but hopefully we will be able to send our troops back home soon."

Starswirl nods in agreement but he soon jumps a little in surprise as the doors to the throne room are opened quickly as Iron Shield rushes into the throne room, panting a little, "My king, Prince Corona says that he saw something ghastly."

Helios sits up with concern and looks down from his throne as Corona and Topaz jump off of his father's back. Corona then runs up to look up at him, "Mister Helios a really scary pony outside Canterlot today," he proclaims in a worried tone.

Helios raises his brow as he speaks, "What happened Corona?"

"I was out by myself thinking about my... failure at the talent show when Topaz came to talk to me to try and cheer me up, but when he left a pony made of black smoke showed itself to me, she said if I accepted "His" power, then I could do anything... But I had to get rid of my friends to receive it..." he says as he looks at Helios, "The smoke pony had really creepy green eyes... it was really unsettling... But then she vanished the moment Topaz showed up and said that I would regret not taking the power she offered..."

Helios' eyes widen and he quickly stands up as he finishes his explanation, putting all of the pieces together giving him a sense of alarm, "You said she had green eyes?"

Corona steps back in shock with a hoof raised when he sees his sudden reaction, "Y-Yes sir.... they were all green... and she tried to invade my body, but she kept getting blasted away for some reason."

Corona's final comment brings a very noticeable sign of distress as he walks up to look out a window to view the horizon, "I... need to speak with Diamond and our wives.... undisturbed."

Iron picks up on his distress and it makes him feel worried as well, knowing that if something is worrying the normally laid back king to this level, "Of course your highness," he says while making his way back to the door, along with the other guards that were standing watch in the throne room. He soon stops to look back at the two colts, "Come on you two, this is business for the kings and queens."

Corona looks at Iron and frowns a little, "I can't stay?... but I'm a prince," he says with a frown, feeling like he should be listening into these royal meetings too.

Helios makes his way over to Corona and gently pets his head, "One day you when you are older you will be able to, but... this is not something that young ears are to be exposed to, even though you are a prince..."

Corona looks up at him with a look of frustration but he then takes a deep breath and sighs, feeling he has no say in the matter, "Yes sir..."

Helios notices his frustration and kneels down next to him, "Corona you will be a part of these matters when you've grown up a little... don't take it as an attack against you..."

"Right... I understand..." Corona says in a gloom tone as he leaves with Topaz and Iron shield.

Helios sighs and stands back up to cast a spell to summon his fellow royals, "I hope it's not who I think it is..."

*****

The smoke pony forms into the shape of a grey mare with a black mane and tail and green eyes, a group of ponies grinning at her in a sinister way.

"I see you didn't bring back our King's prize~ You're dead meat Felicity~" one of the stallions says with a big grin.

Felicity grits her teeth and growls back at him, "Shut up Lance! He will understand!" she turns away from him with a scoff and walks away from him, flicking her tail as she does, feeling nervous about her meeting with her King. After walking through their camp she soon sees the tattered black crystal throne and gulps as she slowly makes her way up the steps, her eyes soon focusing on the large figure sitting on the throne, accompanied by the smaller figures of many mares laying at his throne, showing off their beauty as they lay at their ruler's throne, each giving the feeling to that of a siren, like they could slowly eat away at your soul if they got their hooves on you. She then focuses on the green flaming eyes of her king as she bows down before him, "I am back my king.... I-I didn't retrieve the subject like you asked but..."

"Silence," his deep voice says in a calm but commanding tone, instantly bringing a stop to her words. She looks down at the ground as a show of submission and respect. "I...I tried my best I swear I did..."

"You failed to bring me the prince of my sworn enemy, and you have the audacity to show your face in front of me," he says as he glares down at her, green flames slowly flowing from his eyes.

"My deepest apologies your highness... I meant no disrespect!... but when I tried to take his body by force I was repelled from his body each time I tried to touch him!"

He cackles evilly and they send shivers of fear through her spine. "So pure magic runs through his veins... That's very interesting," he says as he slowly stands up, "So the son of King Diamond possesses the very opposite of dark magic, it's no wonder you weren't able to corrupt him."

"W-Why is that my lord?..." she says with her face still looking down at the ground.

"It's quite simple really, magic at it's purest form isn't able to be corrupted, just like dark magic isn't able to be purified easily, by planting the right seeds you can corrupt anything over longer periods of time. However this would be a waste of my valuable time, fortunately for me I have been notified by my scouts that there is a much better subject for me to invest in."

"S-So you aren't mad at me sire?..." she says in a shaking voice.

"I don't allow myself to be governed by such emotions, however," he looks down at her, "Not only have you failed me, but you also allowed the colt to live, which means now the royal four now know of my existence. So now we will be forced to make our move far earlier than was planned," he says as he makes his way down towards her, black shadows surrounding his body with red eyes glaring at her from the shadows. "And the worst of it is.... This could have easily been avoided had you simply taken him with your physical form, or killed the prince before he could run away, he is only a foal after all."

Felicity feels the area around her starting to get hotter as she looks down at her hooves she sees the ground in front of her starting to open up with flames, when she sees this her eyes widen in fear and she quickly stands up, "N-No your highness please! I will not fail you again! I-I-I will do triple the work of your other subjects and more!" she says in a panicking tone as the opening grows bigger, the growls of hell hounds filling her ears as they slowly move their heads out from the opening. their bodies glowing with fire and teeth caked with dried blood as lava like saliva falls from their burning mouths, four of them staring at her with predatory eyes as they are hungry for flesh. Felicity's eyes are filled with the flames of the beasts and she screams as she quickly starts to run in the opposite direction to flea her predators. But before she can get far she feels the burning teeth of a hound clamp down on her leg, sinking it's razor teeth deep into her leg and coating it with the burning flames making her scream in agony as she looks back with tearful eyes at her king, only to be met with eyes showing no remorse as he glares at her. He soon falls out of her vision as the mouth of a hound goes for her face. The siren mares and king watch as the hounds swarm her and devour her body as if they haven't eaten in months, recklessly trying to tear away their own piece of the helpless pony to satiate the lust for flesh that will never be quenched. The cries of agony soon coming to an end as they drag their meal down into the burning portal of Tartarus that they were summoned through, the dark clouded skies being the last thing she sees as the hole slowly closes back up, the king she devoted her life to looking down at her with no remorse as he sees packs of wolves slowly approaching her as the portal finally closes.

He lifts his head and looks around at the the subjects that just witnessed the brutal horror, "Let this be a lesson to all of you, failure will be met with swift and eternal punishment," he says as he returns to his throne. The subjects he addressed all bowing in fear as they don't want to be put in the same situation she was, all shouting in unison, "ALL HAIL KING HADEON!"

He looks down at his followers with satisfaction from their response to him, "Prepare for battle, it's time for us to bring down the tyrants that took away what rightfully belongs to me," he says as a grin forms on his maw, "We will be feasting on the magic of the glutenous equines for generations."

Author's Note

Finally got this out, again I apologize for the long wait for this chapter but to make up for it I will try to get out chapter 12 by Saturday this week! :) Anyway's I hope you enjoyed this chapter and stay tuned for the next one! Let me know what you think about it! I'm hoping that this was a good change of pace! I'm looking forward to where it goes from here for our heroes! Thanks for the read and stay safe everyone! :pinkiehappy:

Chapter 12: A dark horizon

"I'm looking forward to going home soon... I miss my wife and daughter," a knight says as he stands at his post with another soldier.

"I know what you mean... I miss my marefriend as well, she was always the best part of my day," he replies as he thinks about her, feeling light as a cloud when he night dreams about the love of his life.

The sudden reaction from him makes the first guard laugh and punch him in the shoulder, causing him to yelp in pain, "Oww what the hay! what was that for!" he yells with a glare as he rubs his shoulder.

"You need to stop being such a colt and just marry the mare! You've already kept her waiting long enough! Stallion up and put a ring on her horn!" he proclaims with a sly grin, clearly knowing that is one of his easy buttons to push. He blushes profusely and stands up defensively, "I-It's just not the right time! I want it all to be perfect!... Like take her to see the Northern lights!."

"Oh please, I already know what's going to happen, you're going to take one look at her under the lights and your going to be so enamored with her you're going to turn into a drooling mess and faint like a drama queen," he says as he faints to show him exactly what he would look like, "Oh you're the most beautiful mare in Equestria! However could I possibly confess my love in a way that is worthy of you!" he says as he brings his hoof up to his head in a dramatic fashion, "Oh wow is me!"

His friend's face turns completely red as he slugs him back making him yelp as well, "Shut up! I-It's not my fault she's so gorgeous!"

The stallion on the ground chuckles after rubbing his shoulder a little before returning to his hooves, "I know I know, it was hard for me too when I was trying to work up the courage to propose to my wife... but I'll tell you one thing..." he looks out to the desert horizon on the other side of the river, "There's nothing better than seeing the tears of joy in the eyes of the mare you adore... and when she jumps into your arms. That is a memory I will treasure for eternity," he says with a hearty chuckle as he feels himself getting emotional.

"Well... when you say it like that... maybe now I will have the courage to do it the next time I see her," he states with a gentle voice as he walks up to the edge of their watchtower. He looks over at his friend with a warm smile but then he looks confused when he sees him staring off. Curiously he looks in the same direction as well and soon finds what he is staring at, a small flame in the distance on the now resting sands. "What is that?..." he asks with a tilt of his head.

"I'm not sure what it is but it looks like a normal..." he quickly stops his words as he sees multiple flames starting to appear in a long row, once the row is finished several rows of small flames start to appear behind it in organized columns. "It's almost like it's a...." his eyes widen in shock as he puts the pieces it all together, seeing the flames shoot up into the sky he quickly runs to the other side of the watchtower, "EVERYPONY TAKE COVER!!!!" he screams at the top of his lungs. His warning causes the soldiers that are up to look up at him in surprise, then seeing the flames in the sky they quickly jump for the nearest cover as a rain of flaming arrows falls from the sky and onto the unknowing camp, setting ablaze to many of the tents and striking the soldiers that weren't lucky enough to find shelter from the sudden attack, causing them to fall from the arrows pierced through their vulnerable bodies. Ponies start to scream in agony with others running out of their tents to quickly grab their weapons and shields.

The unicorn in the watchtower looks at the pegasus with a serious look, "Go get General Typhoon now before she is struck!" he says as him along with multiple other unicorns cast a spell to put up a large temporary barrier wall in front of the wood wall of the camp, pegasi rushing to the river to bring back water to put out the fires, running the risk of being hit by arrows when they are not protected by the barrier, some falling down to the ground like a bird shot out of the sky.

The pegasus flies swiftly as adrenaline pours through his veins, dodging arrows as he soon gets to Typhoon's tent, opening it quickly, only to see that she already has her battle armor on and shield, "General Typhoon ma'am! The camp is being attacked by arrow barrages! Our pegasi are doing their best to put out the fires and the unicorns are keeping up a barrier as long as they can. But we've suffered major casualties from the initial barrage," he says in a quick and composed voice, the last statement making him look down at the ground a little.

"Thank you for the report, have the ponies that haven't been struck down setup our counter attack force, and have a few unicorns create a shield for the medical corps to tend to the ones that survived their wounds!" she orders firmly as she puts on her helmet and runs outside, seeing all of the flames that are being put out. Seeing another wave of arrows coming down once again she holds up her shield and many other soldiers follow her lead as they create a shell with their shields, protecting those that don't have a shield and those that can't stand.

Once the barrage ends Typhoon lowers her shield, "Archers to the wall! we must return fire before they gain too big of a number advantage!" she says as she runs to the wall. "Their arrows are breaking through the barrier!" she yells as she flies up to the watchtower and sees that multiple battalions of zebra warriors have made their way to the water and have begun to swim across, seeing the opportunity she orders a row of archers on the wall to fire down on the crossing soldiers, now taking their turn to rain hell on their enemies. As soldiers are struck the blood from their bodies stains the water a dark red as it runs downstream, the archers looking with discomfort as they see what they are forced to do to protect their home, knowing that even though they are zebras that have attacked them many times in the past, they are still living equines like them, many finding difficulty in trying to justify it to themselves with any reason they can possibly think of that makes this act the slightest big morally justified, the soldiers having no way to defend themselves as they choke and drown on the water.

Seeing the internal conflict in her troops Typhoon turns to face their attackers, "Stand strong everypony! DO NOT FORGET THEY ATTACKED US FIRST AND KILLED OUR OWN! WE CAN NOT LET THEM INTO EQUESTRIA!" she commands with a booming voice. She pulls her sword out and lifts it to the sky, "LET YOUR NEED TO PROTECT YOUR OWN DRIVE YOU!" she looks down at the troops that have arrived on the ground on their side of the river and she soon jumps down and points her sword towards the wall of zebra warriors. The doors of the wall open up and her soldiers rush to stand with their general, seeing them at her side she lifts her sword up to the sky once more and then glares at the charging forces and points her sword at them and they all let out a warrior's roar, all together making it sound like one loud roar as they charge towards the zebra attackers, ponies with large shields leading the charge as the clash of metal rings across the river.

*****

A sense of dread falls has befallen the four ponies that bear the crowns of their respective countries, the news of Hadeon's possible return making their hearts sink like stones in a pond. Harmony quietly makes her way to the balcony, the news distressing her the most as she is in no condition to put up a fight because of her pregnancy. "N-No... this can not be... we banished behind the gates of Tartarus! He couldn't have possibly escaped his imprisonment this early! We should have had far longer to improve our magic so that we could permanently be rid of his ruthless reign!" she says with haste and worry, something that is not often seen in the queen that many subjects consider to be the wisest and most composed of the four.

"If it is even a possibility that he has returned then we must act with haste if we are to avoid another calamitous loss of life" Diamond says firmly and stands next to his wife to put a reassuring hoof on her shoulder, feeling this Harmony moves her head to his neck for comfort from the distressing news.

Helios nods slowly in agreement, "It will take all four of us to defeat him as it was last time, but we can't face him head on yet until Harmony's pregnancy is over..." he says looking at her with a sad look, knowing that the pressure of their position as well as her having at least two more months before she gives birth to their last heir and their worst fear decides to show it's evil eyes.

"If we can't face him now.... we need to ensure the safety of as many of our subjects as we possibly can..." Virgo states while standing next to Harmony to comfort her as well. She looks over at Diamond and she notices that her comment has brought a stressed look on Diamond as he looks down at the city. "Are... you ok Diamond?"

Diamond lowers his hoof as he watches ponies going about their day's peacefully on the streets of Canterlot, not knowing of the looming threat that they could be pacing. Diamond feels his heart aching as he takes a big breath and let it out, feeling a little sick at the thought that crossed his mind thanks to her comment. After a few long moments Harmony and Helios soon look at him when they pick up on his distress. Once Diamond feels the strength to say what is on his mind he looks at them, "The Crystal Empire won't be able to support every Crystal pony and Equestrian..."

Diamond's words sinks into their spirits like daggers and they all look down at Canterlot, feeling the same growing sickness in them that he had. Upon this realization Harmony feels weakness in her legs and sits back on her flank as her breathing gets more labored, the stress being far greater thanks to her vulnerability. Virgo opens her mouth to say something but soon silences herself as she cant feel words coming to her and remains silent with the others as she copes with their situation.

"T-There's no way to save all of our subjects?..." Virgo says with desperation, hoping there is some kind of solution no matter how hard it may be to do.

"If it were only a short time then we would have the stockpiles of food needed to feed everypony... but if this really is Hadeon we are facing then this could last for decades... if we are to save as many lives as we can and keep them healthy... we will have to... decide who will be left behind..." Diamond states with a heavy heart, his voice noticeably shaken as the well being of his subjects is just as important to him. "But... how can we possibly announce this without arousing chaos in the streets of Canterlot and our other settlements..."

"We can only do our best to say what must be done in a calm manner... But our very first priority is to ensure the safety of the next generation of both Crystals and Equestrians... We must approach this carefully, we must not reverse the work we've put in by causing animosity between our subjects," Helios adds and he looks at Virgo and Harmony, "The first choices of who stay in the Crystal Empire must be the foals and their mothers.... as well as pregnant mares."

Virgo looks back at him and feels a little guilty that mares are being prioritized over stallions, but know's that in the grand scheme of their entire species being threatened by the presence of their sworn enemy, they are more essential for their survival. "I see where you are coming from with this darling... but what about our stallions and mares without foal?"

"It's hard for me to say... but our strongest must stay behind to fight while our foals and mares leave for the safety of our home, however if there are any mares or stallions that are selected to go but want to stay and fight then their spot can be taken by another pony," Diamond says while trying to calm himself, but still has a noticeably disturbed voice. "We can try to increase the ponies that we can take in by increasing our food production, but if we do this for too long it will cause a famine that will destroy our land and starve both Equestrians and Crystals."

Diamond raises his head and looks at Helios, "There is another option." His comment draws Helios' attention towards him as he listens, "What might this be Diamond?"

"If we've learned anything from his last attempt to dethrone and kill us as well as our subjects that didn't submit to him, it's that he only cares about spreading his influence and having the whole world under his hooves, but most of all he wants to see us suffer. The last time he attacked we weren't prepared for it, however now that we know he has somehow made it back into this world we can take the fight to him," he states with a firm voice and a furrowed brow, showing his confidence in the idea.

"That is a very sizable risk Diamond... if we end up losing the battle against him then we will have spent all of those resources we have so little of for nothing..." Helios says with concern, Diamond's statement also causing Virgo and Harmony to look at him in surprise.

"It took everything we had to push him into Tartarus last time Diamond! What possibly makes you think we could do it again with the condition that Harmony is in!" Virgo yells in protest as the idea seems absolutely asinine to her.

Diamond looks back at her with unwavering convictions, "You forget what we have now, we have the brilliant military leadership of General Typhoon as well as Captain Iron Shield, and while we did have Starswirl the last time he showed his face, the magical ability he has developed eclipses that of his ability when we were all yearlings, non to mention he has taught many strong and talented mages in his time. The difference between then and now is our subjects are far stronger in ability and will, if we can endure the harsh winter and still remain strong together than we can stand our ground against this tyrant!" he proclaims with his strong and confident voice, them not being able to deny that it motivated them a little. He soon calms himself a bit and walks up to stand in front of them, "I understand your concerns... but we simply can't afford to have our hopes as well as the ponies that look at us for leadership slashed again. We need to make our subjects believe that we can make win and triumph over the great evil on the horizon! This will be the final step we need to take to unite our lands for good!"

His words are met with silence from the other three for some time, but after a few moments Harmony finds the strength to finally stand up and she looks at Diamond with a smile, "I think that is the best course of action, with all that our ponies have accomplished and endured, there is no way they would possibly let a ruthless tyrant take away all that they love and worked hard for. And our foals will be able to inherit that great future and lead everypony through it." She looks over at Virgo and they gaze at each other and she soon returns her smile and she hugs her friend.

"I agree... this fight will be hard, but if we can make everypony believe they can win then we will," Virgo says with a voice of more confidence than before.

Helios cant help but grin when he sees them all having such high hopes, but before he can join them a pegasus soon lands on the balcony with an exhausted look as he breaths heavily while bowing for respect, "Your highness..." he says between breaths.

Helios looks down at him with a confused look and he motions for him to rise, "What is with this urgency?" he asks with a need for answers, a little nervous that it is bad news.

"My king... The southern border is being attacked by zebra forces!" he says with a slight tinge of desperation in his voice, his body shaking in exhaustion from his long journey while he continues to breath heavily.

Helios has an alarmed look on his face and he looks at his friends, "We must act now if we are to put this plan into fruition." Turning back to the scout he puts a hoof on his shoulder, "When you are done resting yourself you are to fly back when you feel you have the strength to do so, tell General Typhoon that her orders are to retreat back to the great gorge, that will be a much easier vantage point to hold and it is closer to the capital, as she is retreating her troops are to evacuate the ponies living in our west coast settlements back to Canterlot, our first goal is to get those that can not fight to the crystal empire, which will be our last stronghold in case this war does not turn out in our favor.

"W-War sire?..." he says in confusion as he looks up at him, not knowing what he is talking about.

"Yes my son.... we are facing a great threat that we must face head on, and if the zebra's are in cahoots with Hadeon, then we need to strengthen our forces as fast as we can," he states to the scout and he soon leaves with his other royals, leaving the scout to get his rest before his time to return back to Typhoon's forces.

*****

An hour has passed and the royal four have gathered at the steps of the castle to address their subjects that have gathered in the courtyard, once they've all quieted down Diamond steps ahead and he looks down at them, "A great threat from our past has returned and is looming on the horizon. An old enemy that we thought we faced in the past has undoubtedly returned and has likely raised an army of darkness to forever corrupt this land that we call home."

The statement brings many a gasp out of the crowd as they hear the distressing news, seeing this distress Harmony steps up and nods slowly, raising her hoof to have silence. "This news was distressing for me as well... It seems like we only just left hard times behind us, but I say this with complete confidence that we can face this threat and win."

"How could we possibly win a war when we are still building up the strength of our country and families!" a pony yells in the crowd, many ponies concurring with the remark.

Helios raises his hoof and stands up front with them and Virgo does the same, but walks down the steps and up towards the crowd, "You already possess strength beyond what you think you have, we've endured hard times before and this will be no different." He looks down at a stallion that looks unsure and he puts a hoof on his shoulder, seeing he has a foal standing under him. "We together have grown stronger by the year and not only that, we all have something worth fighting for. I have watched as my wife has brought upon me two beautiful princesses that I will love and fight for until it is my time to pass on to the next world." The little colt looks up at the soft speaking king from under his father's hoof and he smiles a little with big eyes. Helios returns the smile and he soon finds his own wife standing next to him, "Whether it be on the strong back of a hard working stallion, or the miracle of life that mares bring into the world, if there is anything that we know for sure as your leaders," he stops so Virgo can finish for him.

"Is that we know that no matter how hard and hopeless we feel in the future of our lands, we always know that we have a strong foundation that shines brighter than the sun," she says with a warm tone that rings in the ears of all that are present, especially in the eyes of mares and fillies when they see their beautiful Queen that they look up to has faith in them. "As my mother once told me, you can steal all earthly possessions a pony has, but you can never procure them of their faith, and if they hold on to their faith, they can endure anything no matter the struggle."

Harmony and Diamond soon join their friends and they stand in a line, Harmony lets her horn glow and is soon followed by the other three as they each glow brightly to give them all an image of the power they have together, Diamond soon opens his eyes and looks out at them all, "Those that have the courage to stand their ground and fight for this just cause shall forever be remembered as heroes, and it will be my honor to lead you all into battle, along with Helios. And those that are not able to fight will stay in the Crystal Empire to support the war effort, but to also be in the heaviest guarded place from the dark army we now face. Remember what you have to fight for and let that drive you, and know that they are back home waiting for the return of their hero."

Helios raises his hoof and he grins, "LET US FIGHT TOGETHER! SO THAT WE ENSURE A BRIGHT FUTURE FOR OUR KIN!"

The ponies all raise their hooves like their king and a roar is heard from them all that feels like it is shaking the very mountain itself, "FOR EQUESTRIA!" "FOR THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE!" Crystals and Equestrians shout for support of their lands, seeing that their words were successful in raising the strong moral they knew they needed brings fulfillment to them as they return back to the top step of the castle and look down back at them.

"Those who wish to join the fight will speak to the many recruiters that will be stationed at the castle walls, but for those that are unable to fight such as the pregnant, foals, or elders are to be taken to be protected in the Crystal empire, as well as those that wish to stay on the home front and support the war, we will need many on both sides," Diamond finishes and looks to Helios who nods in agreement, "We know that there will always be a level of fear from something like this but you should always know that we will be right there leading the charge with you, as well as all of our best warriors and mages."

Having concluded their speeches to their subjects they turn to leave as the Canterlot knights and Crystal royal guard ponies begin to organize the ponies and take down the names of those who will fight, messengers being sent with haste to the multiple settlements of Equestria as well as to the Crystal North to bring the news to those not in the capital city.

Having seen all of this from a castle balcony, Corona and Celestia have a look of worry with the idea of a scary war clouding their minds. Holding Luna in her arms she feels her starting to sob when Luna feels their distress. "Shhh Luna... you are safe with me," she says in a soft voice.

Corona moves a hoof to gently pet Luna's head to comfort her, knowing she finds it to be soothing, "What are we going to do..."

"I'm not sure Corona but... we need to stick together through this... hopefully this will pass over quickly and we can go back to our normal happy lives... I've been told many stories of battle by mister Iron Shield as well as our school historians..." she says in a gentle voice as she rocks Luna.

"I know what you mean... It scares me a lot because... father will expect me to become a warrior like him one day... I'm not sure whether I can do something like that..." Corona says with downed ears, feeling uncertain about the idea of fighting to kill.

Celestia slowly moves her hoof to his and gently holds it, "We need to be strong... for our little siblings," she says with a smile that tells Corona she's trying to stay positive.

"I know... and I would fight to my last breath if it was for my friends or family... it's just... a lot to take in," he says as he offers to hold Luna which Celestia accepts and gently puts her in his hooves as he lays down, Corona looks down at Luna and starts to understand what she was talking about when her little sister gives her the strength she needs to do anything, "I hope that... I will be as good an older brother as you are an older sister," Corona says gently as Luna rests soundly in his soft hooves and fur.

Celestia sees this and smiles warmly, giving Corona a gently nuzzle on his cheek which makes him blush a little, "I'm sure you will be Corona," she coos as she lays with him and rests her head on his shoulder, feeling comfort around him as she trusts him more than anypony else thanks to their close bond. "Right.... thank you Celestia," he replies and rests his head on her's as he watches the sun set on the horizon.

Author's Note

Aaaaaand done, sorry about the one day delay, but I can never know what this job will throw at me next. But I hope this was worth the wait! Let me know what you think about it as I love getting feedback on what I'm doing either right or wrong. Significantly beat my previous upload time so that's a plus!

Anyway's thanks for reading and I hope you are staying safe during these trying times with riots and Covid-19 still going around, I hope neither of these has effected you and those close to you directly. I've been fortunate enough to not be at the end of the barrel of these things.

Chapter 13 will be out by Friday or Saturday hopefully, I want to keep this upload schedule up so I can get more of my story out to you guys :). Sleep dreams everyone and stay healthy! :twilightsmile:

Chapter 13: Unlikely Allies

Word of war have been spread to the far corners of Equestria and the royal decree for all civilians to immediately leave for Canterlot so that it can be decided who will be leaving for the Crystal Empire and those who would be staying to fight for their home. Ponies from all corners of Equestria reluctantly leave the comforts of the homes that they've grown so accustomed, having no reason to worry thanks to the relatively peacefully lives that they are privileged to have thanks to the natural protection that Equestria's valleys have with mountains to the south being especially important for protection from the lands beyond. Despite the ambush from enemy zebra forces in the south, with strong leadership under general Typhoon the southern army managed to avoid heavy casualties and retreated to set up stronger defensive positions at a narrow pass between a mountain range and the great gorge, providing the zebra soldiers a much smaller point of attack and making it far easier for the Equestrians to defend with far fewer casualties. Construction of a defensive fort along the narrow pass was completed in just over a week after the army reached their new defensive position. With the knowledge of the zebras using fire arrows the new fort has been built with stone to prevent the main wall from burning down.

With the inevitable return of the zebra soldiers that attacked their southern border fort, guards are always stationed and rotated on the walls of the stone fort to maintain a watchful eye on the pass. The mountains being too treacherous to climb and the gorge a natural hazard that an army would have no way of traversing, and from the knowledge Equestrians have on zebras they have made the conclusion that they possess no means of flight. With word from a messenger that defenses have successfully been erected at the great gorge, the royal four begin preparations for the long journey to the Crystal Empire. They have decided that Helios and Diamond would stay in Equestria to lead the Equestrian and Crystal military, while Harmony leaves for the Crystal Empire for her pregnancy, Virgo going with her as well to protect her and their foals. The presence of their Queens giving the ponies taking refuge in the Crystal homeland a feeling of hope and comfort thanks to their power and wisdom. Ponies from all corners of Equestria have started arriving in the capital city and many stallions have signed up in droves to join the military to fight. A majority of mares opted to leave for the Crystal Empire, especially those with families, or families on the way. Despite this fact there were many mares that chose to stay and fight for their land, either not having families or discussing that it would be best if their stallion left with their foal. The thought of a family splitting a part frightening them they knew that it had to be done to protect the future of their kind in case the war went poorly for the alliance. But from the wise words of their rulers or elder ponies they were assured that as long as they hold those they love close to their heart and remember that they are fighting for their safety, they would always possess the strength to prevail no matter how dark the day may seem.

With heavy hearts and teary eyes the ponies staying behind watch as their families depart for the sanctuary of the Crystal Empire, ponies taking a few more moments to hug and say goodbye to their loved ones, knowing deep down that there is a possibility that they will never see them again, bringing tears to their eyes as they look down at their foals and give them one last hug as their goodbye, keeping them from knowing the full the truth of what is going on to keep their foal's spirits high. Seeing everything from a higher level however, Corona and Celestia are burdened with the weight of the events that will transpire soon, their parents believing that as future heirs to the throne they must know the full weight of war if they are to be proper leaders in the future. Standing on a hill above the gathering mass of ponies they see all the heart broken faces of their subjects as they are separated from their family members, finding it hard to believe that they have to do something nopony should ever do. Eventually his eyes fall on his best friend Topaz running up to his father and flying up to give his neck a big hug, a look of sadness on his face as he clings to his father, his father soon returning his embrace and giving him a gentle hug back before them, exchanging a few hard but loving words before he pets him on the head as his mother picks him up onto her back. They look at each other and give each other one final kiss before they leave to join the herd as they prepare to leave. Corona feels the sadness of his friend spreading to him as he watched their last embrace, wishing he knew what they said, but at the same time not wanting to as it may make him feel worse.

Celestia looks at him and puts a hoof on his shoulder, "It's time to go Corona... we need to say goodbye too..." she says with a tone suggesting a deep sense of dread. Corona picks up on this and hugs her to try and sooth both of them before standing up and nodding slowly, "Right..." With downed expressions they make there way back to the castle courtyard and soon find themselves standing before their fathers. For a moment they don't notice that they are there but with a turn of his head Helios notices them and nudges Diamond to turn around as he does.

"It... it is time for us to go father..." Corona says with a hint of fear in his voice, the prospect of a frightening war weighing down on the young prince as he looks up to his father for comfort.

Diamond kneels down and lifts Corona's chin a little, "You must be strong Corona... you must put all of your effort into improving your magic and fighting skills my son... I know it must be hard that you haven't found your place in the world yet, but I know that if you continue persisting you will find what will make you a worthy heir to the throne we will leave you."

Corona looks up at him with uncertainty in his eyes, "I know Celestia will be but... you really think I can be?"

"Of course I do Corona, but it doesn't matter how much faith other ponies have in you, because it means nothing if you do not have faith in yourself," he says with a warm smile and kisses his head which brings a little smile from Corona as he hugs him tightly around his neck, "You will be ok right Dad?..." he asks with a very noticeable worried tone.

Diamond chuckles and pats his head gently, "Of course! You haven't seen us in action but me and Helios, along with your mothers are awesome in combat!" he says with a happy and confident grin, wanting to cheer up his son and relieve him of his worries. Seeing this Corona can't help but laugh and seeing this brings a smile to Celestia's face, seeing this side of her friend never failing to lift her mood as well.

"R-Right, I'll do my best to find my way!" he hugs his neck as tight as he can before letting him go, having a renewed faith that everything will be fine and that this war will be won, feeling his father's showing confidence for his proclamation.

Helios looks down at his precious daughter and takes a deep breath and lets it out as he hugs her, trying his best not to cry like the drama king he usually is, "You've made me the most proud father in all of Equestria... seeing you become an alicorn at such a young age... you're truly my little shining star," he said with a huge smile as tears run down his cheeks, hugging his little girl against his chest which makes her wheeze from how tight his holds on her. "D-Daaaaaaaaddy! You're going to squeeze me to death!"

Helios' ears perk up and his eyes shoot open when he notices what he's doing and he lets her go on the ground and he rubs the back of his head with a sheepish blush, "H-Heh... sorry about that." The funny show from Helios makes the other three laugh and Celestia quickly jumps up to hug his neck, "Be safe daddy, me mommy and Luna will have a lot of catching up to do with you!"

Helios nods slowly and stands up after he gets off of her, "Absolutely, you take good care of your sister now, and make sure your mother doesn't do anything crazy."

Celestia giggles at his comment and nods slowly, "Right, I'll watch over both of them!" she proclaims when she feels the responsibility he gave her.

After they say their goodbyes they both look down at their two foals, "Have a safe trip you two... and keep our subjects and yourself out of harm's way."

Corona nods to his father's words, him and Celestia both bow their heads to show respect before leaving to join their mothers to make the long trek to the Crystal Empire, knowing that the sooner they depart, the sooner they would reach safety. Trotting to the gates of Canterlot they see all of the ponies gathered on the side of the streets to see off the departing ponies, to the front of the herd is a platoon of elite royal guards due to the presence of the two Queens as well as the Prince and Princesses to lead them all to the Crystal Empire safely. When they reach the front they see the royal carriage that are being pulled by armor clad guards, Corona looking up at them in awe cause they look gigantic to him. One guard looks down at Corona and smiles, "It's time for us to depart Prince Corona and Princess Celestia, your mothers are waiting for you in the carriage."

Celestia nods slowly and grabs Corona's hoof who is still looking up at them, "Come on Corona lets go," she pulls on his hoof which takes him out of his trance as she takes him towards the carriage and they climb up the step onto the carriage after a guard opens the door for them and are soon met by their mothers who have been talking to each other, Luna is sitting in Virgo's hooves which brings a smile to Celestia's face and she quickly jumps up to join them, nuzzling her little sister which makes her happily coo at her.

Corona smiles as they have their moment and he walks over to climb up to his mother and sit down in her hooves, Harmony nuzzles him gently and hugs him to comfort him as she rests on her side. After a few minutes they feel the tug of the carriage, signalling to them that their journey has begun. Corona and Celestia trot over to the window of the carriage and see

*****

In contrast to the warm and fertile lands that make up the majority of Equestria, the land that lays south of the Palomino river are vast and barren. One looking from outside would think that not a single living thing would live in such a treacherous land, and yet the Zebras that have mounted an assault on southern Equestria have called this place home for many generations. Having heard from his scouts of the invasion, King Hadeon, along with an armored envoy that slowly marches through the cool sands under the evening sky, a small puff of cloud here or there decorating the otherwise blank night sky, a beautiful blanket of gentle blue light illuminating the shifting sands, giving the desert landscape a deceiving level of appeal.

With the Zebra army's camp in sight they are soon met with an organized line of shielded Zebra warriors, prompting Hadeon's guard to draw their weapons as well. Seeing this stalemate Hadeon rises from his throne and slowly steps down and makes his way towards the line of soldiers, seeing one that is decorated more than the others he assumes he is their commander. Hadeon raises his hoof and a wave of shadow magic cascades across the sands and pins all his troops into the ground, leaving only him standing as they make futile attempts to free themselves.

"I do not come here to bring unnecessary death, in fact I believe we have the same objective," he proclaims as he stands before the commander, his petrifying appearance making him back up a bit.

"What business could we possibly have with you materialistic ponies!" he shouts with his sword pointed at the foreigner.

Hadeon glares down at him unfazed as a dark aura envelops his horn, on queue his sword morphs into sand and crumbles in his grasp. Eyes wide he looks back up at Hadeon with a more intimidated look. Hesitantly he opens his mouth, "What is it you want?"

With this response Hadeon stops his flow of magic and the shadow like flames around his eyes disappear, "Though you ask a rhetorical question I shall answer it regardless." He looks over to the river in the distance, a natural barrier between lands, "I wish for the destruction of the Equestrian Kingdom along with the Crystal Empire of the north."

"Crystal Empire?..." the Zebra adds in confusion.

"Ah... So you only know of the Equestrians, I have information that I think you will find to be paramount to the success of this campaign," he says firmly in a tone that suggests to the zebra that they are speaking in the interests of both parties.

"As you wish... if you release my soldiers we shall escort you to our leader," he says with a calmer tone. Seeing his compliance Hadeon obliges and releases his troops from his grasp and they all quickly dig themselves out of the sands to stand up. With all of them free they lead his envoy with them over the rolling dunes along the river, with some time they come upon the sight of a ruined fort along with a hastily made bridge that crosses the river, the bodies of both Zebra and Equestrians laid out neatly as graves are prepared for them, seeing this Hadeon feels confused and turns his attention to the lead Zebra, "You are burying the Equestrian soldiers as well?"

"Yes," he replies swiftly while keeping his eyes forward, "While they may be Equestrians, they are still soldiers who fought bravely to the end and were able to put up a strong resistance," he glances over at the bodies of said soldiers and feels a sense of respect for them he never thought possible, "They held off our advances so that the majority of their forces could retreat, I didn't think Equestrians were capable of such selfless acts, but I suppose the unlikely can sometimes come to pass."

Listening to his words Hadeon shrugs his head, "They are merely pawns controlled by tyrannical ponies that have the audacity to claim they are worthy of the titles King and Queen, and the Crystal Empire is no different, they do whatever they are told by royalty without question."

Guards stationed around the camp are noticeably surprised at the sight of their comrades approaching the camp with heavily armed foreigners, upon second inspection they see that the zebra warriors aren't being held as prisoners so they do not arm themselves and let the convoy pass through, still uncertain as to the motive behind the sudden intrusion.

With haste the convoy moves through the camp as soldiers gather around them, some armored and some not as they were resting. The throne Hadeon rests on is lowered by the ponies carrying it and he slowly steps down and walks towards a war tent with the Zebra opening the flaps of the tent to enter first and he follows suit.

Inside is a single Zebra at a table with war plans spread across, the Zebra sitting behind the table looks up at his subordinate and the mysterious equine with him, "Who is this interloper that you have brought forth upon me Tendaji?" he questions firmly as he inspects Hadeon. Seeing this Zebra Hadeon can immediately conclude that he is a much more experienced warrior due to his battle scars that aren't hidden by his traditional jewelry, the most noteworthy piece being an elegant bib necklace of purple, tan, and white.

"Chief Zuberi, my troops and I were on our nightly patrol when we came upon an armored convoy led by this equine, he claims that he has a proposition that will benefit both parties in our campaign against the Equestrians," he reports swiftly and professionally.

"I see, and what do you call yourself?" he questions as he looks up at the dark pony, standing up to meet him eye to eye, being surprisingly large for a zebra, Hadeon being only about four hands taller than the chief.

"I am King Hadeon, leader of my army of shadow, but to show respect towards another leader you may refer to me as Hadeon," he states as he looks back at Tendaji, "I would like to speak with your chief in private if that is acceptable."

Tendaji turns his attention to Zuberi for his word and is met with a nod from his chief, with his confirmation he crosses his hoof over his chest and bows his head before leaving the two monarchs to speak alone.

With the flaps closed Zuberi moves back to his chair and sits down, "Have a seat Hadeon," he motions to a chair on the other side of his war table. Hadeon makes his way to it and sits down and meets the glare he is giving him with his own, knowing that he is trying to display control over him, just as Hadeon is doing the same to him.

"What is it you've come to me for during our crusade against Equestria Hadeon? Considering you come with force I believe it is safe to assume that you do not intend on leaving here empty hoofed," Zuberi states to break the long silence between them, resting his hooves on his chair.

Hadeon can't help but smile when he puts it all together so easily, "You are sharp Zuberi, hopefully you will be equally so with my proposition." Hadeon's horn glows black and the top of the table glows as a map of Equestria forms on it, Zuberi looks at it in surprise, never seeing a map of the entire country despite many attempts of espionage to acquire maps of the country for logistical purposes, now seeing a full map of the lands Equestrians control he feels shocked at the vastness of their territory. "As a former Equestrian I possess information that you would be foolish to pass up on, from their leaders to their societal structure, and I have a strategy that would bring down there entire empire, and the rich and vibrant lands of Equestria would then belong to us," he voices with confidence.

Zuberi sits back in his chair, still overwhelmed at the scale of Equestria, being at least three times the size of their own territory, "I don't think we have the numbers to occupy all of that territory..."

"That is why I come to you," Hadeon says with a confident grin on his maw, "Devote your armies to me and victory shall be your's." He shows an image of Zebra and his own soldiers marching on the ruined city of Canterlot. Indulging in his confidence for a few moments he soon feeds himself a dose of reality and shows the Crystal Empire north of Equestria on his map, "But this will be fruitless if we aren't able to dismantle their impeccable alliance with the Crystal ponies, because when they stand united even my armies would not be victorious."

Zuberi cringes at the idea and stands up from his chair, "You want me to devote myself and my soldiers to you? How could I possibly know that you are to be trusted? You do not come across as someone who has the well being of other's in your heart, I sense only darkness and hatred in your soul."

Hadeon scoffs at his remark and bites down on his lip to prevent himself from attacking in anger. With a deep breath he lets it out and cackles evilly, "Make no mistake Zuberi, I do not care for the well being of you or your filthy kind, I wouldn't so much as blink if I were to order my followers to slaughter all of your kind, but I hate the Equestrians more than I hate outsiders, and because of that I am willing to push past my pride and seek the aid of you Zebra. And if you are to deny me this then you will fail in taking over the land you need to grow your numbers."

Zuberi's brow raises in surprise, "How do you know about that?" he says with a threatening glare.

"It is hard for me to not notice your desperation for more land, what else would you possibly desire enough to sacrifice the lives of the soldiers you call "Precious," he snaps with a sarcastic tone.

Zuberi slams his hoof on the table and grits his teeth as his anger rises, wanting nothing more than to drive a sword through his chest, after careful consideration however he moves his hoof back down and he takes deep breaths to calm himself, "If this will make our campaign successful then I guess I have no choice."

Getting what he wants, Hadeon chuckles with hubris but is quickly cut off by the chief standing in front of him and glaring at him face to face, catching even him off guard with the sudden bold move, his head close enough to feel his breath on his nose, Zuberi having not a single glimmer of fear in his eyes, something Hadeon never thought he would see outside of the royal four.

With his unwavering glare and his chin quivering in a heated anger he slowly opens his mouth, "Let's get one thing clear Hadeon, you do not lead my zebra in ANY regards, I will take your suggestions and do with them as I see fit, with that being said I will order them to fight alongside your soldiers, so long as you remember what we want out of this conflict."

Hadeon backs up a step with a creeping feeling of nervousness, something about Zuberi making even him intimidated, making him angrier when his pride is struck in such an insulting way. With his anger at a plateau he sucks on his teeth a little before putting on a noticeably disgruntled smile, "Of course... you want the more bountiful lands that Equestria possesses so that you can you can grow the population of your filthy kind."

His extremely offensive comment against his kind makes the veins in his forehead bulk out, "I suggest you leave now before we create a scene in front of our soldiers, I will ignore your absurdly offensive bluster for now in the effort of destroying the Equestrian forces."

Hadeon trots to the exit of the tent and looks back at him with an evil grin, "I look forward to working with you Zebra," he cackles before leaving the tent to leave him in a heated silence.

Outside of the tent Hadeon sees his second in command and he bows his head, "We are ready for your orders your highness."

"It is time for me to depart Andras, the Zebra chief has pledged an alliance with us and I have put you in charge of those I leave with you," Hadeon proclaims audibly enough for the rest of his soldiers to hear him. The news bringing questionable feelings among the spectating Zebras, not sure whether the news will be good or bad. With his announcement finished his throne is lifted off the ground, Andras orders a formation of his soldiers that salute their king, and as his throne passes him Andras shouts, "I will not fail you sir!" he proclaims with an unsettling tone, making Hadeon smirk and nod slowly, "Let's hope so, for your sake."

Andras grins evilly and trots towards Zuberi's tent and opens the flap and looks at Zuberi with an unsettling look, his eyes twitching as he stands at the table, speaking with the tone of someone lacking any sanity, "Hello there Zuberi," he stares in his eyes with a big grin on his face, his curved and uncomfortable looking posture being the exact opposite of Hadeon's poised and royal posture. His presence giving Zuberi a creepy chill up his spine, his voice breaking as he speaks.

"I am the one in charge in Hadeon's place," he says with a twitch of his eyes, "Consider me your equal when not in the presence of my king," he says as he walks up next to him and moves his head uncomfortably close to, Zuberi instinctively moving his head away and giving him a look of disbelief, "You?...."

"Absolutely," *twitch* "My king has trusted me with leading our troops here," *twitch*.

"Of course..." he takes a big step to the side of the table to get a little distance from him, "If that is the case... Andras, my Zebra forces have pushed the Equestrians back into their territory, based on the map that Hadeon showed me, we have pushed them all the way back to a large unpassable gorge, but we haven't come into contact with any civilians."

"Ah" *twitch* "That suggests to me that they have evacuated them to the capital city," he says as he pulls out a paper map of Equestria, "The city of Canterlot is a brilliant," *twitch* "feat of engineering, it is also the home of the royal family and their," *twitch* "school of magic, where they create their brightest magic wielders."

"I see... so it would be a bloody effort for us to even attempt to capture the city..." Zuberi looks at the map and sees the drawing of the city and how it is perched on a mountain in the center of the land. "If it is on a mountain... maybe we can put the city under siege and siphon their source of supplies, being on a mountain they would have no way of coming down without meeting our forces."

Andras cackles and his body shakes maniacally, "I like how you think Zuberi!" *twitch* "There is only one problem," he puts his hoof on the map and points to a large cloud with buildings made of cloud on it.

Zuberi looks at it and feels confused at the sight, "I wasn't sure what that is..."

"That is what you could call the capital city of the pegasi," *twitch* "Pegastopolis, the floating city." Zuberi's brow rises in surprise as Andras grins at him with shrunken pupils, "The pegasi can stand on clouds, and thus made a whole," *twitch* "City out of cloud, so despite the mountain position of Canterlot the pegasi can simply fly supplies into Canterlot in mass from Pegastopolis," he says while scratching the back of his head in a seemingly habitual way, "Of course you Zebra are useless against a flying force, but fortunately we have soldiers that can also fly. But even so," *twitch* "The city can move wherever it pleases, so there is no set location for Pegastopolis. The only thing that comes to mind is we can lower the," *twitch* "amount of supplies Canterlot receives by shooting down their pegasi, but their commander is a strong leader and would quickly find a counter measure..."

Zuberi takes note to what he says and is rather surprised that he is capable of thinking to such depths, turning his attention back to the map, "I think we should take action and make a decision based on their reaction... Of course we won't make a full on assualt, but we need to base our countermeasure on their defense."

"I'm glad you mentioned that," *twitch* "Because I believe we have a golden opportunity to strike down one of their heads," he says with a grin from ear to ear.

"What may that be Andras, it must be promising if you claim it can take a key pawn from them."

"We believe that the civilians and weak are being," *twitch* "evacuated to the Crystal Empire, because our army can not enter their territory without perishing to the relic that protects their land, and because of that we don't know anything about the Crystal Empire. But I do know that the Queen of the Crystal empire as," *twitch* 'well as the Equestrian Queen will be making the journey with them, the Queen's along with their husbands are the most powerful ponies in the land by a significant margin, but Queen Harmony of the crystals is weak right now... for she is with foal," he says with an evil grin.

"You want us to kill a pregnant mare?" he asks as if he is speaking blasphemy, "I'm sure not even an Equestrian would do such a thing to one of our own mares," he shouts defensively.

"Maybe so, but wouldn't one despicable act be justified if it saved the lives of your own people?" *twitch*

Zuberi opens his mouth to make a rebuttal but before he can think of something he walks over to the tent wall and opens it to look out at his fellow zebra, many sharing drinks and enjoying the brief peaceful time before they inevitably go back to the front lines. Knowing as chief he should always put his kind first, he takes a deep breath and sighs, "Ok... I will put my pride away if it means this war will conclude faster..."

Andras stands next to him and pats his shoulder, "Good, then we must assemble a small group of our most powerful warriors... and it must be small to get past the front lines undetected..." Andras slips a knife out of it's sheath with magic and spins it, looking at the pass between foal mountain and Canterlot mountain. "Regardless..." *twitch* he brings his knife up and stabs it down on foal mountain pass, "Queen Harmony dies here."

Author's Note

Hello everyone, I'm sorry about the long wait, June was a very rough month what with being laid off and not being able to find a job thanks to the current job market where I live. But it's been hard to remain motivated to keep writing with all of this stuff on my mind. In other news I will be joining the Army in the next couple months, so hopefully that will be able to put my life on the right track to something positive, instead of being constantly knocked back down into depression. It's something I wouldn't wish upon my worst enemies, but I think with the Army being my new goal I should feel more motivated to write the story I love. I'll do my best to get back to a normal upload schedule.

Thanks for tuning in after the long wait and I hope that it was a good read, I hope you all are doing well and continue to stay safe through this continuing pandemic. Let me know what you think and I'll get out with chapter 14 sometime soon. :twilightsmile: (hopefully)

Chapter 14: A Tragic Miracle

"This reminds me of our journey to Canterlot before Corona was born," Harmony says as she closes the curtain of their carriage, masking her nervousness about the journey to the Crystal Empire, "One day we will make this road safer."

"Yes, that would be a wonderful project to show unification once this conflict is over," Virgo replies in a calm tone, knowing that Luna is asleep next to her and can feel her friend's nervous tone, despite her efforts to hide it. "Though this will be a rather large set back when it comes to that goal... I just can't believe that he decided to show himself again after so long..."

"I was hoping we would never see him again after we defeated him, but he just doesn't give up... I guess that's one thing he retained before turning to dark magic, I just wish I knew what he wants out of all this," Harmony replies.

"Whatever it is it must be big for him to want to cause all of this chaos in the world... At least I would like to think he has some grandiose goal and not just doing it.... to do it."

Harmony looks over her shoulder at the window of the carriage, drifting off into thought as she thinks about him in the past. "We failed him Virgo..."

Virgo moves her hoof to her neck and pulls her into a hug, "I know you feel that way Harmony but... he made his own choices, you must not blame yourself for his self damnation," she coos in a soft tone to try and comfort her friend, "He brought this upon himself, and it is our duty to prevent him from taking over our home and using it for his twisted purposes."

"The amount of damage he did the last time he returned... there's no doubt he's become far stronger than he was then, I'm not sure if we have the strength to fend him off this time, especially now..." she says with uncertainty. Having an uneasy chill run up her spine she pulls open the curtain to relieve herself by looking out at the peaceful mountain tops and valleys that lie below them, resting her head on the edge of the window.

Silence fills the carriage for a few long moments, but looking to change the subject Virgo's ears perk up when she realizes that the carriage has a distinct lack of two foals in it, "Hey where did the little ones go?"

*****

"Hahaha! I am an enemy soldier and you Equines are no match for me!" Topaz shouts as he holds his small shield in front of him, grinning confidently as Celestia and Corona stand ready to attack in front of him.

Celestia grins with equal confidence and her horn glows, "Oh yeah! we haven't even broken a sweat yet! it's two against one and we are stronger than you!" she shouts back as she shoots a harmless beam of light at Topaz, which he promptly blocks with his shield. With his vision blocked by his shield Corona runs forward into him and pushes him back with a toy sword, striking his shield repeatedly but in a playful manner, "Yeah she's right! you're no match for us interloper! Chaaaarge!" he shouts as a bunch of other foals they are playing with charge at him.

Topaz laughs and foals on his side jump out of hiding and he runs forward, "Chaaarge!" he orders as he runs with his friends as the foals jump on each other and playfully fight with one another, some having wooden toy swords and some playing with sticks, jumping over the varying elevated rocks as the traveling ponies reach the more treacherous part of the pass, to one side being canterlot mountain and opposite of that a steep drop to the river below. With this Iron Shield shuffles out to the side of the herd, "Alright little ones, time to go back to your parent, we're coming to the dangerous part of the trip and we want you to be safe," he calls out to the foals, prompting a few "Awwws" but all oblige the adult ponies reluctantly. The foals soon make their way towards the herd with their parents, but before they can rest from the exertion of their mock army play, the peaceful scenery is soon rudely interrupted by the loud falling of rock, Virgo's ears perk up at the sound of screaming from a few ponies in the herd and swiftly turns her attention towards the mountain face above them. Gasping in surprise she channels magic to her horn to cast a protection spell over the herd, but Iron Shield's magic soon creates a shield above them before she even casts her spell. The rubble collides with the shield and flows over them and down into the mountain pass below, seeing that they were kept safe ponies cheer for the knight's captain.

"Quick thinking Iron Shield," Virgo says with a satisfied smile. Iron smiles bashfully and bows his head, "Thank you your highness," he lifts his head and notices that his queen has a look of suspicion on her face as she looks down at the rocks falling to the river below, noticing that they are not the same rocks that can be found on this mountain.

"Your highness I think it is just a rock fall, if we stay remain stagnant for a minute or two we should be fine" he says in an effort to comfort her, knowing she is worried sick about the well being of the herd and her daughters. Hearing his words she moves her head back up and diverts her attention back to the road ahead, "I'm sure you're right, give the order for everypony to stop," she orders as she regally trots to the carriage to check on her friend and daughters. Using magic she opens the door and is met with the sight of Harmony resting on her side, holding Luna in her hooves as she curiously plays with her fur, seeing this she can't help but have a big grin on her face. "How are you in here Harmony?"

"I should be asking what's going on outside, what was all that noise Virgo?" she says with concern as she floats Luna towards Virgo for her to take, knowing she will want to be with her mother.

"It was a rock slide, Iron Shield has put up a protection barrier, we should be moving again once the rocks stop-" her words are cut off by another set of screams which causes her to look back at the herd, behind which she sees a wall of black metal armor marching towards them, and then on top of that she hears the sound of a massive boulder cascading down towards them and the herd, without thinking Virgo clings Luna close to her chest and quickly runs to Iron Shield to add her magic to his shield, and does so just in time as the boulder collides with the barrier, causing both of them to grit their teeth from the stress it puts on their magic stream. Just when she feels they have been granted a reprieve another boulder comes falling down the pass, causing her to be split on what to do. She quickly turns her head to Iron shield and gives him some of her magic to strengthen him.

"Stand strong Iron Shield!" Virgo yells to him as she runs towards her knights at the front line. Iron watches her with worry as he feels he can't keep the barrier up by himself, but when he feels his queen's magic coursing through his body he looks back up at the boulder and lets out a mighty roar, his body shining with magic as he multiplies the strength of the shield, shattering it with ease which catches even him off guard, not expecting even her magic to make such a task that effortless.

"EVERYPONY MAKE HASTE TO THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE! WE WILL HOLD OFF HADEON'S TROOPS WHERE WE STAND!" Virgo booms to the herd gaining their attention. The knights create a shield wall and Starswirl's mages gather behind the knights with Virgo and begin to charge their magic for a retaliation barrage.

With his mages given their orders and in position Starswirl swiftly approaches Virgo, "I will go with Queen Harmony and the little ones, we don't know what magic they may try to unleash upon them," he voices with concern. Virgo looks down at him and nods slowly, "Please keep them safe, and yourself, she puts a hoof on his shoulder. Starswirl nods and looks at Luna, "Will you be keeping the young princess with you?" Virgo nods slowly and holds her close to her chest, "We can't have them all together." As if to prove the wisdom of her words a magic barrage begins to hit around them and dangerously close to the royal carriage, seeing this Starswirl quickly gallops to the back of the carriage and creates a dispel ring in front of him and the carriage to counter any blasts heading for the carriage. Hearing the blasts the carriage soon takes to the sky to cover more ground to get the royals as far away from danger as possible. The herd of civilians soon follows as the mages and knights hold the line for them to escape, ponies gather their foals and making a run for it. Feeling the sudden torque of the carriage Celestia and Corona are quickly knocked out of their seats, Celestia's wings open instinctively as she climbs up to the window and peeks out the window at her mother with a worried look, Virgo meets her gaze and gives her a brave and confident smile which makes Celestia's heart skip a beat as she was expecting her mother to be scared like she is.

"Come back in the carriage Celestia, your mother is one of the strongest ponies I know," Harmony says with equal confidence, bringing a sense of reassurance to Celestia as she sits down as the pegasi take the carriage to the sky to pick up their speed.

Virgo then looks at Topaz and casts a spell on him that invigorates his body, "Topaz, I need you to fly as fast as you can back to Canterlot to get help, can you do this?"

Iron Shield looks at his Queen with uncertainty, "Your highness Topaz is but a foal! why not send one of our soldiers to send your message?"

"Yes I am well aware of this Captain, but we need all the troops we can in case this force is a large one, I believe he is up to the task," she proclaims with a look of confidence as she turns her gaze back to Topaz, "My magic will get you there, are you up to the task young Topaz?"

Topaz looks up at her nervously but soon regains his composure and nods, "Yes your highness!" he yells with his wings opened at his sides and takes to the sky as fast as he can, being more than normal thanks to Virgo's magic. Iron Shield watches him fly off and sighs, "Good luck son... make it there safe."

With Virgo staying behind with the soldiers that acted as the convoy defense create a defensive line in front of their mages by holding their shields firm, Virgo stands with their mages, "ERADICATE THESE OPPRESSORS," her voice booms, causing all the shielded warriors to bang their shields together with motivation and let out roars of confidence as they slowly step forward, creating more space for their mages to gather magic. With the wave of black armor gallivanting their way, Virgo slowly lifts her hoof as she along with the mage ponies to lift their horns and when she lowers her hoof they fire a heavy barrage of magic blasts into the front heavy armor, she then raises her hoof again to ready their soldiers for a charge. Once she sees the barrage inflict heavy damage to their front line she screams "FORWARD CHARGE!" Her front line of knights roar and charge headlong into battle and her ears are met with the harsh clash of metal. As she observes the front line her eyes catch something fast in the corner of her eye and barely has enough time to raise a weak magical shield as she gets slammed into the wall of the mountain from a dark magic blast. She lets out a painful grunt but was fortunate enough that her shield absorbed the brunt of the impact. She climbs out of the dent she made in the wall a little shocked as she looks around, her eyes soon meet a barrage of dark magic and arrows raining from the side of their formation, causing many on the left flank to fall before the front guard adjusts to create a two way shield wall.

With an attack from two directions Virgo orders a retreat to a thinner and easier to defend position on the mountain pass. But just when she thought everything was under her control her eyes soon meet a shadow like pony with wings of black flame swiftly fly past her and he gives her a bone chilling grin before speeding off towards the civilians and royal carriage, followed by his own shadow pegasi. Iron looks back as his shield gets hit with projectiles and sees the dark pony flying off, "GO YOUR HIGHNESS!" he shouts as loud as he can as he turns back towards the enemy and bangs on his shield, his fellow soldiers doing the same, "We will hold the line!"

Virgo looks back at him and nods slowly, knowing if anyone can take command it would be Iron Shield. Her magic swirls around her as her body lights up like the night sky and she flies off at a blinding speed to give chase to the shadow pony. Her eyes fixated on him. With him in her sights she hurls a volley of magical barrages at the shadow pony to try and stop him. He grins back at her while laughing maniacally and sends out a massive arc of dark magic that slams into the mountain, creating a rock slide that tumbles down towards the fleeing herd of ponies. With eyes as wide as dinner plates she looks back at him as he speeds directly towards the carriage. The situation only grows more dire when a barrage of dark magic flying into her soldiers, a few making contact before their mages produce a spell to counter them, bringing a number of casualties

"Harmony!..." she grits her teeth as she flies down and uses her strength to create a barrier as large as she can to block the rubble from hitting her subjects. Ponies scream as they hide their foals under them. "You bastard!" she shouts, a part of herself hoping that her voice will reach him, but to little avail as the vibrations of her voice are drowned out by the thunderous crashing of mountain rock. Unable to move as it would disrupt her barrier spell she can do nothing but watch as he chases the carriage out of view.

When she feels the rubble has fallen she opens her eyes and releases the barrier, "Keep moving everypony! Everything is under control!" she calls out in a reassuring tone, causing the herd to continue moving as she opens her wings to fly to help her friend, only for her to be interrupted by the sound of more boulders rolling down the mountain. She growls in frustration and recreates the shield to protect them again, the size of the barrier straining even her. Some ponies in the herd can not help but look up at the beautiful display of magic above them, almost as if they were streaks of a night sky. She half opens one of her eyes and looks in the direction the carriage is running, cringing as she focuses on protecting the herd, "Please... keep them safe Starswirl!" she yells with a discomforting grunt from the weight of the mountain falling onto her magic from Andras's minions.

*****

"Hold on tight everypony!" Starswirl says as he conjures up a magic cancelling rune circle in front of him and the carriage that defuses Andras's magical attacks, having a stern look on his face as he creates a magical mirror that reflects Andras's magic back at him. Starswirl smiles confidently when he sees he landed a direct hit, but soon morphs back to a stern look when he sees that scratches on his body were all that was inflicted. In retaliation he gathers magic into his horn again and uses the cold around him to change into a powerful frost spell that casts a blizzard like fog in between them and Andras. Angered by this Andras tries to blow away his blizzard spell by force but soon realizes that he can't due to the size of it as well as the cold environment.

Andras looks down at him, "I see, so he is not as *twitch* powerful as the four, but has mastered a wider *twitch* range of magic... I'll have to dispatch of him first." A dark shadow surrounds his horn and forms into a growing ball of dark magic that he soon fires in front of where he remembers the carriage to be and it slams into the mountain wall, collapsing down onto the path in front of the carriage like what they did to keep Virgo from helping them escape. Starswirl not expecting him to make the same move twice is caught off guard by his move but is unable to move his rune circle in front of the blast due to the blizzard leaving his visibility limited as well. He does his best to move the circle in front of the blast but to little avail as he just misses it and is soon met with the force of the blast hitting in front of them, leaving the pegasi guards no choice but to take to the sky before they crash. The knights were too late however as the gold plated wood wheels hit the fallen rocks hard, along with the carriage floor, the impact losing the back wheels and throwing Starswirl off the carriage and hits the ground hard. Harmony holds Luna protectively in her chest as the little foal started to cry, and as the impact occurred she was sent flying into the wall of the carriage, Celestia hitting the flat part of the forward seat. Corona flies off balance and hits his head on the corner of the forward seat.

With a dazed expression Corona half opens his eyes as his ears sound a deafening ring, his vision being blurred from the impact. He feels a gentle hoof and soon opens his eyes, seeing a blurred out white head who he makes out to be Celestia, along with words he cant understand. His eyes slowly focus themselves and the blurs slowly turn into more clear silhouettes of Celestia and his mother, looks of distress he can make out in their faces. Something felt warm under his head which grabbed his attention, something warm and thick that was soaking his mane, "Could they have poured warm water on me?.... no... water doesn't feel like this," his question is soon granted an answer when he sees the red stain on his friend's hoof. Harmony soon moves her hooves down to pick up the young princess and her son and holds them close to her, the carriage rumbles profusely after the sound of an agonizing cry from one of the pegasi guards being hit by Andras, the blast knocking the other three off rhythm and plummets into the steep river valley. The lead knight tries in vain to glide the carriage into the water, but his efforts alone do not prove fruitful as the carriage slams into the cliff side
plunge into the depths of the mountain pass.

*****

The sound of loud and obnoxious ringing assaults Corona's senses as his consciousness comes back to him, his vision blurred and disoriented while making the effort to stand, the rough shattered wood poking uncomfortably at his back encouraging him further to stand and relieve himself. With his senses in a daze his rise is all but graceful, stumbling over the crashed remains of the carriage. Rubbing his head he notices he can't make out anything that looks like a pony, "M-Mom?..." he calls out nervously, hoping to hear the warmth of her voice that has always comforted him, but to his dismay he is met with silence. Corona making his way off of the ruined carriage soon comes to the horrific discovery of the limp bodies of the guards that pulled the carriage. His eyes widen in fear as he runs up to the head of one of them, "M-Mister are you ok!? what happened to us?..." He lifts his hoof up to gently touch his head, hoping that they just had a bad crash and he passed out. When he receives no response he backs up a few steps, his face morphing into that of a scared expression. Looking around frantically he runs up ahead of the crash site, "MOM!" he shouts out for her, his voice echoing in the valley. With a frantic expression his gaze meets a trail of hoof prints on the ground, along with signs of struggle, having made this discovery he quickly runs over the rocks as fast as his legs can carry him, bumping into rubble along the way, still disoriented from the crash.

The trail leads him to a cave and is immediately met with the horrific sight of a bloodstained rock, Corona hastily sprints toward the rock and sees that the blood is fresh. With nervous sweat going down his brow he turns his attention towards the cave, "M-Mother!? C-Celestia?!" he says with a shaken tone, his hooves clicking on the cave floor with a slight echo bouncing off the walls. With the cave quickly becoming too dark to see Corona takes a deep breath and sighs in an attempt to relax himself as he channels magic to his horn to create a light source at the tip of it, a spell he is now grateful for learning. With his light source he presses onward deeper into the cave, jumping in fear at the slightest of sounds echoing in the cave.

Corona soon falls to the cave floor, the mountain around him shaking violently, loud booms echoing in the cave in a way that hurts his ears and makes them ring. Getting back on his hooves he feels something warm and wet on his hooves, looking down with his lit horn his eyes widen with horror, his hoof now stained red. Frantically looking up he smells a trail of blood and quickly follows the trail, hoping that the source of the blood isn't who he thinks. Seeing a glimmer of light ahead of him he feels a sense of hope, with the light brightening up enough for him to see around him he stops casting the light spell in his horn and sprints towards the light, the cave slowly starting to expand the brighter it gets.

The cave soon ends and Corona is met with the sight of an underground cavern of Luminous crystals that he has never seen before, matching the beauty of crystals found in his homeland. The wonder he feels is soon brought back to a horrific reality when the sight of a blood stained crystal comes into view, confirming that his biggest fear has come to pass when his eyes meet the snow white fur of his mother, only instead of the perfect white coat he is used to seeing. His mouth slowly opens as he approaches his mother, seeing more of her crimson stained coat. Getting close enough however his eyes quickly widen with hope when he sees that her chest, though labored, is expanding and contrasting. With his newfound hope he sprints to his mother's side.

"Mommy! Mommy are you okay?!" he calls frantically, praying to hear the warm gentle melody that is her voice.

Receiving no response Corona's heart sinks, quickly trotting up to her head to rub her cheek with his hoof, "Mommy... please wake up!..." he begs with tears welling up in his eyes.

His plea goes with no response for what feels like a painful eternity, but just as he felt all hope was lost he feels a slight movement in the big alicorn next to him. His eyes open wide and sparkle with tears as he stares at her with a hopeful look. "M-Mommy?!"

She moves her head slowly to look at her son, barely able to lift her head off of the ground, "Corona...." she calls weakly. Corona quickly moves to hug her neck and sobs uncontrollably, happy to hear his mother's voice.

"I'm... relieved to see you survived the crash Corona.... I was so worried..." she says with a weak, barely audible voice.

"N-No mommy I'm fine see!... I can get you help!... me and Celestia!..." Corona stops as he says this and looks around, "Where is Celestia?..." he says with a nervous look as he doesn't see his friend anywhere, "Y-You saved her right?..."

"Listen to me Corona.... you are in mortal danger..." she heaves and coughs up a little blood and holds her belly, tears running down her cheeks and down to the floor, "I'm so sorry my little one... " she says under her breath, quiet enough that Corona can not hear. After composing herself as much as she can she slowly moves her wing and Corona sees an injured unconscious Celestia. Overwhelmed with relief he quickly runs to her and hugs her, thankful that she made it as well, but as he holds his friend in his hooves he sees a deep bleeding wound just above her belly. Seeing this makes Corona's eyes widen with horror once again and lets out a very shaken gasp.

"You need to run before he finds us..." she pleas to him, "Mommy... isn't going with you this time my darling..." she says as she heaves heavily for breath, struggling to do so thanks to her blood loss. Corona shakes his head in denial as tears run down his cheeks.

"No mommy! I can save you!" he calls in defiance as he starts to channel his magic, closing his eyes and cringes as he tries in frustration to find the healing magic that Starswirl told him he was blessed with. Hearing his mothers huffs of pain causes him to start crying as he growls with frustration, "Come on magic PLEASE! MY MOMMY NEEDS MY HELP! For once in my life can I help somepony else!" he angrily screams, not able to bear the sound of his loving mother in pain, thinking back on the story that Topaz told him about how he saved his friends by unlocking his magic, hoping that he can be his mother's hero this time.

Corona in his desperation feels magic channeling into his horn and feels hopeful when he feels the warmth of it starting to flow through his body, but before he can cast any spell Harmony squeals weakly as a hard gust of wind blows Corona and his mother off the ground and slam into the cave wall, Harmony's body cushioning the impact for Celestia, but still feels the full brunt of the cold stone floor as she falls from the wall. Corona feels the harsh surface collide with his body, not able to hear the crack of his bones thanks to his ears ringing like a bell after his head hits the crystal. Corona falls to the ground and grits his teeth when he tries to stand up and yelps in agony and stumbles forward onto his face. Tears run down his cheeks and when he looks up he sees a horrifying shadow pony with a devilish grin that looks the very essence of insanity. The pony of black slowly approaches his mother who is looking up at him in anger.

"Oh come now my Queen, don't look at me like that, it is simply natural selection my dear, and you were unfortunately you were an inferior design. It's time for the next generation of life to take the mantle," he says with a growing grin as he slowly approaches her, forming a blade from his hoof. Seeing this Harmony summons as much strength as she can into her horn and she glares at him and fires an admirably powerful beam of magic at him considering her condition, only for it to be swiftly cut in half by his blade that is overflowing with dark magic. The ease in which he cut through her magic shocks Harmony to her core.

Andras laughs uncontrollably and catches eye of the young princess and he lifts her up with magic and floats her to him, "Ah so this is what you were hiding, so I have the great bringer of peace, her son AND the precious star of Equestria! "I COULDN'T IMAGINE A BETTER OUTCOME!" he roars as he draws his sword and holds the tip of it at Celestia's chest.

"NO ANDRAS! DO WHAT YOU WANT WITH ME BUT DO NOT HURT THE CHILDREN! YOU CAN TAKE ME TO HADEON AND I WILL DO NOTHING TO RESIST!" she yells back at him with tears streaming down her cheeks, her brow furrowed into that of an angered expression. Her plea causes him to stop from piercing Celestia with his blade which makes Harmony hopeful that he can actually see reason, but is soon met with his gaze as he glares down at her, lacking any compassion in his eyes.

Corona heaves for air and finds the strength to finally get on his hooves and limp away from where he landed, pain seeping into every muscle in his body from his broken ribs, his foal body being too fragile to take a hit that hard. His pain further escalating when he is met with the horrifying sight of the giant shadow pony standing over his weakened mother. His eyes lock onto her face with tears running down his cheeks, "M-Mommy?..." he says softly in disbelief. His soft voice reaches his mother's ears and her gaze shifts from the stallion above her and lays her head on the floor to look at her son, her face morphing from that of anger to that of a loving mother trying to soothe her foal. Seeing the tears running down his mother's cheeks, the sad expression on her face shatters his heart, never seeing her like this before in his life. But before he can make an attempt at comforting his weakened mother, his ears are met with the horrific sound of a blade piercing flesh and the crackling of bone. Corona's pupils shrink in fear and his attention quickly shifts lower on her body and is met with the sight of Andras's dark blade pierced through her snow white fur, the sparkle of her coat slowly dissipating until it is but a mere dull white, as if devoid of life.

Corona weakly lifts his hoof towards his dying mother, the area around him blurring in his vision as his magic begins to boil inside him. Feeling it's intensity he grits his teeth and brings his hoof to his chest, panting heavily as his body feels like it is burning up, the scene he bared witness to assaulting his mind. Andras looks over at the shaking colt, nearly dropping Celestia after his body twitches again, not phased in the slightest by his action, but rather more interested in what is happening to the young prince.

Kneeling down and letting out a cry of agony Corona feels the heat inside him becoming unbearable as it spreads across his body, glowing a distinct golden hue around his body as the veins in his body illuminate enough to be seen by Andras which catches him off guard, his twitching eyes opening up a little more out of curiosity, but before he can say anything Corona opens his eyes as he lets out another agonizing scream as the golden light soon shines out of his eyes and mouth, the glow of his veins pulsing violently as his body appears to begin cracking from the stress of his out of control magic. Corona then looks at Andras and sees Celestia and his blood boils with anger as well, amplifying his pain when he feels his growing rage, "PUT HER DOWN!" his voice echoes in the cavern. A blinding light forms around his body and it lifts him up into the air, overflowing the caverns with light, reflecting through the many large crystals, forcing Andras to drop Celestia and cover his eyes from the light piercing his eyes, growling with anger when his vision is impaired.

Corona writhes around suspended in the air, as if he himself is trying to escape the painful grasp of his own magic, but before he can do so his whole body is consumed by his light and a pulse of magic spread across the room slowly, but instead of a beam or shockwave of magic that Andras was expecting, Corona instead lets out a wave of magic that appears like golden dust, gently wrapping around the crystals in the cavern and flowing like pollen in the wind. When Corona's magic reaches Celestia and Harmony, instead of destroying their body like it appears to do Corona, it gently envelops their bodies and gently glows around them. The golden dust bring black flames out of his body as it begins destroying his dark body, in an attempt to escape this pain Andras hustles toward the cave exiting the crystal cavern, being hit by another pulse of Corona's magic and destroying his body further, tearing his shadow like form further away from his physical vessel, seeing no way of fleeing with his physical form he growls in annoyance and a shadow the shape of the pony swiftly leaves behind a greyed lifeless stallion corpse as it flees away into the darkness of the cave.

Letting out a soft groan Celestia feels a soothing warmth envelop her body that finally brings her back to consciousness, feeling the pain in her body gone she touches her head in confusion, and as she opens her eyes she sees the beautiful golden dust flowing gracefully in the air, reaching out to touch it she feels a sense of warmth and restoration that soothes her soul. Before she can admire the mysterious magic however she hears the horrific cry of pain that sounds like her friend, she quickly stands up and looks up in the direction of the scream and sees the silhouette of her screaming friend in the blinding light. Gasping in shock she quickly flies up into the air to help him and she brings her hooves up to her muzzle, "CORONAAAA!" she screams as loud as her lungs will allow her. As if in response to her voice she sees two glowing eyes open, their appearance shocking Celestia and instinctually she moves back a little. After seeing the worry in her widened eyes the light brightens around him one more time as a final pulse of magic flows out of him and into the cavern, making contact with Celestia as well as his mother's body, though as it touches Harmony's body the surrounding magic converges onto her body, flowing into her and surrounding her in a shell of his magic. With this last exertion of magic Corona falls from the air and onto the ground and the light around him gently dies down.

With the light finally dissipated Celestia glides back down to the ground and quickly trots to Corona and gasps in shock when she sees Corona dawning a pair of wings matching his body, feathers of royal blue that fade into silver like his hooves and muzzle. Celestia hears a groan of pain in discomfort when Corona tries to stand up, seeing this she quickly moves under him to help him up, immediately noticing that his body feels hot, most likely from his transformation.

Celestia sees him open his eyes and look at his mother, "C-Corona.... s-she's..." before she can finish he pulls away from her hold and limps towards his mother as fast as he is able to, grunting in pain he doesn't stop until he is standing in front of her face. Having a few long moments to look at his mother's unmoving body he puts his hoof on her cheek and gently moves her head, "M-Momma?... please... please wake up!" he pleas with a voice broken by fear and uncontrollable sobbing. Moving his hoof away from her cheek and seeing her head falling limp, Corona backs a step away with tears falling down his cheeks and hitting the floor, he grits his teeth and raises his head to the ceiling and lets out a scream of rage and pain that catches Celestia off guard, not expecting her normally gentle and quiet friend to have such a rage inside him. With all of the strength he has left Corona hits the ground as hard as he can with his front hooves, feeling the pain shoot up his leg he cringes but ignores it and continues to hit the ground, "WHY CANT I SAVE HER!.... WHY CANT I SAVE ANYPONY!"

"C-Corona... you earned your wings..." Celestia says with a hoof on his shoulder, trying to cheer her friend up even if she knows it will most likely be fruitless.

Hearing this Corona turns his head to face her and she sees uncontrollable anger and sadness in his eyes which emotionally hurts her to see, she parts her lips to give words of comfort to him but finds no words leaving her mouth.

"T-The magic you unleashed was beautiful Corona..." she says after a few silent moments, moving her hoof up to his cheek to turn his head to face her, him being met with a look of sadness in Celestia's eyes but also one attempting to comfort him, the magenta glow of her eyes soothing his soul better than he thought. Not knowing what else to do Corona sobs and follows it up with uncontrollable tears as he buries his face into her soft chest, wrapping his hooves around her and clinging to her as tight as he can. Caught off guard by this she gasps in surprise but soon hugs him back and pets down his head, tears starting to fall down her cheeks as well, "I'm so sorry Corona..."

Corona listens to her words and lets the gentle ring of her voice be the focus of his ears, but his ear soon perks away from her as if in defiance of it's master, picking up the sound of crying, tiny crying. Hearing this Corona raises his head and looks around for the source of the gentle crying. Seeing this from him Celestia looks confused, "A-Are you ok Corona?..."

"Do you hear that?..." he says softly so as to not disrupt the noise, Celestia feels even more confused but soon moves her ears around to try and find the sound that caught his attention, "N-No I don't hear anything."

Corona lets go of her and gets back on to his hooves to limp towards the sound, the sound of crying becoming louder and louder in his ears, and it leads him to his mother's wing, a golden glow shining below it. Corona gently moves Harmony's big wing and when he looks at the glow he sees a small foal surrounded by the glow of his magic. Seeing the crying foal Corona gently picks it up and is able to tell it is a colt, and he looks just like his father. "T-This is my..."

"CORONA! CELESTIA!" a familiar voice echoes in the cavern, both of them dart their head towards the cave and are met with the follow up sounds of galloping hoof steps. Feeling a little nervous Corona moves back with his little brother clutched in his hoof, thinking it could be one of Andras's tricks, but they are both met with the relieving sight of Diamond and Starswirl sprinting into the cavern. Corona and Celestia see them have a look of relief but soon replaced with one of despair when they see the body of their queen behind Corona, seeing his father's broken look Corona looks down at the ground with guilt, "I'm... I'm sorry daddy... I couldn't save mommy..." he sobs with his tears welling up again, "I tried my best to!..." Diamond's hoof presses on his muzzle to stop him from speaking any further. "This is not your fault son... I should have made the trek to our homeland with you and the herd... as King it is my duty to protect my Queen... along with my subjects, and I have failed my queen..." Diamond kneels down to his fallen wife and hugs her head to his chest, Celestia moving out of his way and standing next to Corona, putting a hoof on his shoulder to comfort him as he watches his grieving father.

Diamond slowly moves his muzzle to his wife's ear and tears start to fall down his cheeks, something that surprises Corona as he's never seen them in such a vulnerable state before in his life.

"I'm so sorry Harmony...." he hugs her to him, "I should have been here for you my Queen..." he kisses her cheek and softly lays her head down.

"But Corona saved his little brother!..." Celestia blurts out, trying anything she could think of that could possibly lift the spirits of the King and more importantly her friend.

Diamond quickly lifts his head and his attention moves to Corona, seeing the little dark blue foal in his hoof. He slowly stands up and walks to them and looks down at the foal for a closer look, his eyes glossy with hopeful tears as he lifts the foal up with magic and brings him up to his face, "H-He looks just like me...." he says softly, the newborn prince opens his eyes from all the noise and sees the new pony in front of him, he whimpers softly and reaches towards Corona. Diamond nods slowly and moves him back to Corona and he holds him back to his chest again.

"D-Does he not like you?..." Corona says nervously, knowing if that's true it would hurt his father more than he needs to be with the loss of Harmony.

"No son, this is normal behavior for a newborn, they cling to the first pony they see which is normally their mother..." Diamond turns back towards Harmony and carefully lifts her onto his back, "We need to get her back home.... she must be sent to the afterlife properly." Diamond stands back up with a more brave posture than he had before, as if a final display of bravery for his fallen wife.

Starswirl nods slowly and floats Corona and Celestia to his back, noticing Corona is now adorning a pair of wings at his sides but keeps it to himself, "Rest easy little ones... I know you experienced a horrific event no foal should have to see..." he trots next to Diamond and they make their way out of the cave. When they reach the entrance of the cave Corona and Celestia squint their eyes to adjust to the outside light, even though it is cloudy. They are also met with the may eyes of the civilian herd, at the front of which Celestia sees her mother with a look of horror on her face when she sees the body of her best friend on Diamond's back. Diamond looks toward her with a stern face that gives the look of him staying strong to his subjects, but Virgo can easily tell that he is broken inside. Not having any words to say she lets her tears run down her cheeks and orders the herd to continue moving, now on the other side of the mountain they are able to see the plain in which the crystal spire lies. But with the sight of the fallen royal, a day of hope has turned to that of despair and mourning for the beloved Queen Harmony.

Author's Note

Aaaaand here it finally is, I'm sorry for the long wait but it's been hard to find the spirit to write, even with the love I have for this story it was hard for me to sit down and write it out. Depression, worthlessness, and the feeling of life going nowhere has really weighed heavily on me over the past few months. It's hard for me to continue taking steps forward when I don't feel the strength to do so. Nevertheless I am still here and I finally pushed out this chapter, from here there will be a short intermission chapter and after that we will be making the transition to adulthood. Thank you for waiting and I hope that the chapter will be a good read.

Thank you and I hope you all have been safe during the pandemic as well as your loved ones and friends. Continue to do so and hopefully the virus will be dealt with in the few coming months ahead.

Have a good day everyone and may your days be prosperous. :heart:

Intermission: The Road ahead

Somber is the face befallen the crystal ponies in light of war's first tragedy, the death of their beloved queen weighing heavier on their soldiers than the cold rains of the north, a land known for the warmth of love remains cold and speechless, devoid of the happiness that helps to combat the snowy winter. With grief struck hearts the Crystal ponies and Equestrian refugees gather at the steps of the crystal palace, the body of Queen Harmony resting atop an alter, her beautiful white fur restored to it's former glory for her final sendoff. Standing before the alter is King Diamond along, and on either side of the alter stands the King and Queen that once called her friend, as well as the colt who's mother lays lifeless atop the alter, receding into the confines of his best friend's warm embrace, holding his little brother gently on his own back, tears seem of endless supply from his heart broken eyes. Feeling Celestia's wing over him he buries his face into her neck for comfort, both unable to hold back their grief.

Soon Corona lifts his head back up to look at his father, who has maintained a brave expression before his subjects, but knows that he feels more pain than any of them. "The silence that has befallen our land is fitting of the loss we have all suffered to the black armored tyrants that dare to attack our home. And as King I have failed to keep my Queen safe from the evil in the world, this is a sin I will never be able to forgive myself for," the words he speaks resonates in the crowd of ponies as they listen respectfully to the grieving king, almost not able to continue speaking from the weight of his previous words. Taking a deep breath he lets it out and looks out to his subjects, "But we must not remember the warming legacy that Harmony has left behind, to the end she protected her own no matter how weak she may have been, not only was she a warrior, but she possessed wisdom beyond comprehension... and always knew the words that needed to be said when we did not. So committed she was to the well being of her subjects, in her dying breath she was able to save the young prince Corona and princess Celestia."

Seeing that his words have reached his subjects as they lower their heads in respect, a smile starts to grow on his maw. "But despite the loss we have suffered, I know that Harmony would want us all to smile and embrace the warmth of the ponies we all love to push us forward on these dark days, and I intend to do as she would wish." His words surprise many ponies as they all look at him in awe, Corona and Celestia included.

"Harmony always believed in the potential of the next generation led by our sons and daughters, as well as the children of our subjects, that was made evident at our annual competition for our youth. The young Princess Celestia giving us all a brilliant showmanship of magic well beyond the capabilities we thought possible, and she hasn't reached yearling age yet. And while it took longer for Corona to unlock the gates to his hidden magic, in the most dire of circumstances his magic awoke and drove off Hadeon's second in command before he could kill him and Celestia. And even more of a miracle his magic saved his younger brother from meeting the same fate as their mother. There are no fathomable words that can adequately convey the gratitude myself and Harmony have for you Corona, thanks to your actions we can all say hello to the young prince, who I shall give the name that Harmony decided."

Corona steps up to the alter with his brother and gently raises him up to his father who takes him with magic. "And as we send our beloved queen into the paradise of the heavens above, we also welcome a new life into the world that she has left behind as her final act of loyalty to her empire." As he lifts the foal up into the air a crystal floats over the crystal heart and begins to glow as it resonates with the ancient relic, with the sight of the surviving prince the crystal ponies all bow down and link their magic to the crystal heart feeling their spirits lifting as they always do for a traditional crystalling.

"We welcome to the world my son, Prince Aquila, to the world of the Crystal ponies!" Aquila glows in the air as his crystal enters the Crystal heart, gaining the new connection to the young prince the heart begins to spin rapidly and soon lets out a large pulse of magic across the land, leaving all within it to have a crystal coat as if they were crystal ponies themselves.

Seeing the crystal heart spreading happiness to his subjects and unifying them as well as their equestrian counterparts, he slowly lowers Aquila down for Corona to take and he looks back down at his wife, doing his best to hold back tears. Taking a deep breath he sighs and raises his hoof for silence among the crowd, soon being granted his request.

"And so on this day... we say farewell to Queen Harmony, but know that she has taken her place in the heavens above, and looks down upon us all with pride as we continue our courageous struggle against the evil of Hadeon's empire. Let it be known to all that she may not be with us in body, but her spirit will always be in the hearts of those she has touched with her grace and wisdom, and she will continue to as her magic finally becomes one with the crystal heart, as will all crystal ponies when our time comes." Using his magic he channels his magic into the altar, the patterns along it's designs lighting up as his magic travels through it and into the ground, quickly forming a link with the crystal heart. With the link complete he steps back to let the crystal heart take claim of his fallen mate's magic so her soul can finally be free.

The alter Harmony rests upon glows brightly with the pure magic of the heart and it surrounds her body and lifts her up into the air, all ponies watching with tears of sadness for the loss of their queen but also of joy as they know in their hearts that this is also her ascension into the heavens where she belongs, all saying their goodbye's to their precious queen. As the magic of the Crystal Heart completely envelops her, the orb of magic slowly floats up into the air above the alter. But to the shock of everyone the orb abruptly lets out a pulse of magic and climbs up into the skies above faster than any pegasus. Corona looks up in the air in shock along with his father as they see Harmony's orb reach the clouds, then with a small explosion the orb splits into 6 beams of magic that split off in random directions across the horizon, soon vanishing from sight, leaving the crystal ponies dazed as such a thing has never happened before.

"F-Father... what does that mean?..." Corona asks nervously, unsure if he truly wants to know the answer.

"I'm not sure son..." he replies with equal uncertainty, "I pray that this isn't a sign of dark times... for all our sakes."

*****

Looking over a map over Equestria Hadeon's lead general adjusts the markers on the map indicating the positions of their armies, the surrounding lands outside of Equestria have been secured with little struggle but the only foothold they have managed to take is the aggressive position on the west side of the great gorge.

"Have your pegasi managed to secure the other side of the gorge?" Hadeon says to one of his generals.

Worried of his reaction his mouth quivers a little, "N-No sir, Typhoon's forces have build defenses that block off the choke point of the gorge, and her Pegasi forces swarm around the gorge. My scouts have also informed me that several crystal battalions have launched a counter attack to retake the coastal settlement Cambraya, we have erected defenses along the edges of the town but have suffered substantial casualties."

"How is it that you have lost this many soldiers this early in our campaign?" Hadeon says in an irritated and yet composed tone.

"We were not expecting them to mobilize so swiftly your highness... I have underestimated the capabilities of general Typhoon," he gulps nervously and looks up at his king, "B-But it will not happen again your highness this I swear!..." he cries in desperation, knowing the fates of those that have failed him in the past.

Hadeon closes his eyes and takes a deep breath and sighs, but before he can respond he feels the presence of his second in command and soon the pony in his shadow form flows through the tent and forms into the shape of a pony, growling in rage that he is in this condition.

"Welcome back Andras, I trust that your mission was a success?" Hadeon says to him, turning his attention away from the cowering general, wondering why he has not changed back into his physical form, "Did... something happen to you?"

Andras grits his teeth and lets out a roar of anger, "THAT LITTLE BASTARD WILL PAY FOR HIS INSOLENCE!" he uses his magic to throw the table across the room, the general narrowly avoiding the flying projectile. Hadeon raises his brow as he has never seen his second display this kind of fury before, "What happened to you Andras?" he says with a firm voice to draw his attention back to him.

Hearing his king's voice Andras takes a deep breath in and sighs to calm himself down, "The crystal brat destroyed my physical body, letting out a burst of the purest magic I have ever seen." He looks down at the floor in frustration, "I didn't think magic that pure could be tapped into by a pony."

"His magic was pure enough to destroy your shell that easily?" he says with concern as he steps outside of the tent with him, the moon above shining it's blue light on the shifting sands. Standing next to him Andras reluctantly nods, "Yes.... I have never seen magic like that before.... the closest thing possible that I have seen is the magic of the crystal heart."

Hadeon listens to his words and feels a slight sense of surprise from his news, but before questioning any further on the young prince he turns his head back to him, "Does this mean you were unsuccessful with your mission?"

Andras shakes his head and has a disappointed look on his face, "I was not able to kill the prince and princess, but I was able to slay Queen Harmony, I'm sorry Hadeon... I let you down," he says with a remorseful tone, paying little heed to the life he took.

Hadeon's ears perk up when he gives his report and a smile begins to grow on his face, confusing his subordinate. Andras turns his body to fully face him, "What is on your mind my king?" he says with curiousity, wondering why he is not mad with him.

"Though you may not have hit all of your targets Andras, of all the targets for you to hit you struck the biggest one, and that is all I need," he proclaims confidently with a widening grin.

"What do you mean my king?..." he asks with even more confusion in his voice.

Hadeon turns back to the tent, "Zuberi!" he shouts, his call soon causing the zebra chief to exit the tent out into the moonlight, "Yes, what is it Hadeon" he says with an aggravated tone, not liking the lack of respect in the self proclaimed king's voice.

"Pull all of your troops out of Equestrian lands, I will be doing the same with our own," Hadeon commands, ignoring the chief's tone.

Zuberi's eyes widen in surprise and soon his brow lowers to morph his face into one of frustration, "How can you say that after all of the land we have taken! And the soldiers we have lost!" he lashes out justifiably.

"You will do as I say Zuberi, this is the most advantageous course of action for us," he turns to face him with a stern look, "Do not make me remind you who leads us here," he remarks and passes by him, making his way to his quarters.

Zuberi glares as he passes him and half turns to watch him leave, Andras soon following behind him. When the two are out of sight Tendaji soon trots up next to him, "What do we do Chief?"

Zuberi takes a deep breath and sighs, "We will do as he says... for now," he looks at his second, "Give the order for a full retreat, our troops will be rewarded with well deserved rest."

Tendaji nods slowly salutes him before leaving him to think on his own, unsure of why Hadeon is ordering such a move after so much progress has been made.

"By the way Andras, you will need a new body I presume," Hadeon says as he channels magic through his horn, dark magic surrounds his horn and flows around his head before a portal opens up and drops the failed general on the ground. He raises his head in confusion and fear only to see Hadeon glancing down at him before retiring to his quarters. His eyes soon shrink in fear and he looks over at the pony who is now nothing but a mere mist of shadow with glowing red eyes and horrifying white smile, "No, NO PLEASE DONT!" he cries to little avail as Andras laughs manically as his shadow surrounds the helpless pony, silencing his screams for good.

Author's Note

Sorry for the wait but my job and World of Warcraft coming out with shadowlands, I haven't had too much free to write, but hopefully now that the holidays are almost over I will have less closing shifts and can write more.

Thanks for reading and I look forward to the next big step in our story :D stay safe everyone! :derpytongue2:

Chapter 1: The Next Generation

Deep in the pearly white snows of winter, the ponies of Equestria do their best to keep warm and go about their daily lives. Despite the harsh weather that has beset the land, a momentous event to come has kept the spirits of the ponies high. For the first time ever in the several thousand year long rule of their glorious leaders, King Helios and Queen Virgo are expecting to give birth any day!

In light of the great news, settlements all across Equestria throw their own celebrations across their warm fires; some ponies have even made the great journey to the capital city of Canterlot for the coronation of the new heir to the throne. Some foresee a young prince to be born, others say it will be a princess, but no pony really knows, not even the King and Queen know as they wanted the news to be a surprise. The excitement has only increased as even greater news from messenger ponies was spread all across the equestrian settlements.

"Here ye here ye, to the loyal subjects of King Helios and Queen Virgo, the great leaders of the Crystal Empire, King Diamond and Queen Harmony have decided to give birth to their heir in the royal capital of Canterlot as a sign of friendship and good will. The crown humbly requests that their subjects welcome the crystal ponies of the north as they bring with them supplies to help cope with this long winter. We welcome the warm hospitality of our close northern allies, and welcome all ponies to Canterlot for the coronation ceremony of the two young heirs."

The ponies all cheer in jubilation as they break to go about the rest of their day, some tending to the big fire that is kept in the center of town, the fire keeping spirits high and helping fend off the harsh cold.

The two great empires have endured through nearly endless conflict in a grueling effort to protect their subjects and the precious magic that their land possesses. Soldiers fighting bravely against those that seek to steal their magic and enslave their precious families and friends, but through the united power of the Crystal Empire and Equestria, they have endured together. If one land were to find themselves facing troubling times, the other would always be there to aid their close allies.

*****

Hundreds upon hundreds of ponies walk upon the path from the Crystal empire to the city of Canterlot, and at the very center of this grand convoy is an elegantly made carriage, decorated with the purest of gems and crystals. The carriage is pulled by four guards dressed in ceremonial armor, each maintaining perfect military bearing, marching at a steady pace, the rest of the ponies follow their speed. A detail of Crystal Royal guards also marches in formation around it, the rest of the ponies of this convoy are all loyal citizens of the Crown, warmly dressed and talking among one another about the great event that is about to happen, doing their best to keep spirits high and remain warm.

King Diamond looks out of the window to see how his subjects are fairing, all of them in such high spirit brings a smile to his face as he closes the curtains.

"And here i thought that our little ponies couldn't be happier than they have been from our victory over the yaks of the mountains," he states as he closes the curtain. His coat sparkles regally of the stone he was named after, as if the hairs were diamonds themselves.

"Victory has always brought out happiness to ponies, whether it be from battle or sport," a soft and warm voice says to him. The sound of her loving voice makes his heart melt as he looks over at his beautiful Queen, her coat looks like the purest of snow, her long elegant mane and tail are a regal light cobalt with white highlights at the end of her mane and tail. Her eyes matching her mane.

"That may be part of it but I would also like to think it was also you and your idea of starting the Crystal fair, such a wonderful idea, I fail to recall a point in time where the empire has ever been this united together!" he says with a big grin on his face.

She blushes bashfully and hides her face with her hoof, "Oh you give me too much credit Diamond, I just came up with the idea but the ponies that made it into such an extravagant event; It was an added benefit that they strengthened the crystal heart as well," she says as she looks over at him.

Diamond gazes upon his love laying on her side, making room for her bulging belly. He moves closer to her to give her a loving hug, gently feeling her belly with his hoof.

"I cant believe i am going to be a father..." he says as tears come close to falling from his eyes, the day he looked forward to since the day he proposed to his love.

Harmony smiles and gently wipes his eyes with her hoof and kisses his chin, "As am I Diamond, our little foal is ready to come out into the world with us. Our foal has been quite active today" she says with a giggle as she moves his hoof to a spot on her belly.

After a few short moments he feels a tiny hoof press against the wall of her belly, the feeling of his foal's hoof almost makes him collapse from happiness. Not being able to contain himself anymore, tears start to flow down his cheeks.

Harmony smiles and gently hugs his head into her soft fluffy chest, always loving this soft side of her normally stoic husband, "you are such a soft stallion Diamond, it's very sweet" she says with a giggle.

Diamond rolls his eyes and enjoys the warmth of her fur, "soon we will have our own bright shining star, hopefully Helios' and Virgo's foal gets along with our's, that would mean great things for the future of our empires."

Harmony nods slowly and rests her head on his hooves, feeling nervous about going into labor. Diamond notices the worry in her eyes and gives her a loving nuzzle on her cheek.

"I know it must be frightening... but rest assured I will be with you the whole time, you will be fine..." he says to comfort her, feeling nervous himself as he wants both his wife and foal to be healthy after the ordeal is over.

"Virgo is expecting to give birth soon as well; I could tell she was nervous from her letters. I am ecstatic to see her again after so long" she says to take his mind off of the subject, reaching up to gently stroke his mane.

"Of course, I have missed when Helios and I would have our sparring matches together, maybe we can find the time once again" he chuckles softly and closes his eyes as she pets his mane "I remember how we would fight for you and Virgo's attention"

Harmony rolls her eyes and smirks at the memory of them horsing around, "yes and we would always have to explain to our parents why we were always tending to your scrapes and bruises practically every day, colts will be colts I guess."

"Hey at least we always kept things interesting, and don't act like you didn't enjoy the show," he winks at her and she laughs softly.

"Oh yes, watching you two obnoxious colts beat the snot out of one another was certainly a spectacle," she says and gives him a kiss on his nose as he sits back up on his flank. His ears perk up as one of the guards pulling the carriage knocks on the wall, "Your highness, Canterlot is within our sights"

Diamond lowers the window and pokes his head out and looks ahead, seeing the mountain city he smiles in satisfaction, knowing the long trek will soon be over, and that his subjects can finally rest and mingle with the equestrians, creating new friendships among one another. "Keep it up everypony, a celebration is in order once we make it!" Everypony cheers in agreement and the carriage goes a little faster, everypony having more kick in their step with the sudden burst of motivation.

******

The great horns of the Capital city boom across the area as they play Canterlot's song, the crystal ponies look up at the city in awe as many of them are seeing the great towers of the castle for the first time in their lives, tales being told to them by their parents of the grand architecture of Canterlot, rivaling their own beautiful crystal palace. Equestrians line the streets and cheer for the arriving ponies, happy to see that the convoy made it to Canterlot safely, the Crystal ponies cheer and wave back and some break the convoy to say hello to long time friends. Ponies hand out bowls of hot soup from large cauldrons to give to the cold and tired travelers, gathering in circles to eat their warm meals and tell stories about the perilous journey.

King Helios walks up to the top of the steps leading up into the castle, along with his lovely wife Queen Virgo, her coat and mane seem the very essence of space, while her husband shines bright like the sun, they both smile in anticipation as they watch the carriage roll towards the base of the stairs, a red carpet laid out in the center that leads into the castle. Equestria's elite royal guards dressed formally and each standing at attention on either side of the stairs, the Equestrian flag adorning each of them.

At the first step is a royal musician who blows his horn as the carriage stops at the bottom of the steps, "Presenting the King and Queen of the Crystal Empire, King Diamond and Queen Harmony!" The guards present their flags and the lead crystal guard walks to the door to open it, as it opens Virgo and Helios look down in anticipation, both equally as eager to see their old friends after so long.

Diamond slowly steps out into the sunlight, said light making his coat sparkle brighter, he holds his hoof out for Harmony who takes it as she steps out of the carriage, taking care not to hit her belly on anything. She stands next to her husband and her mane flows in the wind elegantly, now joined together they walk up the red carpet to Helios and Virgo. All is quiet as they approach the equestrian monarchs, and once they meet face to face, all bow their heads to one another out of respect.

"Our friends of the Crystal Empire have arrived safely from their long journey. This was of course planned by ourselves as well as King Diamond and Queen Galaxia, as we hope that the birth of our heirs together will send a warm and powerful message to our subjects. We are as one, crystal and equestrian, allies since the antiquity of our cultures," Helios booms with his royal canterlot voice.

Virgo nods slowly and follows with her own voice "Our wish is to unite our great nations into one, so that we may defend against any threat to our home as a single entity. This is not something that will take place soon, as it is a task we wish to pass on to our foals when it is our time to step down from the throne. But until then we will prepare for that momentous day, as of today our borders shall always remain open with the Crystal Empire, and we hope that you all will create strong bonds with one another," Virgo finishes and the ponies all stomp their hooves and cheer in excitement.

The announcer soon holds up his megaphone "And with that the royal families wish that you all enjoy the festivities!" The ponies soon break, the crystal ponies talking with the equestrians and going up to all the booths that were setup so they could partake in fun games or enjoy local cuisine. When the Kings and Queens see that their ponies are jovially congregating among one another they turn to retire to the castle, Diamond and Harmony wanting a nice warm meal after the long and cold journey.

Virgo looks at Harmony and smiles when she sees her belly is as big as her's is "I'm glad to see im not alone in putting on a few pounds," her remark earning a giggle from her dear friend.

"Yes it can be hard to maneuver sometimes with my little one, our foal has been quite active as of recently," Harmony says as she looks down at her own bulging stomach. "I think it will all be worth it though... being able to finally see my little angel's face and tiny hooves for the first time" a blush crosses her face as a big grin crosses her face.

"I look forward to it as well, but i will miss watching you wolf down entire dinners in a matter of a minute, you've had a larger appetite than me!" Diamond says which makes them all laugh.

The guard escorting them cant help but smile at how normal the King's and Queen's can really be, knowing the daily stresses they go through.

"It must be a relief to make it here with nopony getting hurt your highnesses," Iron says as he leads them to the dining hall, "The nobles will be ecstatic to see such a success in today's congregation."

Harmony nods her head slowly "yes our own nobility have been expecting a meeting today."

"The idea of merging our kingdoms must have the delegates in a frenzy" Helios says as he takes a deep breath and sighs, lowering his head as a tired but funny look crosses his face, "Can't wait to explain that...."

Virgo looks at her husband and gently bumps him, "Hey at least there will be four of us to answer their questions, it's not like this responsibility will fall on just one of us," she states in a reassuring tone.

Diamond chuckles and bumps Helios harder than Virgo did which makes him jolt to the side, knocking his crown a little sideways, Helios looks surprised and looks back at Diamond, "Hey whats the big idea!"

The reaction from Helios makes Diamond laugh, finding it amusing how easily he can rile him up. Diamond then puts a hoof on his shoulder, "Relax Helios, we are all in this together alright? How about we have a good sparing session after the congregation, it has been quite awhile since I have had someone to test my abilities."

Helios rolls his eyes and a grin comes across his face, "Test my flank, you know I always keep you on the ropes, in fact as i recall, I gave you quite the serving of dirt the last time we fought," he snaps back with confidence.

"Yeah we shall see my old friend, but if speaking with nobles is all it takes to get you down, I wouldn't get your hopes up," Diamond says as he walks ahead, his statement making Helios stop in his tracks, he raises his hoof and his mane and tail ignite, he grits his teeth and has fire in his eyes "DAMN YOU DIAMOND! ALWAYS TRYING TO ACT SO COOL IN FRONT OF THE EVERYPONY!"

His sudden flare of emotion brings a joyful laugh to Diamond and Harmony, Virgo glares at him and raises her hoof behind him, she then brings her hoof down and smacks him hard on the head, her mane and tail flares up as well, spacious galaxies shimmering bright in her hair as her eyes turn white with anger, "AGH HELIOS, JUST AS FOALISH AS EVER, ALWAYS TRYING TO EMBARRASS ME!"

Helios grabs his head in pain and shivers in fear as his wife appears towering before him, a bead of sweat going down his face, "N-Now honey.... w-we don't have to resort to violence!..." he says in a begging way, backing away slowly as she continues her approach, his response only makes her mane and tail flare up more, in his eyes she seems even bigger than before and he squeals in fear.

"YOU THINK I HAVEN'T TRIED THAT ALREADY!? A SMACK TO THE HEAD SEEMS TO BE ALL THAT GETS THROUGH YOUR THICK SKULL!" she yells and starts charging at her husband like a bull, Helios yelps in fear and darts away like a blur, leaving behind a trail of dust, running for dear life as she rubs her hoof on the ground. "AND JUST WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING LITTLE COLT!?" she says as she charges after him, both of them disappearing down the hall, leaving Diamond, Harmony, and Iron Shield behind. All of them can hear the distance scream of a terrified Helios.

Diamond chuckles and has a grin on his face with his eyes closed, a bead of sweat going down his face, "I can see Virgo is as feisty as ever, nothing's more scary than an angry wife..."

"Mmhmm" Harmony says as she gives him a loving nuzzle, "Fortunately for you I don't have to keep you in check all the time."

Diamond smiles and returns her nuzzle, "Hopefully their foal doesn't inherit their big tempers."

Iron nods slowly as he turns to face them, "Yes two angry foals is already enough for this castle, the last thing we need is a third," his playful statement is rewarded with hearty laughs from the foreign royals.

*****

The sun is slowly laid to rest under the crimson horizon, the five great mages then focus their efforts on raising the moon. Beautiful blue moonlight casts it's spell upon the ponies of the land, allowing them to drift into a peaceful and restorative slumber. With their labors done four of the mages retire to their chambers as the task of raising the sun and moon is very taxing on their body's. The leader of the mages trots through the quiet dimly lit halls as he makes his way to the high tower where the king and queen reside. He steps outside to the spiral stairs and walks slowly up them, a cold breeze blowing through his large white beard and nearly blowing his hat off. The mage soon reaches the double doors to the suite and he knocks on the door.

After a few short moments the door is opened and Helios smiles at the stallion, "Ah there you are Starswirl, i'm glad you made it," he says as he steps to the side so the old pony can walk in.

"Thank you for having me Helios, its good to get out of the cold, the air is very dry today," he says in a tired and raspy voice. Gentle hoof steps make his ears perk up and he turns his head to the source, seeing his beautiful queen brings a smile to his face, she floats a glass of water to him to relieve him of his parched throat.

"Ah thank you my lady," he says politely and sips the water she generously offered him. As he drinks his water he looks over and notices a bump on Helios' head, he chuckles at the sight and lowers his glass, "I see you gave him quite the talking to Virgo, you mustn't be so hard on the young colt."

"Hey! i'm right here you know! It's not my fault Diamond always gets me fired up!" he proclaims with a rather amusing frustrated face. Virgo laughs softly and brings her hoof to her chest as she does. Starswirl also hears two other laughs, he looks over at the fireplace and sees Diamond and Harmony laying down on a large, comfortable looking floor pillow. Harmony is resting against Diamond with her hooves to the side, her bulging belly resting on the pillow, her head resting in Diamond's hooves. He smiles and walks over to them "ah i'm glad to see that you two have made it here unharmed, i'm sure the journey could not have been pleasant."

Diamond nods slowly "Yes it was very hard on us and the ponies that made the journey with us, I was also worried that Harmony wouldn't be able to make the journey, but we persevered nonetheless," he says as he nuzzles his wife lovingly. She responds to his kind words by returning his nuzzle, then lowers her head back down to rest.

"How long do you think you have Harmony?" he says out of curiosity and concern, sitting down on a smaller pillow, the bells on his hat ringing as he puts it down on the floor.

Virgo walks over to the fireplace and lays down on her own pillow, "We expect to give birth within the next week or two," she states as looks down at her belly.

Harmony nods slowly and her eyes turn to look at the fire "Yes... I cant wait for the euphoria after my labor.... but if I am to be completely transparent, i'm scared out of my fur of it... I've only heard just how terrible birthing pains are, but that it is all worth it when you hear your foal's first cries..."

Virgo shudders at the thought of her going through the same thing, Helios soon lays down next to her and nuzzles her lovingly to comfort her, knowing how scared she is because he is just as worried, hoping that her birth goes smoothly.

Diamond comforts his wife as well by opening his wing over her and resting it on her, the warmth of the fire making everypony's fur warm and dry. Diamond looks over at Starswirl "I'm glad to see you are still kicking strong Starswirl."

"Of course i am Diamond, I will be teaching and creating magic for years to come" he says confidently which makes Diamond and Helios chuckle softly.

"I'm glad to hear that, because we have all been talking about something important, and it is the reason why we called you here today" Helios says as a grin starts to appear on their faces.

Starswirl feels confused as he sees them all looking at him with their happy grins, "What's going on?" he states in a slightly nervous tone.

Harmony and Virgo each look at each other and then nod, they look back at Starswirl and smile with their eyes closed "We want you to be our foal's teacher" they both say in unison, almost as if they practiced it.

Starswirl's eyes widen and brow rises in surprise, "You... want me to.... r-really?" he grins from ear to ear with a foal like enthusiasm that they rarely see from the old and wise unicorn. They all nod slowly, each relieved to see his joy to the idea. "I would be honored!" he proclaims and stands up, he holds his hat and brings it to his chest, i will teach the young one's everything i know."

They all sigh in relief as they were worried he would say no, with his confirmation the two mares rest their head's and start to doze off, resting against their stallions for warmth and comfort, Harmony and Diamond's coats sparkling elegantly from how strong their love is.

Starswirl bows his head respectfully and puts his hat back on, "I believe that is my queue to go" he turns and trots to the door and slowly opens it, before he leaves Helios looks over at him, "Thank you Starswirl, we know our foals are in good hooves."

Starswirl looks back at him with a big genuine smile on his face "You've made me a very proud stallion today Helios, thank you very much," he says as he walks out into the cold night and shuts the door, leaving the royals to their peace and quiet. He takes a deep breath of the cold air and breaths it out, not minding how it feels like he's breathing in icicles. He makes his way down the stairs to retire for the night, not sure if he will be able to sleep on the fact that the ponies he respects the most wants him to be the one that teaches their foals.

Author's Note

Hello everypony! I hope the readers enjoy my debut in the mlp creator realm. Really wish i didn't wait this long to finally make a contribution to the fandom, but better really late than never I guess. I've been putting together this story in my head for a few years now but never put it on a page (Mostly cause I didn't have a way to.) But I am open for suggestions or help since i'm new to writing, did my best to make it as good an attempt as i could.

On a side note this chapter is dedicated to a friend of mine that I didn't treat very well, we both enjoyed talking with one another but I let my insecurities get the better of me and instigated a fight between us. So let this be my apology to that friend, and a reminder of how to not treat a friend whenever i come here to write.

Anyway with all that out of the way, thanks for reading! I look forward to seeing what everypony thinks :)