Zheshan pulled the cart in a irregular manner as they made the journey back to the scavengers encampment. To his masters chagrin the kart looked much more conspicuous then it had earlier in their travels. Atleast by his intuition.

No one would pay much attention to a couple of ugly scavengers walking the mud trails just as they didn't notice them before in the morn. Of course now that they had something to hide it would be impossible for somepony not to notice the normally enterprising zebras walking on a death march. Just his luck Sebudo supposed.

The sky had faded into a burnt orange and the sweet mists of the creek were long behind them. Now there was only rolling hills of weeds and the mud the morning had left in its wake, slowly cracking over.

“Hey, umm master?” Zheshan tried to call to Sebudo in the back of the kart, under the covered wagon but it seemed elder didn't hear him. Just before he could try calling again Sebs face peeked from behind the faded green tarp and answered the boy.

“What? Hasin anypony cam' near boyo?” Seb talked fast and low, darting his head like a merecat on the look out for lions.

“No sir I just was thinkin... if your in the back, there mightin be some issues arise when we do meet another...” Zheshan, then pivioted, he spoke well but in a drowsy manner. They had left the river ruins 2 days early then they had planned and even though he was usually hearty enough to pull the kart the whole trip, a sudden departure only a few hour after arriving to the creek had left him more tuckered then he typically was at this leg of the journey. His small sockets had sense been decorated by deep purple bags.

Seeing the exhaustion setting into his partners body, Seb said “Son, you member those boulders we had breakfast at earlier?”

Zheshan did but only vaguely, the thought of the days breakfast lead to thoughts of his sleeping bag he had arrision from to cook it. Sleep clawed at his pulsing head as he responded
“Yeah... I do.”

“It should only be a few more miles till we are there, we can set up the kart and camp just like we did yesterday yeah? Before you keel over on me huh?” Sebudo patted the younger zebras back.

“Yeah... Sounds good... yawn” Zhesh paused before continuing almost tripping on a lose stone in the path, “What are you doing that,...” Zhesh reorganized his thoughts, “Back, there boss?”

Seb went back into the rear of the kart, after a few moments the load Zheshan pulled was relieved of atleast some of its heft and a few more moments later his master was keeping pace next to him on the path. After one more quick survey of the country side he let out a breath and answered.

“Oi, I just needed to make sure we were keepin the 'package' safe, cant have it rolling around with the picks and chissels eh?”

“Yeah... I got that... I would'nt've put my kid in a scrap kart either...”
The young zebra had been a little more than a tad diapointed when his master resined they had to take the child back to the encampment. The whole reason they had come this far east was to make quick money at the temporal rifts at the base of the canterhorn. Times had been tough on the herd and the scrap they could've gotten there might have been enough to sedate the imperials for a few more weeks, now though the only things they were hauling back was a couple of old curtainrods and brass shingles, oh and a another mouth to feed. Zhesh looked back at the tarp over his shoulder “You think its got something wrong wit it? Seemed to be quiet for a youngin huh?”

“Could be... trauma can cause a lot of things to, ugh... clam up... no telling how long it was under that pot... then again Misty May used to say the ponies babes barely ever cried when she was a wet nurse. For all we know it could just be a good sleeper.” Zheshan would've taken a slight amusement from that if he wasnt worring so much about the trouble they could be in if they were caught by a guardsman, or a angry mother looking for the foal.

“I see then cap'...” the younger zebra yawned again and the pair walked in silence up a incline that by Zheshes memory ment they were almost to the boulders. Resuming the conversation, he breathed a deep breath and fortified himself for the final uphill climb. “Hey, you think that kid has the gait?”

“Boyyy I hope to the stars not... thats just what we would need now... it doesnt have the marks for sure. I wouldve seen em' when I got it to sleep. We can have the Mangolin look at it when we get back... Its not something we can worry about right now can we?”

“Sure. Hey why do you insist on calling her an it?”

Seb exhaled through his nostrils.

Zheshan could take the hint.

.-=O=-.

It was an unseasonably cold day in the capital. Not something that happened very often for a modern equestrian city.

There were on occasions strong gusts from the northern cliffs, and a few years back the city had been hit by a outbreak of mud fever that had left the unicorns unable to adjust the cities condition for a month longer then usual. But typically, regularly, the springtime should've meant singing birds and bright smelling flowers. Vibrant hues from blossoming topiaries and cries of young ones brought into the world, of course this is why she and her husband were here afterall, to enjoy the warm sun of auntie and the healer alchemists in the school for the magically gifted. In the mind of Princess Cadenza however, the sudden cold snap brought down a avalanche of worries, her people in the north were awaiting her return, and she hated being away even for this, the most important of reasons.

The princesses enjoyment of the morning plaza was something she never quite out grew from when she had lived under Celestias wing. If she closed her eyes the feel of the wet grass under hoof could ferry her back to her days as a simple pegasus tutor for the court. Memories of laughing aristocrat children under her watch, giggling in play. That eked a hauntingly majestic smile from her face. Eyes closed, the warmth on her forehead and the winds of chill across her cheek. A too rare smidgen of euphoria caught her.

A gold lined side door behind her opened and out came a footman from the throne room.
“Your majesty,” The unicorn guard bowed, “I have a messenger in the greeting hall who carries a message for the Crown Princess, Do you know where she is? I've looked all about the throne room but she is not there.”

“This time of morning? Celestia should be bothering her sister in the brunch room,” wait a second, “May I ask what the message is about guard?”

“Oh, well I dont know if thats a good idea miss, the page said it was for royal eyes only.” the guard spoke in that condescending way most canterlot natives did, not that the princess minded.

“Hmm, so I'm not regal enough then to take the message?” Cadence made a seudo serious stare at the guard. Trying to make her lose composure.

“Uuhmm, y-yes you are mam, I just thought... T-the page seems very adament on speaking with somepony with... power? coughs”

Cadence would've been insulted. Well, at least a little if she did in fact have any power here. She didn't though, in her time following her coronation in the empire she hadn't given much thought to it, she technically wasn't a princess of canterlot anymore was she?

“I understand. You better not leave them waiting.” that haunt of a smile returned to her face.

The guard unaccustomed to dealing with this specific royals houmor, visibly looked about as sick as cadence felt. With an awkward grin she said, “Yes, thank you.” with that the guard did a 180 and began towards the kitchens.

Cadence often had helped others kick their bad habits, being one of her areas of specialty as a embodiment of family bonds and love. But when it came to shinning armors hazing of the lower guardsponies... that particular habit didn't truly get fixed, in fact she caught herself doing it when not paying attention, it grew on her as one of the many ways she unraveled her stress. Something she had been having increasing trouble with as of late.

It was amusing on some base level to watch them panic. All in good fun. To herself she muttered when the guard had left back through the doors.
“He will ruin me if I keep this up.”
Thinking of shinnings more aggressive traits.

With that she returned to looking out at the astounding myriad of flora the castle had. Thinking that walking amoungst the beauty might distract her from the guilt of the throne is what had compelled her down here so early, Shinning is probably just getting Flurry brushed by now. Breakfast would be here soon and she would dine with her favorite daughter and her closest love, but for now the gardens provided enough calm for her malady.

The gardens really did have everything imaginable that grew in Equestria, and even a few things that didn't. Bopple berry trees from the far east, styled elder birches in poses of chivalrous heroes, creeping vines from the mirkwoods on the galloper swamps, sky olives from new pegasopolis. They all had given a piece of themselves to form the harmony of the gardens as a whole.

As she walked Cadence picked out every species and genus. Remembering when Twilight at the age of 6 had been given a botany dictionary from her mother. The two of them would crawl on the ground getting dirty from the imported soil, trying to see how many plants they could name. Cadence had fond memories in every inch of the castle but the courtyard was the most so, maybe she could have the crystal engineering core in the empire build a garden like this in the parade district. Now that the Colosseum had been finished that whole section of the city was in need of updating. The Crystal empire had many great buildings but most were magically sterile of all non important elements like trees and bushes. Something she wanted to rectify for her children.

She lead herself into the darker seldom used corners of the courtyard, she called out to its inhabitants aswell, the garden hosted strange red wooded giant pines, cyan barked willows, kirn foals breath lilies and...

(What was that?)

A new plant was here in the shade that she didn't recognize. Away from the well worn but still immaculate cobbles of the walk. The plant was black as ash and was covered in what appeared to be blue rose thorns shooting to its flanks. The mangled visage was chaotic, growing differently in each of its branches. Some were as straight as a cats tail but others were like a dry desert shrub, growing out and around and over and under. Some were thick, but at the same time limp and frail. The plant truly off put Cadence.

“Why would such a ugly thing grow here?”

The more Cadence gazed at it the more contradictory it became, it had fruit in the cold of early spring and when the other plants were only now coming into bloom, this one looked as if it had been petrified and cut down only to come back like a tormentous lich. The queerest thing of all was that while the willow and cyprus besides it swayed, the lich plant remained still inspite of its fragile appearance. No sign labeled its existence. No life dared grow before it.

Something about it was unnatural. She felt the mourning sickness kicking in and hastily turned back to the sunny area she had sat at earlier. The princess after laying down felt the gagging knot in her throat settle back into her stomach.

(Ill have to ask auntie what that bush is. Or better yet, twilight.)

Cadence had just settled herself to lie back down on the grass as she heard a familiar voice call out onto the grassy veranda behind her.

“Flurry? Are you out here?”

Shinnings voice was booming but clear, a far cry from what it had been when the two had first met in school.

Cadence turned her head towards him as she had with the guard before. Cocking it before saying,
“Your Canterlot voice is improving honey, i'm sure the whole east wing knows your up now.”

The 'dashing' prince responded directly, not even chuckling at his wife's attempt at humor,

“Have you seen Flurry around here? pant I just got her ready and she zipped out on me while I was putting on pant my coat, I can't find her anywhere.” Shinning spoke like he had during Flurries Crystaling, flabbergasted and out of breath.

Flurry at the age of two going on three wasn't as bothersome as she was as a new born to her parents, but the added attention she wanted with her mothers condition had her acting out more and more often.

“Oh She'll turn up dear, relax a little bit. This is a vacation after all. What would Sunburst think if you came home looking worse then when we left?”

“Well,... he'd think he had something to do with it, that's for sure. How did you convince me to put that nerrodic in charge again?”

Shinning began to smile with her.

“Come now, even you know the bylaws. I know you heard them while I was tutoring you.” She started talking in a bad impression of a court magister, “Decree 783b, At anytime a royal prince or princess is sent on a prolonged excursion, without prior permissions and a executive official from the populace is not found to hold court in their absence, then the court wizard shall be called on to govern until the situation can be rectified.” with a playful look she stated most 'eloquently'.

“Well you and I both know it wasn't studying I was interested in. Why does that law even exist?” Shinning said cocked, adjusting his officers uniform.

“Your sister told me once, I think it has to do with Starswirl.”

Growling, “It would be.” Shinning Armor had a deep love for his sister for sure but one of her habits that drove him mad as a teenager was her fixation on that dusty old tart of a stallion. “I don't see what she sees in him. Just another high and mighty prick if you ask me."

Cadence using her magic plucked a daisy from the croft and began counting off the petals, “Well hes a powerful mage for one, a revered hero which would get anypony to admire him not just her. He was the teacher of her teacher, and if you count recently... he did allow in a abstract way for her to become a princess.”

Shinning pausing in thought,
“Still, I don't care for him.”

Sighs “You know he will be at the opera opening in a few weeks... I'm sure he would sit with us, might be an opportunity for you to get to know him. From what twilight says hes mellowed out from the way he used to be.”

Shinning was perturbed “Oh no, I got us tickets to that show four months in advance so we wouldn't get spoiled, i'm not going to sit with some crotchety geezer who complains about everything. No. Thank. You.”

“Whats there to be spoiled by? Its a classical play!” Cadence giggled

“Well, you know... There's artistic liberties...”

“You're telling me the Ballad of Nightmare Moon is going to change? What is Luna going to be a goat? Hahaha”

“I guess you are right, its not worth getting upset over huh?”
Shinning said as he nussled her back.

“Exactly, now, don't you have a princess to find?”

“Oh damn it.” Shinnings eyes got small again and his sweatyness returned. “Go to the dinning hall, i'll get there after I find that little pink streaker.”

“Will do, and honey. Dont hurt yourself this time. The doctor said to relax remember?”

With a 'yeah-yeah' motion from his hoof he entered the servants quarters across from the greeting hall.

Again, Princess Amore was alone.

Author's Note

Originally this Chapter included a scene from Darings next section, but since it was growing longer then I anticipated I rolled it back to make the next one more coherent.

The story mostly shifts between 4 povs, some sections having one offs just to provide clarity but for the most part, The Royals, Daring, Flavian and a fourth one I wont spoil are the focus. That being said if random character 37 dies off screen and is never heard of again, that's just how the story flows. Statistically speaking most people go by the 3 chapters rule to decide weather they want to read a whole novel, I wont promise every chapter will be exciting blood fueled swear fests, but now that the major characters are established I promise chapter 4 will be the most engaging yet.