Twilight Sparkle, Princess-Regent of the Crystal Empireby EltirionsChaptersChapter 1: Settling inChapter 2: Dance of magicChapter 3: VeilsChapter 4: The ball’s in the courtChapter 5: TitleChapter 6: Title 2Chapter 7: Title 3Chapter 8: Title 4Chapter 9: Title 5Chapter 10: Title 6Chapter 11: Title 7Chapter 12: Title 8Chapter 1: Settling inTwilight Sparkle sat on a throne. However, this wasn’t her own throne, down in Ponyville. No, this was the throne of the Crystal Empire. The throne her sister-in-law had used before she- No. Twilight closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She couldn’t cry. Not now. Later, when she was in her chambers, in private. ‘’Twilight?’’ She looked up to see Spike standing in front of the throne, holding a scroll in his claws. ‘’It’s a letter from the girls,’’ he said. ‘’Thanks, Spike,’’ she said as she took the letter from him with her magic. She unfolded it, then cleared her throat and read it aloud. Hey Twilight! Starlight here! After some debate, we decided I should be the one to write to you. Don’t ask me how we decided this; it involves a speed-writing contest that was frankly embarrassing to witness. Maybe I’ll tell you about it someday. Anyway, things have been quiet here. AJ’s still fussing over Big Mac’s leg, even though it’s all but back to normal now. Rainbow keeps on complaining about her feathers, but she can fly again, so it’s not as bad as when you left. Fluttershy and Rarity have started a charity for veterans who are having problems with money or shelter, and Pinkie is helping them. I hope everything’s going well up there. The girls and I are planning to visit as soon as possible, but that’ll likely take a couple of months. Hugs from all of us, Starlight Twilight let out a sigh as she folded the letter back up and hooved it to Spike, who put it in his bag. ‘’Nice to hear they’re doing well,’’ Spike remarked. Twilight nodded, before rising from the throne. ‘’Let’s go to the dining room.’’ ‘’Fine by me.’’ Twilight’s first instinct was to teleport them both to the dining room. But she refrained from doing so at the last moment: it was smarter to walk through the palace, to get to know the place and its inhabitants. She walked towards the doors. Two stallions stood guard next to it. ‘’Excuse me, sirs, but can one of you escort us to the dining room?’’ Twilight asked, just a tad embarrassed that she didn’t know the way. One of the stallions nodded. He had a blue coat and a vibrant red mane. ‘’Of course, your Highness. Please follow me.’’ He dropped his statue-like posture and opened the doors, before walking out, Twilight and Spike following behind him. The guard led them through the dazzling hallways of the palace. Twilight looked around and tried her best to memorize the way. If she had to guess, it would take some time, just like with her castle in Ponyville. ‘’We’re here, your Highness, Great Spike,’’ the guard announced as he came to a halt in front of another set of double doors, which Twilight recognized now. She smiled at the guard. ‘’Thank you, sir. You may go back to your post.’’ The guard saluted, then left. Twilight pushed open the doors and stepped inside. ‘’Auntie!’’ And there she was. Her four-year old niece. ‘’Hello, Flurry,’’ she greeted, returning the hug the little filly was giving her with equal strength. ‘’Uncle Spike!’’ Flurry broke her hug with Twilight to repeat the gesture with Spike, who - somewhat awkwardly - hugged her back. Flurry was a strong hugger, Twilight idly mused as the three of them all slipped into chairs. Most likely she didn’t even realize it. Twilight could take it, as an alicorn, and so could Spike, but Twilight had seen her friends - except Applejack and Rarity, strangely - wince slightly every time Flurry hugged them. Of course, the likeliest reason she hugged people so much - and so often - wasn’t one that Twilight liked to dwell on. ‘’How was your day, Flurry?’’ Twilight asked as they began to eat the food. ‘’I played with some other foals in the gardens!’’ Flurry answered. Twilight smiled; that was good. Flurry had been really drawn-in while she stayed in Ponyville. Twilight knew what it was like to grow up without any friends, and she didn’t want the same to happen to Flurry. Everything had turned out alright in the end, but still. And it wasn’t really alright, was it? Twilight questioned darkly. She shook the thoughts away. Not for now. ‘’Auntie, are you listening?’’ ‘’Sorry!’’ she instinctively replied, looking from her plate to see Flurry was pouting slightly. ‘’I’m sorry, Flurry, I was just thinking about the day,’’ she lied. ‘’’What were you saying?’’ ‘’I was telling you what I did today!’’ Flurry said, somewhat accusingly. ‘’We built snowponies and had a snowball fight! It was lots of fun!’’ ‘’Good to hear,’’ Twilight said with a smile. ‘’I had to meet with important ponies and do paperwork all day.’’ ‘’Mostly the latter,’’ Spike interjected without looking up from his bowl of gemstone noodles. Twilight shot him a cross look that he didn’t see. ‘’Yes,’’ she demurred, ‘’mostly paperwork.’’ Sombra hadn’t left many important ponies alive, after all. ‘’Mommy did lots of paperwork too,’’ Flurry sighed quietly. Twilight’s heart stilled, and she could hear Spike’s slurping stop as well. Flurry glanced at her food, which she had only sparingly eaten from, then looked at Twilight and Spike both. ‘’Can we have a snowball fight tomorrow?’’ ‘’Flurry,’’ Twilight began, only to catch both Flurry’s pout and Spike’s glare. ‘’Yes, of course,’’ she relented. ‘’After lunch?’’ ‘’Yay!’’ Flurry cheered. ‘’Thanks, auntie! You’re the best!’’ She beamed at Twilight. A soft smile crept onto Twilight’s muzzle. ‘’Anything for you, Flurry,’’ she whispered so softly there was no way the foal could hear. And if Spike, with his dragon hearing, did, he didn’t show it. After dinner, Twilight took a bath with Flurry, while Spike went off to do… something, Twilight didn’t know what. Two hoofmaidens had approached her as soon as the two alicorns had entered the bathing rooms, but Twilight had dismissed them with a wave of her hoof. Now she sat in the warm, large bath, Flurry in front of her. It was really more like a spa bath than a normal bathtub, Twilight idly thought. ‘’Mane or tail first?’’ Twilight asked the foal. ‘’Mane,’’ Flurry decided after a few seconds of thought. Twilight nodded, and pulled out the bottle of shampoo with her magic. She poured some of it onto her hoof and then rubbed it out over Flurry’s mane. It was curly, far more so than her own, but over the past month and a half Twilight had gotten rather skilled at washing it. The Crystal War had upped Twilight’s paperwork by a lot, but from that first day that Luna, escorted by no less than twelve of her Lunar Guard, had brought a crying Flurry to Twilight, she’d taken time off her schedule to have a bath with Flurry, directly after dinner. It wasn’t a very long bath - Flurry was a young filly after all, and she needed her sleep - but it was always nice and warm. ‘’Thanks, auntie,’’ Flurry chirped after Twilight was finished, before plunging her head underwater for a minute. When she came up, gasping slightly for air, she slid over and huddled against Twilight’s side. ‘’Shall I do your tail?’’ Twilight was loath to disturb a cute scene like this, but she did need to wash Flurry’s tail, especially after today’s alleged snowball fight. ‘’’kay,’’ Flurry agreed, and she slid away from Twilight again, before sticking her tail out of the water. Twilight used shampoo on it again, and Flurry spent another minute underwater. After resurfacing, the two of them spent a few more minutes in the bath, before Twilight checked the clock. ‘’Alright Flurry, it’s time for bed,’’ she announced. ‘’Aww…’’ Flurry pouted, but she nonetheless climbed out of the bath and shook herself dry. ‘’Flurry, we have towels,’’ Twilight dryly reminded her as she climbed out of the bath. The filly just giggled, and Twilight didn’t have it in her to be even slightly annoyed at Flurry for how she dried herself. It was a touch of innocence in her, and Twilight would do anything to protect what innocence she had left. After properly drying both Flurry and herself, Twilight walked with Flurry to her bedroom. However, Flurry seemed to be trying to drag it on as long as possible. Finally, they arrived at her bedroom, after five minutes of walking when the bathrooms were only two minutes away. ‘’Flurry, what’s wrong?’’ Twilight asked as she stopped in front of the door. ‘’I don’t wanna go to sleep,’’ Flurry muttered, sitting down on the floor. ‘’Why not?’’ Flurry didn’t reply. She just looked down at the floor. Twilight brushed her wing against Flurry’s back. ‘’Flurry, tell me what’s wrong, please.’’ Flurry looked up, hesitated, then burst forward and wrapped herself around Twilight’s leg. ‘’I’m scared,’’ she admitted, as she looked around fearfully. ‘’I don’t wanna be alone.’’ Twilight wanted to tell Flurry that everything would be fine, that nothing would happen to her. But she couldn’t say that and feel good to herself. So she wrapped a leg around Flurry and smiled down reassuringly. ‘’You can stay with me tonight.’’ ‘’Really?’’ Twilight bent her head down and nuzzled Flurry. ‘’Of course, Flurry.’’ ‘’Thank you thank you thank you!’’ Flurry squeezed Twilight’s leg even tighter. ‘’Come on,’’ Twilight said after a moment. ‘’Crawl on my back if you want to.’’ Flurry flew up and nestled herself on Twilight’s back, but not before she got Whammy from her bedroom. Twilight gave herself a second to adjust to the slight difference in weight, then walked down the hallway and through the palace until she reached her chambers. Her chambers, which had been Cadence’s and Shining’s. ‘’You redid it,’’ Flurry realized softly. Fuck. ‘’It was all destroyed,’’ Twilight said just as softly. ‘’I’m sorry, Flurry. We can go sleep somewhere else if you want to.’’ ‘’No,’’ the filly shook her head, ‘’no, it’s okay, auntie.’’ Twilight wished so desperately that she could turn back time, that she could prevent this all from ever occurring. But she couldn’t, not after she’d destroyed Starlight’s spell. So, she did the next best thing: she got into the bed together with Flurry, the little filly cuddling up against her. Normally they’d read a story now, but Twilight was tired and she could see Flurry was too. Twilight pulled the covers over them both with her magic. ‘’Good night, Flurry.’’ ‘’Good night, auntie Twilight,’’ Flurry replied as she finally nestled herself in the position she apparently found the most comfortable. The filly closed her eyes, and a few minutes later she was fast asleep. Twilight placed a soft kiss under her horn again, and then let herself drift off to sleep as well. |-x-X-x-| ‘’Twilight Sparkle?’’ Twilight groaned as she opened her eyes. She was still in the Crystal Palace, but the bed was gone and instead she was sitting on a throne. Luna sat opposite her, on a replica of her throne in Canterlot. ‘’Hello, Luna,’’ she greeted the older alicorn. ‘’How’s Canterlot?’’ Luna sniffed. ‘’The nobles are still as insufferable as ever, but we have found that people are more eager to support our reforms now.’’ Twilight couldn’t help but think that might be the only good thing to come out of the Crystal War: Equestria’s stance on thestrals. Luna’s campaigning had done wonders, but it wasn’t until the news of how thestral militias had saved lives all over northern Equestria by hiding ponies in their colonies reached the average pony’s ear that public opinion truly shifted. Now the thestrals were being hailed as heroes. ‘’That’s good,’’ she said with a smile. ‘’Right?’’ Luna nodded gracefully. ‘’It is. But that is not the reason we are here tonight.’’ She leaned forward. ‘’How are you settling in?’’ ‘’It’s going… well,’’ Twilight couldn’t help but sigh as she said the last bit. ‘’The city is still being reconstructed and with so many ponies d-dead it feels, I don’t know, kind of empty? But we’re doing alright.’’ ‘’That’s good to hear,’’ Luna said. ‘’We noticed Flurry was in your bed this night.’’ Twilight nodded. ‘’She… didn’t want to be alone.’’ Luna hummed. ‘’Understandable.’’ With that said, she gracefully rose from her throne. ‘’We are afraid there are still other duties that require our attention, Twilight Sparkle. But do not hesitate to call on us if you are ever in need of our assistance.’’ ‘’I’ll do that, Luna. Have a nice night.’’ Luna inclined her head. ‘’You too.’’ And she vanished in a burst of starlight. Twilight closed her eyes, and darkness took her again. Author's Note Warning: all of this was written and published without editing or betaing. Chapter 2: Dance of magicStar Tower considered Ponyville as he watched it come closer. A town that had played such a pivotal role in these past years; impressive, especially when Canterlot was a stone’s throw away. Next to him, his sister stirred. Star Tower still wasn’t sure why Celestia had requested she come with him, but he’d obliged her. But for Sun’s sake, she was seventeen. She could handle herself, even if she didn’t have the insane magical power he possessed. ‘’Crystal,’’ he whispered, not wishing to wake her but also at the same time doing just that. ‘’We’re almost there.’’ Crystal’s eyes fluttered open, and the only thing they shared in terms of physical characteristics glared back at him. Star had never seen the appeal of his intense green eyes until they had looked back at him. ‘’Brother,’’ she whined. ‘’Why did you have to disturb my sleep?’’ Star shot her a smirk. Some people said that the smirk was the most attractive thing about him. He kept his own opinions on that. His blue coat, for example, he considered to be pretty attractive as well. ‘’We’re almost there,’’ he repeated. Crystal muttered something; Star had probably muttered it himself before, when he thought she couldn’t hear him. ‘’I’m hurt,’’ he said faux-pained. ‘’Fuck off,’’ Crystal replied as she slipped up in the seat of the train. She glanced out the window at Ponyville, idly brushing a lock of her silver-white mane out of her face. ‘’Why are we even here?’’ Star gave a serene shrug. ‘’Ask Celestia.’’ ‘’Oh, I will,’’ Crystal said vaguely-threatening, eyes narrowed at the sun. ‘’I definitely will.’’ The thing was, Star mused as the train slowed down to pull into the station, that Crystal probably would march into Celestia’s throne room and demand answers, if he had given her the opportunity to do so while they were still in Canterlot. Crystal might not have had the magic he had, but she did have opinions on things, and more than enough stubbornness to force them through. Stars, he had raised his sister well. ‘’Right, we’re here.’’ ‘’No shit,’’ Crystal mumbled. ‘’Twilight’s band of friends is already waiting on us,’’ Star continued as if Crystal hadn’t said anything. ‘’I still don’t know why I’m here,’’ Crystal groused as she pulled her suitcase from under the seat. ‘’Neither do I,’’ Star said for at least the fifth time. ‘’I’m sure the Princess has it all figured out.’’ Another thing people commented on. Star’s sentences consisted of three parts: what he said, what it sounded like, and what he meant. A stupid person would hear him compliment the Princess. A person with some inkling of sense would hear the supposed mockery in his voice. A person who knew how Star thought would know he was being sarcastic. Sometimes, Star thought dryly, he impressed himself with his unnecessary complicatedness. The train stopped, and Crystal and him easily got past the other ponies filing out of the carriages. Star eyed Twilight’s friends. With the exception of the lilac unicorn - his distant-but-still-too-close cousin Starlight - he had met them all before, in passing at the Gala. ‘’Good afternoon,’’ he greeted as he approached them. ‘’Bearers. Cousin.’’ Starlight’s eyes widened. ‘’Cousin!?’’ she exclaimed. ‘’Look up your maternal grandfather’s side of the family,’’ Star smoothly supplied. Next to him, Crystal was grinning. ‘’Your maternal grandmother was his second marriage, which is what estranged him from my maternal grandmother.’’ After a few seconds of awkward silence, the white unicorn coughed. ‘’Yes, well. It’s good to see you again, Royal Magician Spellweaver.’’ Star resisted the urge to roll his eyes. ‘’Star, please. We’re not in Canterlot.’’ ‘’Star, then,’’ Rarity relented gracefully. ‘’So why did the Princess send you here?’’ Rainbow Dash asked. Of course she was distrusting him. Loyalty and all that. ‘’Officially, to take over Twilight’s Princess of Friendship duties here in Ponyville,’’ Star answered, before offhoofedly adding, ‘’Tia also said I should try to keep you six from being harmed.’’ ‘’Aw, doesn’t Sunny trust me?’’ Discord. Star looked up at the draconequus, who had suddenly appeared between Fluttershy and Applejack. ‘’Apparently,’’ Crystal quipped before Star could, and he brushed his tail against her as a silent sign of approval. She brushed back and briefly tapped his hoof with her own. Discord clutched his chest. ‘’I’m hurt,’’ he proclaimed. ‘’Discord, I’m sure the Princess trusts you,’’ Fluttershy assured him quietly. ‘’Well, there’s-’’ ‘’A lot of things we should do before we can whine about Tia,’’ Star cut in. ‘’Like move into the castle.’’ ‘’Allow me,’’ Discord purred, and before Star could reply to that their suitcases had disappeared. ‘’If you broke anything I’m telling Twilight,’’ Star deadpanned. ‘’She’ll write you a strongly-worded letter.’’ Discord huff-snorted, then vanished. ‘’Right!’’ Crystal chirped when it seemed the Bearers and his dear cousin had frozen. ‘’Let’s get to the castle.’’ |-x-X-x-| Admittedly, Twilight’s castle was nice. Star just wasn’t a fan of crystals. He lounged in Twilight’s throne. Crystal had taken a chair next to him, and the Bearers and Starlight sat in their usual seats. Discord was draped over the edges of Fluttershy’s chair, because of course he was. ‘’Right,’’ Star began. ‘’Paperwork.’’ He had managed to avoid it for the most part as the Royal Magician, but now his job was paperwork. Sun and Moon fuck it all. ‘’I said that last part out loud, didn’t I?’’ Crystal’s stifled giggles were all the answer he needed. Applejack looked neutral, Rarity was carefully maintaining her Canterlot mask, Pinkie was giggling, Fluttershy looked like she wanted to slink away into nothingness, Rainbow was amused and Starlight was staring at him like he was insane. Fair, he probably deserved it. ‘’I think,’’ Discord drawled, ‘’that the paperwork can fix itself.’’ ‘’No.’’ Star fixed him with a glare. ‘’I’m not letting you fix the paperwork.’’ Discord pouted. If he thought that would actually help his cause, he really didn’t understand Star. Or how he looked. ‘’Where to start?’’ he muttered to himself. ‘’At the top?’’ Crystal innocently suggested. ‘’You’re helping,’’ Star declared immediately. He was not going to do this alone. Crystal blinked. ‘’Pardon?’’ Star smirked at her. ‘’Twilight has her little brother. I have my little sister.’’ It was totally reasonable. And if Star could get some amusement out of the moment, well that was just an added bonus. Crystal’s glare could melt a crystal. Star sincerely hoped it wouldn't; he needed the castle to be livable. ‘’What the hay,’’ Applejack finally managed. ‘’This ain’t mah job. Ah’m done here.’’ She slipped off her chair, gave Star a tip of her hat and trotted out of the room. ‘’I’m with AJ,’’ Rainbow said, before zipping off. Star eyed the rainbow trail, and considered running some experiments on it. Twilight probably already had. He would have to check. ‘’She has,’’ Pinkie’s voice confirmed next to him. ‘’Fucking Tartarus,’’ he cursed even as he turned to her. ‘’I don’t think I want to know how you did that.’’ ‘’You’re right!’’ Pinkie chirped, and then she bounced out of the room. He definitely did not want to know how she did that. ‘’It was nice meeting you again, Star,’’ Fluttershy said in her usual tone. ‘’The pleasure was all mine,’’ he replied, because while he was undoubtedly a cunt, he was also a nice cunt. And speaking of cunts that were nice… ‘’Darling,’’ Rarity all but purred as she gracefully rose from her chair. ‘’Would you like my assistance?’’ ‘’If it’s no bother.’’ ‘’My schedule has been very empty lately,’’ she dryly replied. Star made a note to have someone in Canterlot organise a party for the nobles; spin it as a charity ball and give Rarity some work. Yes, that would work nicely. ‘’Well, then let us tread this mountain.’’ And if this afternoon turned out to be filled with flirting, Star wasn’t about to complain. |-x-X-x-| Dinner that night was take-out and late. If he saw one more fucking document, Star would burn the entire pile with Soul-Fire. And then proceed to hope the castle could survive that. Probably. Harmony could most likely afford a good construction company. ‘’Thank you, darling. For take-out, this is excellent.’’ Star tipped his head at Rarity, lying on the couch opposite his. Crystal had taken her part of the food, muttered something that Star hadn’t caught but could guess at and promptly vanished to her rooms. She’d always been good at seeing what was about to happen. ‘’It’s the least I could do,’’ he replied truthfully. ‘’And yet you didn’t have to,’’ Rarity pointed out. She really should tie her mane back more often, Star mused. It brought out her face more than her usual style did. ‘’I didn’t have to,’’ he allowed. But I wanted to, went unsaid. Star really did like Rarity. If he left aside her physique - and what physique it was - he was still left with a mare that was generous, noble, perhaps not the most magically powerful but still skilled at it, and above all, just nice to be around. At least Star found so. As for what she found of him… well, he hoped it was positive. He caught her eye just as he looked back from the chandelier. Definitely positive, then. Brilliant. ‘’Darling,’’ Rarity said in that delightful way of hers. Before he had noticed it, she’d slipped off her couch and stood next to his. ‘’Darling, has anyone ever told you…’’ Star raised an eyebrow. ‘’Yes?’’ And then her muzzle was against his as she crawled onto the couch. Bloody brilliant. Chapter 3: VeilsLuna slipped off her regalia and rested herself on her bed. She considered. The Crystal War had been short but brutal, and a wake-up call for Equestria. One that Luna held the nation had sorely needed. But that didn’t make the loss of her niece and cousin-in-law hurt any less. Luna sighed. The Dream Realm was quiet again. Nightmares of Sombra had roamed wild and free, and Luna had spent most of her time in the Dream Realm combating them, but now they were mostly gone. She slipped back into the Dream Realm again, and searched for her friends. Twilight and Flurry were both sleeping in the Crystal Empire, as was young Spike. The rest of her friends were in Ponyville. Luna’s eyebrows rose, and she let out a chuckle. Apparently Star Tower’s charm was irresistible for Rarity. Good for them, even better if it turned serious. Rarity deserved something after all the work she had put into the campaign for thestral rights. And Star Tower, while more a friend of Celestia than of Luna, had nonetheless gone out of his way to explain what had changed in the fields of magic during her banishment. The rest of Twilight’s friends were fast asleep as well, and nothing they dreamt of required her intervention. That was excellent. Luna wandered around for a few more minutes, then returned to the physical world. She laid her head on the bed and closed her eyes. |-x-X-x-| Star Tower stirred. His back was stiff, and something was on top of him. Memories of last night flooded back to him as he looked at the white coat and purple mane of the mare he was laying under. One: Rarity was really fucking amazing with her tongue. Two: apparently she liked anal more than vaginal sex. Three: he wanted to do this again sometime. Rarity wasn’t awake. In their current position, any movement was likely to wake her up. From experience, Star knew that mares didn’t like to be awakened roughly. As gently as he could, he levitated Rarity up, then teleported off the couch. Before Rarity could drop he caught her again, and he lowered her onto the couch. She mumbled something. Star slipped back onto the couch, and immediately Rarity latched onto him. He wasn’t complaining. She stirred again. ‘’Mmm…’’ Star remained completely silent. The smell of last night’s activities filled his nose. He’d cast a spell, but, well. Rarity’s perfume cut through the stank, but it too was tinted with it. Still, Star enjoyed the slight refreshment, and she really did have a very nice perfume. Maybe Crystal would like it as a birthday gift. Star cast a glance at the clock. In the darkness, it was barely visible, but he thought it read… 09:21? On a Saturday, that was disgustingly early. Rarity stirred once again. Her eyes fluttered open. ‘’Star?’’ ‘’Morning,’’ he whispered back. ‘’Sleep well?’’ ‘’Very.’’ ‘’Good.’’ Star hesitated, then placed a gentle kiss on her cheek. ‘’It’s early.’’ Rarity’s eyes searched for the clock. ‘’How early?’’ ‘’Not even ten.’’ ‘’Early,’’ Rarity agreed. She swiped some of her mane out of her face. ‘’Breakfast?’’ Star suggested after a minute. ‘’Comfy,’’ Rarity replied, and that was fair. Star nodded. ‘’Of course.’’ He felt like that sentence needed something extra. Rarity smiled at him. ‘’Last night was amazing, darling.’’ She sighed dramatically. ‘’Though I fear I shall be walking with it’s effects for some time.’’ Star couldn’t help but grin a little at that. ‘’Aim to please.’’ That earned him a swat of her hoof, and then another kiss. Worth it. |-x-X-x-| Twilight woke up to find Flurry was pressed against her side, still asleep. In hindsight, she should have expected Flurry wouldn’t want to sleep in her old room again. The filly had slept with Twilight for the first two weeks after she’d arrived in Ponyville too, but then she’d moved to another room. Twilight kept still so Flurry wouldn’t wake up. She glanced at the tactically-positioned clock: it was nearly 10 AM. Flurry stirred. Slowly, her eyes opened. "Good morning, auntie." ‘’Good morning, Flurry,’’ Twilight whispered to the foal. ‘’Did you sleep well?’’ The filly yawned. ‘’Yeah, I had a really nice sleep.’’ ‘’That’s good to hear.’’ Twilight gently rose from the bed. ‘’It’s time for breakfast, Flurry.’’ ‘’’kay, auntie.’’ Flurry rose as well and jumped off the bed onto the floor. Together, the two of them walked from Twilight’s bedroom to the same room they had used for dinner. When they got there, Spike was already there, eating from a bowl of emeralds. ‘’Morning,’’ he greeted them. ‘’Good morning, Spike,’’ Twilight replied as Flurry walked over to him and gave him a hug. ‘’Hi uncle!’’ Flurry chirped. Spike ruffled Flurry’s mane. ‘’Good morning, Flurry.’’ Twilight and Flurry both sat down in chairs. Breakfast was pancakes, simple and delicious. Not as delicious as Spike would have made them, Twilight mused, but still very good. ‘’Auntie?’’ ‘’Hmm?’’ she looked up from her food to see Flurry looking at her. The filly shifted a little. ‘’Are we still going to have a snowball fight today?’’ ‘’Of course, Flurry,’’ Twilight replied. ‘’I promised, didn’t I?’’ ‘’I know. Just checking, ‘cause sometimes Mommy and Daddy promised things too but then they couldn’t do it,’’ Flurry explained herself. ‘’Well, at least today that won’t happen,’’ Twilight proclaimed. ‘’And if I am - somehow - inconvenienced, then Spike will be happy to join you, won’t he?’’ ‘’Sure,’’ Spike agreed easily. Almost too easily, but Twilight didn’t mind. ‘’Your Highness?’’ Twilight turned around to see a crystal mare with a beige coat and a orange-red mane tied up in a bun standing in the doorway, wearing a sleek business suit. Her steward, Note Keeper. Twilight suppressed a sigh. It was barely ten; surely there was nothing so pressing? ‘’Good morning, miss Keeper,’’ she greeted the mare. The mare nodded tightly. ‘’Good morning to you too, Princess Twilight, Princess Flurry Heart, Prince Spike.’’ She raised a stack of documents from her saddlebags. ‘’I’m afraid there are some documents that require your attention, your Highness.’’ Twilight inclined her head. ‘’Of course. And my schedule?’’ ‘’Nothing has changed so far,’’ Note replied. ‘’Good. I’ll finish up breakfast, and then I’ll take these in my study.’’ ‘’And Princess Flurry Heart?’’ That brought Twilight up short. She’d essentially left Flurry with her friends while they had been in Ponyville, but that wasn’t possible now, obviously. Flurry could spend the day with a nanny. Twilight was sure there was one somewhere. But that didn’t sit well with her. ‘’What do you want to do, Flurry?’’ she asked, turning to the filly. ‘’Well…’’ Flurry’s face scrunched up as she thought. ‘’I wanna play in the snow, but the other foals will only be there after lunch.’’ She looked at Twilight. ‘’Can I stay with you?’’ ‘’Are you sure?’’ Twilight pressed. ‘’It’s not going to be very exciting.’’ ‘’I don’t care,’’ Flurry replied, and that was that. And Twilight had to admit that it was reassuring that Flurry was interested in the hows of ruling a nation at such a young age. ‘’That’s that then.’’ Twilight turned back to Note and smiled. ‘’Was there something else?’’ ‘’No, your Highness. I’ll be waiting in your study.’’ The mare bowed, and left. A few minutes later, breakfast was finished. Twilight, Flurry and Spike all made their way to Twilight’s study. Note Keeper, just like she had said, was already waiting inside. ‘’Your Highnesses,’’ she greeted them with a nod. ‘’Princess Twilight, here is the documentation on the Empire’s finances that you requested from the Treasury.’’ She placed a big stack of papers onto Twilight’s desk. ‘’Following that, there is a report on the Empire’s agricultural products and food supply, and then a inquiry from the mayor of Crystal City about the state of the military.’’ Twilight let out a sigh as she sat down in her chair. Spike had his own chair as well, and Twilight quickly created one for Flurry with her magic. ‘’Right then,’’ she muttered. ‘’Thank you, miss Keeper.’’ Time to get to work. |-x-X-x-| Breakfast had been lazy and drawn-out, and after it Rarity had left with a wink and a promise to return later that day. Star was already looking forward to it. Crystal had just given the two of them a smirk, before continuing with her breakfast. She really had learned so much from him. Now, Star sat in a very comfortable chair in Twilight’s study. He sighed as he relaxed, waiting for the guests he had invited to arrive. There was still a lot of paperwork, but first Star wanted to speak with the important ponies in Ponyville. Mayor Mare and Royal Guard Commander Tempest Shadow. With Twilight not present, they were the two highest-ranking officials in Ponyville. Star had read about them - S.M.I.L.E kept good files on everyone in Ponyville - but he hadn’t met either of them in person. There was a knock on the door. ‘’Yes?’’ Star called. ‘’We’re here, brother,’’ Crystal replied from the other side. Star opened the door with his telekinesis. ‘’Thank you, Crystal,’’ he said as the three mares walked in. Both the Mayor and the Commander looked like just Star had expected them to. Tempest was wearing her ceremonial armour, and Mayor wore a simple but sleek business suit. ‘’Ladies,’’ Star greeted them with a nod. ‘’Crystal, you may go if you wish.’’ ‘’I do,’’ Crystal quipped, grinning at him before she turned and left. Star watched her go with amusement. He’d do the same in her position. ‘’Good morning, Royal Magician Spellweaver,’’ Mayor Mare said as she sat down in a chair. ‘’Sir.’’ Tempest saluted before sitting down as well. ‘’I won’t beat around the bush,’’ Star said immediately. No sense in that, he reasoned. ‘’I’m here as a replacement for Twilight while she rules the Crystal Empire.’’ ‘’I understand, sir,’’ Mayor said, shifting slightly. Was she uncomfortable? And why? Probably just the newness of him, Star concluded. ‘’Commander Shadow,’’ he addressed the other mare, ‘’what is the state of the Royal Ponyville Guards?’’ ‘’Sir,’’ Tempest replied. ‘’Currently, the regiment has a little over a thousand soldiers in it. The funds from the new military budget have allowed for us to buy new uniforms and equipment, but money is still a problem despite the money Princess Twilight had allocated for us.’’ Star nodded. ‘’I’ll see to it that those funds remain as they are. Is there anything pressing you need? I might be able to wrangle more money from Canterlot, and if not, I have some money myself.’’ The Spellweavers were far from the richest family in Canterlot, but they were still very wealthy, and Star - through writing books and smart investments - had added to that as well. He had more than enough money for a one-time donation to the military. ‘’That’s very generous of you, sir.’’ Tempest inclined her head in thanks and acknowledgement. ‘’As I said, the increased budget has helped alleviate the most pressing needs, but there is still something we lack: an adequate place to train.’’ Star frowned. ‘’Where are you training now?’’ ‘’Applejack has allowed us to use a part of her family’s land,’’ Tempest replied. Fucking great. Star shook his head. ‘’That won’t do. How much would a training facility cost?’’ ‘’It doesn’t have to be big,’’ Tempest mused. ‘’But it needs to be good. Maybe… at least fifteen-thousand bits. Maybe twenty.’’ That was far less than Star had expected. At least an extra zero. ‘’And if I gave you double that?’’ he asked, ignoring Mayor’s shocked gasp. Tempest’s eyes gleamed. ‘’That’d be very good, sir.’’ ‘’Then you’ll have it,’’ Star declared. ‘’Mayor Mare, is there anything you need money for?’’ It took the mayor a second to respond. ‘’The current budget is enough, but barely,’’ she replied. ‘’A general donation for any emergencies would be appreciated.’’ ‘’Forty thousand bits?’’ Star suggested. ‘’More than enough, sir,’’ Mayor replied succinctly. ‘’Brilliant,’’ he said. That was one problem solved. ‘’Now then…’’ Chapter 4: The ball’s in the courtBy the time the clock struck one, Twilight had finally finished reading and signing the last document on her desk. ‘’That’s that,’’ she sighed. ‘’Finally,’’ Spike muttered. Twilight gave him a smile. ‘’You did great, Spike. You too, Flurry.’’ ‘’Thanks, auntie!’’ Flurry chirped. And she really had been doing very good, in Twilight’s opinion. She’d kept still but also asked questions when she didn’t understand something, questions Twilight had been happy to answer. Her heart was warm with pride as she smiled at her niece. ‘’Come on, let’s have lunch and then we can have a snowball fight.’’ ‘’Yay!’’ Flurry cheered. ‘’Snowball fight!’’ Spike smiled as well, and in the corner of her eye Twilight caught Note’s lips twitch. Good, the mare could use a little lightening up. After a quick lunch, the three of them made their way to the gardens. Twilight shivered as the cold wind hit her, but Flurry just squealed, before jumping into the snow. ‘’Come on, auntie, uncle!’’ Spike let out a sigh of pain. Twilight smiled reassuringly at him, before nudging him with her wing. ‘’Let’s not keep Flurry waiting.’’ ‘’Urgh,’’ Spike grumbled. ‘’I hate the cold.’’ But he still went out anyways. Just in time to be hit in the face with a snowball. Twilight looked away from her spluttering assistant to see Flurry and some other foals giggling, snowballs held in their grasp. Twilight noted with some interest that Flurry was using her hooves, instead of her telekinesis. She dodged the first snowball headed for her by jerking her head to the left, but the snow still caught in her mane. She scooped up some snow with her magic and formed it into a snowball, then threw it at Flurry. As the snowball fight escalated, Twilight’s mind nonetheless wandered back to her work. The Empire was receiving basically all it's money from Equestrian aid at the moment, as Sombra had all but wrecked the economy of the nation. It would take years to fix that. Then, she’d moved onto the documents regarding the Empire’s food supply and production. This was actually a part that Sombra had invested in, but his idea of mindless slaves in gigantic plantations was obviously not applicable now, not to mention amoral. But the supply itself was in good shape, luckily, and there were still enough ponies with talents in farming and other ways of food production left that Twilight felt comfortable enough to not have to request any from Equestria. Finally, she had looked at the request from the mayor of Crystal City. She, along with other mayors and officials from around the nation, had inquired what Twilight was planning to do in regards to the military. The Crystal War had devastated the Empire in many ways, but this was one where Twilight had no idea what to do. In the end, she’d had Spike send a request for an advisor with military capabilities down to Canterlot. SPLASH! Twilight yelped as the cold snowball hit her face. As she brushed the snow from her eyes and muzzle, she saw how Flurry was playing with the other children and Spike, not a single one of them caring that she was an alicorn or a princess. A heartwarming sight. Twilight leapt forward. She had a snowball fight to win. |-x-X-x-| Luna was two things she wasn’t usually: awake at noon, and away from Canterlot. This would be Tartarus on her sleep schedule, but it needed to be done. Twilight Sparkle had requested a military advisor for the Crystal Empire, and Luna was determined to get her one. Any day the Crystal Empire went without a military was a day that Equestria’s northern border was threatened, after all. Problem one: Equestria’s military was a joke. A thousand years of peace had seen to that. Problem two: Luna was incredibly disconnected from Equestrian society. As such, she’d resorted to ambushing her sister’s steward in the hallway. Raven had quickly pointed her to the place she apparently needed to be: the Equestrian Academy for Warfare, located in Dodge City. Luna had taken the train. Admittedly she’d been in a separate part of the train, closed off for any visitors and guarded viciously by her Lunar Guard, but still. There was something to be said for watching the Equestrian landscape roll by. She wasn’t sure if it was better than an aerial view, though. But that was no matter. She had a job to do, and that was to get a military advisor for Twilight. The director of the Academy, Fast Feather, was waiting just outside the doors. He was a stallion in his early fifties, by the looks of it, with a dull green mane and a yellow coat, his cutie mark being two white crossed feathers under a lightning bolt. And a pegasus, of course. They were overrepresented in the military, Luna had discovered while she was reading some documents Raven had sent to her before she left for Dodge City. ‘’Your Highness.’’ The stallion brought his hoof up in a salute. Luna nodded back. ‘’At ease, Director Feather.’’ Feather brought his hoof down. ‘’It’s an honour, your Highness. If you’d given us more time, I could have arranged a proper welcome.’’ That was fair. Luna hadn’t given him any notice until the train had pulled into Dodge City Station, as a way to keep the press off her back. She had no intention of dealing with those vultures. ‘’The fault is not yours, director,’’ she demurred. ‘’We chose to keep our journey hidden until arrival.’’ ‘’Understandable,’’ Feather replied. ‘’Shall I show you the premises, your Highness? The Academy is the finest in Equestria, after all.’’ Finest in Equestria. Luna had seen the pictures, and the reports. They painted a very unflattering picture. When she got back to Canterlot, Luna had some choice words for her sister about allowing this to occur. ‘’That sounds delightful,’’ she said. ‘’Please, lead the way.’’ If the two guards following in her step had any inclination to comment, they didn’t show it. Luna liked her guards silent in public but open in private. She had a simple deal with all of them: they wouldn’t try to undermine her authority in public, and she would listen to anything they had to say or comment on her in private. Quite the arrangement, but it worked. She turned her attention to the tour, because the state of the Academy wasn’t Fast Feather’s fault and from everything she’d read he seemed like a genuinely good pony that just wanted to help Equestria in his own way. He didn’t deserve to have to run his school with so little support from the government. ‘’The building itself was originally intended as the city hall of Dodge City,’’ Feather explained as they crossed the large, stone and marble central room. ‘’However, it was determined it was better to have a city hall closer to the centre of town, which is further down the valley. And so they gave this building to the Royal Guard.’’ ‘’Why?’’ Luna asked. ‘’At the time, there were many conflicts with buffalo tribes, all sorts of wild creatures, and occasionally other settlers,’’ Feather replied. ‘’The Guard needed a place to coordinate their efforts here in the south from, and this was the prime location for it. They had the building expanded and added the barracks and other such things. The Guard stopped using this place after the colonization of Hoofington was complete, and reformed it into a new officer academy. Later, this was turned into the most important academy, as the one in Canterlot switched to exclusively training the Guard’s soldiers and the one in Fillydelphia was retired due to budget concerns.’’ There were a few other military schools in Equestria, Luna knew, but they all focused on specializations, like the Royal Pegasi Academy in Cloudsdale or the Naval Colleges in Manehattan, Baltimare and Vanhoover. ‘’I see,’’ she said neutrally, to hide the disappointment growing for Celestia. Choice words, indeed. ‘’Shall I take you to the classes now?’’ Feather offered. ‘’Of course,’’ she agreed, before asking, ‘’How many students are here, currently?’’ Feather rubbed his chin. ‘’Well, there’s a little over fifteen hundred cadets at any given time, more or less. Last year we had a graduation of nearly two hundred and fifty students, which is the highest it’s ever been since 960. And recruitment in general has been steadily rising ever since Stalliongrad broke away.’’ Another thing Celestia had dropped the ball on, in Luna’s opinion. Ponies revolt after the Guard violently suppressed them, and what does Celestia do? Fire a few decision-makers and let an entire region secede without any consequences. At the very least, she should have talked with the leaders of the revolt. Luna had so far avoided topics like these with Celestia, but perhaps it was time to finally address them. She cleared her throat. ‘’Pardon us, director, but we are here on a mission. Perhaps we can recline to your office, and continue the tour after our mission has been addressed?’’ Feather looked at her for a long moment, and then nodded. ‘’Of course, your Highness. Please, follow me.’’ Feather’s office was a large but simple thing. A wooden desk dominated the room with comfortable yet simple chairs on both sides, and bookshelves lined one side of the wall. The other held a shelf with glass cases, as well as a few pictures and maps of Equestria, Dodge City and the Academy. His military heritage was clear to Luna, and most likely to anyone else that visited the room. Luna’s two guards took position behind the chair she sat down in, opposite Feather’s. ‘’We shall be frank, director,’’ Luna began. ‘’We are here because we have received a message from Princess Twilight Sparkle, requesting an advisor in military matters for the Crystal Empire.’’ ‘’Well, you’ve come to the right place,’’ Feather declared after a moment of silence. ‘’As I said, we had two hundred and fifty graduates last year, most of whom have left for the Army or the Guard. But there are still a couple of excellent officers here in Dodge City.’’ Perfect. Luna leaned forward. ‘’Tell us more.’’ Chapter 5: TitleAnother day, another batch of paperwork. Twilight longed for being able to go play with Flurry, maybe read a book to her, but right now she was stuck in her office with Spike. Note had gone off to collect some books from the palace library. Suddenly, Spike coughed up a letter. He caught it in his claw and analyzed the seal for a moment. ‘’It’s from Luna,’’ he said, before giving it to Twilight. Dear Twilight Sparkle, We have seen to your request, and the advisor is on her way north. Enclosed with this letter are her files, though I’m sure you’re already familiar with her. If there is anything else we can do for you, do not hesitate to ask us. Signed, Luna Well, would you look at that. ‘’Damn, Luna works fast,’’ Spike commented. ‘’Hmm,’’ Twilight hmm-ed in agreement. ‘’Let’s see who she sent us.’’ With her magic, she opened the files that Luna had included with the letter. And proceeded to stare. ‘’Who’s- oh.’’ Spike had walked up to her and taken a peek for himself. ‘’Well,’’ Twilight said after a long moment of silence. ‘’I wasn’t aware she had gone into the military.’’ ‘’Didn’t she say something about fighting?’’ Spike mused aloud. ‘’She did,’’ Twilight recalled with a frown. ‘’I never really pressed her on that. Seemed like some bad memories.’’ Spike nodded. ‘’It says here she did study at the Equestrian Academy of Warfare, so I guess she has the papers. And the experience.’’ True enough. Twilight laid the documents on her table. ‘’Let’s go through these.’’ |-x-X-x-| Star threw the paper onto the table. ‘’Well, that’s that.’’ The Olenian Civil War had ended in victory for Velvet. Now, the Olenians would have to rebuild their nation, and quickly. No doubt Chrysalis was itching to take advantage of the situation. Next to him, Rarity hmm-ed. ‘’Velvet seems like a good person,’’ she offered. ‘’I met her once,’’ Star replied, ‘’just after she was exiled, when she visited Canterlot. She’s a devoted harmonist, from what I could tell. She’ll be a good ruler.’’ For however long Olenia would continue to exist. Rarity shifted, pushing her body closer to him. ‘’Are you worried, darling?’’ Star was sure he wasn’t that easy to read. ‘’Yes,’’ he admitted anyway, as he turned to look at Rarity. ‘’I’m worried about how Chrysalis will react to this.’’ Rarity frowned. ‘’She wouldn’t try anything, would she?’’ ‘’Maybe,’’ Star allowed. ‘’Maybe not. We’ll see.’’ Rarity kissed his cheek. ‘’Well, it’s out of our hooves, darling.’’ He smiled at her, and gave her a kiss back. ‘’I should get to work on some of those reports,’’ he noted idly. Rarity’s eyes gleamed. ‘’You should,’’ she agreed. Neither of them moved. Star considered how they had gotten in this position. When they’d first met at the Gala in Canterlot, Star had been impressed by her. Rarity had wanted to be like the nobles in Canterlot; in Star’s opinion, she had been exactly what they should be. He had said as much, and Rarity’s blush had been a beautiful sight to witness. From that day on, Star sent whatever requests he had for clothes, for him or for Crystal, to Rarity, and he discreetly directed some of his acquaintances to do the some. If Rarity had noticed, she never said anything of it. And then, he’d gone to Ponyville. It was barely a week ago, but Star would remember that afternoon, filled with flirting, for the rest of his life, he was sure of that. And of course, that night would be remembered as well. He wasn’t sure what they were now. Friends with benefits? Dating? Whatever it was, he liked it, and evidently Rarity did too. ‘’Darling?’’ ‘’Hm?’’ he hmm-ed. Rarity shifted. Hesitated. ‘’What are we?’’ Was she reading his mind? Star didn’t think so. ‘’Truth be told, I don’t know,’’ he admitted honestly. ‘’What do you want us to be?’’ ‘’I’m not certain,’’ Rarity replied. ‘’Darling, I’ll be frank: I don’t know a lot about you. And I do want this to work out, but…’’ She flailed a hoof. ‘’I see,’’ Star said. ‘’I don’t know that much about you either. And I want this to work as well. So…’’ Rarity held his gaze for a moment. ‘’Would you like to go on a date?’’ he offered. ‘’A dinner for two, in Canterlot? Or somewhere else.’’ Rarity nodded. ‘’That sounds delightful, darling. In Canterlot, if you don’t mind.’’ Tension left him as he smiled. ‘’What about Wednesday evening? I can teleport us there.’’ And if they were too drunk to return, they could spend the night at his mansion and go back to Ponyville in the morning, though Star didn’t expect that to happen. ‘’Of course,’’ Rarity agreed. ‘’I’m already looking forward to it, darling.’’ Star let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding in. ‘’I’ll pick you up at seven?’’ Rarity inclined her head. ‘’That seems like a good idea.’’ Then she reached forward and pulled Star in for a kiss. Her hoof brushed through his mane as it pressed against his neck. Star relished in the touch. Damnit, he was going to go out of his way to make this the best date he could imagine. |-x-X-x-| ‘’Celestia, we need to talk.’’ Luna’s sister raised her head from her food. ‘’About what, Luna?’’ About lots of things, Luna wanted to say. But she kept her tongue for now. ‘’About Olenia,’’ she said instead. Celestia let out a sigh. ‘’Very well, Luna. After dinner?’’ ‘’Of course,’’ Luna allowed, because it would be a waste to not eat the food the cooks had made. Especially when it tasted so good. After the food had been eaten, Luna and Celestia both rose from their chairs. ‘’Where did you want to talk?’’ Celestia inquired. That was a question Luna did have an answer to. ‘’The Cabinet Room.’’ Celestia inclined her head. ‘’Then let’s go. Lead the way, Luna.’’ With pleasure. The Cabinet Room was a large, rectangular room, dominated by an equally rectangular table, and with large windows that looked out over Canterlot. A giant map of Equestria plus Stalliongrad and the Crystal Empire hung on the wall, another map of the entire world next to it, both made with great attention to detail. Luna didn’t use any of the chairs, instead she walked over to the window and looked outside. Celestia stood next to her. For a while there was silence. Long ago, Luna mused dryly, she would have broken the silence already. Now, it was Celestia who broke first. ‘’What is this about, Luna?’’ she asked tiredly. ‘’Olenia,’’ Luna half-lied. She was planning on talking about Olenia; it just wasn’t the only subject. ‘’Olenia,’’ Celestia sighed. ‘’Sister,’’ Luna began. This was going to be difficult. ‘’It might be wise to extend an invitation into the United Ponies Front to them.’’ ‘’Why?’’ Logic, Luna’s mind screamed. Cold logic, sister. Olenia was a valuable ally to keep the Changeling Lands in check, sister. But Celestia would never go for an argument like that. ‘’To protect them.’’ Playing on Celestia’s weaknesses was easier than it ought to be, for Luna. The problem was that the instinct to protect her delicately-built system overruled any other sense of protection, most of the time. ‘’From Chrysalis,’’ Celestia tiredly concluded, because for all her optimism, Celestia wasn’t a stupid mare. Even the Nightmare had admitted as much. ‘’Yes,’’ Luna admitted with a tilt of her head. The silence that followed that simple admission was longer than it ought to be, in Luna’s opinion. Finally, Celestia let out another sigh. ‘’Why, sister? Why do you want war so badly?’’ Luna’s anger soared, old flames rekindled by new sparks. But she pushed it down, projecting an image of serenity. ‘’I do not want war,’’ she said slowly. ‘’I want peace. And allying with Olenia will make Chrysalis think twice about declaring any wars.’’ ‘’She’s not our only enemy,’’ Celestia noted bitterly. True. ‘’No,’’ Luna agreed, ‘’she’s not. But she is the most pressing one. And Stalliongrad, at least, has reasonable leaders.’’ Somewhat. Celestia didn’t reply to that. She just kept on looking out the window. ‘’Sister,’’ Luna pressed after a minute of silence. ‘’I will send a message to Velvet in the morning,’’ Celestia relented, defeated. ‘’About an alliance.’’ Because Luna wasn’t going to let this opportunity leave. ‘’About an alliance,’’ Celestis confirmed. ‘’Thank you.’’ Luna stepped forward and wrapped her sister in a hug. She was steadily growing to Celestia’s size, so she only had to reach up slightly to nuzzle her sister. After a moment, Celestia relaxed as she nuzzled Luna back. ‘’I can’t do this, Lulu,’’ she whispered. Luna reached out with her wings and stroked Celestia’s feathers. ‘’You don’t have to do this alone, Celly.’’ Celestia didn’t reply, but her grip on Luna tightened. Luna didn’t mind, not at all. |-x-X-x-| Twilight and Spike were waiting on the train from Canterlot on the station. Flurry was with them as well, as was Note Keeper. The four of them were surrounded by guards. Twilight didn’t like the guards. Oh, she had no problems with them as persons, but she disliked the fact that they were necessary. But it was a fact, and Twilight’s logical mind had forced her to allow them to come. ‘’How much longer, auntie?’’ Flurry asked from besides her. The foal was peering at the tracks anticipatingly. Twilight smiled. ‘’The train will arrive any minute now,’’ she assured the filly, reaching out with her wing to stroke Flurry’s back. In response, Flurry nuzzled Twilight’s leg with her cheek. The sounds of the approaching train reached Twilight’s ears. Finally. The train rolled into the station, gleaming grey carriages shining in the light of the sun. It came to a screeching halt as trains were wont to do, and after a few seconds, the doors opened. Almost predictably, from the frontmost carriage, where Twilight and her entourage stood, the advisor from Equestria emerged. ‘’Princess,’’ she greeted, snapping off a salute. Behind her, more soldiers from Equestria filed out. Twilight inclined her head once. ‘’Welcome to the Crystal Empire, Field Marshal Shimmer.’’ Author's Note At this point I ran out of ideas for chapter names. Chapter 6: Title 2Sunset Shimmer grinned as she lowered her hoof to the ground. ‘’It’s good to see you again, Twilight.’’ Twilight’s face broke out into a smile too, and she stepped forward to give the unicorn a hug. ‘’You too, Sunset.’’ As she stepped back after the hug, Twilight took a moment to analyze Sunset’s appearance. Her mane was tied back in a ponytail, partially hidden under the cap she wore. Her uniform was the standard outfit for her rank: green with red and golden markings. ‘’I’m sorry for your loss,’’ Sunset said sympathetically, before her eyes darted past Twilight towards the people behind her. ‘’Hello again, Spike.’’ ‘’'lo, Sunset,’’ Spike replied. ‘’Nice of you to join us.’’ Sunset nodded, before turning her attention to Flurry, who was still next to Twilight. ‘’Hello, princess.’’ ‘’Hi,’’ Flurry replied softly. ‘’It’s nice to meet you, miss Shimmer.’’ ‘’Call me Sunset,’’ Sunset offered. Twilight approved: it was something the old Sunset would never have done, at least not while actually meaning it. Flurry nodded. She was still a little shy around older people. Not as much as Twilight had been at her age, but still. ‘’Shall we go to the palace?’’ she suggested. ‘’There is a lot to talk about, after all.’’ Sunset nodded, then turned towards the soldiers. ‘’Oi, Lt General! Make sure the lads get settled, I’m headed to the palace.’’ One of the soldiers - an earth pony with a purple coat and a light blue mane - turned to Sunset and saluted. ‘’Copy that, sir,’’ he said with what Twilight assumed was a Severnayan accent, if she understood correctly. Sunset tipped her head at him, then lit her horn. Bags floated out from the carriage she’d stepped out of, over the heads of the soldiers. ‘’I’ll follow you, Twilight. I’m afraid I don’t know the way.’’ Twilight nodded. ‘’Let’s go then. This way.’’ |-x-X-x-| Star checked his reflection in the mirror. Suit, check. Flowers, check. Hair, check. Right then. Time to face the music. As he walked out of his room towards the entrance of the castle, Crystal emerged from one of the side hallways. She took a critical look at him. ‘’Passable,’’ she declared after a moment. ‘’I can and will drop a bucket of ice-cold water on your head,’’ Star drawled without any heat. Crystal put on her most innocent look. ‘’Pranking your little sister?’’ ‘’Yes.’’ Star wouldn’t actually do it, they both knew that. He adored Crystal. Despite the less than ideal situation - him being forced to raise her on his own from the tender age of fifteen - Star had done his damned best to raise her. And some things had actually sprung from it that had benefited him. Example: when Crystal had been one-and-a-half, Star was sitting his exams for the standard CSGU education, with Spellcrafting on the Advanced level. It had been two months of Tartarus, but Star had found a way to study and be with his sister at the same time: before she went to bed, he would read her historical tales and stories from the subjects he was studying, leaving out the details she was too young for of course. After his exams, Star had taken a look at his notes and then done something he was still celebrating to this day: compiled all the stories and released them in the form of a book. Instant bestseller in Canterlot, and later throughout more parts of the nation. He had released the book under a pseudonym, so aside from Crystal and the publisher, no one else knew that it was him. Oh, they’d arrived at the entrance. Terrific. Crystal gave him a hug. ‘’Good luck, brother.’’ He shot her a smirk. ‘’Thanks.’’ She smirked back, then held the door open for him. Star stepped out of the castle. Right. To the Boutique it was. He considered, for a moment, to cast a slight distraction spell over himself. He could guess what would happen otherwise. But no. It was better to face any criticism head-on. As he walked from the castle to Rarity’s boutique, Star ran his checklist again. The suit he was wearing was actually one of Rarity’s; she’d probably recognize that immediately. The flowers were hoof-picked from his garden in Canterlot; a quick teleport back and forth earlier in the day had all been that was needed for them. He was so lost in thought he almost didn’t notice that he’d arrived at the Boutique, though the building was impossible to miss. He stopped in front of the door, raised his hoof, and knocked twice. As he waited, he spared a quick glance at the nearest clock. Right on time. The door opened, but instead of Rarity, there was a shorter, younger - about Crystal's age - mare, with a curled mane of pink and purple. ‘’Hello, mister,’’ she greeted. ‘’You’re here for my sister.’’ ‘’That I am,’’ Star agreed, before sticking his hoof out. ‘’I’m Star Tower.’’ ‘’Sweetie Belle,’’ the mare replied as she shook his hoof. ‘’Nice to meet you.’’ ‘’You too.’’ Star inclined his head. ‘’Darling!’’ Sweetie stepped aside as Rarity appeared behind her. Stars, she was beautiful. Her hair was done in an elegant bun and she was wearing a gleaming black dress. ‘’My lady,’’ Star greeted with a bow, before showing her the flowers. ‘’Good evening, sir,’’ she replied, taking the flowers with her magic. ‘’Sweetie?’’ ‘’I’ll find a nice spot for these,’’ Sweetie promised as she took the flowers from Rarity. ‘’Have fun, you two.’’ And she turned and left. ‘’They grow up so fast,’’ Rarity mourned. ‘’Don’t they?’’ Star agreed, before offering her his leg. ‘’Shall we?’’ Rarity took his hoof. ‘’By all means.’’ Star closed his eyes and focused, before teleporting. |-x-X-x-| ‘’So, how did you become a field marshal?’’ Twilight asked as they walked through Crystal City back to the palace. ‘’Well, I graduated from the Academy as a major instead of a normal officer thanks to my experience,’’ Sunset replied. ‘’I led a division in Yeahcon and was promoted to major general for that. When Luna came to find me, she asked for my story, and so I told all her that I had done in the other world. She listened to it and then promoted me to field marshal.’’ ‘’Was that the rank you held in the other world as well?’’ Spike inquired before Twilight could. Sunset shook her head. ‘’I was a colonel.’’ ‘’Huh. Neat,’’ Spike remarked. ‘’So what’s your plan?’’ ‘’We’ll see about that once I have the papers I need,’’ Sunset dryly answered. ‘’My assignment is to rebuild the Crystal Army into something that can defend the nation.’’ She shivered and used a hoof to pull her uniform tighter around her. ‘’Step one of that is figuring where to get a warmer uniform.’’ ‘’That can be arranged, field marshal,’’ Note spoke up. Sunset glanced at her for a moment, then nodded. ‘’Thanks.’’ Aside from the colour, Twilight hadn’t known there were any differences between the uniforms of the Crystal Empire and Equestria. But in hindsight, it seemed obvious that those of the Crystal Empire would be made to be warmer. ‘’Well, we’re here,’’ she said, having arrived at the gates of the palace. ‘’You can give your suitcases to one of the guards, they’ll see that it’s moved to your rooms.’’ ‘’Of course,’’ Sunset agreed, before allowing her suitcases to be carried off by two of the guards. ‘’Flurry,’’ Twilight spoke up, looking at her, ‘’can you go play with some of the other foals?’’ ‘’But auntie, I wanna stay with you,’’ Flurry said, half-whining. One day, Twilight would be able to say no to that. Today was not that day. She smiled and nodded. ‘’Okay, Flurry, but it’s going to be a long talk with lots of big words.’’ Flurry nodded, looking determined. ‘’I understand, auntie.’’ She was so damn proud of Flurry. ‘’Then let’s go inside.’’ |-x-X-x-| Luna strode into the throne room of Canterlot with all the determination befitting an alicorn princess. ‘’Good morning,’’ she greeted amicably as she took a seat in her throne. ‘’Court has begun.’’ As expected, there was a moment of shock, and then people started asking where Celestia was. Because apparently, Luna couldn’t solve their stupid problems. ‘’Our sister,’’ Luna cut through the voices in the crowd, ‘’is taking a well-deserved rest for the day. You can address your problems with us.’’ Or just leave, was left unsaid. After a few seconds, a stallion stepped forward. Luna took one look at him and promptly determined that the chance of whatever he was going to say being worthless was high enough that it probably wasn’t worth paying attention. ‘’Princess,’’ the stallion began, ‘’I have here a protest signed by several dozen other ponies.’’ Huh. Perhaps Luna was wrong. ‘’And the subject of this protest, sir?’’ ‘’The unreasonable new taxes levied on the decent folk of this great city.’’ Nope, perfectly worthless. Luna suppressed a sigh. ‘’I assume you are referring to the taxes introduced to fund the Crystal War.’’ ‘’Yes-’’ the stallion said. ‘’The taxes which,’’ Luna cut him off, ‘’are what enabled our soldiers to have working guns and equipment so they could beat back a conqueror that would have enslaved all of Equestria and liberate a people oppressed by said conqueror?’’ The stallion took a step back, obviously intimidated by Luna’s sharp retort. ‘’Now see here-’’ ‘’Sir, these taxes will remain in place,’’ Luna declared simply. ‘’The need for an army has not vanished with the death of Sombra. Equestria still has many enemies, and if it wasn’t for the work of brave volunteers, cities like Whinnyapolis and Marechester would have been razed to the ground, with hundreds of thousands of deaths as a result.’’ She glared at the stallion. ‘’The ‘decent folk’, as you put it, can more than survive these new taxes. Was there something else?’’ ‘’... No, Princess,’’ the stallion all-but-growled. He huffed, then turned and left without even bowing or asking for permission. Luna watched him go with contempt. ‘’Was there anyone else that had complaints about the new taxes?’’ she asked no-one in particular. No one answered, but more than a few ponies quietly left the room, some pensive and some fuming. Worthless wastes of air, Luna decided. Right then. On with the next petitioner, and here was to hoping it wasn’t for something stupid. Chapter 7: Title 3Crystal looked up from her book as the bell rang. One, she didn’t know this place had a bell, and two, who the Tartarus was it? Sighing, she rose from the couch and quickly walked through the hallways to the door. After a moment of consideration, she opened it. ‘’Hi,’’ Sweetie Belle greeted her. The other unicorn was smiling uncertainly. ‘’Uhh…’’ ‘’Come in,’’ Crystal said, trying her best not to sound too demanding. Because damn her, what was it with those Belle females? Rarity was a touch too old and just a little too much like the nobles she and her brother despised for Crystal’s preference, but Sweetie had neither of those negatives. Crystal had met her the same evening that she had arrived, having snuck out of the castle after it was clear Rarity and Star weren’t in a position to care. Sweetie and her friends had been sitting by their clubhouse, roasting marshmallows over a fire, and had called for Crystal to join them. Crystal had agreed; from that first moment she heard Sweetie’s voice, she was entranced. And now she was here? Crystal was working overtime to contain her emotions in favour of careful neutrality, even as she led Sweetie to the living room. ‘’So…’’ she began once she had sat back on the couch, Sweetie having laid down on another couch opposite hers. ‘’I guess our siblings like each other.’’ ‘’Are you kidding?’’ Sweetie snarked. ‘’Rarity didn’t tell me anything, but I could see how pleased she was when she finally arrived for lunch.’’ ‘’Hmm,’’ Crystal hummed. ‘’I could smell it when I arrived back.’’ ‘’Urgh.’’ Sweetie gagged. A comfortable yet awkward silence fell between them. That was something Crystal hated, but for once, she was too afraid of the consequences to act on it. Damn her fucking emotions. ‘’Crystal?’’ ‘’Yes?’’ she replied a moment too late, slightly startled. She looked up from the floor to see Sweetie looking somewhat confused. ‘’Is something wrong, Sweetie?’’ ‘’Well, no,’’ Sweetie said. ‘’I just think it’s funny that we’re having a date at the same time as our older siblings.’’ Crystal had frozen as soon as Sweetie had said ‘date’. Her mind was screaming at her to do something, anything, but the only thing she managed to do was stare at Sweetie. Who smiled, as she slipped off the couch. Before Crystal knew it, she had walked over to Crystal, her muzzle inches away from Crystal’s. ‘’Can I kiss you?’’ she whisper-asked. Crystal lunged forward, all but smashing her muzzle against Sweetie’s. Fuck, she tasted nice. When they broke apart nearly a minute later, Sweetie crawled onto the couch, cuddling with Crystal. She was so nice and warm next to Crystal, and she silently mourned her lack of wings. ‘’That was my first kiss,’’ Sweetie said softly, after taking several deep breaths. ‘’You’re good at it,’’ Crystal offered, because what else was she supposed to say? And it was true. It wasn’t her first kiss, sure, but Crystal had only had one, very brief relationship before this, so in her opinion it didn’t count. ‘’Hmm…’’ Sweetie brushed her head against Crystal’s, their horns almost touching. Crystal’s eyes locked with Sweetie’s. ‘’You’re beautiful,’’ Crystal said before she could catch herself. Damn it. Sweetie blushed slightly. ‘’You’re beautiful too.’’ Crystal was never letting this mare go. Once, her brother had shared a story with her, a story that their father had told him when Star was eighteen. ‘’It might take us a while, but when we Spellweavers find the one, we never let them go.’’ Crystal wrapped a leg around Sweetie’s neck and nuzzled her. ‘’Let’s stay like this.’’ ‘’Yeah,’’ Sweetie whisperingly agreed, ‘’let’s.’’ |-x-X-x-| Sunset’s plan for the army was to focus on quality over quantity, with training specialized for the terrain of the Crystal Empire. They would have to be on the defensive, and able to move in small groups to hold a guerrilla war against the invader. Twilight couldn’t honestly say it was a bad plan. She didn’t know nearly enough about military matters to make that call. But if she understood the numbers correctly, it was the right idea. ‘’This all seems very well thought-out, Sunset,’’ she complimented the other mare. Sunset smiled, and waved a hoof dismissively. ‘’It’s only a rough sketch. I need to do some more work before I can implement it. But thanks.’’ ‘’Uh, Sunset?’’ ‘’Yes, princess?’’ Sunset replied as she and Twilight both turned towards the foal, who was sitting on a chair and looking at the table with a frown. ‘’I don’t understand something,’’ Flurry said. ‘’Who is gonna be attacking us? I mean, Sombra’s gone, right?’’ There was a pleading tone at the end of her sentence that made Twilight want to wrap her in a hug. Sunset shot Twilight a look that screamed for aid. Twilight stepped up. ‘’Flurry,’’ she said softly but still firmly, ‘’Sombra is indeed gone, but there are other bad people out there.’’ Flurry looked at Twilight for a moment, then burst forward and smashed against her chest in a powerful hug. Twilight immediately bent her head and wrapped her forelegs around the shaking foal. ‘’Ssh, ssh,’’ she whispered. ‘’It’s alright, Flurry.’’ ‘’I don’t want to lose you!’’ Flurry shouted, before burying her face in Twilight’s coat. Twilight felt cold tears run through her coat a moment later. She intensified her hug as she sat down on her hind legs. Flurry didn’t deserve this, and Twilight shouldn't have been doing this. Cadence or Shining should be the ones to comfort Flurry, to have told her everything was going to be alright, that there was no reason to be afraid. But Twilight had never been very good at lying to others, and Flurry deserved the truth, as long as it didn’t cost what little innocence and carefreeness she had left. In the corner of her eye, Twilight caught Spike moments before she felt him add his own considerable strength to the hug, sandwiching Flurry between the two of them. She couldn’t see it, but she was sure that Sunset and Note were watching. A choked sob sounded from the other side of the room. ‘’Field marshal-’’ Warmth wrapped around Twilight’s side and back. ‘’I treated Cadence like shit,’’ Sunset whispered into Twilight’s ear, her voice trembling slightly. ‘’I’m going to make it up to her foal.’’ Twilight tipped her head ever so slightly to Sunset. She really had changed. Twilight liked it. |-x-X-x-| Last night had been amusing. Star and Rarity had teleported back to Ponyville after a very nice dinner filled with flirting from both sides, only to find their younger sisters smooching on one of the living room’s couches. After a few seconds of awkward silence, Star had jumped in and suggested they have a very nice talk together. In the morning. The morning which it currently was. 08:34 on a Thursday was damned early. Sure, Star had paperwork, but if he couldn’t sleep in till at least 09:30, what was even the point? Star sighed contently, but very softly. Mustn't wake his marefriend, after all. Marefriend. Fucking brilliant, and brilliant at fucking. Star turned his head to the side and looked at Rarity’s sleeping face. Even after a night of wild sex she was beautiful, or perhaps because. Either way, she was also very warm and nice to cuddle up against, which Star had been doing for the past ten minutes. Her breath suddenly stalled for a moment, then her eyes slowly opened. Star could look at those diamonds for centuries. ‘’Good morning,’’ he whispered to her. ‘’Good morning,’’ she whispered back, ‘’darling.’’ He wasn’t sure which one of them reached out first, but their lips met in a fierce kiss. Star nibbled slightly on Rarity’s lower lip, almost dragging his teeth across them when he pulled back. ‘’It’s not even nine yet,’’ he said softly. ‘’I don’t feel like getting up.’’ ‘’Neither do I,’’ Rarity said. She wrapped her forelegs around his neck, pulled him even closer than he already was and all-but-purred into his ear. Fuck he was lucky. ‘’I love you.’’ The words were out of his mouth before he realized it. ‘’I love you too,’’ Rarity offered after the longest second of silence in Star’s life. He planted a kiss on her cheek. ‘’This will make family dinners awkward,’’ he mused idly. Rarity giggled. It was a sound that Star would treasure for the rest of his life. ‘’Quite so.’’ There was still an hour left before Star was obligated to give fucks about anything outside this room. He was going to spend that hour well. Chapter 8: Title 4They dined together that night. Not only was Sunset a friend, she was also a pretty good conversation partner. Ponies that could keep up with Twilight in terms of magical skill and knowledge were rare. ‘’So, Flurry,’’ Sunset said, tapping out of her conversation with Twilight to look at the foal. ‘’I hear you’re pretty powerful.’’ Flurry nodded. ‘’Sunburst and auntie have helped me with that,’’ she replied. Her voice hitched a little at Sunburst’s name; like so many others, the stallion hadn’t survived Sombra’s conquest of the Crystal Empire. Twilight reached out with her wing and ran it down Flurry’s back. Flurry relaxed slightly, leaning back against as soon as Twilight pulled her wing away. ‘’That’s good,’’ Sunset said. ‘’Power is dangerous. Remember that.’’ Flurry didn’t look like she understood it fully, but she nodded anyway. Twilight inclined her head in acknowledgement of Sunset’s lesson. They fell back into amicable conversation, until the food had been eaten and taken away by the servants. ‘’Come on Flurry, time for your bath and then bed,’’ Twilight called to her niece. ‘’’kay, auntie,’’ Flurry agreed, slipping off the chair onto the floor. ‘’Goodnight, uncle Spike. Goodnight, Sunset.’’ ‘’Night, Flurry.’’ ‘’Sleep well, Flurry.’’ |-x-X-x-| ‘’So,’’ Star began the conversation, because breakfast was the right time to have this conversation, obviously. The silence that followed was precisely what he had expected to happen. Everyone in the room, himself included, was looking anywhere but at each other, because having a healthy conversation was apparently hard. ‘’I’ll start?’’ Crystal finally offered, because she had always been the more emotionally stable of them two. When Star gave her the go-ahead in the shape of an incline from his head, she continued, ‘’I really like you, Sweetie,’’ as she turned to face the other mare, who blushed. ‘’And… I want to try this out, see if it works.’’ ‘’That’s what I want to do too,’’ Sweetie softly returned. Great, that solved one problem. Now it was Star’s turn. ‘’We’re dating now,’’ he spoke up. ‘’I figured,’’ Crystal said, because of course she was back to their usual snark a moment after she’d begun dating. ‘’Congratulations.’’ ‘’You too,’’ Rarity spoke up. Star just nodded once. Rarity pressed up against his side. If he had wings, he would have put one around her. He didn’t have wings, so he did the next best thing: a simple touch of telekinesis on her back. Some compared the two to each other, the unicorn’s version of a pegasi wing-hug. Star didn’t quite agree: telekinesis didn’t confer the same touch as feathers did, it just wasn’t possible like that, sadly. Rarity craned her head and pushed it under his neck. Star, in return, placed a kiss on the tip of her head. ‘’Urgh,’’ he heard Crystal gag. His eyes flicked to her, one eyebrow raised in silent judgment. Do it, I dare you. Crystal snorted, then pulled Sweetie into a long kiss. Hypocrite. Not that Star cared. He had Rarity, and for now, that was enough for him to be content. ‘’Honestly…’’ Rarity muttered under her breath, but there was no mistaking the amusement in her eyes. ‘’They’re young,’’ Star remarked dryly. ‘’Let them be.’’ Crystal broke her mouth away from Sweetie’s to glare at him. ‘’Yeah, well you can go-’’ Sweetie pulled her back in for another kiss. |-x-X-x-| Luna would have to ask Celestia what the nobles were snorting, and where she could get it. Being so disconnected from reality for once would be a novel experience. She unceremoniously collapsed on a set of pillows the moment the doors of her room clicked shut. Who knew that running a nation could be so tiring? In hindsight, Luna somewhat regretted her decision to all-but-force Celestia to go on a two-week holiday to the Spa Islands, away from all her duties and work. Now she had to shoulder the burden, and though she did so without complaint, that didn’t mean she had to like it. Someone knocked on the door. Three quick knocks. Important, then. ‘’Come in,’’ Luna called out as she moved to a more regal position. One of her guards entered. ‘’A reply from Olenia, princess.’’ Luna took the letter with a nod and slid it open with a touch of her magic. Your highnesses, Princesses Celestia and Luna, On behalf of the Kingdom of Olenia, it is my great honour to become a member of the United Ponies Front. Thank you for giving us this opportunity to become much closer. For too long, Equestria and Olenia have kept away from each other, and this is a good step to recitifife that. I shall schedule a visit to Vanhoover for somewhere in the coming month. If you could join us, we could sign the full agreement there, even if it is already in effect. Signed, Queen Velvet Jelzek of Olenia Well, would you look at that. ‘’Thank you,’’ Luna said to the guard. ‘’We will pen our response on the morrow. You may go.’’ ‘’By your leave, princess.’’ The guard bowed, then left. Luna considered. A visit to Vanhoover honestly wasn’t that bad of an idea, and it was easier than having Velvet come to Canterlot or travelling to Hjortland. Yes, Vanhoover was the ideal meeting place. The letter she had promised could wait. One would have to go to Twilight too; another to Jet Set, in New Mareland. But first, Luna had a nation to protect the dreams of. |-x-X-x-| Twilight closed the door to Flurry’s room as gently as she could. She lingered outside for a few more moments, then departed after nodding to the guards. Destination: her study. Sunset had suggested they continue their work there, once the evening had come. Twilight had easily agreed; the study was many times more comfortable than the council room. And just like agreed, when Twilight entered the room Spike and Sunset were both already there, seated in chairs and with a stack of paperwork dominating the table in front of them. ‘’All good?’’ Sunset asked Twilight. ‘’Yes.’’ Twilight nodded once. How kind of Sunset to ask, she thought as she took her seat. ‘’Flurry’s probably asleep already.’’ ‘’She doesn’t have trouble with that?’’ ‘’She used to,’’ Twilight admitted, seeing no reason not to tell Sunset. ‘’But not anymore. I don’t think she’s over it, per se, but…’’ ‘’I understand,’’ Sunset said softly. ‘’Enough moping,’’ Spike declared a moment later. ‘’We have to continue our work.’’ The dragon’s grin did nothing to hide his tiredness. ‘’Quite,’’ Sunset agreed with a dry chuckle, before turning serious. ‘’Twilight, I’m going to need a lot of money and other resources for this to work.’’ Of course. Twilight nodded. ‘’I’m afraid that the Empire is rather lacking… everything, at the moment.’’ ‘’I understand,’’ Sunset said, ‘’but I’ll need some starting funds, if nothing else.’’ ‘’I’ll see what can be done,’’ Twilight replied. ‘’How much bits are we talking about?’’ ‘’Hmm…’’ Sunset rubbed her chin. ‘’I’m not sure. A lot.’’ ‘’I see,’’ Twilight deadpanned. ‘’I’ll be sure to pass that on to the Treasurer.’’ Spike snickered, while Sunset chuckled. ‘’Do that.’’ ‘’In all seriousness,’’ Twilight continued, ‘’can you give me an estimate, at least?’’ ‘’Five hundred thousand.’’ Sweet Celestia. Spike whistled, impressed. ‘’I… see,’’ Twilight said. ‘’I did the finances for the Empire two weeks ago. I’m going to have to redo the entire budget.’’ ‘’I’m sorry.’’ Sunset gave Twilight a sympathetic smile. ‘’Five hundred thousand is already stretching it, I’m afraid.’’ ‘’Okay.’’ She could work with that. Rebalancing the numbers was hard, but not impossible. And in the worst case, Twilight could always request a loan from Equestria. Even if that was setting a bad precedent. The Crystal Empire was its own nation, not merely an extension of Equestria, and Twilight would see to it that that distinction was maintained. ‘’Alright. Let’s get to work.’’ Chapter 9: Title 5‘’Luna’s headed for Vanhoover,’’ Crystal announced as Star entered the dinner room. How interesting. ‘’Of course she is,’’ Star replied as he sat down at the table. ‘’She’s going to talk with Velvet. Good morning, by the way.’’ ‘’Morning.’’ ‘’Good morning, darlings.’’ Rarity swept into the room. Star turned to face her as she sat down and pulled her into a long kiss. So very nice. ‘’Urgh,’’ Crystal gagged. ‘’You,’’ Star said after he broke the kiss, ‘’have absolutely no room to speak of anything in this.’’ ‘’True,’’ Crystal admitted like the cunt she was. ‘’Oh, Rarity? There was a letter for you from Canterlot.’’ How on Faust? ‘’It seems,’’ Crystal continued with a smirk, ‘’that Luna is aware of your new status.’’ She tossed the letter to Rarity, who caught it in her magic. ‘’Let’s see then.’’ Rarity opened the letter and cleared her throat. ‘’My word.’’ Well, now Star was curious too. ‘’What did our dear princess write?’’ ‘’She’s requesting my aid in designing new uniforms for the military.’’ Wasn’t that interesting? ‘’That’s a compliment if I’ve ever heard one…’’ he trailed off as he saw Rarity was slowly starting to panic. That wouldn’t do. ‘’Rarity-’’ ‘’Oh my gosh!’’ Rarity exclaimed. ‘’I’ve got to design! Tempest, I need to speak to her-’’ ‘’Rarity.’’ ‘’Acquire the right fabrics-’’ ‘’Rarity.’’ ‘’I must hire some extra hooves-’’ Fuck this. Star’s muzzle darted forward and caught Rarity’s lips in a kiss. After a moment of startled shock, Rarity kissed back. Brilliant. ‘’Now,’’ Star said after breaking the kiss. ‘’Take it one step at a time. No one gains anything if you panic.’’ Rarity’s eyes met his, and after a moment, she nodded gracefully. ‘’Thank you for reminding me of that, darling.’’ Star smiled. ‘’Anytime, love.’’ And he did mean it. ‘’Sappy,’’ Crystal remarked dryly. ‘’But Star’s right.’’ She tossed another pancake onto her plate. Star just smiled indulgently at her. ‘’Of course I am.’’ |-x-X-x-| ‘’Sunset?’’ Well now, what could Flurry possibly have to ask Sunset this early in the morning? The unicorn looked up from her food and smiled at Twilight’s nice. Twilight leaned slightly forward, curious. ‘’Yes, Flurry?’’ Sunset replied. Flurry shifted uncomfortably in her chair. It was something Twilight recognized from Cadence. ‘’It’s just…’’ the filly hesitated. ‘’It’s just… can I call you auntie?’’ What. ‘’Because you said you knew my mom a long time ago,’’ Flurry quickly continued before any of them had time to respond. ‘’And you weren’t friends but you still knew her and you’re friends with auntie Twilight and uncle Spike now and all of auntie Twilight’s friends said I can call them auntie as well and I don’t have many friends and I like you. So can I please call you auntie too?’’ Vaguely, Twilight heard Sunset reply that yes, Flurry could call Sunset auntie. Her niece didn’t have many friends. How had Twilight, the motherfucking Princess of Friendship for crying out loud, forgotten to ask Flurry if she had made any new friends yet? She had been in the Crystal Empire for a little over a month, already! ‘’Twilight?’’ Spike grabbed her shoulder. ‘’Twilight, you with us?’’ ‘’Huh?’’ she shot up in her chair. ‘’Sorry, what was that?”’ Belatedly, she noticed Sunset, Spike and Flurry were all staring at her. ‘’I’m fine,’’ she said unpromptedly. ‘’You’re not,’’ Spike declared. ‘’You just realized you forgot something important.’’ ‘’I did,’’ Twilight acknowledged his statement, before turning her full attention to her niece. ‘’Flurry,’’ she asked gently, ‘’have you made any friends in the Crystal Empire yet?’’ Flurry shifted again, and Twilight only just now noticed that Sunset had moved chairs to sit next to the foal, her right foreleg wrapped around Flurry. That was good. Flurry, though, didn’t meet Twilight’s gaze, and that plus her shifting told Twilight enough. ‘’Flurry,’’ she continued in the same, gentle tone she had used earlier, ‘’is there a reason you haven’t made friends with the other foals yet? Are they being mean-’’ ‘’They’re not mean to me!” Flurry unexpectedly shouted, before reddening. ‘’Sorry.’’ ‘’It’s alright,’’ Twilight soothed, meeting Flurry’s eyes and seeing tears forming at the edge. ‘’Flurry, you don’t have to make friends if that’s not what you want. But trust me when I say that it’s good for you to have people of your own age to talk to.’’ Flurry didn’t look convinced, but she nodded anyway. ‘’Okay, auntie. I’ll try.’’ Twilight hadn’t asked if Flurry had had any friends before Sombra’s return. On one hoof, she hoped she had. On the other… Sombra had used child soldiers in the defence of Crystal City. It would be easier for Flurry to find new friends if she didn’t have any old ones. ‘’Is there…’’ Twilight searched for the right words. ‘’Were you friends with anyone…’’ she tried. Flurry shook her head sadly. Sunset gently ran her hoof over the filly’s back. Twilight was going to have to get her something nice. Maybe a dinner for two, in one of the local restaurants. They could catch up with each other, and the crystal ponies could see Twilight wasn’t just the Princess-Regent, she was a normal mare too. Yes, dinner sounded nice. |-x-X-x-| Being the prince of a nation that had been democratic for decades was hard, to say the least. Still, Archibald Dawnfeather, prince of the Principality of Greifenmarschen, was confident he would be able to steer the nation to the same harmony that had united the ponies of Equestria. But to achieve that harmony, blood would have to be spilled. The Duchess’ reign still held in the lands surrounding Griffinheim, and with her recent marriage the Grand Duchy of Feathisia-Strawberry was firmly in her grasp. Add the loyalty of Bronzehill’s diamond dogs to the Grover line, and it was a power bloc without equal in the region. Archibald had sent messengers to the nations of the southern Herzland: Yale, Angriver, Romau and Katerin. He had not been pleased by the result. The weird prelate in Katerin had rebuked Archibald’s messenger gently but firmly, going on a long spiel about the Trinity. Oh well, at least the messenger had returned unharmed, unlike the poor griffon sent to Angriver: the baron had sent the griffon’s head back in a box. The messenger from Yale had yet to return. Likely, he was caught in a lecture by one of the rectors there. Archibald chuckled at his own joke. The only luck had been had in Romau: the messenger had returned with promises of an alliance. Romau had pledged it’s legions, which were steadily growing, in exchange for extra food shipments to be sent to the city. And if Archibald managed to unify the Herzland or parts of it into a larger realm, then Romau had been promised the same privileges it enjoyed as an Imperial Free City. Perhaps most important of all, the new Archon of Eyr had pledged the Temples’ support to Archibald’s idea of harmony among the griffons. ‘’Archibald Dawnfeather.’’ Archibald spun around and stared. He’d heard a rumour, of a glowing griffon proclaiming himself the ‘Herald of Boreas’, crossing through Yale seemingly without any goal. Archibald himself held the Old Believer faith, and he wasn’t overly religious anyhow. The glowing avatar standing in front of him, exuding an aura of divinity, was hard to deny though. Instinctively, Archibald bowed his head. ‘’Good evening,’’ he said softly. ‘’To you as well,’’ the ‘Herald’ replied. ‘’I come bringing the message of Boreas. Hear and listen.’’ He spread his glowing wings and stood back on his hind legs. ‘’Griffonkind is fractured. The City of Light and the Heart of Evi have both fallen to socialism, and the darkness inspired by Maar’s domains will soon envelop the South and the North as well. In the Heartland, the Empire lies broken, and neither the words of the fallen Archon now in Skyfall nor the promises of the Duchess will be able to mend the Heartland. A single spark of hope remains for the children of Boreas: the Heartland must be united peacefully, and connect with the Sun and Moon across the sea.’’ ‘’This, Archibald Dawnfeather, is your task. With the aid of Boreas, you will see that Harmony is to be found in the Heartland.’’ Sweet Celestia. Archibald went to his knees. ‘’I- I am honoured,’’ he said. ‘’But how am I to do this?’’ The Herald smiled. ‘’You will have the aid of Boreas,’’ he repeated. ‘’Come. We will travel north, to Griffinheim, and there we will unite the Heartland without bloodshed.’’ An arduous task for sure. Archibald rose from the floor. ‘’I will need to collect clothes and supplies, if we are travelling north.’’ ‘’Go,’’ the Herald commanded with the flick of a wing. ‘’Gather what you need and make what preparations you must. I will wait here. We travel by land to Romau and then set sail up the river to Griffinheim.’’ That seemed reasonable. Archibald nodded, then turned and left the room. |-x-X-x-| The easiest way to travel to Vanhoover was by train, or so Luna had been told. However, a train would also be easier to sabotage, and getting help if they got stuck in the middle of Ponderosa would be hard. So, Luna had decided on a compromise: she would take a train to Las Pegasus, and from there, sail with an escort from the Equestrian navy to Vanhoover. A navy that was only marginally better prepared for war than the army was. 37 ships for a coastline of over a thousand kilometers, not to mention the ocean between Equus and New Mareland? It was not nearly enough. And of those 37 vessels, only four covered the entire western coast: one docked in Las Pegasus, and three in Vanhoover. Admittedly, the powers of Griffonia had posed more of a threat for the longest time, but the Changeling navy was nothing to scoff at nowadays. That was why Luna had ordered half of the Celestial Sea Fleet to be reassigned to the Lunar Ocean Fleet, with which the Las Pegasus squadron would merge as well. The ship docked in Las Pegasus would take her to Vanhoover, with one of the three ships docked in Vanhoover joining her escort in Applewood. Luna hadn’t yet stayed on a new, modern ship, and had only been on a ship a few times before her banishment. An experience to look forward to, no matter how the subsequent meeting with Queen Velvet would go. If she understood it correctly, Velvet and Luna both wanted this alliance. Olenia needed to rebuild after Johan’s misrule and the short but devastating civil war that ensured Velvet’s return, and Equestria needed a powerful ally on Equus that could help in a war with the Changelings. A part of Luna still hoped that admitting Olenia into the United Ponies’ Front, soon to be renamed the United Creatures Front, would be enough to deter Chrysalis from any aggression. But she knew that the changeling queen would not be deterred by something like. She hoped, but she already knew the answer. The landscape continued to fly past. In the distance, the Canter was visible, moonlight sparkling off the water’s surface. It had never occurred to Luna before how vast and empty Equestria truly was: since passing Ghastly Gorge - which had been on the other side of the river - she had only seen small villages. There was room for thousands of creatures here, but instead there was only nature. It was calming, in a way, to know that though Equestria might have been at war not two months ago, there were still sights like this, unmarred by conflict. Idly, Luna wondered how Celestia was doing. Her sister had extended her holiday in the Spa Islands to until Luna had returned from Vanhoover, and her last letter had described just how relaxing and serene the resort Luna (with a little help from her steward) had arranged for Celestia. A smile crept onto Luna’s muzzle. She honestly hadn’t expected Celestia to fold so easily, but fold she had. And ruling Equestria alone, while a change of pace from the calm Night Court, was honestly refreshing. She could do without the nobles though. Chapter 10: Title 6The ship Luna would be staying on was called the ERNS Pictor, a recently-built destroyer that was the sole thing patrolling Equestrian waters between Vanhoover and Baltimare. In practice, Luna had read, the ship kept itself in the Pegasi Gulf, and mostly dealt with any pirates or smugglers that tried to enter the country. The full crew of the ship had posted themselves on the railing, and the captain of the ship stood at the boarding plank. ‘’Your majesty.’’ She snapped off a salute. ‘’Captain Skyheart of the ERNS Pictor reporting, ma’am!’’ Luna nodded. ‘’At ease, captain. It’s a pleasure to meet you.’’ ‘’Pleasure to meet you too, your majesty,’’ the mare replied. ‘’And it’s an honour to have you aboard.’’ ‘’We are sure everything will be to our liking,’’ Luna demurred. ‘’We do not require much in the way of comfort.’’ ‘’Your majesty.’’ Was she making the captain uncomfortable? Of course she was. Luna inclined her head regally. ‘’Captain, won’t you show us around your ship?’’ ‘’Of course, your majesty,’’ Skyheart replied. ‘’Please, follow me.’’ After a quick tour of the ship, Luna ended up on the bridge of the ship. ‘’And that’s that,’’ Skyheart concluded. ‘’Any questions, your majesty?’’ ‘’None as of now,’’ Luna replied after a moment’s thought. ‘’Thank you, captain. Is it possible for us to remain here as we leave for the sea?’’ ‘’I would be honoured, your majesty,’’ was Skyheart’s answer. ‘’We are ready to depart at your command, your majesty.’’ Brilliant. ‘’Then let us set sail!’’ |-x-X-x-| The trip up the river to Griffinheim was more comfortable than Archibald had anticipated. They were travelling in a boat owned by the Chancellor of Romau’s Senate: a long, comfortable ship that had more than enough space for their delegation. Aside from the Herald and Archibald himself, one of Romau’s senators and the Archon of Eyr, Erion XIII, were also travelling to Griffinheim. Prelate Duskfeather would arrive a day after them, the Herald had predicted, and Archibald saw no reason to doubt him. No doubt the Herald had powerful gifts, and that was one of them. Speaking of, the Herald had been at the front of the ship the entire time, looking out over the river as they slowly went north. Archibald, on his part, was busy sorting through his notes. The rumours that he wrote incestual relationships between princesses Celestia and Luna were true, but only partially: he wrote other things as well, and his writings never went into too much detail regarding that part. ‘’Prince Archibald?’’ He looked up to see the senator from Romau, a light brown griffoness called Emma Starmourn, standing in the doorway. ‘’Yes?’’ he asked. ‘’The Herald wants to talk to you,’’ senator Starmourn succinctly said. Whatever for? Archibald nodded as he stood up from his chair. ‘’Of course.’’ A moment to drop his notes on the desk, and then Archibald was walking from his room to the front of the ship. The Herald was in conversation with Erion, and the sailors around them were busy pretending they weren’t listening in. Of course, the discussion was theological in nature. ‘’Good afternoon,’’ Archibald entered the conversation. ‘’You wished to speak with me, Herald?’’ ‘’I did.’’ The Herald turned his beak to Archibald. ‘’Archon Erion and I wished to discuss the place of the faith.’’ Well. ‘’A blessed day to you, Prince Dawnfeather,’’ Erion said. The black and gray griffon cut a priestly figure in his white and red robes, simple but elegantly-dressed and soft-spoken. ‘’I have been told you and I have some differences in our faith.’’ ‘’That’s one way to say it,’’ Archibald said dryly. ‘’I’ll start: I’m an Old Believer, and I grew up in Equestria. The Trinity, in my opinion, has no business being as influential as it currently is.’’ Erion inclined his head. He probably didn’t agree, but the fact that he didn’t start ranting or otherwise get angry at Archibald for simply voicing his opinion was good enough. ‘’I see,’’ he said neutrally. ‘’I agree, partially. It is, after all, the task of the temples to make sure the word of the gods is spread.’’ ‘’And I’m not denying that,’’ Archibald demurred. ‘’But the preachings of a prelate should not be able to sway an election.’’ ‘’And how would you regulate that?’’ Erion asked. ‘’Because anyone who can speak to a crowd can do the same. Should we ban public speaking?’’ ‘’Of course not.’’ Admittedly, it had been some time since Archibald had held an actual debate about this with someone. ‘’Let me rephrase: the line between state and religion, and I mean all religions, should be more properly defined.’’ Erion hummed. ‘’How do you propose to do that?’’ ‘’Well, for starters,’’ Archibald began, ‘’a prelate should not be able to hold any other offices, like mayor or aldergriff. Laws that are based on rules laid down by the temples should be repealed or amended.’’ Erion hummed again. ‘’Very well. And what do the temples get in exchange?’’ ‘’Exchange?’’ Archibald asked, eyebrow rising. ‘’I don’t follow.’’ ‘’What the Archon means,’’ the Herald spoke up, ‘’is this: if the temples agreed to this limitation to their power, what would the state offer them in compensation?’’ That was something Archibald hadn’t thought about, because the question had never really come up. Greifenmarschen was primarily Old Believer, in which the positions of Archon simply didn’t exist. ‘’I… don’t know,’’ he finally offered. ‘’Well, something to think about then,’’ Erion remarked with a sympathetic smile. ‘’We have a couple of days until we arrive in Griffinheim, so plenty of time.’’ ‘’Indeed,’’ the Herald agreed. ‘’While the Archon and I both agree with your principles, Archibald, you must be able to defend and explain them for those who are opposed to them, if our task is to succeed.’’ ‘’I understand.’’ In hindsight, that was rather logical, and definitely something Archibald would get to doing as soon as possible. |-x-X-x-| Of course, when Twilight and Sunset left for their strictly-business lunch date (dinner, sadly, hadn’t fit into their schedules), Twilight left it to Spike to care for Flurry. Not that the dragon minded. He loved his niece, and spending time with Flurry was one of his favourite things to do. Likewise, Flurry loved taking a ride on Spike’s back. By now, he was tall and strong enough to carry an adult mare like Twilight on his back, nevermind a little filly. A group of foals, on the other claw… ‘’I’m not sure I can carry all of you,’’ Spike told the seven foals in front of him. With the exception of Flurry, they were all crystal ponies, looking up at him both figuratively and literally. Disappointing wasn’t something Spike wanted to do, but he wasn’t some all-powerful god either. Spike wasn’t sure if the foals and Flurry were friends yet, but if he could help her with that, he was happy to do so. So when Flurry had asked if the other foals and she could ride on his back, he was more than willing to oblige. ‘’I can fly,’’ Flurry offered. ‘’I don’t have to ride on your back, uncle.’’ Well, it was the only option. ‘’That’s very kind of you, Flurry.’’ Spike smiled at his niece, who gave a bright smile back. Spike then turned to the other foals. ‘’Climb on my back then, but watch out for the spikes, and be careful you don’t fall off.’’ ‘’Okay, Great Spike/Prince Spike,’’ the foals all said, before climbing on his back one by one. When they had all climbed on, Spike took a few hesitant steps, The extra weight was noticeable, but he could still walk easily. ‘’Right,’’ he said, turning his neck to look at the foals. ‘’Everyone hanging on?’’ ‘’Yeah, we can go!’’ Flurry replied, hovering besides him. ‘’Then let’s go,’’ Spike said, and he began to walk away from the playground. Flurry constantly zipped between flying next to his face and next to his back, talking with him or the other foals depending on where she was. Of course, they were bound to attract attention. Many people stopped to stare at Spike and Flurry, and Spike made sure to smile and sometimes even wave to them. Public relations, morale and all that. Twilight had included a set of diagrams and statistics during her explanation, but the main thing Spike had remembered was that seeing him, or Twilight or Flurry, reassured people and made them feel safe. And if he enjoyed the attention just a little, well then that was just a nice bonus, wasn’t it? ‘’Uncle Spike?’’ Flurry flew back into his sight again. ‘’Can we get ice cream? There’s a store there.’’ She pointed down the street to a sign that read, ‘’Crystal Cream: best ice cream in town!’’ Spike questioned how an ice cream store could function when it was too cold for ice cream from October to March, but it seemingly worked. And he never said no to a nice scoop of ice cream, no matter the weather. Even if it was not even April. ‘’Who else wants ice cream?’’ Spike asked the foals. ‘’Me!’’ they chorused back. Spike chuckled. ‘’And the vote has passed, eight to none!’’ Now, how to fit himself into the store. Chapter 11: Title 7The trip north to Vanhoover had taken eight days, during which Luna had held several discussions with Captain Skyheart, as well as other members of the ship’s crew. Once they got past the initial awkwardness, Luna had fallen into the camaraderie she had shared with the soldiers a thousand years ago, and she had had several intriguing conversations with some of the sailors. They held opinions on subjects that Luna would never have considered otherwise but still made sense to her. She was almost sad that it had come to an end. But ended it had. And now she was sitting in the town hall of Vanhoover, waiting for queen Velvet to arrive. From what had been communicated to her, Velvet was taking a train from Hjortland, acting as a sort of impromptu royal tour before arriving at Vanhoover. Ingenious, Luna had to admit. ‘’Velvet’s train has entered the city limits, your majesty,’’ one of her guards informed her. Luna nodded regally. ‘’Ensure she remains safe.’’ A simple command, really. ‘’As you command.’’ The guard retreated again. The mayor of Vanhoover let out an explosive sigh. ‘’Apologies, your majesty,’’ she offered a moment later. ‘’I am just not used to ponies suddenly appearing next to me.’’ ‘’We understand,’’ Luna soothed. ‘’’Tis but an instinctual reaction. ‘’Yes, indeed,’’ the mayor agreed hastily. ‘’Forgive me, your majesty, but this is all so exciting!’’ Luna nodded. ‘’We agree,’’ she allowed. ‘’Let us hope all goes well.’’ And there was little chance that would not be the case. Velvet wanted this, Luna wanted this: it was just a matter of signing the papers and then that would be that. Olenia would be a definitive part of the United Creatures Front, and by extension Equestria’s sphere of influence. It wouldn’t keep Chrysalis from trying to expand. But Olenia and Equestria together were stronger than alone. If it came to war, they would stand or fall together. Despite what some thought, Luna did not want war. She was a realist: war was a part of life, and Equestria was not prepared for a war. The Crystal War had proved as much. Even if it had been quick, there had still been nearly two million dead beings by the end of it, including her niece and cousin-in-law. ‘’Your majesty, queen Velvet has arrived at the train station and is making her way here,’’ a guard suddenly said. Luna inclined her head at him in acknowledgement. "Here goes nothing," the mayor muttered. |-x-X-x-| "And this is our classroom," Sweetie explained. "Lucky," Crystal said. "We have some pretty good stuff up in Canterlot too, but this is even nicer." "Really?" Sweetie questioned, looking sideways at Crystal. Crystal smiled at her. "Really," she affirmed. She hesitated for a moment, before pressing a kiss to Sweetie's nose. "And of course, Canterlot doesn't have you." Sweetie blushed and smiled. It was a sight Crystal adored. She was just so cute! "Ahem." Oh for Sun's sake. Crystal turned around and looked back into the hallway to see Starlight standing a few meters away from them. "There are foals running around in this school," Starlight warned. "I," Crystal replied, "am well aware of that. But which foal hasn't seen someone give another pony a nose-kiss before?" Starlight's eyebrows wrinkled. "I suppose you have a point," she allowed. "Crystal, I actually wanted to talk to you. Mind joining me in my office?" Crystal was on a date with her marefriend and wasn't planning on stopping said date, thank you very much. "Why don't we talk in this classroom instead?" "I'll go," Sweetie offered. Crystal shook her head. "You're not going. Whatever Starlight has to say to me, you can hear as well." "I don't think-" Starlight began. "And you should. The consequences of you not thinking about things are severe," Crystal couldn't help but point out. Starlight recoiled as if struck. "Crystal," Sweetie said softly, "that wasn't very nice of you." And she had to admit that her marefriend was right. Crystal bowed her head slightly. "Apologies." "It's fine," Starlight said quickly. "Let's just go inside." Fine by her. Crystal slipped into a chair close to the teacher's desk, Sweetie sitting next to her. ‘’What did you want to talk about, Starlight?’’ Crystal was in no mood for games. Starlight averted her eyes, looking out the window. ‘’Why are you here?’’ she finally asked. ‘’I mean, I get why Star is here. But why are you here as well?’’ ‘’If I knew that,’’ Crystal snarked, ‘’I would tell you. Seeing as I don’t, well…’’ ‘’I didn’t mean to offend,’’ Starlight needlessly apologized. ‘’I’m just intensely curious.’’ She glanced at the desk in front of Crystal. ‘’By the way, what does your cutie mark stand for? I can’t figure it out.’’ Why did her fucking cutie mark have to attract so much fucking attention? It was just a yellow circle with white stripes around it and a black dot in the centre- Okay, so maybe Crystal could understand the attention, but it was still annoying as tartarus.‘’It stands,’’ she ground out, shifting slightly, ‘’for my talent, that being light.’’ She looked at one of the lamps hanging on the roof. After a second, the light shot out of it (why it was on during the afternoon, Celestia only knew) and flew to the tip of Crystal’s horn, shaping into a small ball. ‘’That’s amazing,’’ Sweetie said, awed. ‘’I’m glad you think so,’’ Crystal said, idly sending the orb of light back into the lamp. Starlight was staring at her like Crystal had just told her she was the incest child of Celestia and Luna. ‘’I see,’’ she finally managed. Crystal slipped out of the chair and put her hoof around Sweetie’s. ‘’Come on love. The tour isn’t over yet.’’ |-x-X-x-| In the end, Spike indeed hadn't fit into the store, and he had ordered from the outside while the foals waited. Then, to avoid being surrounded by crowds, he had quickly retreated back to the playground, where they were now all eating their ice cream. ‘’So, I haven’t caught your names yet,’’ Spike said between licks from his gem ice cream. ‘’I’m Sparkling Gem,’’ the one colt in the group said immediately. He had a light blue coat and a yellow and green mane, with lighter yellow eyes. ‘’I’m Sky Flower,’’ a filly with a sky-blue mane, white coat and blue eyes said. The filly with an hazel brown coat, red eyes and a redder mane, said, ‘’I’m Cherry Heart.’’ ‘’My name is Smoky Blaze, sir,’’ a filly with a black mane, blue eyes and a dark blue coat said. ‘’I’m Nova,’’ a purple filly with a darker purple coat and lavender eyes said. The last filly remaining had a white coat, blue eyes and a golden mane. ‘’I’m Sunny Petal,’’ he said. Spike nodded. Committing all those names to memory would be a hassle, but he would manage. ‘’It’s a pleasure to meet you all,’’ he said with a reassuring smile. ‘’Are you enjoying your ice cream?’’ ‘’It’s very nice, uncle!’’ Flurry chirped. ‘’Thanks for buying us ice cream, prince Spike,’’ Sparkling added. ‘’It was my pleasure,’’ Spike replied truthfully. And he didn’t mind it at all. ‘’I-’’ ‘’SPIKE!’’ Twilight galloped into the garden, Sunset next to her. Both mares were looking panicked. ‘’What is it?’’ Spike asked as he rose from the ground. ‘’The Changelings have crossed the border!’’ What!? "We must get inside and establish communications with the border and Canterlot," Sunset said. "What happened?" Spike inquired. "Explosion in Vanhoover, and then reports of Changeling troops crossing the border," Sunset replied hastily. ‘’We don’t know much, but we’re at war.’’ This was terrible. ‘’Alright, everyone stay calm,’’ Spike ordered. ‘’Flurry, come with me.’’ ‘’But what about my friends?’’ ‘’They can come too,’’ Spike replied and tried not to smile at how Flurry had called them friends. ‘’Now come!’’ Flurry instantly clustered to Twilight’s side, while the other foals all-but-clung to Spike. He was grateful for his increase in size; one of the few good things to result from the past months. Chapter 12: Title 8What a clusterfuck. ‘’Luna will be alright,’’ Star said for the sixth time, and prayed it was true. Rarity was hugging him as if he was the last thing in the world and Sweetie was doing the same to Crystal as the four of them listened in horror to the radio reports. ‘’Reports of tanks in Acornage… the explosions in Vanhoover have stopped, but gunfire can still be heard… we’re receiving reports that Seaddle and Tall Tale are being bombed.’’ With every word, the fear increased. Starlight, the other Elements, Mayor Mare and commander Tempest were sure to break into the living room at any moment now, Star mused dryly. ‘’Royal Magician!’’ There it was. Star lifted his head and looked at the door, where all the ponies he had expected stood. ‘’Good morning,’’ he greeted. ‘’We need to act!’’ Tempest was the first to speak. ‘’Mobilize the troops under your command,’’ Star replied. ‘’Rainbow, I believe you have a Wonderbolt Squadron to report to. The rest of you, I have no idea what you did during the Crystal War, but go do it.’’ It was amazing how easily they listened to him. In a minute they were gone again, leaving the four of them alone. ‘’I’m scared,’’ Sweetie whispered. ‘’Everything,’’ Crystal replied immediately, ‘’will be fine. Love.’’ And she pressed a kiss to Sweetie’s forehead. So sappy. Rarity looked up at Star. ‘’Will it be?’’ He didn’t know. He knew the numbers: Equestria had some 75 divisions, New Mareland had 12 divisions, the Crystal Empire had 0, officially at least, and Olenia, if the intelligence reports Star received but definitely knew nothing about were true, had around 50 divisions. The Changeling Hegemony, on the other hoof, had around 60 divisions. So the numbers were in their favour. But numbers did not win wars. The Crystal War had shown that as well. ‘’Equestria,’’ Star said, ‘’will have to change. This is not a war that will be won easily. But we will win it. I promise you that.’’ Rarity snuggled up against him even more. ‘’Thank you, darling.’’ Her voice was little more than a whisper. ‘’I needed that.’’ ‘’Anytime, love.’’ |-x-X-x-| Well, they certainly couldn’t have picked a worse time for discussing uniting the Herzland. ‘’The situation in Equestria… complicates matters,’’ the Herald had said. ‘’Boreas did not expect this.’’ And then he had vanished in the middle of the negotiations. Negotiations that had been paused by the regentess, as they had all been left in shock by that little revelation. Now Archibald was sitting on the balcony of the rooms he’d been given, looking out over the western part of Griffinheim. Equestria was at war. His birth-nation. Now, the Crystal War had been different. That had been over in three months, though at a great cost. This, Archibald sensed, wouldn’t be over that quickly. Oh, he hoped it would be, but he didn’t think it would be. The main question that rested on Archibald’s mind was: where had the Herald gone to? He had tremendous power, Archibald had seen as much when the Herald had healed a blind griff in the streets, but what was he going to do with it? The Herald had talked about Equestria and harmony a lot. Perhaps he was aiding Equestria? But how then? Someone knocked on the door of his rooms. ‘’Yes?’’ Archibald called out as he rose from his chair. ‘’Herr Dawnfeather, the Herald has returned,’’ the voice of Erion replied through the door. He sounded excited. ‘’I’m coming!’’ Archibald grabbed his notebook and pencil and all but sprinted to the door, opening it to see a smiling Archon. ‘’Come,’’ Erion said. ‘’The Herald is in the room we used previously.’’ It was a short walk from Archibald’s quarters to the council room they had used for the negotiations. Stepping inside, Archibald saw the flaming Herald, as well as the regentess and her husband, senator Starmourn, and prelate Duskfeather. ‘’Now that everyone has arrived,’’ the Herald suddenly said, and the power in his voice was undeniable, ‘’we can begin again.’’ Archibald and Erion quickly sat down, as did the other people in the room, with the exception of the Herald. ‘’Listen,’’ the Herald ordered. ‘’I have spoken with Celestia.’’ Well. ‘’After that, I spoke with the so-called ‘Archon of Boreas’ in Skyfall. He has… retired, and a loyal, true follower of Boreas now rules Skyfall in his place,’’ the Herald continued. ‘’It is Boreas’ command that the nations of the Herzland unify into a single Kingdom, ruled by Prince Archibald of Greifenmarschen until Grover VI can take the throne.’’ What? Regentess Eagleclaw looked like she wanted to protest, but her husband put a claw on her own and whispered something into her ear. ‘’Very well,’’ she said a moment later. ‘’Who shall raise Grover?’’ ‘’You,’’ the Herald replied, ‘’together with the Prince and me.’’ Fucking brilliant. |-x-X-x-| Everything was rapidly falling apart. Sunset was constantly on the phone, snapping off orders while making plans. Spike had placed the foals, including Flurry, in Flurry’s rooms and set no less than a dozen guards around them, before returning to being by Twilight’s side. ‘’What can we do?” Twilight asked Sunset when the latter finally put the phone down. ‘’Morale, speeches, organizing supplies,’’ Sunset listed off. Twilight could do that. ‘’I have roughly 10 divisions or so. Their training isn’t fully done and they aren’t fully equipped, but they're the best we have. I just talked with field marshal Blueblood; he says the entire army is headed to the border, and 25 to 30 divisions will be dedicated to the front north of Acornage.’’ ‘’That’s… good.’’ Deep breaths Twilight, deep breaths. Don’t panic. Sunset smiled a wry smile. ‘’No one lives that far west in the Empire, Twilight. But we might have to evacuate Evergreen and Quebuck, just to be sure.’’ Twilight nodded. ‘’Okay.’’ ‘’Twilight.’’ Sunset hesitated, looked beside Twilight at Spike, then back at Twilight. ‘’Twilight, go to Flurry. There’s not much you can do here that I or Spike can’t, and she needs you.’’ ‘’I can’t-’’ ‘’Go,’’ Sunset ordered. Twilight, somehow, ended up in Flurry’s rooms, surrounded by the little alicorn and some other foals she vaguely recognized. ‘’Hi Flurry,’’ she greeted with a tired smile. ‘’How was your day?’’ Flurry, instead of replying, wrapped her legs around Twilight’s neck. ‘’Auntie, I’m scared.’’ Immediately, Twilight hugged her back. ‘’It will be alright,’’ she soothed. ‘’Everyone,’’ she addressed the other foals, ‘’I promise you, everything will work out fine.’’ ‘’Are you sure, princess Twilight?’’ the one colt in the room asked. No, she wasn’t. ‘’I am.’’ ‘’Okay.’’ The colt walked over to Twilight and gave her a hug as well. Author's Note And that's it. I had plans, but I burnt myself out on this story by writing everything in two weeks time, and now I'm not interested in it and likely never will be again. Yes I know it's a cliffhanger, and if you want you can write your own ending or adopt this story, as long as you ask first. Cheers.
Chapter 1: Settling inTwilight Sparkle sat on a throne. However, this wasn’t her own throne, down in Ponyville. No, this was the throne of the Crystal Empire. The throne her sister-in-law had used before she- No. Twilight closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She couldn’t cry. Not now. Later, when she was in her chambers, in private. ‘’Twilight?’’ She looked up to see Spike standing in front of the throne, holding a scroll in his claws. ‘’It’s a letter from the girls,’’ he said. ‘’Thanks, Spike,’’ she said as she took the letter from him with her magic. She unfolded it, then cleared her throat and read it aloud. Hey Twilight! Starlight here! After some debate, we decided I should be the one to write to you. Don’t ask me how we decided this; it involves a speed-writing contest that was frankly embarrassing to witness. Maybe I’ll tell you about it someday. Anyway, things have been quiet here. AJ’s still fussing over Big Mac’s leg, even though it’s all but back to normal now. Rainbow keeps on complaining about her feathers, but she can fly again, so it’s not as bad as when you left. Fluttershy and Rarity have started a charity for veterans who are having problems with money or shelter, and Pinkie is helping them. I hope everything’s going well up there. The girls and I are planning to visit as soon as possible, but that’ll likely take a couple of months. Hugs from all of us, Starlight Twilight let out a sigh as she folded the letter back up and hooved it to Spike, who put it in his bag. ‘’Nice to hear they’re doing well,’’ Spike remarked. Twilight nodded, before rising from the throne. ‘’Let’s go to the dining room.’’ ‘’Fine by me.’’ Twilight’s first instinct was to teleport them both to the dining room. But she refrained from doing so at the last moment: it was smarter to walk through the palace, to get to know the place and its inhabitants. She walked towards the doors. Two stallions stood guard next to it. ‘’Excuse me, sirs, but can one of you escort us to the dining room?’’ Twilight asked, just a tad embarrassed that she didn’t know the way. One of the stallions nodded. He had a blue coat and a vibrant red mane. ‘’Of course, your Highness. Please follow me.’’ He dropped his statue-like posture and opened the doors, before walking out, Twilight and Spike following behind him. The guard led them through the dazzling hallways of the palace. Twilight looked around and tried her best to memorize the way. If she had to guess, it would take some time, just like with her castle in Ponyville. ‘’We’re here, your Highness, Great Spike,’’ the guard announced as he came to a halt in front of another set of double doors, which Twilight recognized now. She smiled at the guard. ‘’Thank you, sir. You may go back to your post.’’ The guard saluted, then left. Twilight pushed open the doors and stepped inside. ‘’Auntie!’’ And there she was. Her four-year old niece. ‘’Hello, Flurry,’’ she greeted, returning the hug the little filly was giving her with equal strength. ‘’Uncle Spike!’’ Flurry broke her hug with Twilight to repeat the gesture with Spike, who - somewhat awkwardly - hugged her back. Flurry was a strong hugger, Twilight idly mused as the three of them all slipped into chairs. Most likely she didn’t even realize it. Twilight could take it, as an alicorn, and so could Spike, but Twilight had seen her friends - except Applejack and Rarity, strangely - wince slightly every time Flurry hugged them. Of course, the likeliest reason she hugged people so much - and so often - wasn’t one that Twilight liked to dwell on. ‘’How was your day, Flurry?’’ Twilight asked as they began to eat the food. ‘’I played with some other foals in the gardens!’’ Flurry answered. Twilight smiled; that was good. Flurry had been really drawn-in while she stayed in Ponyville. Twilight knew what it was like to grow up without any friends, and she didn’t want the same to happen to Flurry. Everything had turned out alright in the end, but still. And it wasn’t really alright, was it? Twilight questioned darkly. She shook the thoughts away. Not for now. ‘’Auntie, are you listening?’’ ‘’Sorry!’’ she instinctively replied, looking from her plate to see Flurry was pouting slightly. ‘’I’m sorry, Flurry, I was just thinking about the day,’’ she lied. ‘’’What were you saying?’’ ‘’I was telling you what I did today!’’ Flurry said, somewhat accusingly. ‘’We built snowponies and had a snowball fight! It was lots of fun!’’ ‘’Good to hear,’’ Twilight said with a smile. ‘’I had to meet with important ponies and do paperwork all day.’’ ‘’Mostly the latter,’’ Spike interjected without looking up from his bowl of gemstone noodles. Twilight shot him a cross look that he didn’t see. ‘’Yes,’’ she demurred, ‘’mostly paperwork.’’ Sombra hadn’t left many important ponies alive, after all. ‘’Mommy did lots of paperwork too,’’ Flurry sighed quietly. Twilight’s heart stilled, and she could hear Spike’s slurping stop as well. Flurry glanced at her food, which she had only sparingly eaten from, then looked at Twilight and Spike both. ‘’Can we have a snowball fight tomorrow?’’ ‘’Flurry,’’ Twilight began, only to catch both Flurry’s pout and Spike’s glare. ‘’Yes, of course,’’ she relented. ‘’After lunch?’’ ‘’Yay!’’ Flurry cheered. ‘’Thanks, auntie! You’re the best!’’ She beamed at Twilight. A soft smile crept onto Twilight’s muzzle. ‘’Anything for you, Flurry,’’ she whispered so softly there was no way the foal could hear. And if Spike, with his dragon hearing, did, he didn’t show it. After dinner, Twilight took a bath with Flurry, while Spike went off to do… something, Twilight didn’t know what. Two hoofmaidens had approached her as soon as the two alicorns had entered the bathing rooms, but Twilight had dismissed them with a wave of her hoof. Now she sat in the warm, large bath, Flurry in front of her. It was really more like a spa bath than a normal bathtub, Twilight idly thought. ‘’Mane or tail first?’’ Twilight asked the foal. ‘’Mane,’’ Flurry decided after a few seconds of thought. Twilight nodded, and pulled out the bottle of shampoo with her magic. She poured some of it onto her hoof and then rubbed it out over Flurry’s mane. It was curly, far more so than her own, but over the past month and a half Twilight had gotten rather skilled at washing it. The Crystal War had upped Twilight’s paperwork by a lot, but from that first day that Luna, escorted by no less than twelve of her Lunar Guard, had brought a crying Flurry to Twilight, she’d taken time off her schedule to have a bath with Flurry, directly after dinner. It wasn’t a very long bath - Flurry was a young filly after all, and she needed her sleep - but it was always nice and warm. ‘’Thanks, auntie,’’ Flurry chirped after Twilight was finished, before plunging her head underwater for a minute. When she came up, gasping slightly for air, she slid over and huddled against Twilight’s side. ‘’Shall I do your tail?’’ Twilight was loath to disturb a cute scene like this, but she did need to wash Flurry’s tail, especially after today’s alleged snowball fight. ‘’’kay,’’ Flurry agreed, and she slid away from Twilight again, before sticking her tail out of the water. Twilight used shampoo on it again, and Flurry spent another minute underwater. After resurfacing, the two of them spent a few more minutes in the bath, before Twilight checked the clock. ‘’Alright Flurry, it’s time for bed,’’ she announced. ‘’Aww…’’ Flurry pouted, but she nonetheless climbed out of the bath and shook herself dry. ‘’Flurry, we have towels,’’ Twilight dryly reminded her as she climbed out of the bath. The filly just giggled, and Twilight didn’t have it in her to be even slightly annoyed at Flurry for how she dried herself. It was a touch of innocence in her, and Twilight would do anything to protect what innocence she had left. After properly drying both Flurry and herself, Twilight walked with Flurry to her bedroom. However, Flurry seemed to be trying to drag it on as long as possible. Finally, they arrived at her bedroom, after five minutes of walking when the bathrooms were only two minutes away. ‘’Flurry, what’s wrong?’’ Twilight asked as she stopped in front of the door. ‘’I don’t wanna go to sleep,’’ Flurry muttered, sitting down on the floor. ‘’Why not?’’ Flurry didn’t reply. She just looked down at the floor. Twilight brushed her wing against Flurry’s back. ‘’Flurry, tell me what’s wrong, please.’’ Flurry looked up, hesitated, then burst forward and wrapped herself around Twilight’s leg. ‘’I’m scared,’’ she admitted, as she looked around fearfully. ‘’I don’t wanna be alone.’’ Twilight wanted to tell Flurry that everything would be fine, that nothing would happen to her. But she couldn’t say that and feel good to herself. So she wrapped a leg around Flurry and smiled down reassuringly. ‘’You can stay with me tonight.’’ ‘’Really?’’ Twilight bent her head down and nuzzled Flurry. ‘’Of course, Flurry.’’ ‘’Thank you thank you thank you!’’ Flurry squeezed Twilight’s leg even tighter. ‘’Come on,’’ Twilight said after a moment. ‘’Crawl on my back if you want to.’’ Flurry flew up and nestled herself on Twilight’s back, but not before she got Whammy from her bedroom. Twilight gave herself a second to adjust to the slight difference in weight, then walked down the hallway and through the palace until she reached her chambers. Her chambers, which had been Cadence’s and Shining’s. ‘’You redid it,’’ Flurry realized softly. Fuck. ‘’It was all destroyed,’’ Twilight said just as softly. ‘’I’m sorry, Flurry. We can go sleep somewhere else if you want to.’’ ‘’No,’’ the filly shook her head, ‘’no, it’s okay, auntie.’’ Twilight wished so desperately that she could turn back time, that she could prevent this all from ever occurring. But she couldn’t, not after she’d destroyed Starlight’s spell. So, she did the next best thing: she got into the bed together with Flurry, the little filly cuddling up against her. Normally they’d read a story now, but Twilight was tired and she could see Flurry was too. Twilight pulled the covers over them both with her magic. ‘’Good night, Flurry.’’ ‘’Good night, auntie Twilight,’’ Flurry replied as she finally nestled herself in the position she apparently found the most comfortable. The filly closed her eyes, and a few minutes later she was fast asleep. Twilight placed a soft kiss under her horn again, and then let herself drift off to sleep as well. |-x-X-x-| ‘’Twilight Sparkle?’’ Twilight groaned as she opened her eyes. She was still in the Crystal Palace, but the bed was gone and instead she was sitting on a throne. Luna sat opposite her, on a replica of her throne in Canterlot. ‘’Hello, Luna,’’ she greeted the older alicorn. ‘’How’s Canterlot?’’ Luna sniffed. ‘’The nobles are still as insufferable as ever, but we have found that people are more eager to support our reforms now.’’ Twilight couldn’t help but think that might be the only good thing to come out of the Crystal War: Equestria’s stance on thestrals. Luna’s campaigning had done wonders, but it wasn’t until the news of how thestral militias had saved lives all over northern Equestria by hiding ponies in their colonies reached the average pony’s ear that public opinion truly shifted. Now the thestrals were being hailed as heroes. ‘’That’s good,’’ she said with a smile. ‘’Right?’’ Luna nodded gracefully. ‘’It is. But that is not the reason we are here tonight.’’ She leaned forward. ‘’How are you settling in?’’ ‘’It’s going… well,’’ Twilight couldn’t help but sigh as she said the last bit. ‘’The city is still being reconstructed and with so many ponies d-dead it feels, I don’t know, kind of empty? But we’re doing alright.’’ ‘’That’s good to hear,’’ Luna said. ‘’We noticed Flurry was in your bed this night.’’ Twilight nodded. ‘’She… didn’t want to be alone.’’ Luna hummed. ‘’Understandable.’’ With that said, she gracefully rose from her throne. ‘’We are afraid there are still other duties that require our attention, Twilight Sparkle. But do not hesitate to call on us if you are ever in need of our assistance.’’ ‘’I’ll do that, Luna. Have a nice night.’’ Luna inclined her head. ‘’You too.’’ And she vanished in a burst of starlight. Twilight closed her eyes, and darkness took her again. Author's Note Warning: all of this was written and published without editing or betaing.
Chapter 2: Dance of magicStar Tower considered Ponyville as he watched it come closer. A town that had played such a pivotal role in these past years; impressive, especially when Canterlot was a stone’s throw away. Next to him, his sister stirred. Star Tower still wasn’t sure why Celestia had requested she come with him, but he’d obliged her. But for Sun’s sake, she was seventeen. She could handle herself, even if she didn’t have the insane magical power he possessed. ‘’Crystal,’’ he whispered, not wishing to wake her but also at the same time doing just that. ‘’We’re almost there.’’ Crystal’s eyes fluttered open, and the only thing they shared in terms of physical characteristics glared back at him. Star had never seen the appeal of his intense green eyes until they had looked back at him. ‘’Brother,’’ she whined. ‘’Why did you have to disturb my sleep?’’ Star shot her a smirk. Some people said that the smirk was the most attractive thing about him. He kept his own opinions on that. His blue coat, for example, he considered to be pretty attractive as well. ‘’We’re almost there,’’ he repeated. Crystal muttered something; Star had probably muttered it himself before, when he thought she couldn’t hear him. ‘’I’m hurt,’’ he said faux-pained. ‘’Fuck off,’’ Crystal replied as she slipped up in the seat of the train. She glanced out the window at Ponyville, idly brushing a lock of her silver-white mane out of her face. ‘’Why are we even here?’’ Star gave a serene shrug. ‘’Ask Celestia.’’ ‘’Oh, I will,’’ Crystal said vaguely-threatening, eyes narrowed at the sun. ‘’I definitely will.’’ The thing was, Star mused as the train slowed down to pull into the station, that Crystal probably would march into Celestia’s throne room and demand answers, if he had given her the opportunity to do so while they were still in Canterlot. Crystal might not have had the magic he had, but she did have opinions on things, and more than enough stubbornness to force them through. Stars, he had raised his sister well. ‘’Right, we’re here.’’ ‘’No shit,’’ Crystal mumbled. ‘’Twilight’s band of friends is already waiting on us,’’ Star continued as if Crystal hadn’t said anything. ‘’I still don’t know why I’m here,’’ Crystal groused as she pulled her suitcase from under the seat. ‘’Neither do I,’’ Star said for at least the fifth time. ‘’I’m sure the Princess has it all figured out.’’ Another thing people commented on. Star’s sentences consisted of three parts: what he said, what it sounded like, and what he meant. A stupid person would hear him compliment the Princess. A person with some inkling of sense would hear the supposed mockery in his voice. A person who knew how Star thought would know he was being sarcastic. Sometimes, Star thought dryly, he impressed himself with his unnecessary complicatedness. The train stopped, and Crystal and him easily got past the other ponies filing out of the carriages. Star eyed Twilight’s friends. With the exception of the lilac unicorn - his distant-but-still-too-close cousin Starlight - he had met them all before, in passing at the Gala. ‘’Good afternoon,’’ he greeted as he approached them. ‘’Bearers. Cousin.’’ Starlight’s eyes widened. ‘’Cousin!?’’ she exclaimed. ‘’Look up your maternal grandfather’s side of the family,’’ Star smoothly supplied. Next to him, Crystal was grinning. ‘’Your maternal grandmother was his second marriage, which is what estranged him from my maternal grandmother.’’ After a few seconds of awkward silence, the white unicorn coughed. ‘’Yes, well. It’s good to see you again, Royal Magician Spellweaver.’’ Star resisted the urge to roll his eyes. ‘’Star, please. We’re not in Canterlot.’’ ‘’Star, then,’’ Rarity relented gracefully. ‘’So why did the Princess send you here?’’ Rainbow Dash asked. Of course she was distrusting him. Loyalty and all that. ‘’Officially, to take over Twilight’s Princess of Friendship duties here in Ponyville,’’ Star answered, before offhoofedly adding, ‘’Tia also said I should try to keep you six from being harmed.’’ ‘’Aw, doesn’t Sunny trust me?’’ Discord. Star looked up at the draconequus, who had suddenly appeared between Fluttershy and Applejack. ‘’Apparently,’’ Crystal quipped before Star could, and he brushed his tail against her as a silent sign of approval. She brushed back and briefly tapped his hoof with her own. Discord clutched his chest. ‘’I’m hurt,’’ he proclaimed. ‘’Discord, I’m sure the Princess trusts you,’’ Fluttershy assured him quietly. ‘’Well, there’s-’’ ‘’A lot of things we should do before we can whine about Tia,’’ Star cut in. ‘’Like move into the castle.’’ ‘’Allow me,’’ Discord purred, and before Star could reply to that their suitcases had disappeared. ‘’If you broke anything I’m telling Twilight,’’ Star deadpanned. ‘’She’ll write you a strongly-worded letter.’’ Discord huff-snorted, then vanished. ‘’Right!’’ Crystal chirped when it seemed the Bearers and his dear cousin had frozen. ‘’Let’s get to the castle.’’ |-x-X-x-| Admittedly, Twilight’s castle was nice. Star just wasn’t a fan of crystals. He lounged in Twilight’s throne. Crystal had taken a chair next to him, and the Bearers and Starlight sat in their usual seats. Discord was draped over the edges of Fluttershy’s chair, because of course he was. ‘’Right,’’ Star began. ‘’Paperwork.’’ He had managed to avoid it for the most part as the Royal Magician, but now his job was paperwork. Sun and Moon fuck it all. ‘’I said that last part out loud, didn’t I?’’ Crystal’s stifled giggles were all the answer he needed. Applejack looked neutral, Rarity was carefully maintaining her Canterlot mask, Pinkie was giggling, Fluttershy looked like she wanted to slink away into nothingness, Rainbow was amused and Starlight was staring at him like he was insane. Fair, he probably deserved it. ‘’I think,’’ Discord drawled, ‘’that the paperwork can fix itself.’’ ‘’No.’’ Star fixed him with a glare. ‘’I’m not letting you fix the paperwork.’’ Discord pouted. If he thought that would actually help his cause, he really didn’t understand Star. Or how he looked. ‘’Where to start?’’ he muttered to himself. ‘’At the top?’’ Crystal innocently suggested. ‘’You’re helping,’’ Star declared immediately. He was not going to do this alone. Crystal blinked. ‘’Pardon?’’ Star smirked at her. ‘’Twilight has her little brother. I have my little sister.’’ It was totally reasonable. And if Star could get some amusement out of the moment, well that was just an added bonus. Crystal’s glare could melt a crystal. Star sincerely hoped it wouldn't; he needed the castle to be livable. ‘’What the hay,’’ Applejack finally managed. ‘’This ain’t mah job. Ah’m done here.’’ She slipped off her chair, gave Star a tip of her hat and trotted out of the room. ‘’I’m with AJ,’’ Rainbow said, before zipping off. Star eyed the rainbow trail, and considered running some experiments on it. Twilight probably already had. He would have to check. ‘’She has,’’ Pinkie’s voice confirmed next to him. ‘’Fucking Tartarus,’’ he cursed even as he turned to her. ‘’I don’t think I want to know how you did that.’’ ‘’You’re right!’’ Pinkie chirped, and then she bounced out of the room. He definitely did not want to know how she did that. ‘’It was nice meeting you again, Star,’’ Fluttershy said in her usual tone. ‘’The pleasure was all mine,’’ he replied, because while he was undoubtedly a cunt, he was also a nice cunt. And speaking of cunts that were nice… ‘’Darling,’’ Rarity all but purred as she gracefully rose from her chair. ‘’Would you like my assistance?’’ ‘’If it’s no bother.’’ ‘’My schedule has been very empty lately,’’ she dryly replied. Star made a note to have someone in Canterlot organise a party for the nobles; spin it as a charity ball and give Rarity some work. Yes, that would work nicely. ‘’Well, then let us tread this mountain.’’ And if this afternoon turned out to be filled with flirting, Star wasn’t about to complain. |-x-X-x-| Dinner that night was take-out and late. If he saw one more fucking document, Star would burn the entire pile with Soul-Fire. And then proceed to hope the castle could survive that. Probably. Harmony could most likely afford a good construction company. ‘’Thank you, darling. For take-out, this is excellent.’’ Star tipped his head at Rarity, lying on the couch opposite his. Crystal had taken her part of the food, muttered something that Star hadn’t caught but could guess at and promptly vanished to her rooms. She’d always been good at seeing what was about to happen. ‘’It’s the least I could do,’’ he replied truthfully. ‘’And yet you didn’t have to,’’ Rarity pointed out. She really should tie her mane back more often, Star mused. It brought out her face more than her usual style did. ‘’I didn’t have to,’’ he allowed. But I wanted to, went unsaid. Star really did like Rarity. If he left aside her physique - and what physique it was - he was still left with a mare that was generous, noble, perhaps not the most magically powerful but still skilled at it, and above all, just nice to be around. At least Star found so. As for what she found of him… well, he hoped it was positive. He caught her eye just as he looked back from the chandelier. Definitely positive, then. Brilliant. ‘’Darling,’’ Rarity said in that delightful way of hers. Before he had noticed it, she’d slipped off her couch and stood next to his. ‘’Darling, has anyone ever told you…’’ Star raised an eyebrow. ‘’Yes?’’ And then her muzzle was against his as she crawled onto the couch. Bloody brilliant.
Chapter 3: VeilsLuna slipped off her regalia and rested herself on her bed. She considered. The Crystal War had been short but brutal, and a wake-up call for Equestria. One that Luna held the nation had sorely needed. But that didn’t make the loss of her niece and cousin-in-law hurt any less. Luna sighed. The Dream Realm was quiet again. Nightmares of Sombra had roamed wild and free, and Luna had spent most of her time in the Dream Realm combating them, but now they were mostly gone. She slipped back into the Dream Realm again, and searched for her friends. Twilight and Flurry were both sleeping in the Crystal Empire, as was young Spike. The rest of her friends were in Ponyville. Luna’s eyebrows rose, and she let out a chuckle. Apparently Star Tower’s charm was irresistible for Rarity. Good for them, even better if it turned serious. Rarity deserved something after all the work she had put into the campaign for thestral rights. And Star Tower, while more a friend of Celestia than of Luna, had nonetheless gone out of his way to explain what had changed in the fields of magic during her banishment. The rest of Twilight’s friends were fast asleep as well, and nothing they dreamt of required her intervention. That was excellent. Luna wandered around for a few more minutes, then returned to the physical world. She laid her head on the bed and closed her eyes. |-x-X-x-| Star Tower stirred. His back was stiff, and something was on top of him. Memories of last night flooded back to him as he looked at the white coat and purple mane of the mare he was laying under. One: Rarity was really fucking amazing with her tongue. Two: apparently she liked anal more than vaginal sex. Three: he wanted to do this again sometime. Rarity wasn’t awake. In their current position, any movement was likely to wake her up. From experience, Star knew that mares didn’t like to be awakened roughly. As gently as he could, he levitated Rarity up, then teleported off the couch. Before Rarity could drop he caught her again, and he lowered her onto the couch. She mumbled something. Star slipped back onto the couch, and immediately Rarity latched onto him. He wasn’t complaining. She stirred again. ‘’Mmm…’’ Star remained completely silent. The smell of last night’s activities filled his nose. He’d cast a spell, but, well. Rarity’s perfume cut through the stank, but it too was tinted with it. Still, Star enjoyed the slight refreshment, and she really did have a very nice perfume. Maybe Crystal would like it as a birthday gift. Star cast a glance at the clock. In the darkness, it was barely visible, but he thought it read… 09:21? On a Saturday, that was disgustingly early. Rarity stirred once again. Her eyes fluttered open. ‘’Star?’’ ‘’Morning,’’ he whispered back. ‘’Sleep well?’’ ‘’Very.’’ ‘’Good.’’ Star hesitated, then placed a gentle kiss on her cheek. ‘’It’s early.’’ Rarity’s eyes searched for the clock. ‘’How early?’’ ‘’Not even ten.’’ ‘’Early,’’ Rarity agreed. She swiped some of her mane out of her face. ‘’Breakfast?’’ Star suggested after a minute. ‘’Comfy,’’ Rarity replied, and that was fair. Star nodded. ‘’Of course.’’ He felt like that sentence needed something extra. Rarity smiled at him. ‘’Last night was amazing, darling.’’ She sighed dramatically. ‘’Though I fear I shall be walking with it’s effects for some time.’’ Star couldn’t help but grin a little at that. ‘’Aim to please.’’ That earned him a swat of her hoof, and then another kiss. Worth it. |-x-X-x-| Twilight woke up to find Flurry was pressed against her side, still asleep. In hindsight, she should have expected Flurry wouldn’t want to sleep in her old room again. The filly had slept with Twilight for the first two weeks after she’d arrived in Ponyville too, but then she’d moved to another room. Twilight kept still so Flurry wouldn’t wake up. She glanced at the tactically-positioned clock: it was nearly 10 AM. Flurry stirred. Slowly, her eyes opened. "Good morning, auntie." ‘’Good morning, Flurry,’’ Twilight whispered to the foal. ‘’Did you sleep well?’’ The filly yawned. ‘’Yeah, I had a really nice sleep.’’ ‘’That’s good to hear.’’ Twilight gently rose from the bed. ‘’It’s time for breakfast, Flurry.’’ ‘’’kay, auntie.’’ Flurry rose as well and jumped off the bed onto the floor. Together, the two of them walked from Twilight’s bedroom to the same room they had used for dinner. When they got there, Spike was already there, eating from a bowl of emeralds. ‘’Morning,’’ he greeted them. ‘’Good morning, Spike,’’ Twilight replied as Flurry walked over to him and gave him a hug. ‘’Hi uncle!’’ Flurry chirped. Spike ruffled Flurry’s mane. ‘’Good morning, Flurry.’’ Twilight and Flurry both sat down in chairs. Breakfast was pancakes, simple and delicious. Not as delicious as Spike would have made them, Twilight mused, but still very good. ‘’Auntie?’’ ‘’Hmm?’’ she looked up from her food to see Flurry looking at her. The filly shifted a little. ‘’Are we still going to have a snowball fight today?’’ ‘’Of course, Flurry,’’ Twilight replied. ‘’I promised, didn’t I?’’ ‘’I know. Just checking, ‘cause sometimes Mommy and Daddy promised things too but then they couldn’t do it,’’ Flurry explained herself. ‘’Well, at least today that won’t happen,’’ Twilight proclaimed. ‘’And if I am - somehow - inconvenienced, then Spike will be happy to join you, won’t he?’’ ‘’Sure,’’ Spike agreed easily. Almost too easily, but Twilight didn’t mind. ‘’Your Highness?’’ Twilight turned around to see a crystal mare with a beige coat and a orange-red mane tied up in a bun standing in the doorway, wearing a sleek business suit. Her steward, Note Keeper. Twilight suppressed a sigh. It was barely ten; surely there was nothing so pressing? ‘’Good morning, miss Keeper,’’ she greeted the mare. The mare nodded tightly. ‘’Good morning to you too, Princess Twilight, Princess Flurry Heart, Prince Spike.’’ She raised a stack of documents from her saddlebags. ‘’I’m afraid there are some documents that require your attention, your Highness.’’ Twilight inclined her head. ‘’Of course. And my schedule?’’ ‘’Nothing has changed so far,’’ Note replied. ‘’Good. I’ll finish up breakfast, and then I’ll take these in my study.’’ ‘’And Princess Flurry Heart?’’ That brought Twilight up short. She’d essentially left Flurry with her friends while they had been in Ponyville, but that wasn’t possible now, obviously. Flurry could spend the day with a nanny. Twilight was sure there was one somewhere. But that didn’t sit well with her. ‘’What do you want to do, Flurry?’’ she asked, turning to the filly. ‘’Well…’’ Flurry’s face scrunched up as she thought. ‘’I wanna play in the snow, but the other foals will only be there after lunch.’’ She looked at Twilight. ‘’Can I stay with you?’’ ‘’Are you sure?’’ Twilight pressed. ‘’It’s not going to be very exciting.’’ ‘’I don’t care,’’ Flurry replied, and that was that. And Twilight had to admit that it was reassuring that Flurry was interested in the hows of ruling a nation at such a young age. ‘’That’s that then.’’ Twilight turned back to Note and smiled. ‘’Was there something else?’’ ‘’No, your Highness. I’ll be waiting in your study.’’ The mare bowed, and left. A few minutes later, breakfast was finished. Twilight, Flurry and Spike all made their way to Twilight’s study. Note Keeper, just like she had said, was already waiting inside. ‘’Your Highnesses,’’ she greeted them with a nod. ‘’Princess Twilight, here is the documentation on the Empire’s finances that you requested from the Treasury.’’ She placed a big stack of papers onto Twilight’s desk. ‘’Following that, there is a report on the Empire’s agricultural products and food supply, and then a inquiry from the mayor of Crystal City about the state of the military.’’ Twilight let out a sigh as she sat down in her chair. Spike had his own chair as well, and Twilight quickly created one for Flurry with her magic. ‘’Right then,’’ she muttered. ‘’Thank you, miss Keeper.’’ Time to get to work. |-x-X-x-| Breakfast had been lazy and drawn-out, and after it Rarity had left with a wink and a promise to return later that day. Star was already looking forward to it. Crystal had just given the two of them a smirk, before continuing with her breakfast. She really had learned so much from him. Now, Star sat in a very comfortable chair in Twilight’s study. He sighed as he relaxed, waiting for the guests he had invited to arrive. There was still a lot of paperwork, but first Star wanted to speak with the important ponies in Ponyville. Mayor Mare and Royal Guard Commander Tempest Shadow. With Twilight not present, they were the two highest-ranking officials in Ponyville. Star had read about them - S.M.I.L.E kept good files on everyone in Ponyville - but he hadn’t met either of them in person. There was a knock on the door. ‘’Yes?’’ Star called. ‘’We’re here, brother,’’ Crystal replied from the other side. Star opened the door with his telekinesis. ‘’Thank you, Crystal,’’ he said as the three mares walked in. Both the Mayor and the Commander looked like just Star had expected them to. Tempest was wearing her ceremonial armour, and Mayor wore a simple but sleek business suit. ‘’Ladies,’’ Star greeted them with a nod. ‘’Crystal, you may go if you wish.’’ ‘’I do,’’ Crystal quipped, grinning at him before she turned and left. Star watched her go with amusement. He’d do the same in her position. ‘’Good morning, Royal Magician Spellweaver,’’ Mayor Mare said as she sat down in a chair. ‘’Sir.’’ Tempest saluted before sitting down as well. ‘’I won’t beat around the bush,’’ Star said immediately. No sense in that, he reasoned. ‘’I’m here as a replacement for Twilight while she rules the Crystal Empire.’’ ‘’I understand, sir,’’ Mayor said, shifting slightly. Was she uncomfortable? And why? Probably just the newness of him, Star concluded. ‘’Commander Shadow,’’ he addressed the other mare, ‘’what is the state of the Royal Ponyville Guards?’’ ‘’Sir,’’ Tempest replied. ‘’Currently, the regiment has a little over a thousand soldiers in it. The funds from the new military budget have allowed for us to buy new uniforms and equipment, but money is still a problem despite the money Princess Twilight had allocated for us.’’ Star nodded. ‘’I’ll see to it that those funds remain as they are. Is there anything pressing you need? I might be able to wrangle more money from Canterlot, and if not, I have some money myself.’’ The Spellweavers were far from the richest family in Canterlot, but they were still very wealthy, and Star - through writing books and smart investments - had added to that as well. He had more than enough money for a one-time donation to the military. ‘’That’s very generous of you, sir.’’ Tempest inclined her head in thanks and acknowledgement. ‘’As I said, the increased budget has helped alleviate the most pressing needs, but there is still something we lack: an adequate place to train.’’ Star frowned. ‘’Where are you training now?’’ ‘’Applejack has allowed us to use a part of her family’s land,’’ Tempest replied. Fucking great. Star shook his head. ‘’That won’t do. How much would a training facility cost?’’ ‘’It doesn’t have to be big,’’ Tempest mused. ‘’But it needs to be good. Maybe… at least fifteen-thousand bits. Maybe twenty.’’ That was far less than Star had expected. At least an extra zero. ‘’And if I gave you double that?’’ he asked, ignoring Mayor’s shocked gasp. Tempest’s eyes gleamed. ‘’That’d be very good, sir.’’ ‘’Then you’ll have it,’’ Star declared. ‘’Mayor Mare, is there anything you need money for?’’ It took the mayor a second to respond. ‘’The current budget is enough, but barely,’’ she replied. ‘’A general donation for any emergencies would be appreciated.’’ ‘’Forty thousand bits?’’ Star suggested. ‘’More than enough, sir,’’ Mayor replied succinctly. ‘’Brilliant,’’ he said. That was one problem solved. ‘’Now then…’’
Chapter 4: The ball’s in the courtBy the time the clock struck one, Twilight had finally finished reading and signing the last document on her desk. ‘’That’s that,’’ she sighed. ‘’Finally,’’ Spike muttered. Twilight gave him a smile. ‘’You did great, Spike. You too, Flurry.’’ ‘’Thanks, auntie!’’ Flurry chirped. And she really had been doing very good, in Twilight’s opinion. She’d kept still but also asked questions when she didn’t understand something, questions Twilight had been happy to answer. Her heart was warm with pride as she smiled at her niece. ‘’Come on, let’s have lunch and then we can have a snowball fight.’’ ‘’Yay!’’ Flurry cheered. ‘’Snowball fight!’’ Spike smiled as well, and in the corner of her eye Twilight caught Note’s lips twitch. Good, the mare could use a little lightening up. After a quick lunch, the three of them made their way to the gardens. Twilight shivered as the cold wind hit her, but Flurry just squealed, before jumping into the snow. ‘’Come on, auntie, uncle!’’ Spike let out a sigh of pain. Twilight smiled reassuringly at him, before nudging him with her wing. ‘’Let’s not keep Flurry waiting.’’ ‘’Urgh,’’ Spike grumbled. ‘’I hate the cold.’’ But he still went out anyways. Just in time to be hit in the face with a snowball. Twilight looked away from her spluttering assistant to see Flurry and some other foals giggling, snowballs held in their grasp. Twilight noted with some interest that Flurry was using her hooves, instead of her telekinesis. She dodged the first snowball headed for her by jerking her head to the left, but the snow still caught in her mane. She scooped up some snow with her magic and formed it into a snowball, then threw it at Flurry. As the snowball fight escalated, Twilight’s mind nonetheless wandered back to her work. The Empire was receiving basically all it's money from Equestrian aid at the moment, as Sombra had all but wrecked the economy of the nation. It would take years to fix that. Then, she’d moved onto the documents regarding the Empire’s food supply and production. This was actually a part that Sombra had invested in, but his idea of mindless slaves in gigantic plantations was obviously not applicable now, not to mention amoral. But the supply itself was in good shape, luckily, and there were still enough ponies with talents in farming and other ways of food production left that Twilight felt comfortable enough to not have to request any from Equestria. Finally, she had looked at the request from the mayor of Crystal City. She, along with other mayors and officials from around the nation, had inquired what Twilight was planning to do in regards to the military. The Crystal War had devastated the Empire in many ways, but this was one where Twilight had no idea what to do. In the end, she’d had Spike send a request for an advisor with military capabilities down to Canterlot. SPLASH! Twilight yelped as the cold snowball hit her face. As she brushed the snow from her eyes and muzzle, she saw how Flurry was playing with the other children and Spike, not a single one of them caring that she was an alicorn or a princess. A heartwarming sight. Twilight leapt forward. She had a snowball fight to win. |-x-X-x-| Luna was two things she wasn’t usually: awake at noon, and away from Canterlot. This would be Tartarus on her sleep schedule, but it needed to be done. Twilight Sparkle had requested a military advisor for the Crystal Empire, and Luna was determined to get her one. Any day the Crystal Empire went without a military was a day that Equestria’s northern border was threatened, after all. Problem one: Equestria’s military was a joke. A thousand years of peace had seen to that. Problem two: Luna was incredibly disconnected from Equestrian society. As such, she’d resorted to ambushing her sister’s steward in the hallway. Raven had quickly pointed her to the place she apparently needed to be: the Equestrian Academy for Warfare, located in Dodge City. Luna had taken the train. Admittedly she’d been in a separate part of the train, closed off for any visitors and guarded viciously by her Lunar Guard, but still. There was something to be said for watching the Equestrian landscape roll by. She wasn’t sure if it was better than an aerial view, though. But that was no matter. She had a job to do, and that was to get a military advisor for Twilight. The director of the Academy, Fast Feather, was waiting just outside the doors. He was a stallion in his early fifties, by the looks of it, with a dull green mane and a yellow coat, his cutie mark being two white crossed feathers under a lightning bolt. And a pegasus, of course. They were overrepresented in the military, Luna had discovered while she was reading some documents Raven had sent to her before she left for Dodge City. ‘’Your Highness.’’ The stallion brought his hoof up in a salute. Luna nodded back. ‘’At ease, Director Feather.’’ Feather brought his hoof down. ‘’It’s an honour, your Highness. If you’d given us more time, I could have arranged a proper welcome.’’ That was fair. Luna hadn’t given him any notice until the train had pulled into Dodge City Station, as a way to keep the press off her back. She had no intention of dealing with those vultures. ‘’The fault is not yours, director,’’ she demurred. ‘’We chose to keep our journey hidden until arrival.’’ ‘’Understandable,’’ Feather replied. ‘’Shall I show you the premises, your Highness? The Academy is the finest in Equestria, after all.’’ Finest in Equestria. Luna had seen the pictures, and the reports. They painted a very unflattering picture. When she got back to Canterlot, Luna had some choice words for her sister about allowing this to occur. ‘’That sounds delightful,’’ she said. ‘’Please, lead the way.’’ If the two guards following in her step had any inclination to comment, they didn’t show it. Luna liked her guards silent in public but open in private. She had a simple deal with all of them: they wouldn’t try to undermine her authority in public, and she would listen to anything they had to say or comment on her in private. Quite the arrangement, but it worked. She turned her attention to the tour, because the state of the Academy wasn’t Fast Feather’s fault and from everything she’d read he seemed like a genuinely good pony that just wanted to help Equestria in his own way. He didn’t deserve to have to run his school with so little support from the government. ‘’The building itself was originally intended as the city hall of Dodge City,’’ Feather explained as they crossed the large, stone and marble central room. ‘’However, it was determined it was better to have a city hall closer to the centre of town, which is further down the valley. And so they gave this building to the Royal Guard.’’ ‘’Why?’’ Luna asked. ‘’At the time, there were many conflicts with buffalo tribes, all sorts of wild creatures, and occasionally other settlers,’’ Feather replied. ‘’The Guard needed a place to coordinate their efforts here in the south from, and this was the prime location for it. They had the building expanded and added the barracks and other such things. The Guard stopped using this place after the colonization of Hoofington was complete, and reformed it into a new officer academy. Later, this was turned into the most important academy, as the one in Canterlot switched to exclusively training the Guard’s soldiers and the one in Fillydelphia was retired due to budget concerns.’’ There were a few other military schools in Equestria, Luna knew, but they all focused on specializations, like the Royal Pegasi Academy in Cloudsdale or the Naval Colleges in Manehattan, Baltimare and Vanhoover. ‘’I see,’’ she said neutrally, to hide the disappointment growing for Celestia. Choice words, indeed. ‘’Shall I take you to the classes now?’’ Feather offered. ‘’Of course,’’ she agreed, before asking, ‘’How many students are here, currently?’’ Feather rubbed his chin. ‘’Well, there’s a little over fifteen hundred cadets at any given time, more or less. Last year we had a graduation of nearly two hundred and fifty students, which is the highest it’s ever been since 960. And recruitment in general has been steadily rising ever since Stalliongrad broke away.’’ Another thing Celestia had dropped the ball on, in Luna’s opinion. Ponies revolt after the Guard violently suppressed them, and what does Celestia do? Fire a few decision-makers and let an entire region secede without any consequences. At the very least, she should have talked with the leaders of the revolt. Luna had so far avoided topics like these with Celestia, but perhaps it was time to finally address them. She cleared her throat. ‘’Pardon us, director, but we are here on a mission. Perhaps we can recline to your office, and continue the tour after our mission has been addressed?’’ Feather looked at her for a long moment, and then nodded. ‘’Of course, your Highness. Please, follow me.’’ Feather’s office was a large but simple thing. A wooden desk dominated the room with comfortable yet simple chairs on both sides, and bookshelves lined one side of the wall. The other held a shelf with glass cases, as well as a few pictures and maps of Equestria, Dodge City and the Academy. His military heritage was clear to Luna, and most likely to anyone else that visited the room. Luna’s two guards took position behind the chair she sat down in, opposite Feather’s. ‘’We shall be frank, director,’’ Luna began. ‘’We are here because we have received a message from Princess Twilight Sparkle, requesting an advisor in military matters for the Crystal Empire.’’ ‘’Well, you’ve come to the right place,’’ Feather declared after a moment of silence. ‘’As I said, we had two hundred and fifty graduates last year, most of whom have left for the Army or the Guard. But there are still a couple of excellent officers here in Dodge City.’’ Perfect. Luna leaned forward. ‘’Tell us more.’’
Chapter 5: TitleAnother day, another batch of paperwork. Twilight longed for being able to go play with Flurry, maybe read a book to her, but right now she was stuck in her office with Spike. Note had gone off to collect some books from the palace library. Suddenly, Spike coughed up a letter. He caught it in his claw and analyzed the seal for a moment. ‘’It’s from Luna,’’ he said, before giving it to Twilight. Dear Twilight Sparkle, We have seen to your request, and the advisor is on her way north. Enclosed with this letter are her files, though I’m sure you’re already familiar with her. If there is anything else we can do for you, do not hesitate to ask us. Signed, Luna Well, would you look at that. ‘’Damn, Luna works fast,’’ Spike commented. ‘’Hmm,’’ Twilight hmm-ed in agreement. ‘’Let’s see who she sent us.’’ With her magic, she opened the files that Luna had included with the letter. And proceeded to stare. ‘’Who’s- oh.’’ Spike had walked up to her and taken a peek for himself. ‘’Well,’’ Twilight said after a long moment of silence. ‘’I wasn’t aware she had gone into the military.’’ ‘’Didn’t she say something about fighting?’’ Spike mused aloud. ‘’She did,’’ Twilight recalled with a frown. ‘’I never really pressed her on that. Seemed like some bad memories.’’ Spike nodded. ‘’It says here she did study at the Equestrian Academy of Warfare, so I guess she has the papers. And the experience.’’ True enough. Twilight laid the documents on her table. ‘’Let’s go through these.’’ |-x-X-x-| Star threw the paper onto the table. ‘’Well, that’s that.’’ The Olenian Civil War had ended in victory for Velvet. Now, the Olenians would have to rebuild their nation, and quickly. No doubt Chrysalis was itching to take advantage of the situation. Next to him, Rarity hmm-ed. ‘’Velvet seems like a good person,’’ she offered. ‘’I met her once,’’ Star replied, ‘’just after she was exiled, when she visited Canterlot. She’s a devoted harmonist, from what I could tell. She’ll be a good ruler.’’ For however long Olenia would continue to exist. Rarity shifted, pushing her body closer to him. ‘’Are you worried, darling?’’ Star was sure he wasn’t that easy to read. ‘’Yes,’’ he admitted anyway, as he turned to look at Rarity. ‘’I’m worried about how Chrysalis will react to this.’’ Rarity frowned. ‘’She wouldn’t try anything, would she?’’ ‘’Maybe,’’ Star allowed. ‘’Maybe not. We’ll see.’’ Rarity kissed his cheek. ‘’Well, it’s out of our hooves, darling.’’ He smiled at her, and gave her a kiss back. ‘’I should get to work on some of those reports,’’ he noted idly. Rarity’s eyes gleamed. ‘’You should,’’ she agreed. Neither of them moved. Star considered how they had gotten in this position. When they’d first met at the Gala in Canterlot, Star had been impressed by her. Rarity had wanted to be like the nobles in Canterlot; in Star’s opinion, she had been exactly what they should be. He had said as much, and Rarity’s blush had been a beautiful sight to witness. From that day on, Star sent whatever requests he had for clothes, for him or for Crystal, to Rarity, and he discreetly directed some of his acquaintances to do the some. If Rarity had noticed, she never said anything of it. And then, he’d gone to Ponyville. It was barely a week ago, but Star would remember that afternoon, filled with flirting, for the rest of his life, he was sure of that. And of course, that night would be remembered as well. He wasn’t sure what they were now. Friends with benefits? Dating? Whatever it was, he liked it, and evidently Rarity did too. ‘’Darling?’’ ‘’Hm?’’ he hmm-ed. Rarity shifted. Hesitated. ‘’What are we?’’ Was she reading his mind? Star didn’t think so. ‘’Truth be told, I don’t know,’’ he admitted honestly. ‘’What do you want us to be?’’ ‘’I’m not certain,’’ Rarity replied. ‘’Darling, I’ll be frank: I don’t know a lot about you. And I do want this to work out, but…’’ She flailed a hoof. ‘’I see,’’ Star said. ‘’I don’t know that much about you either. And I want this to work as well. So…’’ Rarity held his gaze for a moment. ‘’Would you like to go on a date?’’ he offered. ‘’A dinner for two, in Canterlot? Or somewhere else.’’ Rarity nodded. ‘’That sounds delightful, darling. In Canterlot, if you don’t mind.’’ Tension left him as he smiled. ‘’What about Wednesday evening? I can teleport us there.’’ And if they were too drunk to return, they could spend the night at his mansion and go back to Ponyville in the morning, though Star didn’t expect that to happen. ‘’Of course,’’ Rarity agreed. ‘’I’m already looking forward to it, darling.’’ Star let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding in. ‘’I’ll pick you up at seven?’’ Rarity inclined her head. ‘’That seems like a good idea.’’ Then she reached forward and pulled Star in for a kiss. Her hoof brushed through his mane as it pressed against his neck. Star relished in the touch. Damnit, he was going to go out of his way to make this the best date he could imagine. |-x-X-x-| ‘’Celestia, we need to talk.’’ Luna’s sister raised her head from her food. ‘’About what, Luna?’’ About lots of things, Luna wanted to say. But she kept her tongue for now. ‘’About Olenia,’’ she said instead. Celestia let out a sigh. ‘’Very well, Luna. After dinner?’’ ‘’Of course,’’ Luna allowed, because it would be a waste to not eat the food the cooks had made. Especially when it tasted so good. After the food had been eaten, Luna and Celestia both rose from their chairs. ‘’Where did you want to talk?’’ Celestia inquired. That was a question Luna did have an answer to. ‘’The Cabinet Room.’’ Celestia inclined her head. ‘’Then let’s go. Lead the way, Luna.’’ With pleasure. The Cabinet Room was a large, rectangular room, dominated by an equally rectangular table, and with large windows that looked out over Canterlot. A giant map of Equestria plus Stalliongrad and the Crystal Empire hung on the wall, another map of the entire world next to it, both made with great attention to detail. Luna didn’t use any of the chairs, instead she walked over to the window and looked outside. Celestia stood next to her. For a while there was silence. Long ago, Luna mused dryly, she would have broken the silence already. Now, it was Celestia who broke first. ‘’What is this about, Luna?’’ she asked tiredly. ‘’Olenia,’’ Luna half-lied. She was planning on talking about Olenia; it just wasn’t the only subject. ‘’Olenia,’’ Celestia sighed. ‘’Sister,’’ Luna began. This was going to be difficult. ‘’It might be wise to extend an invitation into the United Ponies Front to them.’’ ‘’Why?’’ Logic, Luna’s mind screamed. Cold logic, sister. Olenia was a valuable ally to keep the Changeling Lands in check, sister. But Celestia would never go for an argument like that. ‘’To protect them.’’ Playing on Celestia’s weaknesses was easier than it ought to be, for Luna. The problem was that the instinct to protect her delicately-built system overruled any other sense of protection, most of the time. ‘’From Chrysalis,’’ Celestia tiredly concluded, because for all her optimism, Celestia wasn’t a stupid mare. Even the Nightmare had admitted as much. ‘’Yes,’’ Luna admitted with a tilt of her head. The silence that followed that simple admission was longer than it ought to be, in Luna’s opinion. Finally, Celestia let out another sigh. ‘’Why, sister? Why do you want war so badly?’’ Luna’s anger soared, old flames rekindled by new sparks. But she pushed it down, projecting an image of serenity. ‘’I do not want war,’’ she said slowly. ‘’I want peace. And allying with Olenia will make Chrysalis think twice about declaring any wars.’’ ‘’She’s not our only enemy,’’ Celestia noted bitterly. True. ‘’No,’’ Luna agreed, ‘’she’s not. But she is the most pressing one. And Stalliongrad, at least, has reasonable leaders.’’ Somewhat. Celestia didn’t reply to that. She just kept on looking out the window. ‘’Sister,’’ Luna pressed after a minute of silence. ‘’I will send a message to Velvet in the morning,’’ Celestia relented, defeated. ‘’About an alliance.’’ Because Luna wasn’t going to let this opportunity leave. ‘’About an alliance,’’ Celestis confirmed. ‘’Thank you.’’ Luna stepped forward and wrapped her sister in a hug. She was steadily growing to Celestia’s size, so she only had to reach up slightly to nuzzle her sister. After a moment, Celestia relaxed as she nuzzled Luna back. ‘’I can’t do this, Lulu,’’ she whispered. Luna reached out with her wings and stroked Celestia’s feathers. ‘’You don’t have to do this alone, Celly.’’ Celestia didn’t reply, but her grip on Luna tightened. Luna didn’t mind, not at all. |-x-X-x-| Twilight and Spike were waiting on the train from Canterlot on the station. Flurry was with them as well, as was Note Keeper. The four of them were surrounded by guards. Twilight didn’t like the guards. Oh, she had no problems with them as persons, but she disliked the fact that they were necessary. But it was a fact, and Twilight’s logical mind had forced her to allow them to come. ‘’How much longer, auntie?’’ Flurry asked from besides her. The foal was peering at the tracks anticipatingly. Twilight smiled. ‘’The train will arrive any minute now,’’ she assured the filly, reaching out with her wing to stroke Flurry’s back. In response, Flurry nuzzled Twilight’s leg with her cheek. The sounds of the approaching train reached Twilight’s ears. Finally. The train rolled into the station, gleaming grey carriages shining in the light of the sun. It came to a screeching halt as trains were wont to do, and after a few seconds, the doors opened. Almost predictably, from the frontmost carriage, where Twilight and her entourage stood, the advisor from Equestria emerged. ‘’Princess,’’ she greeted, snapping off a salute. Behind her, more soldiers from Equestria filed out. Twilight inclined her head once. ‘’Welcome to the Crystal Empire, Field Marshal Shimmer.’’ Author's Note At this point I ran out of ideas for chapter names.
Chapter 6: Title 2Sunset Shimmer grinned as she lowered her hoof to the ground. ‘’It’s good to see you again, Twilight.’’ Twilight’s face broke out into a smile too, and she stepped forward to give the unicorn a hug. ‘’You too, Sunset.’’ As she stepped back after the hug, Twilight took a moment to analyze Sunset’s appearance. Her mane was tied back in a ponytail, partially hidden under the cap she wore. Her uniform was the standard outfit for her rank: green with red and golden markings. ‘’I’m sorry for your loss,’’ Sunset said sympathetically, before her eyes darted past Twilight towards the people behind her. ‘’Hello again, Spike.’’ ‘’'lo, Sunset,’’ Spike replied. ‘’Nice of you to join us.’’ Sunset nodded, before turning her attention to Flurry, who was still next to Twilight. ‘’Hello, princess.’’ ‘’Hi,’’ Flurry replied softly. ‘’It’s nice to meet you, miss Shimmer.’’ ‘’Call me Sunset,’’ Sunset offered. Twilight approved: it was something the old Sunset would never have done, at least not while actually meaning it. Flurry nodded. She was still a little shy around older people. Not as much as Twilight had been at her age, but still. ‘’Shall we go to the palace?’’ she suggested. ‘’There is a lot to talk about, after all.’’ Sunset nodded, then turned towards the soldiers. ‘’Oi, Lt General! Make sure the lads get settled, I’m headed to the palace.’’ One of the soldiers - an earth pony with a purple coat and a light blue mane - turned to Sunset and saluted. ‘’Copy that, sir,’’ he said with what Twilight assumed was a Severnayan accent, if she understood correctly. Sunset tipped her head at him, then lit her horn. Bags floated out from the carriage she’d stepped out of, over the heads of the soldiers. ‘’I’ll follow you, Twilight. I’m afraid I don’t know the way.’’ Twilight nodded. ‘’Let’s go then. This way.’’ |-x-X-x-| Star checked his reflection in the mirror. Suit, check. Flowers, check. Hair, check. Right then. Time to face the music. As he walked out of his room towards the entrance of the castle, Crystal emerged from one of the side hallways. She took a critical look at him. ‘’Passable,’’ she declared after a moment. ‘’I can and will drop a bucket of ice-cold water on your head,’’ Star drawled without any heat. Crystal put on her most innocent look. ‘’Pranking your little sister?’’ ‘’Yes.’’ Star wouldn’t actually do it, they both knew that. He adored Crystal. Despite the less than ideal situation - him being forced to raise her on his own from the tender age of fifteen - Star had done his damned best to raise her. And some things had actually sprung from it that had benefited him. Example: when Crystal had been one-and-a-half, Star was sitting his exams for the standard CSGU education, with Spellcrafting on the Advanced level. It had been two months of Tartarus, but Star had found a way to study and be with his sister at the same time: before she went to bed, he would read her historical tales and stories from the subjects he was studying, leaving out the details she was too young for of course. After his exams, Star had taken a look at his notes and then done something he was still celebrating to this day: compiled all the stories and released them in the form of a book. Instant bestseller in Canterlot, and later throughout more parts of the nation. He had released the book under a pseudonym, so aside from Crystal and the publisher, no one else knew that it was him. Oh, they’d arrived at the entrance. Terrific. Crystal gave him a hug. ‘’Good luck, brother.’’ He shot her a smirk. ‘’Thanks.’’ She smirked back, then held the door open for him. Star stepped out of the castle. Right. To the Boutique it was. He considered, for a moment, to cast a slight distraction spell over himself. He could guess what would happen otherwise. But no. It was better to face any criticism head-on. As he walked from the castle to Rarity’s boutique, Star ran his checklist again. The suit he was wearing was actually one of Rarity’s; she’d probably recognize that immediately. The flowers were hoof-picked from his garden in Canterlot; a quick teleport back and forth earlier in the day had all been that was needed for them. He was so lost in thought he almost didn’t notice that he’d arrived at the Boutique, though the building was impossible to miss. He stopped in front of the door, raised his hoof, and knocked twice. As he waited, he spared a quick glance at the nearest clock. Right on time. The door opened, but instead of Rarity, there was a shorter, younger - about Crystal's age - mare, with a curled mane of pink and purple. ‘’Hello, mister,’’ she greeted. ‘’You’re here for my sister.’’ ‘’That I am,’’ Star agreed, before sticking his hoof out. ‘’I’m Star Tower.’’ ‘’Sweetie Belle,’’ the mare replied as she shook his hoof. ‘’Nice to meet you.’’ ‘’You too.’’ Star inclined his head. ‘’Darling!’’ Sweetie stepped aside as Rarity appeared behind her. Stars, she was beautiful. Her hair was done in an elegant bun and she was wearing a gleaming black dress. ‘’My lady,’’ Star greeted with a bow, before showing her the flowers. ‘’Good evening, sir,’’ she replied, taking the flowers with her magic. ‘’Sweetie?’’ ‘’I’ll find a nice spot for these,’’ Sweetie promised as she took the flowers from Rarity. ‘’Have fun, you two.’’ And she turned and left. ‘’They grow up so fast,’’ Rarity mourned. ‘’Don’t they?’’ Star agreed, before offering her his leg. ‘’Shall we?’’ Rarity took his hoof. ‘’By all means.’’ Star closed his eyes and focused, before teleporting. |-x-X-x-| ‘’So, how did you become a field marshal?’’ Twilight asked as they walked through Crystal City back to the palace. ‘’Well, I graduated from the Academy as a major instead of a normal officer thanks to my experience,’’ Sunset replied. ‘’I led a division in Yeahcon and was promoted to major general for that. When Luna came to find me, she asked for my story, and so I told all her that I had done in the other world. She listened to it and then promoted me to field marshal.’’ ‘’Was that the rank you held in the other world as well?’’ Spike inquired before Twilight could. Sunset shook her head. ‘’I was a colonel.’’ ‘’Huh. Neat,’’ Spike remarked. ‘’So what’s your plan?’’ ‘’We’ll see about that once I have the papers I need,’’ Sunset dryly answered. ‘’My assignment is to rebuild the Crystal Army into something that can defend the nation.’’ She shivered and used a hoof to pull her uniform tighter around her. ‘’Step one of that is figuring where to get a warmer uniform.’’ ‘’That can be arranged, field marshal,’’ Note spoke up. Sunset glanced at her for a moment, then nodded. ‘’Thanks.’’ Aside from the colour, Twilight hadn’t known there were any differences between the uniforms of the Crystal Empire and Equestria. But in hindsight, it seemed obvious that those of the Crystal Empire would be made to be warmer. ‘’Well, we’re here,’’ she said, having arrived at the gates of the palace. ‘’You can give your suitcases to one of the guards, they’ll see that it’s moved to your rooms.’’ ‘’Of course,’’ Sunset agreed, before allowing her suitcases to be carried off by two of the guards. ‘’Flurry,’’ Twilight spoke up, looking at her, ‘’can you go play with some of the other foals?’’ ‘’But auntie, I wanna stay with you,’’ Flurry said, half-whining. One day, Twilight would be able to say no to that. Today was not that day. She smiled and nodded. ‘’Okay, Flurry, but it’s going to be a long talk with lots of big words.’’ Flurry nodded, looking determined. ‘’I understand, auntie.’’ She was so damn proud of Flurry. ‘’Then let’s go inside.’’ |-x-X-x-| Luna strode into the throne room of Canterlot with all the determination befitting an alicorn princess. ‘’Good morning,’’ she greeted amicably as she took a seat in her throne. ‘’Court has begun.’’ As expected, there was a moment of shock, and then people started asking where Celestia was. Because apparently, Luna couldn’t solve their stupid problems. ‘’Our sister,’’ Luna cut through the voices in the crowd, ‘’is taking a well-deserved rest for the day. You can address your problems with us.’’ Or just leave, was left unsaid. After a few seconds, a stallion stepped forward. Luna took one look at him and promptly determined that the chance of whatever he was going to say being worthless was high enough that it probably wasn’t worth paying attention. ‘’Princess,’’ the stallion began, ‘’I have here a protest signed by several dozen other ponies.’’ Huh. Perhaps Luna was wrong. ‘’And the subject of this protest, sir?’’ ‘’The unreasonable new taxes levied on the decent folk of this great city.’’ Nope, perfectly worthless. Luna suppressed a sigh. ‘’I assume you are referring to the taxes introduced to fund the Crystal War.’’ ‘’Yes-’’ the stallion said. ‘’The taxes which,’’ Luna cut him off, ‘’are what enabled our soldiers to have working guns and equipment so they could beat back a conqueror that would have enslaved all of Equestria and liberate a people oppressed by said conqueror?’’ The stallion took a step back, obviously intimidated by Luna’s sharp retort. ‘’Now see here-’’ ‘’Sir, these taxes will remain in place,’’ Luna declared simply. ‘’The need for an army has not vanished with the death of Sombra. Equestria still has many enemies, and if it wasn’t for the work of brave volunteers, cities like Whinnyapolis and Marechester would have been razed to the ground, with hundreds of thousands of deaths as a result.’’ She glared at the stallion. ‘’The ‘decent folk’, as you put it, can more than survive these new taxes. Was there something else?’’ ‘’... No, Princess,’’ the stallion all-but-growled. He huffed, then turned and left without even bowing or asking for permission. Luna watched him go with contempt. ‘’Was there anyone else that had complaints about the new taxes?’’ she asked no-one in particular. No one answered, but more than a few ponies quietly left the room, some pensive and some fuming. Worthless wastes of air, Luna decided. Right then. On with the next petitioner, and here was to hoping it wasn’t for something stupid.
Chapter 7: Title 3Crystal looked up from her book as the bell rang. One, she didn’t know this place had a bell, and two, who the Tartarus was it? Sighing, she rose from the couch and quickly walked through the hallways to the door. After a moment of consideration, she opened it. ‘’Hi,’’ Sweetie Belle greeted her. The other unicorn was smiling uncertainly. ‘’Uhh…’’ ‘’Come in,’’ Crystal said, trying her best not to sound too demanding. Because damn her, what was it with those Belle females? Rarity was a touch too old and just a little too much like the nobles she and her brother despised for Crystal’s preference, but Sweetie had neither of those negatives. Crystal had met her the same evening that she had arrived, having snuck out of the castle after it was clear Rarity and Star weren’t in a position to care. Sweetie and her friends had been sitting by their clubhouse, roasting marshmallows over a fire, and had called for Crystal to join them. Crystal had agreed; from that first moment she heard Sweetie’s voice, she was entranced. And now she was here? Crystal was working overtime to contain her emotions in favour of careful neutrality, even as she led Sweetie to the living room. ‘’So…’’ she began once she had sat back on the couch, Sweetie having laid down on another couch opposite hers. ‘’I guess our siblings like each other.’’ ‘’Are you kidding?’’ Sweetie snarked. ‘’Rarity didn’t tell me anything, but I could see how pleased she was when she finally arrived for lunch.’’ ‘’Hmm,’’ Crystal hummed. ‘’I could smell it when I arrived back.’’ ‘’Urgh.’’ Sweetie gagged. A comfortable yet awkward silence fell between them. That was something Crystal hated, but for once, she was too afraid of the consequences to act on it. Damn her fucking emotions. ‘’Crystal?’’ ‘’Yes?’’ she replied a moment too late, slightly startled. She looked up from the floor to see Sweetie looking somewhat confused. ‘’Is something wrong, Sweetie?’’ ‘’Well, no,’’ Sweetie said. ‘’I just think it’s funny that we’re having a date at the same time as our older siblings.’’ Crystal had frozen as soon as Sweetie had said ‘date’. Her mind was screaming at her to do something, anything, but the only thing she managed to do was stare at Sweetie. Who smiled, as she slipped off the couch. Before Crystal knew it, she had walked over to Crystal, her muzzle inches away from Crystal’s. ‘’Can I kiss you?’’ she whisper-asked. Crystal lunged forward, all but smashing her muzzle against Sweetie’s. Fuck, she tasted nice. When they broke apart nearly a minute later, Sweetie crawled onto the couch, cuddling with Crystal. She was so nice and warm next to Crystal, and she silently mourned her lack of wings. ‘’That was my first kiss,’’ Sweetie said softly, after taking several deep breaths. ‘’You’re good at it,’’ Crystal offered, because what else was she supposed to say? And it was true. It wasn’t her first kiss, sure, but Crystal had only had one, very brief relationship before this, so in her opinion it didn’t count. ‘’Hmm…’’ Sweetie brushed her head against Crystal’s, their horns almost touching. Crystal’s eyes locked with Sweetie’s. ‘’You’re beautiful,’’ Crystal said before she could catch herself. Damn it. Sweetie blushed slightly. ‘’You’re beautiful too.’’ Crystal was never letting this mare go. Once, her brother had shared a story with her, a story that their father had told him when Star was eighteen. ‘’It might take us a while, but when we Spellweavers find the one, we never let them go.’’ Crystal wrapped a leg around Sweetie’s neck and nuzzled her. ‘’Let’s stay like this.’’ ‘’Yeah,’’ Sweetie whisperingly agreed, ‘’let’s.’’ |-x-X-x-| Sunset’s plan for the army was to focus on quality over quantity, with training specialized for the terrain of the Crystal Empire. They would have to be on the defensive, and able to move in small groups to hold a guerrilla war against the invader. Twilight couldn’t honestly say it was a bad plan. She didn’t know nearly enough about military matters to make that call. But if she understood the numbers correctly, it was the right idea. ‘’This all seems very well thought-out, Sunset,’’ she complimented the other mare. Sunset smiled, and waved a hoof dismissively. ‘’It’s only a rough sketch. I need to do some more work before I can implement it. But thanks.’’ ‘’Uh, Sunset?’’ ‘’Yes, princess?’’ Sunset replied as she and Twilight both turned towards the foal, who was sitting on a chair and looking at the table with a frown. ‘’I don’t understand something,’’ Flurry said. ‘’Who is gonna be attacking us? I mean, Sombra’s gone, right?’’ There was a pleading tone at the end of her sentence that made Twilight want to wrap her in a hug. Sunset shot Twilight a look that screamed for aid. Twilight stepped up. ‘’Flurry,’’ she said softly but still firmly, ‘’Sombra is indeed gone, but there are other bad people out there.’’ Flurry looked at Twilight for a moment, then burst forward and smashed against her chest in a powerful hug. Twilight immediately bent her head and wrapped her forelegs around the shaking foal. ‘’Ssh, ssh,’’ she whispered. ‘’It’s alright, Flurry.’’ ‘’I don’t want to lose you!’’ Flurry shouted, before burying her face in Twilight’s coat. Twilight felt cold tears run through her coat a moment later. She intensified her hug as she sat down on her hind legs. Flurry didn’t deserve this, and Twilight shouldn't have been doing this. Cadence or Shining should be the ones to comfort Flurry, to have told her everything was going to be alright, that there was no reason to be afraid. But Twilight had never been very good at lying to others, and Flurry deserved the truth, as long as it didn’t cost what little innocence and carefreeness she had left. In the corner of her eye, Twilight caught Spike moments before she felt him add his own considerable strength to the hug, sandwiching Flurry between the two of them. She couldn’t see it, but she was sure that Sunset and Note were watching. A choked sob sounded from the other side of the room. ‘’Field marshal-’’ Warmth wrapped around Twilight’s side and back. ‘’I treated Cadence like shit,’’ Sunset whispered into Twilight’s ear, her voice trembling slightly. ‘’I’m going to make it up to her foal.’’ Twilight tipped her head ever so slightly to Sunset. She really had changed. Twilight liked it. |-x-X-x-| Last night had been amusing. Star and Rarity had teleported back to Ponyville after a very nice dinner filled with flirting from both sides, only to find their younger sisters smooching on one of the living room’s couches. After a few seconds of awkward silence, Star had jumped in and suggested they have a very nice talk together. In the morning. The morning which it currently was. 08:34 on a Thursday was damned early. Sure, Star had paperwork, but if he couldn’t sleep in till at least 09:30, what was even the point? Star sighed contently, but very softly. Mustn't wake his marefriend, after all. Marefriend. Fucking brilliant, and brilliant at fucking. Star turned his head to the side and looked at Rarity’s sleeping face. Even after a night of wild sex she was beautiful, or perhaps because. Either way, she was also very warm and nice to cuddle up against, which Star had been doing for the past ten minutes. Her breath suddenly stalled for a moment, then her eyes slowly opened. Star could look at those diamonds for centuries. ‘’Good morning,’’ he whispered to her. ‘’Good morning,’’ she whispered back, ‘’darling.’’ He wasn’t sure which one of them reached out first, but their lips met in a fierce kiss. Star nibbled slightly on Rarity’s lower lip, almost dragging his teeth across them when he pulled back. ‘’It’s not even nine yet,’’ he said softly. ‘’I don’t feel like getting up.’’ ‘’Neither do I,’’ Rarity said. She wrapped her forelegs around his neck, pulled him even closer than he already was and all-but-purred into his ear. Fuck he was lucky. ‘’I love you.’’ The words were out of his mouth before he realized it. ‘’I love you too,’’ Rarity offered after the longest second of silence in Star’s life. He planted a kiss on her cheek. ‘’This will make family dinners awkward,’’ he mused idly. Rarity giggled. It was a sound that Star would treasure for the rest of his life. ‘’Quite so.’’ There was still an hour left before Star was obligated to give fucks about anything outside this room. He was going to spend that hour well.
Chapter 8: Title 4They dined together that night. Not only was Sunset a friend, she was also a pretty good conversation partner. Ponies that could keep up with Twilight in terms of magical skill and knowledge were rare. ‘’So, Flurry,’’ Sunset said, tapping out of her conversation with Twilight to look at the foal. ‘’I hear you’re pretty powerful.’’ Flurry nodded. ‘’Sunburst and auntie have helped me with that,’’ she replied. Her voice hitched a little at Sunburst’s name; like so many others, the stallion hadn’t survived Sombra’s conquest of the Crystal Empire. Twilight reached out with her wing and ran it down Flurry’s back. Flurry relaxed slightly, leaning back against as soon as Twilight pulled her wing away. ‘’That’s good,’’ Sunset said. ‘’Power is dangerous. Remember that.’’ Flurry didn’t look like she understood it fully, but she nodded anyway. Twilight inclined her head in acknowledgement of Sunset’s lesson. They fell back into amicable conversation, until the food had been eaten and taken away by the servants. ‘’Come on Flurry, time for your bath and then bed,’’ Twilight called to her niece. ‘’’kay, auntie,’’ Flurry agreed, slipping off the chair onto the floor. ‘’Goodnight, uncle Spike. Goodnight, Sunset.’’ ‘’Night, Flurry.’’ ‘’Sleep well, Flurry.’’ |-x-X-x-| ‘’So,’’ Star began the conversation, because breakfast was the right time to have this conversation, obviously. The silence that followed was precisely what he had expected to happen. Everyone in the room, himself included, was looking anywhere but at each other, because having a healthy conversation was apparently hard. ‘’I’ll start?’’ Crystal finally offered, because she had always been the more emotionally stable of them two. When Star gave her the go-ahead in the shape of an incline from his head, she continued, ‘’I really like you, Sweetie,’’ as she turned to face the other mare, who blushed. ‘’And… I want to try this out, see if it works.’’ ‘’That’s what I want to do too,’’ Sweetie softly returned. Great, that solved one problem. Now it was Star’s turn. ‘’We’re dating now,’’ he spoke up. ‘’I figured,’’ Crystal said, because of course she was back to their usual snark a moment after she’d begun dating. ‘’Congratulations.’’ ‘’You too,’’ Rarity spoke up. Star just nodded once. Rarity pressed up against his side. If he had wings, he would have put one around her. He didn’t have wings, so he did the next best thing: a simple touch of telekinesis on her back. Some compared the two to each other, the unicorn’s version of a pegasi wing-hug. Star didn’t quite agree: telekinesis didn’t confer the same touch as feathers did, it just wasn’t possible like that, sadly. Rarity craned her head and pushed it under his neck. Star, in return, placed a kiss on the tip of her head. ‘’Urgh,’’ he heard Crystal gag. His eyes flicked to her, one eyebrow raised in silent judgment. Do it, I dare you. Crystal snorted, then pulled Sweetie into a long kiss. Hypocrite. Not that Star cared. He had Rarity, and for now, that was enough for him to be content. ‘’Honestly…’’ Rarity muttered under her breath, but there was no mistaking the amusement in her eyes. ‘’They’re young,’’ Star remarked dryly. ‘’Let them be.’’ Crystal broke her mouth away from Sweetie’s to glare at him. ‘’Yeah, well you can go-’’ Sweetie pulled her back in for another kiss. |-x-X-x-| Luna would have to ask Celestia what the nobles were snorting, and where she could get it. Being so disconnected from reality for once would be a novel experience. She unceremoniously collapsed on a set of pillows the moment the doors of her room clicked shut. Who knew that running a nation could be so tiring? In hindsight, Luna somewhat regretted her decision to all-but-force Celestia to go on a two-week holiday to the Spa Islands, away from all her duties and work. Now she had to shoulder the burden, and though she did so without complaint, that didn’t mean she had to like it. Someone knocked on the door. Three quick knocks. Important, then. ‘’Come in,’’ Luna called out as she moved to a more regal position. One of her guards entered. ‘’A reply from Olenia, princess.’’ Luna took the letter with a nod and slid it open with a touch of her magic. Your highnesses, Princesses Celestia and Luna, On behalf of the Kingdom of Olenia, it is my great honour to become a member of the United Ponies Front. Thank you for giving us this opportunity to become much closer. For too long, Equestria and Olenia have kept away from each other, and this is a good step to recitifife that. I shall schedule a visit to Vanhoover for somewhere in the coming month. If you could join us, we could sign the full agreement there, even if it is already in effect. Signed, Queen Velvet Jelzek of Olenia Well, would you look at that. ‘’Thank you,’’ Luna said to the guard. ‘’We will pen our response on the morrow. You may go.’’ ‘’By your leave, princess.’’ The guard bowed, then left. Luna considered. A visit to Vanhoover honestly wasn’t that bad of an idea, and it was easier than having Velvet come to Canterlot or travelling to Hjortland. Yes, Vanhoover was the ideal meeting place. The letter she had promised could wait. One would have to go to Twilight too; another to Jet Set, in New Mareland. But first, Luna had a nation to protect the dreams of. |-x-X-x-| Twilight closed the door to Flurry’s room as gently as she could. She lingered outside for a few more moments, then departed after nodding to the guards. Destination: her study. Sunset had suggested they continue their work there, once the evening had come. Twilight had easily agreed; the study was many times more comfortable than the council room. And just like agreed, when Twilight entered the room Spike and Sunset were both already there, seated in chairs and with a stack of paperwork dominating the table in front of them. ‘’All good?’’ Sunset asked Twilight. ‘’Yes.’’ Twilight nodded once. How kind of Sunset to ask, she thought as she took her seat. ‘’Flurry’s probably asleep already.’’ ‘’She doesn’t have trouble with that?’’ ‘’She used to,’’ Twilight admitted, seeing no reason not to tell Sunset. ‘’But not anymore. I don’t think she’s over it, per se, but…’’ ‘’I understand,’’ Sunset said softly. ‘’Enough moping,’’ Spike declared a moment later. ‘’We have to continue our work.’’ The dragon’s grin did nothing to hide his tiredness. ‘’Quite,’’ Sunset agreed with a dry chuckle, before turning serious. ‘’Twilight, I’m going to need a lot of money and other resources for this to work.’’ Of course. Twilight nodded. ‘’I’m afraid that the Empire is rather lacking… everything, at the moment.’’ ‘’I understand,’’ Sunset said, ‘’but I’ll need some starting funds, if nothing else.’’ ‘’I’ll see what can be done,’’ Twilight replied. ‘’How much bits are we talking about?’’ ‘’Hmm…’’ Sunset rubbed her chin. ‘’I’m not sure. A lot.’’ ‘’I see,’’ Twilight deadpanned. ‘’I’ll be sure to pass that on to the Treasurer.’’ Spike snickered, while Sunset chuckled. ‘’Do that.’’ ‘’In all seriousness,’’ Twilight continued, ‘’can you give me an estimate, at least?’’ ‘’Five hundred thousand.’’ Sweet Celestia. Spike whistled, impressed. ‘’I… see,’’ Twilight said. ‘’I did the finances for the Empire two weeks ago. I’m going to have to redo the entire budget.’’ ‘’I’m sorry.’’ Sunset gave Twilight a sympathetic smile. ‘’Five hundred thousand is already stretching it, I’m afraid.’’ ‘’Okay.’’ She could work with that. Rebalancing the numbers was hard, but not impossible. And in the worst case, Twilight could always request a loan from Equestria. Even if that was setting a bad precedent. The Crystal Empire was its own nation, not merely an extension of Equestria, and Twilight would see to it that that distinction was maintained. ‘’Alright. Let’s get to work.’’
Chapter 9: Title 5‘’Luna’s headed for Vanhoover,’’ Crystal announced as Star entered the dinner room. How interesting. ‘’Of course she is,’’ Star replied as he sat down at the table. ‘’She’s going to talk with Velvet. Good morning, by the way.’’ ‘’Morning.’’ ‘’Good morning, darlings.’’ Rarity swept into the room. Star turned to face her as she sat down and pulled her into a long kiss. So very nice. ‘’Urgh,’’ Crystal gagged. ‘’You,’’ Star said after he broke the kiss, ‘’have absolutely no room to speak of anything in this.’’ ‘’True,’’ Crystal admitted like the cunt she was. ‘’Oh, Rarity? There was a letter for you from Canterlot.’’ How on Faust? ‘’It seems,’’ Crystal continued with a smirk, ‘’that Luna is aware of your new status.’’ She tossed the letter to Rarity, who caught it in her magic. ‘’Let’s see then.’’ Rarity opened the letter and cleared her throat. ‘’My word.’’ Well, now Star was curious too. ‘’What did our dear princess write?’’ ‘’She’s requesting my aid in designing new uniforms for the military.’’ Wasn’t that interesting? ‘’That’s a compliment if I’ve ever heard one…’’ he trailed off as he saw Rarity was slowly starting to panic. That wouldn’t do. ‘’Rarity-’’ ‘’Oh my gosh!’’ Rarity exclaimed. ‘’I’ve got to design! Tempest, I need to speak to her-’’ ‘’Rarity.’’ ‘’Acquire the right fabrics-’’ ‘’Rarity.’’ ‘’I must hire some extra hooves-’’ Fuck this. Star’s muzzle darted forward and caught Rarity’s lips in a kiss. After a moment of startled shock, Rarity kissed back. Brilliant. ‘’Now,’’ Star said after breaking the kiss. ‘’Take it one step at a time. No one gains anything if you panic.’’ Rarity’s eyes met his, and after a moment, she nodded gracefully. ‘’Thank you for reminding me of that, darling.’’ Star smiled. ‘’Anytime, love.’’ And he did mean it. ‘’Sappy,’’ Crystal remarked dryly. ‘’But Star’s right.’’ She tossed another pancake onto her plate. Star just smiled indulgently at her. ‘’Of course I am.’’ |-x-X-x-| ‘’Sunset?’’ Well now, what could Flurry possibly have to ask Sunset this early in the morning? The unicorn looked up from her food and smiled at Twilight’s nice. Twilight leaned slightly forward, curious. ‘’Yes, Flurry?’’ Sunset replied. Flurry shifted uncomfortably in her chair. It was something Twilight recognized from Cadence. ‘’It’s just…’’ the filly hesitated. ‘’It’s just… can I call you auntie?’’ What. ‘’Because you said you knew my mom a long time ago,’’ Flurry quickly continued before any of them had time to respond. ‘’And you weren’t friends but you still knew her and you’re friends with auntie Twilight and uncle Spike now and all of auntie Twilight’s friends said I can call them auntie as well and I don’t have many friends and I like you. So can I please call you auntie too?’’ Vaguely, Twilight heard Sunset reply that yes, Flurry could call Sunset auntie. Her niece didn’t have many friends. How had Twilight, the motherfucking Princess of Friendship for crying out loud, forgotten to ask Flurry if she had made any new friends yet? She had been in the Crystal Empire for a little over a month, already! ‘’Twilight?’’ Spike grabbed her shoulder. ‘’Twilight, you with us?’’ ‘’Huh?’’ she shot up in her chair. ‘’Sorry, what was that?”’ Belatedly, she noticed Sunset, Spike and Flurry were all staring at her. ‘’I’m fine,’’ she said unpromptedly. ‘’You’re not,’’ Spike declared. ‘’You just realized you forgot something important.’’ ‘’I did,’’ Twilight acknowledged his statement, before turning her full attention to her niece. ‘’Flurry,’’ she asked gently, ‘’have you made any friends in the Crystal Empire yet?’’ Flurry shifted again, and Twilight only just now noticed that Sunset had moved chairs to sit next to the foal, her right foreleg wrapped around Flurry. That was good. Flurry, though, didn’t meet Twilight’s gaze, and that plus her shifting told Twilight enough. ‘’Flurry,’’ she continued in the same, gentle tone she had used earlier, ‘’is there a reason you haven’t made friends with the other foals yet? Are they being mean-’’ ‘’They’re not mean to me!” Flurry unexpectedly shouted, before reddening. ‘’Sorry.’’ ‘’It’s alright,’’ Twilight soothed, meeting Flurry’s eyes and seeing tears forming at the edge. ‘’Flurry, you don’t have to make friends if that’s not what you want. But trust me when I say that it’s good for you to have people of your own age to talk to.’’ Flurry didn’t look convinced, but she nodded anyway. ‘’Okay, auntie. I’ll try.’’ Twilight hadn’t asked if Flurry had had any friends before Sombra’s return. On one hoof, she hoped she had. On the other… Sombra had used child soldiers in the defence of Crystal City. It would be easier for Flurry to find new friends if she didn’t have any old ones. ‘’Is there…’’ Twilight searched for the right words. ‘’Were you friends with anyone…’’ she tried. Flurry shook her head sadly. Sunset gently ran her hoof over the filly’s back. Twilight was going to have to get her something nice. Maybe a dinner for two, in one of the local restaurants. They could catch up with each other, and the crystal ponies could see Twilight wasn’t just the Princess-Regent, she was a normal mare too. Yes, dinner sounded nice. |-x-X-x-| Being the prince of a nation that had been democratic for decades was hard, to say the least. Still, Archibald Dawnfeather, prince of the Principality of Greifenmarschen, was confident he would be able to steer the nation to the same harmony that had united the ponies of Equestria. But to achieve that harmony, blood would have to be spilled. The Duchess’ reign still held in the lands surrounding Griffinheim, and with her recent marriage the Grand Duchy of Feathisia-Strawberry was firmly in her grasp. Add the loyalty of Bronzehill’s diamond dogs to the Grover line, and it was a power bloc without equal in the region. Archibald had sent messengers to the nations of the southern Herzland: Yale, Angriver, Romau and Katerin. He had not been pleased by the result. The weird prelate in Katerin had rebuked Archibald’s messenger gently but firmly, going on a long spiel about the Trinity. Oh well, at least the messenger had returned unharmed, unlike the poor griffon sent to Angriver: the baron had sent the griffon’s head back in a box. The messenger from Yale had yet to return. Likely, he was caught in a lecture by one of the rectors there. Archibald chuckled at his own joke. The only luck had been had in Romau: the messenger had returned with promises of an alliance. Romau had pledged it’s legions, which were steadily growing, in exchange for extra food shipments to be sent to the city. And if Archibald managed to unify the Herzland or parts of it into a larger realm, then Romau had been promised the same privileges it enjoyed as an Imperial Free City. Perhaps most important of all, the new Archon of Eyr had pledged the Temples’ support to Archibald’s idea of harmony among the griffons. ‘’Archibald Dawnfeather.’’ Archibald spun around and stared. He’d heard a rumour, of a glowing griffon proclaiming himself the ‘Herald of Boreas’, crossing through Yale seemingly without any goal. Archibald himself held the Old Believer faith, and he wasn’t overly religious anyhow. The glowing avatar standing in front of him, exuding an aura of divinity, was hard to deny though. Instinctively, Archibald bowed his head. ‘’Good evening,’’ he said softly. ‘’To you as well,’’ the ‘Herald’ replied. ‘’I come bringing the message of Boreas. Hear and listen.’’ He spread his glowing wings and stood back on his hind legs. ‘’Griffonkind is fractured. The City of Light and the Heart of Evi have both fallen to socialism, and the darkness inspired by Maar’s domains will soon envelop the South and the North as well. In the Heartland, the Empire lies broken, and neither the words of the fallen Archon now in Skyfall nor the promises of the Duchess will be able to mend the Heartland. A single spark of hope remains for the children of Boreas: the Heartland must be united peacefully, and connect with the Sun and Moon across the sea.’’ ‘’This, Archibald Dawnfeather, is your task. With the aid of Boreas, you will see that Harmony is to be found in the Heartland.’’ Sweet Celestia. Archibald went to his knees. ‘’I- I am honoured,’’ he said. ‘’But how am I to do this?’’ The Herald smiled. ‘’You will have the aid of Boreas,’’ he repeated. ‘’Come. We will travel north, to Griffinheim, and there we will unite the Heartland without bloodshed.’’ An arduous task for sure. Archibald rose from the floor. ‘’I will need to collect clothes and supplies, if we are travelling north.’’ ‘’Go,’’ the Herald commanded with the flick of a wing. ‘’Gather what you need and make what preparations you must. I will wait here. We travel by land to Romau and then set sail up the river to Griffinheim.’’ That seemed reasonable. Archibald nodded, then turned and left the room. |-x-X-x-| The easiest way to travel to Vanhoover was by train, or so Luna had been told. However, a train would also be easier to sabotage, and getting help if they got stuck in the middle of Ponderosa would be hard. So, Luna had decided on a compromise: she would take a train to Las Pegasus, and from there, sail with an escort from the Equestrian navy to Vanhoover. A navy that was only marginally better prepared for war than the army was. 37 ships for a coastline of over a thousand kilometers, not to mention the ocean between Equus and New Mareland? It was not nearly enough. And of those 37 vessels, only four covered the entire western coast: one docked in Las Pegasus, and three in Vanhoover. Admittedly, the powers of Griffonia had posed more of a threat for the longest time, but the Changeling navy was nothing to scoff at nowadays. That was why Luna had ordered half of the Celestial Sea Fleet to be reassigned to the Lunar Ocean Fleet, with which the Las Pegasus squadron would merge as well. The ship docked in Las Pegasus would take her to Vanhoover, with one of the three ships docked in Vanhoover joining her escort in Applewood. Luna hadn’t yet stayed on a new, modern ship, and had only been on a ship a few times before her banishment. An experience to look forward to, no matter how the subsequent meeting with Queen Velvet would go. If she understood it correctly, Velvet and Luna both wanted this alliance. Olenia needed to rebuild after Johan’s misrule and the short but devastating civil war that ensured Velvet’s return, and Equestria needed a powerful ally on Equus that could help in a war with the Changelings. A part of Luna still hoped that admitting Olenia into the United Ponies’ Front, soon to be renamed the United Creatures Front, would be enough to deter Chrysalis from any aggression. But she knew that the changeling queen would not be deterred by something like. She hoped, but she already knew the answer. The landscape continued to fly past. In the distance, the Canter was visible, moonlight sparkling off the water’s surface. It had never occurred to Luna before how vast and empty Equestria truly was: since passing Ghastly Gorge - which had been on the other side of the river - she had only seen small villages. There was room for thousands of creatures here, but instead there was only nature. It was calming, in a way, to know that though Equestria might have been at war not two months ago, there were still sights like this, unmarred by conflict. Idly, Luna wondered how Celestia was doing. Her sister had extended her holiday in the Spa Islands to until Luna had returned from Vanhoover, and her last letter had described just how relaxing and serene the resort Luna (with a little help from her steward) had arranged for Celestia. A smile crept onto Luna’s muzzle. She honestly hadn’t expected Celestia to fold so easily, but fold she had. And ruling Equestria alone, while a change of pace from the calm Night Court, was honestly refreshing. She could do without the nobles though.
Chapter 10: Title 6The ship Luna would be staying on was called the ERNS Pictor, a recently-built destroyer that was the sole thing patrolling Equestrian waters between Vanhoover and Baltimare. In practice, Luna had read, the ship kept itself in the Pegasi Gulf, and mostly dealt with any pirates or smugglers that tried to enter the country. The full crew of the ship had posted themselves on the railing, and the captain of the ship stood at the boarding plank. ‘’Your majesty.’’ She snapped off a salute. ‘’Captain Skyheart of the ERNS Pictor reporting, ma’am!’’ Luna nodded. ‘’At ease, captain. It’s a pleasure to meet you.’’ ‘’Pleasure to meet you too, your majesty,’’ the mare replied. ‘’And it’s an honour to have you aboard.’’ ‘’We are sure everything will be to our liking,’’ Luna demurred. ‘’We do not require much in the way of comfort.’’ ‘’Your majesty.’’ Was she making the captain uncomfortable? Of course she was. Luna inclined her head regally. ‘’Captain, won’t you show us around your ship?’’ ‘’Of course, your majesty,’’ Skyheart replied. ‘’Please, follow me.’’ After a quick tour of the ship, Luna ended up on the bridge of the ship. ‘’And that’s that,’’ Skyheart concluded. ‘’Any questions, your majesty?’’ ‘’None as of now,’’ Luna replied after a moment’s thought. ‘’Thank you, captain. Is it possible for us to remain here as we leave for the sea?’’ ‘’I would be honoured, your majesty,’’ was Skyheart’s answer. ‘’We are ready to depart at your command, your majesty.’’ Brilliant. ‘’Then let us set sail!’’ |-x-X-x-| The trip up the river to Griffinheim was more comfortable than Archibald had anticipated. They were travelling in a boat owned by the Chancellor of Romau’s Senate: a long, comfortable ship that had more than enough space for their delegation. Aside from the Herald and Archibald himself, one of Romau’s senators and the Archon of Eyr, Erion XIII, were also travelling to Griffinheim. Prelate Duskfeather would arrive a day after them, the Herald had predicted, and Archibald saw no reason to doubt him. No doubt the Herald had powerful gifts, and that was one of them. Speaking of, the Herald had been at the front of the ship the entire time, looking out over the river as they slowly went north. Archibald, on his part, was busy sorting through his notes. The rumours that he wrote incestual relationships between princesses Celestia and Luna were true, but only partially: he wrote other things as well, and his writings never went into too much detail regarding that part. ‘’Prince Archibald?’’ He looked up to see the senator from Romau, a light brown griffoness called Emma Starmourn, standing in the doorway. ‘’Yes?’’ he asked. ‘’The Herald wants to talk to you,’’ senator Starmourn succinctly said. Whatever for? Archibald nodded as he stood up from his chair. ‘’Of course.’’ A moment to drop his notes on the desk, and then Archibald was walking from his room to the front of the ship. The Herald was in conversation with Erion, and the sailors around them were busy pretending they weren’t listening in. Of course, the discussion was theological in nature. ‘’Good afternoon,’’ Archibald entered the conversation. ‘’You wished to speak with me, Herald?’’ ‘’I did.’’ The Herald turned his beak to Archibald. ‘’Archon Erion and I wished to discuss the place of the faith.’’ Well. ‘’A blessed day to you, Prince Dawnfeather,’’ Erion said. The black and gray griffon cut a priestly figure in his white and red robes, simple but elegantly-dressed and soft-spoken. ‘’I have been told you and I have some differences in our faith.’’ ‘’That’s one way to say it,’’ Archibald said dryly. ‘’I’ll start: I’m an Old Believer, and I grew up in Equestria. The Trinity, in my opinion, has no business being as influential as it currently is.’’ Erion inclined his head. He probably didn’t agree, but the fact that he didn’t start ranting or otherwise get angry at Archibald for simply voicing his opinion was good enough. ‘’I see,’’ he said neutrally. ‘’I agree, partially. It is, after all, the task of the temples to make sure the word of the gods is spread.’’ ‘’And I’m not denying that,’’ Archibald demurred. ‘’But the preachings of a prelate should not be able to sway an election.’’ ‘’And how would you regulate that?’’ Erion asked. ‘’Because anyone who can speak to a crowd can do the same. Should we ban public speaking?’’ ‘’Of course not.’’ Admittedly, it had been some time since Archibald had held an actual debate about this with someone. ‘’Let me rephrase: the line between state and religion, and I mean all religions, should be more properly defined.’’ Erion hummed. ‘’How do you propose to do that?’’ ‘’Well, for starters,’’ Archibald began, ‘’a prelate should not be able to hold any other offices, like mayor or aldergriff. Laws that are based on rules laid down by the temples should be repealed or amended.’’ Erion hummed again. ‘’Very well. And what do the temples get in exchange?’’ ‘’Exchange?’’ Archibald asked, eyebrow rising. ‘’I don’t follow.’’ ‘’What the Archon means,’’ the Herald spoke up, ‘’is this: if the temples agreed to this limitation to their power, what would the state offer them in compensation?’’ That was something Archibald hadn’t thought about, because the question had never really come up. Greifenmarschen was primarily Old Believer, in which the positions of Archon simply didn’t exist. ‘’I… don’t know,’’ he finally offered. ‘’Well, something to think about then,’’ Erion remarked with a sympathetic smile. ‘’We have a couple of days until we arrive in Griffinheim, so plenty of time.’’ ‘’Indeed,’’ the Herald agreed. ‘’While the Archon and I both agree with your principles, Archibald, you must be able to defend and explain them for those who are opposed to them, if our task is to succeed.’’ ‘’I understand.’’ In hindsight, that was rather logical, and definitely something Archibald would get to doing as soon as possible. |-x-X-x-| Of course, when Twilight and Sunset left for their strictly-business lunch date (dinner, sadly, hadn’t fit into their schedules), Twilight left it to Spike to care for Flurry. Not that the dragon minded. He loved his niece, and spending time with Flurry was one of his favourite things to do. Likewise, Flurry loved taking a ride on Spike’s back. By now, he was tall and strong enough to carry an adult mare like Twilight on his back, nevermind a little filly. A group of foals, on the other claw… ‘’I’m not sure I can carry all of you,’’ Spike told the seven foals in front of him. With the exception of Flurry, they were all crystal ponies, looking up at him both figuratively and literally. Disappointing wasn’t something Spike wanted to do, but he wasn’t some all-powerful god either. Spike wasn’t sure if the foals and Flurry were friends yet, but if he could help her with that, he was happy to do so. So when Flurry had asked if the other foals and she could ride on his back, he was more than willing to oblige. ‘’I can fly,’’ Flurry offered. ‘’I don’t have to ride on your back, uncle.’’ Well, it was the only option. ‘’That’s very kind of you, Flurry.’’ Spike smiled at his niece, who gave a bright smile back. Spike then turned to the other foals. ‘’Climb on my back then, but watch out for the spikes, and be careful you don’t fall off.’’ ‘’Okay, Great Spike/Prince Spike,’’ the foals all said, before climbing on his back one by one. When they had all climbed on, Spike took a few hesitant steps, The extra weight was noticeable, but he could still walk easily. ‘’Right,’’ he said, turning his neck to look at the foals. ‘’Everyone hanging on?’’ ‘’Yeah, we can go!’’ Flurry replied, hovering besides him. ‘’Then let’s go,’’ Spike said, and he began to walk away from the playground. Flurry constantly zipped between flying next to his face and next to his back, talking with him or the other foals depending on where she was. Of course, they were bound to attract attention. Many people stopped to stare at Spike and Flurry, and Spike made sure to smile and sometimes even wave to them. Public relations, morale and all that. Twilight had included a set of diagrams and statistics during her explanation, but the main thing Spike had remembered was that seeing him, or Twilight or Flurry, reassured people and made them feel safe. And if he enjoyed the attention just a little, well then that was just a nice bonus, wasn’t it? ‘’Uncle Spike?’’ Flurry flew back into his sight again. ‘’Can we get ice cream? There’s a store there.’’ She pointed down the street to a sign that read, ‘’Crystal Cream: best ice cream in town!’’ Spike questioned how an ice cream store could function when it was too cold for ice cream from October to March, but it seemingly worked. And he never said no to a nice scoop of ice cream, no matter the weather. Even if it was not even April. ‘’Who else wants ice cream?’’ Spike asked the foals. ‘’Me!’’ they chorused back. Spike chuckled. ‘’And the vote has passed, eight to none!’’ Now, how to fit himself into the store.
Chapter 11: Title 7The trip north to Vanhoover had taken eight days, during which Luna had held several discussions with Captain Skyheart, as well as other members of the ship’s crew. Once they got past the initial awkwardness, Luna had fallen into the camaraderie she had shared with the soldiers a thousand years ago, and she had had several intriguing conversations with some of the sailors. They held opinions on subjects that Luna would never have considered otherwise but still made sense to her. She was almost sad that it had come to an end. But ended it had. And now she was sitting in the town hall of Vanhoover, waiting for queen Velvet to arrive. From what had been communicated to her, Velvet was taking a train from Hjortland, acting as a sort of impromptu royal tour before arriving at Vanhoover. Ingenious, Luna had to admit. ‘’Velvet’s train has entered the city limits, your majesty,’’ one of her guards informed her. Luna nodded regally. ‘’Ensure she remains safe.’’ A simple command, really. ‘’As you command.’’ The guard retreated again. The mayor of Vanhoover let out an explosive sigh. ‘’Apologies, your majesty,’’ she offered a moment later. ‘’I am just not used to ponies suddenly appearing next to me.’’ ‘’We understand,’’ Luna soothed. ‘’’Tis but an instinctual reaction. ‘’Yes, indeed,’’ the mayor agreed hastily. ‘’Forgive me, your majesty, but this is all so exciting!’’ Luna nodded. ‘’We agree,’’ she allowed. ‘’Let us hope all goes well.’’ And there was little chance that would not be the case. Velvet wanted this, Luna wanted this: it was just a matter of signing the papers and then that would be that. Olenia would be a definitive part of the United Creatures Front, and by extension Equestria’s sphere of influence. It wouldn’t keep Chrysalis from trying to expand. But Olenia and Equestria together were stronger than alone. If it came to war, they would stand or fall together. Despite what some thought, Luna did not want war. She was a realist: war was a part of life, and Equestria was not prepared for a war. The Crystal War had proved as much. Even if it had been quick, there had still been nearly two million dead beings by the end of it, including her niece and cousin-in-law. ‘’Your majesty, queen Velvet has arrived at the train station and is making her way here,’’ a guard suddenly said. Luna inclined her head at him in acknowledgement. "Here goes nothing," the mayor muttered. |-x-X-x-| "And this is our classroom," Sweetie explained. "Lucky," Crystal said. "We have some pretty good stuff up in Canterlot too, but this is even nicer." "Really?" Sweetie questioned, looking sideways at Crystal. Crystal smiled at her. "Really," she affirmed. She hesitated for a moment, before pressing a kiss to Sweetie's nose. "And of course, Canterlot doesn't have you." Sweetie blushed and smiled. It was a sight Crystal adored. She was just so cute! "Ahem." Oh for Sun's sake. Crystal turned around and looked back into the hallway to see Starlight standing a few meters away from them. "There are foals running around in this school," Starlight warned. "I," Crystal replied, "am well aware of that. But which foal hasn't seen someone give another pony a nose-kiss before?" Starlight's eyebrows wrinkled. "I suppose you have a point," she allowed. "Crystal, I actually wanted to talk to you. Mind joining me in my office?" Crystal was on a date with her marefriend and wasn't planning on stopping said date, thank you very much. "Why don't we talk in this classroom instead?" "I'll go," Sweetie offered. Crystal shook her head. "You're not going. Whatever Starlight has to say to me, you can hear as well." "I don't think-" Starlight began. "And you should. The consequences of you not thinking about things are severe," Crystal couldn't help but point out. Starlight recoiled as if struck. "Crystal," Sweetie said softly, "that wasn't very nice of you." And she had to admit that her marefriend was right. Crystal bowed her head slightly. "Apologies." "It's fine," Starlight said quickly. "Let's just go inside." Fine by her. Crystal slipped into a chair close to the teacher's desk, Sweetie sitting next to her. ‘’What did you want to talk about, Starlight?’’ Crystal was in no mood for games. Starlight averted her eyes, looking out the window. ‘’Why are you here?’’ she finally asked. ‘’I mean, I get why Star is here. But why are you here as well?’’ ‘’If I knew that,’’ Crystal snarked, ‘’I would tell you. Seeing as I don’t, well…’’ ‘’I didn’t mean to offend,’’ Starlight needlessly apologized. ‘’I’m just intensely curious.’’ She glanced at the desk in front of Crystal. ‘’By the way, what does your cutie mark stand for? I can’t figure it out.’’ Why did her fucking cutie mark have to attract so much fucking attention? It was just a yellow circle with white stripes around it and a black dot in the centre- Okay, so maybe Crystal could understand the attention, but it was still annoying as tartarus.‘’It stands,’’ she ground out, shifting slightly, ‘’for my talent, that being light.’’ She looked at one of the lamps hanging on the roof. After a second, the light shot out of it (why it was on during the afternoon, Celestia only knew) and flew to the tip of Crystal’s horn, shaping into a small ball. ‘’That’s amazing,’’ Sweetie said, awed. ‘’I’m glad you think so,’’ Crystal said, idly sending the orb of light back into the lamp. Starlight was staring at her like Crystal had just told her she was the incest child of Celestia and Luna. ‘’I see,’’ she finally managed. Crystal slipped out of the chair and put her hoof around Sweetie’s. ‘’Come on love. The tour isn’t over yet.’’ |-x-X-x-| In the end, Spike indeed hadn't fit into the store, and he had ordered from the outside while the foals waited. Then, to avoid being surrounded by crowds, he had quickly retreated back to the playground, where they were now all eating their ice cream. ‘’So, I haven’t caught your names yet,’’ Spike said between licks from his gem ice cream. ‘’I’m Sparkling Gem,’’ the one colt in the group said immediately. He had a light blue coat and a yellow and green mane, with lighter yellow eyes. ‘’I’m Sky Flower,’’ a filly with a sky-blue mane, white coat and blue eyes said. The filly with an hazel brown coat, red eyes and a redder mane, said, ‘’I’m Cherry Heart.’’ ‘’My name is Smoky Blaze, sir,’’ a filly with a black mane, blue eyes and a dark blue coat said. ‘’I’m Nova,’’ a purple filly with a darker purple coat and lavender eyes said. The last filly remaining had a white coat, blue eyes and a golden mane. ‘’I’m Sunny Petal,’’ he said. Spike nodded. Committing all those names to memory would be a hassle, but he would manage. ‘’It’s a pleasure to meet you all,’’ he said with a reassuring smile. ‘’Are you enjoying your ice cream?’’ ‘’It’s very nice, uncle!’’ Flurry chirped. ‘’Thanks for buying us ice cream, prince Spike,’’ Sparkling added. ‘’It was my pleasure,’’ Spike replied truthfully. And he didn’t mind it at all. ‘’I-’’ ‘’SPIKE!’’ Twilight galloped into the garden, Sunset next to her. Both mares were looking panicked. ‘’What is it?’’ Spike asked as he rose from the ground. ‘’The Changelings have crossed the border!’’ What!? "We must get inside and establish communications with the border and Canterlot," Sunset said. "What happened?" Spike inquired. "Explosion in Vanhoover, and then reports of Changeling troops crossing the border," Sunset replied hastily. ‘’We don’t know much, but we’re at war.’’ This was terrible. ‘’Alright, everyone stay calm,’’ Spike ordered. ‘’Flurry, come with me.’’ ‘’But what about my friends?’’ ‘’They can come too,’’ Spike replied and tried not to smile at how Flurry had called them friends. ‘’Now come!’’ Flurry instantly clustered to Twilight’s side, while the other foals all-but-clung to Spike. He was grateful for his increase in size; one of the few good things to result from the past months.
Chapter 12: Title 8What a clusterfuck. ‘’Luna will be alright,’’ Star said for the sixth time, and prayed it was true. Rarity was hugging him as if he was the last thing in the world and Sweetie was doing the same to Crystal as the four of them listened in horror to the radio reports. ‘’Reports of tanks in Acornage… the explosions in Vanhoover have stopped, but gunfire can still be heard… we’re receiving reports that Seaddle and Tall Tale are being bombed.’’ With every word, the fear increased. Starlight, the other Elements, Mayor Mare and commander Tempest were sure to break into the living room at any moment now, Star mused dryly. ‘’Royal Magician!’’ There it was. Star lifted his head and looked at the door, where all the ponies he had expected stood. ‘’Good morning,’’ he greeted. ‘’We need to act!’’ Tempest was the first to speak. ‘’Mobilize the troops under your command,’’ Star replied. ‘’Rainbow, I believe you have a Wonderbolt Squadron to report to. The rest of you, I have no idea what you did during the Crystal War, but go do it.’’ It was amazing how easily they listened to him. In a minute they were gone again, leaving the four of them alone. ‘’I’m scared,’’ Sweetie whispered. ‘’Everything,’’ Crystal replied immediately, ‘’will be fine. Love.’’ And she pressed a kiss to Sweetie’s forehead. So sappy. Rarity looked up at Star. ‘’Will it be?’’ He didn’t know. He knew the numbers: Equestria had some 75 divisions, New Mareland had 12 divisions, the Crystal Empire had 0, officially at least, and Olenia, if the intelligence reports Star received but definitely knew nothing about were true, had around 50 divisions. The Changeling Hegemony, on the other hoof, had around 60 divisions. So the numbers were in their favour. But numbers did not win wars. The Crystal War had shown that as well. ‘’Equestria,’’ Star said, ‘’will have to change. This is not a war that will be won easily. But we will win it. I promise you that.’’ Rarity snuggled up against him even more. ‘’Thank you, darling.’’ Her voice was little more than a whisper. ‘’I needed that.’’ ‘’Anytime, love.’’ |-x-X-x-| Well, they certainly couldn’t have picked a worse time for discussing uniting the Herzland. ‘’The situation in Equestria… complicates matters,’’ the Herald had said. ‘’Boreas did not expect this.’’ And then he had vanished in the middle of the negotiations. Negotiations that had been paused by the regentess, as they had all been left in shock by that little revelation. Now Archibald was sitting on the balcony of the rooms he’d been given, looking out over the western part of Griffinheim. Equestria was at war. His birth-nation. Now, the Crystal War had been different. That had been over in three months, though at a great cost. This, Archibald sensed, wouldn’t be over that quickly. Oh, he hoped it would be, but he didn’t think it would be. The main question that rested on Archibald’s mind was: where had the Herald gone to? He had tremendous power, Archibald had seen as much when the Herald had healed a blind griff in the streets, but what was he going to do with it? The Herald had talked about Equestria and harmony a lot. Perhaps he was aiding Equestria? But how then? Someone knocked on the door of his rooms. ‘’Yes?’’ Archibald called out as he rose from his chair. ‘’Herr Dawnfeather, the Herald has returned,’’ the voice of Erion replied through the door. He sounded excited. ‘’I’m coming!’’ Archibald grabbed his notebook and pencil and all but sprinted to the door, opening it to see a smiling Archon. ‘’Come,’’ Erion said. ‘’The Herald is in the room we used previously.’’ It was a short walk from Archibald’s quarters to the council room they had used for the negotiations. Stepping inside, Archibald saw the flaming Herald, as well as the regentess and her husband, senator Starmourn, and prelate Duskfeather. ‘’Now that everyone has arrived,’’ the Herald suddenly said, and the power in his voice was undeniable, ‘’we can begin again.’’ Archibald and Erion quickly sat down, as did the other people in the room, with the exception of the Herald. ‘’Listen,’’ the Herald ordered. ‘’I have spoken with Celestia.’’ Well. ‘’After that, I spoke with the so-called ‘Archon of Boreas’ in Skyfall. He has… retired, and a loyal, true follower of Boreas now rules Skyfall in his place,’’ the Herald continued. ‘’It is Boreas’ command that the nations of the Herzland unify into a single Kingdom, ruled by Prince Archibald of Greifenmarschen until Grover VI can take the throne.’’ What? Regentess Eagleclaw looked like she wanted to protest, but her husband put a claw on her own and whispered something into her ear. ‘’Very well,’’ she said a moment later. ‘’Who shall raise Grover?’’ ‘’You,’’ the Herald replied, ‘’together with the Prince and me.’’ Fucking brilliant. |-x-X-x-| Everything was rapidly falling apart. Sunset was constantly on the phone, snapping off orders while making plans. Spike had placed the foals, including Flurry, in Flurry’s rooms and set no less than a dozen guards around them, before returning to being by Twilight’s side. ‘’What can we do?” Twilight asked Sunset when the latter finally put the phone down. ‘’Morale, speeches, organizing supplies,’’ Sunset listed off. Twilight could do that. ‘’I have roughly 10 divisions or so. Their training isn’t fully done and they aren’t fully equipped, but they're the best we have. I just talked with field marshal Blueblood; he says the entire army is headed to the border, and 25 to 30 divisions will be dedicated to the front north of Acornage.’’ ‘’That’s… good.’’ Deep breaths Twilight, deep breaths. Don’t panic. Sunset smiled a wry smile. ‘’No one lives that far west in the Empire, Twilight. But we might have to evacuate Evergreen and Quebuck, just to be sure.’’ Twilight nodded. ‘’Okay.’’ ‘’Twilight.’’ Sunset hesitated, looked beside Twilight at Spike, then back at Twilight. ‘’Twilight, go to Flurry. There’s not much you can do here that I or Spike can’t, and she needs you.’’ ‘’I can’t-’’ ‘’Go,’’ Sunset ordered. Twilight, somehow, ended up in Flurry’s rooms, surrounded by the little alicorn and some other foals she vaguely recognized. ‘’Hi Flurry,’’ she greeted with a tired smile. ‘’How was your day?’’ Flurry, instead of replying, wrapped her legs around Twilight’s neck. ‘’Auntie, I’m scared.’’ Immediately, Twilight hugged her back. ‘’It will be alright,’’ she soothed. ‘’Everyone,’’ she addressed the other foals, ‘’I promise you, everything will work out fine.’’ ‘’Are you sure, princess Twilight?’’ the one colt in the room asked. No, she wasn’t. ‘’I am.’’ ‘’Okay.’’ The colt walked over to Twilight and gave her a hug as well. Author's Note And that's it. I had plans, but I burnt myself out on this story by writing everything in two weeks time, and now I'm not interested in it and likely never will be again. Yes I know it's a cliffhanger, and if you want you can write your own ending or adopt this story, as long as you ask first. Cheers.
