Dreams of Forever

Therefore, it would be in the interests of Equestria if the would-be queen is protected by her own personal guard unit.

An interesting proposal, however I see some flaws in the implementation you outlined. Having this 'Queen's Guard' loyal only to her would be a mistake. I'm certain you can understand my caution surrounding her independence, especially given the potential threat she presents.

Your highness, if I may be direct: Either we allow its formation on our terms, or she will form it on her own. There is already one potential recruit that is willing to join, and they are an asset that we cannot recruit under normal circumstances. It would be best to have somepony on the inside who you can trust rather than to let her divorce herself from your influence.

Who would you suggest to join the Queen's Guard? Or is it merely a suggestion?

I already have somepony in mind. Myself.

"Somnia~"

"No."

"Come on~"

"I don't wanna."

"It's not that bad." Twilight floated the plate a little closer. "See?"

Looking up from the plate: "It's charcoal." She deadpanned.

"Just try it~"

"You first." The filly smirked at her mother. Twilight reluctantly used the fork to take a bite of her home-cooked meal, tears falling from her eyes before she spat it back onto the plate. "That good, huh?" Somnia sarcastically raised a brow.

"Okay, I'm getting pizza." Twilight got up from the table. "Don't go anywhere while I'm out, or you're grounded for another week and you have to eat that."

"That's abuse! I'm writing to Celestia about this!" She playfully teased while Twilight grabbed her saddlebags and left the library. Somnia picked up her book from the table to read a bit more of it. Since her grounding, Twilight had been constantly pushing schoolwork on her, not that she minded. At least it was something to do since Spike stopped practicing with her.

Her mom was starting to notice the change in dynamic between them, already suspicious of what exactly happened in the Crystal Empire. Somnia didn't have the nerve to tell her, she was already grounded for embarrassing her in front of everypony, and Spike kept himself busy, usually by helping Rarity.

A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door. Getting up, she proceeded to the door. "Library's closed."

Silence. Not a single peep as to who it was, but they certainly shifted a bit. The door handle jiggled as they tried opening the door, discovering it was locked. Somnia backed away. The hairs on her back stood up, although she didn't feel in danger. It felt... familiar. She then heard the bolt on the door unlock from the outside.

Opening the door slowly, menacing hunks of wood in the shape of a wolf's face peered into the room spotting the stunned filly. Entering fully into the library, the timber wolf closed the door behind it. Compared to a fully grown pony, it was huge, but to Somnia it was monstrous.

The queen returns. It bowed before her, it's eyes glowing a sickly green.

"I-Isirilas?" She breathily asked.

Your majesty, it is good to see you survived the scouring.

"Why are you here? How did you unlock the door?" She asked curiously.

Ponies have their uses. I've made deals to learn how to work with their contraptions in exchange for living, should I require that knowledge. I am proven correct in my wisdom.

Somnia walked up to them, giving them a few pets. "It's been so long. How have you been? How did you survive? What have you been up to?" She bombarded him with questions.

It has been hard. If Princess Stellar hadn't given me that gemstone, I would be dead right now. I'm afraid there aren't many of my kind left since the fall.

"What gemstone?" Somnia inquired, climbing onto the timber wolf's back.

I will show you when it is the right time, but not a moment sooner. I only wished to make sure it truly was you.

Who else would it be? Grar spoke up.

The changelings have tried to trick me, their failure being absolute. If the witch lived, I hope she suffers every moment she draws breath.

"Somepony tried hurting you?"

Constantly. The paths carved through my woods, the intruders looking for the shaman I allowed residence, they have no respect for the free-forests.

"I can talk to my mom about it. Maybe she can setup a wall, or something?"

Ponies can fly.

"Point taken." Somnia laid down on the back of the massive wolf, which moved over to the table.

You burnt wood? What is this for?

"It's not wood, it's supposed to be food. Mom isn't very good at cooking though." She giggled.

I will never understand your need to feed on specific things. Wood is plenty good for sustenance.

"Somnia?" A whisper from behind her carried an edge of terror. The filly sat up to see her mother standing at the door, pizza in her magical grasp, staring wide eyed at the timber wolf.

"Hey, mom!" She hopped down from the timber wolf. "What did you get?"

"Come on. Let's get the gu--"

Somnia trotted back up to the timber wolf fearlessly. "Mom, this is Isirilas! They invited themself inside!"

The wolf grabbed the plate in its jaws, turning to Twilight.

You didn't recognize me, yet the queen does. Have I passed from your memories, Princess Miracle Spark?

"Uh... What?" Twilight asked confused.

"Mom doesn't understand the Equinish script." Somnia filled in. "She's okay, I'll let her know to stay away from the forest."

Thank you, your majesty. I should be going before I cause more of a stir in town. The colossal wooden wolf moved back through the door, its pieces disconnecting to maximize the amount it could get through at a time. Twilight turned back to a smiling Somnia.

"So what did you get?"

"You... know them?"

"Yup!" The filly trotted up to her.

"How did they get inside?" Her expression shifted to suspicion. "Did you let them in?"

"Nope! They picked the lock!" She hopped up to try grabbing the pizzas. "Can we eat now?"

Twilight floated the pizzas over to the table, both of them sitting down to eat. Scratching her head, she was still trying to wrap her head around everything.

"Oh." Somnia swallowed her bite. "Isirilas would like ponies to stop going into the forest. They don't treat them kindly."

"I-I guess I could talk to the mayor about putting a few signs up." Twilight took a bite of her own pizza. "They picked the lock?"

"Yup!" The filly chomped down on another slice.

"They could have done that this entire time..." She came to a realization that if 'Isirilas' wanted to, they could've killed everypony in town while they slept. A frightening thought, but one that also perplexed her.

"Prob'ly." The filly said with a full mouth. Swallowing, she took her fourth slice. "They are nice to ponies that respect them though."

Shaking her head, Twilight focused on eating. They only had another two hours before the train left town for Canterlot. Grabbing her second slice, she saw Somnia take her fifth. "Hungry?"

"Mmm-hmm!" She noised.

Barely getting through her second slice, the filly grabbed her sixth, receiving Twilight's disapproving gaze. "Hey! I want that! You've already had five!"

The filly reluctantly hoofed over the slice. "I'm going to pack!" She grabbed the book next to her. "Done!"

Twilight shook her head as she finished the last slice. "Why don't you go over to see how Rarity is doing? She'll probably need some help."

With the brief look of uncertainty from Somnia, Twilight asked what was on her mind. "What happened between you and Spike?"

"He can tell you." She mumbled, getting up from the floor. "He's just being a colt."

"A colt? Not a brother?" Twilight raised a brow. "Somnia, what happened?"

"What does it matter? He'll get over it. Eventually." She trotted for the door. The handle was covered in Twilight's purple glow getting a wince out of Somnia, turning back to her mother.

"What happened?" She asked again, keeping her voice calm. "I promise I won't be mad."

"But you'll be disappointed, which is just as bad!" She countered.

"Somnia."

"We bucked while you were asleep!" She covered her mouth and closed her eyes, waiting for the backlash. A few hoof steps towards her. Then... a wing hug?

"I thought something happened. Did he..." She left it open ended, hoping for her daughter to fill it in.

"Did he what? Like it? Yeah, that's why he's so nervous around me!" Somnia cuddled into her mom. "I wasn't thinking and just went for it."

"You still have a lot to learn about colts." Twilight soothingly rubbed a hoof through the filly's mane. "You give it to them once, and suddenly they feel like they love you."

"What about you? Has a colt done something like that to you?" She looked up, hoping to get some advice.

"Not from what I remember." She admitted. "I've never actually done... that, before. At least since I was reborn."

"Then how do you know?"

Twilight sighed. "You were right. I've read those romance novels. I didn't want you thinking I can't handle stallions, especially since you are such a little devil." She booped Somnia on the nose getting a few giggles.

"I'll probably still try to set you up with somepony." She admitted with a smile. "I'm better with colts and stallions than you are."

"Watch it, or your going to get yourself in huge trouble one day. Let's go check on Spike. Maybe we can ease the tension a little by picking on him."

"I like that idea!"

"Pincushion!" Rarity called out, her dragon assistant appearing right at her side. "Thank you, Spikey-Wickey. You are such a gem to have around." She showered him in praise, hoping to improve his mood. He didn't want to say it, but the looks he gave Somnia back in the Crystal Empire and how much he was around to help since then told the story. Something happened between them.

The bell rung out from the front door as she sewed together the two fabrics. "Would you mind getting that, darling?"

"On it!" He rushed to the workroom door, immediately pausing upon seeing the main lobby. Rarity looked over and saw an angry Twilight next to an ashamed filly.

"Spike!" Twilight called out, making sure that the anger was clear. "We need to talk."

"T-Twilight, w-what are you--"

The two alicorns approached, pushing back Spike into the workroom. Twilight closed the door, taking a deep breath. "You don't mind, do you Rarity?"

"O-Of course not." She started moving towards the door, but was stopped by Twilight raising her hoof.

"I want you here for this." She turned her head, winking with the eye opposite Spike. Glancing down at Somnia, Rarity saw the hint of smile.

"Spike. You have a lot of explaining to do." Twilight turned her attention back to the dragon.

"I-I..." He tried thinking of an excuse before Twilight spoke up again.

"You didn't use any protection and got her pregnant!" Twilight stated with barely contained 'rage'. "She's just a filly for Celestia's sake!"

"S-She wanted me to finish inside! It's her fault!" He pointed at Somnia. Twilight blinked a few times, looking over to Somnia curiously.

"I kinda did." She nervously admitted, getting a groan from her mother.

"UGH! Would you two stop being perverts and admit that it was a mistake?"

"What. The. Buck?" Rarity mouthed, looking between the three of them. Spike stepped forward, hanging his head in shame.

"I-I'm sorry I got you pregnant. I'll- I'll take care of our foal, I promise. Dragon's honor."

Both Twilight and Somnia burst into laughter at the declaration, to the shock and confusion of both Spike and Rarity. The filly fell over having trouble breathing from how much she laughed. When both calmed their laughter down to a giggle, Twilight wiped the tears from her eyes. "You can't get a pony pregnant, Spike!"

"Huh?!" He jumped back surprised. "B-But--"

"It was an act! To get to stop being so skittish about it!" Twilight chuckled. "And to embarrass both of you in front of somepony else." She smiled to Rarity. "Thanks for staying around."

"Did they really...?" Rarity looked between the two, receiving a nod from Twilight.

"Somnia admitted she approached Spike about it." She turned to her number one assistant. "And he was too much of a colt to admit he fell for her after one casual tumble."

Somnia walked up to Spike, offering a hoof. "Siblings?"

He hesitated before shaking it. "Siblings."

"Gross." Rarity whined. "You two have sex, then just shake hooves like you're brother and sister?!"

All three of them shrugged. "Better than keeping tension going." Twilight responded. "Besides, they're not real siblings and they're not both ponies. I don't want to keep having to deal with this whenever they accidentally end up helping each other."

"Eck. Get out!" Rarity stomped her hoof. "Out!"

"See you on the train, Rarity!" All three laughed as they left her shop.

"You three seem to be a good mood." Fluttershy commented from beside Rainbow Dash. The train was on the final approach to Canterlot, meaning that it would only be another couple of minutes before they arrived at the station.

"We had a little fun. At our expense." Spike leaned back, putting an arm around Somnia.

"Yeah, and Rarity too. What did you two do that got her dresses in bunch?" Applejack chuckled.

"No, I'm not going to go through that again." Rarity put her hoof down. "That was gross, and both of you should feel ashamed!"

"We do! That's the best part!" Somnia cheerfully laughed. "We're back to how we were!"

"Whaaaat iiiiiissssss it?" Pinkie slide up beside Rarity. "Did they flood your toilet? Ooo! Did they put silly slime all over the ceiling?"

"Nah, nothing like that." Twilight giggled. "Just a little bonding exercise between family."

"How can you say that?" Rarity actually looked offended by the remark. "They- THAT, and then you all just act like nothing happened!"

"You're making a bigger deal about it than we are, Rarity." Spike pointed out.

"Hey, you were the one who couldn't keep your eyes off my tail!" Somnia jabbed him in the gut.

"You're the one who--"

"Alright you two, haven't you gone through enough embarrassment today?" Twilight interrupted them before they ended up spilling the beans to everypony in the train car.

"Aw, but it was just getting interesting!" Rainbow complained.

"Some things are better left unsaid. They learned their lesson, and won't forget it." Twilight winked to Rarity. "And neither will Rarity."

The fashionista gave a frustrated growl, going back to staring out the window while the others tried to futilely guess what they did. The train pulled into the station without a single guess even close. Guards were waiting for them at the terminal and escorted them to the carriage that took them to the castle. Upon exiting, Twilight noticed the increased guard presence on the walls. Then in the hallways. And the throne room.

"Princess Twilight!" Celestia stepped down from the throne, walking towards the group to give her faithful student a hug. "It is good to see you again." She turned to the two creatures next to her, the other elements having split off in the hallways to go setup in their rooms. "It's good to see they are finally getting along."

"Yeah, they still need to learn a few things, but I think this is a good start. Nopony got hurt and it all worked out in the end." Twilight looked up to her mentor, biting her lip. "What's with all the guards?"

"I'm afraid there has been a threat made against you and Somnia. Both of you are to remain on the castle grounds until the Summer Sun Celebration. We've got our best agents working on finding the ponies responsible."

"Should we call off the special display?" Twilight asked concerned. "I wouldn't want to ruin the ceremony for you and Luna, knowing how much it means to both of you."

"No, it should be settled by tomorrow afternoon." Celestia smiled to Somnia. "And we wouldn't want Equestria's youngest princess to miss out on such a momentous occasion."

"Do you really raise the sun?" She asked excitedly.

"Indeed I do. I've raised the sun for over a thousand years, and the moon as well for most of that time. I want to see the celebration transformed into a positive experience for all of Equestria, including my sister."

"It's wonderful that you are sharing the Summer Sun Celebration with Princess Luna." Twilight, Somnia, and Spike followed Princess Celestia back out into the hallway, headed for their rooms.

"She is just excited as I am. The ponies of Equestria need to see her as my equal, that night and day are two halves of the same whole." Celestia stopped as a guard approached.

"You majesties, may I borrow Princess Somnia for a few minutes?" He bowed before the three alicorns.

"Um, why?" Twilight asked curiously.

"I would like to introduce her to some other guards, your highness. We won't be long, just a quick trip to the barracks to introduce her to the other officers."

"I see nothing wrong with that. It's up to you, Twilight." Celestia gave a nod.

She examined the guard a moment longer. "What's your name? You look familiar."

"Captain Shattershield, your highness. I was on duty at your coronation."

"Very well, captain. Please return Somnia to my room when you are finished with your introductions." Twilight nodded to the guard as they led the filly away. Twilight wasn't exactly enthusiastic about leaving her alone but--

"This way." Celestia led Twilight down the hallways, not turning towards the royal suites like she expected, but instead outside to a waiting chariot. "There is something I would like to show you."

"You two have fun, I'm going to go rest for the busy day tomorrow. I missed the last big Summer Sun Celebration party, and I'm not missing another." Spike declared, returning inside as the chariot set off with both alicorns.

The captain knocked on the door four times and waited. "Enter!" A muffled voice called out. The two entered, the captain closing it behind Somnia. Gathered in the room were six other ponies, two mares and four stallions, of which two were in lunar guard armor and one in solar guard armor. For a third time, Somnia had to readjust her eyes on the Lunar Guard stallion, his own eyes widening slightly as he looked her over.

"Captains, this is the filly the princesses have been fawning over." Shattershield stood at attention, positioned right between Somnia and the door. The filly nervously looked to the captains that eyed her suspiciously.

"Seriously?" Another royal guard captain looked up to Shattershield incredulously. "I wasn't expecting a literal filly!"

"Show her some respect. She's a princess too." The lunar guard mare eyed both of the captains. "One day, we may be taking orders from her."

The Solar Guard captain scoffed. "Yeah, right. Maybe you castle guards, but I'm sworn to Her Radiance, Princess Celestia."

"You searched for her just like we did." The lunar guard retorted. "I even remember you whining all about having to search the forests of Equestria only to be miffed when she arrived in Ponyville."

The solar guard stepped forward towards the filly. He towered over her as she shrunk down to the floor. "If the princesses expect us to take orders from a foal barely done sucking their own hooves, forget it! Tell her we don't take orders from wanna-be royals. When she has her coronation, we can talk, but until then we're getting back to our duties." The guard pushed Shattershield aside, followed by two of the royal guard captains.

"Bastards." The lunar guard captain swore once they left.

"Princess Somnia, right? We've heard rumors about you from the other guards, but didn't know if you were just a joke or actually real." The other royal guard mare smiled at the filly. "Shatterbrains here wouldn't shut-up about how you managed to find a changeling spy on your own. Pretty impressive, for a filly."

"Yeah, and something about giving the princesses a headache." The other lunar guard snickered.

"She's why they've been in such a bad mood? Seriously? What could she have done?" The lunar guard mare smirked at her companion.

"Beats me." He shrugged. "Only that they have been pissy ever since Princess Twilight got her wings. Our Princess of the Night hasn't exactly been subtle, if you actually would pay attention while on duty."

"Princess Celestia has been the same. She's been spending all her free time with Raven couped up in her private study." The royal guard added. "Have you seen or heard anything, Shattershield?"

"Not that I'm allowed to say." He responded, still standing at attention. "You both are correct that Princesses Celestia and Luna have been busy. There are big changes coming down the pipeline. I don't know what, but this filly's the reason for them."

"Guess I am right." The lunar mare sat back in her seat. "We WILL be taking orders from her sooner than her coronation."

"Better get it of the way." The other lunar guard stood at attention followed by the other two. "Captain Broken Dawn of the Lunar Guard Celestial Protection Division, your majesty."

"Captain Angel Scythe of the Lunar Guard Night Operations Division, your highness." The lunar guard mare bowed.

"Captain Pansy of the Royal Guard Palace Detail, reporting in!" The royal guard mare saluted.

"Captain Shattershield, captain of the Princess Protection Detail." The captain behind her added. "You probably already guessed that though."

Somnia cleared her throat, giving her best attempt at a regal stance. "Thank you, captains. I don't know what is going to happen, but I'm glad I can count on you to do your duties in spite of your own feelings on me."

"Of course, it's our job." Captain Broken Dawn smiled a bit too widely, clearing his throat a bit before adding: "Now I got to get the guards up. Probably won't see much of me during the day, I'm mostly on night patrol."

"And we need to get going too." Captains Pansy and Angel Scythe bowed briefly before leaving.

"Let's get you back to your room. Princess Twilight is probably worried sick about you." Shattershield led her back through into the hallways towards the royal suites.

"Why didn't you tell me about this before?!" Twilight turned in circles looking at the shelves upon shelves of ancient texts.

"Didn't believe it would be helpful. However, if you would like me to give you a method of entering anytime you wish, I can speak to Luna." Celestia sat back on her chair watching her student in amusement. The Canterlot Library Restricted Section contained the most ancient of texts in Equestria, some predating the foundation. It was here that she and her sister first found their mother's journal and the secrets within. Much of the texts were written in Old Ponish, although a few were written in languages even she didn't know.

"This is a dream come true!" The student cantered from shelf to shelf, looking over the texts excitedly. "Ancient scrolls and books lost to history! Thank you so much for this!" Twilight galloped over and gave Celestia a tight hug while squealing like a filly.

"I'll let Luna know." Celestia squeezed out. "We should probably be returning to the castle. Captain Shattershield should be finishing his introductions."

"Oh, right! Yeah, let's go!" Twilight took one last good look at the shelves, a grin plastered on her face, before heading back up the old stone spiral staircase.

The two of them took the chariot back to the castle, on the way Princess Celestia ordered the chariot to land briefly so that she could lower the sun and admire the birds, then they were on their way again. Once at the castle, the two princesses walked back to the royal suites, guards saluting as they passed by.

"I hope you sleep well, Twilight. I will be by in the morning to bring you down for breakfast." Celestia gave her one last hug before heading off in the direction of her own room. Calmly opening the door, Twilight's nose was hit with the smell of smoke, although none seemed to be on the ceiling.

Balancing atop a makeshift ladder of books was Somnia, reaching for the highest shelf with a pillow case in her hoof and a nervous Spike trying to hold her steady.

"What in Equestria happened in here?" Twilight asked, closing the door behind her. Both slowly turned to look at Twilight.

"It's not my fault!" They said at the same time.

"As you can see, your highness, it is a justified adjustment to the tax code."

Princess Celestia considered it a moment, recalling precisely what it was that they made their fortune on. "Lord Hufflebluff, didn't your father take over a steelworks?"

The noble shifted a bit uncomfortably. "Uhh, yes, your highness. It was a minor acquisition."

"And there is no ulterior motive to reducing taxes on category two industries?" She raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

"Of course not, your highness. My intentions are completely in the interests of Equestria!"

"While you certainly made a convincing case for the tax reduction, I simply cannot in good conscious go through with the proposal."

"But your maje--"

"Moreover, there is no urgent need for expansion within the category two industries without a subsequent expansion of category one operations. I'm afraid that unless a need arises to increase industrialization, it isn't in the interests of ponies or Equestria."

"Please reconsider."

"I have, all the other times you, your father, and your sisters have approached me about this. Is there anything else you wished to discuss with me?"

The noble held his tongue. "No, that was all, your majesty." He bowed before promptly turning to leave the room. Once the guards had closed the doors behind him, Celestia sat back in her throne and sighed.

"Is it always this boring?" Somnia asked from the cushion next to her throne.

"Boring, frustrating, sometimes infuriating. But you will have to deal with all kinds of requests when you are queen." Celestia tiredly smiled down the the filly. "I haven't had a good court session in over ten years."

"Why do this then if they are just going to be greedy about everything?"

"Because they may have a good suggestion. Everypony has their own ideas about how things should be run, it is up to us to determine what is justified or to implement. You will get used to making these sorts of decisions." Celestia sat back up, turning over to Raven. "What's next on the agenda?"

She flipped the page on her clipboard. "A report from the University of Canterlot regarding the recent magical surge."

"Send them in." Celestia called out to the guards on the other side of the throne room. She leaned over to Somnia to whisper down to her. "Let me handle this. I know you know what happened, but it is best if everypony else didn't know quite yet."

"Okay." She whispered back as a mare with a stack of papers in her magic grip approached the throne.

"Your majesty." She bowed. "I'm Professor Itch from the University of Canterlot, I wished to speak with you regarding the recent magical outburst."

"Welcome, professor. Please, enlighten me on what you have discovered." Celestia smiled down to her.

"Of course, your highness." She took a few papers from the top of the pile, clearing her throat. "After cross-referencing the magical outburst centered in the town of Ponyville, we have come to the conclusion that it either is an unknown form of magic similar to Discord's chaos magic that managed to simultaneously influence every detector in and out of Equestria, or a creature with unimaginable magical strength. Our colleagues at the Mi Amore University in the Crystal Empire believe the activation of the Crystal Heart indicates an reflexive defense by the artifact to protect the empire against an external threat."

"I see." Celestia frowned down to Somnia briefly. "Please continue."

"A fellow professor of mine traveled to Mount Aris and was present when the burst occurred. They received similarly worrying readings at that distance, meaning that the original estimates were indeed accurate within a few hundred swirls. Therefore, the university research council wishes to construct a device in order to track down such a magic source so that it may be contained before it causes problems."

Celestia gave a few seconds before responding. "I'm sorry, but that won't be necessary. The E.U.P. has already contained the anomaly and it is under close study. I'm afraid that any more details are classified at this time. Let me assure you, it doesn't present a threat to ponies or Equestria."

"But your highness, is the E.U.P. equipped to deal with such a magically potent creature? It surpasses even the Elements of Harmony if the estimates are to be believed at face value."

"If." Celestia replied. "If they can be believed. While I cannot provide anymore details, I will reiterate that the threat is contained. There is nothing to worry about."

The researcher scrunched up her face. "There's more." She extracted a few more papers from her pile. "With the ascension of Princess Twilight, there have been rumors of a fifth alicorn. A few students traveled to Ponyville to investigate the reports and discovered that the rumors were true!" She floated a picture over to the princess. Taking a brief look at it, Celestia giggled, hoofing it down to Somnia.

It was when she and the crusaders first talked in front of Sugar Cube Corner. The researcher continued. "I asked them to interview the source of the image, and it turns out to have come from a local paper made by the fillies and colts. They claimed that a royal guard had come to them to implement an information blacklist."

"The Foal Free Press." Somnia filled in. The researcher tilted her head at Celestia curiously.

"Is somepony else next to you?"

Somnia stood up, surprising of the researcher. "Y-You!"

"As you can see, I am well aware of the presence of a fifth alicorn." Celestia smiled down to her. "And it was by the Sensitive Information Containment Act that I authorized the concealment of information related to Princess Somnia. As for your other concerns regarding the magical burst, I would kindly ask that you cease your investigation into its origin. The E.U.P. and Royal Guard have the situation well handled."

"O-Of course, your majesty." She bowed. "I'm so sorry for wasting your time."

"It's alright. It's a nice break from the usual visitors." The professor trotted back to the doors with their stack of papers. Once they left, Celestia turned to Somnia. "It won't be long before Luna and I introduce you to Equestria. I'm hoping to hold a press conference to answer any questions related to you. Hopefully your mother can help out with the organizing following the Summer Sun Celebration."

"Why not just tell them? It's not like its much of a secret in Ponyville anymore." The filly asked.

Celestia sighed. "It is better for the government to be on-top of these sorts of things. A new princess appearing before either myself or my sister could comment on them would cause a stir discussing the possible existence of other alicorns. This way we can prevent our authority weakening."

"But they'll know eventually!" Somnia rolled over onto her back. "And you can handle it! You can raise the sun and spent a thousand years in these boring meetings!"

"Somnia, certain amounts of subtlety are needed for things the government does. While I can deal with the backlash, and Equestria will get used to it, I don't want to cause unnecessary problems from arising. If we were to immediately come out to reveal you, the royal guards and nobility would have there own questions that they might pursue the answer to on their own. I've already had to answer questions about the rumors. Now that your mother's coronation is over, we can proceed with putting you in front of ponies."

Somnia considered it for a minute while Celestia checked with Raven about the next pony. It made sense, no need to cause a problem that you would need to fix if you could avoid the problem altogether. Even so, directly approaching problems often did have its uses to avoid prolonging issues. Her mind trailed back to the prank she and her mom pulled on Spike. While they could have slowly gotten over the issue, a single confrontation did end up dealing with it faster.

Another noble trotted up to the throne, requesting something Somnia was only half-listening to. There were a myriad of stories related to Queen Gavelmede and how she handled problems. Her direct approach was often more brutal than Celestia, resulting in a high number of collateral damage and executions, but solved the problem immediately and discouraged others from doing the same.

Celestia rules by respect, while the old queen ruled by fear. Is it better to be respected or feared? Luna had mentioned this exact situation at the Princess Summit. Building up both would be the hard, but could be a worthwhile endeavor for an aspiring leader. But can you respect somepony and fear them without some form of disconnect? Can they respect you in turn for fearing them?

"It is my privilege under the Treaty of Earth!" The noble finished their thoughts.

"I cannot allow you to simply not- Somnia? Where are you going?" Celestia called after the filly as she walked down the steps. "We're not finished yet!"

"Bored." She stated, walking right up to the noble. "You will pay your employees what they deserve."

"And who is this?" The noble glared at Celestia. "Who's she to give me orders?"

"I'm Princess Somnia Temporus, and I'm not going to say it again. You will pay your employees for their work, or I will have the guards force you to work the castle gardens until you learn that hard work done in service to another deserves reward."

"Somnia! Come back up here!" Celestia called down to the filly who didn't budge. "I'm so sorry, Lord Trotter, she's still learning to behave regally."

"Why have I not heard of a fifth princess?" He narrowed his eyes. "The Noble's Council should have been made aware immediately!"

"Somnia, please come back up. You've made your threat, now please leave them be." The filly gave one last glare at the noble before walking right past him towards the door. "Somnia..." Celestia facehoofed.

Going out into the hallways, she made her way in the general direction of the barracks. There was somepony she wanted to see. Marching right up to the barracks entrance, the guards looked to each other confused.

"Let me in! I want to see Captain Shattershield!" She demanded.

"I'm sorry, but we do not allow civilians to enter into the royal guard compound without proper authorization from a princess."

"I am a princess, now let me in!"

The guard glared at her. "Listen, filly, I don't know who you are and I haven't heard about there being a fifth princess. Go back to your parents before you get in trouble."

Somnia stood as tall as she could. "My mom is Princess Twilight Sparkle of Equestria, I am her daughter Princess Somnia Temporus of Equestria, and I--"

"Should we throw her in a cell for a few minutes?" The other guard chuckled.

"Hmm... Maybe if she doesn't go away."

"Hey! I'm--"

"Guards! What is going on here?" A voice from the side brought both guards back into their stoic stances.

"Captain! This filly is requesting entrance into the barracks to see you, sir!" Captain Shattershield approached from the side in their captain's armor, looking both guards up and down.

"Do you even know who she is?" He asked seriously.

"No, sir!" The guard responded.

"Then what were you just saying to her?"

"Sir, we were deliberating on performing a minor disciplinary procedure for her behavior, sir!"

"What? You her daddy or something?" The captain got right into the face of the other stallion. "Knocked up somepony at a party and left them to raise your bastard?"

"Sir, no, sir!"

"Honestly, private, it wouldn't surprise me if you had a hundred bastards running around Equestria callin' you their daddy." He got out of the way of the guard and Somnia. "Apologize to the filly!"

"Sorry for threatening to throw you in a cell, ma'am!"

"I don't believe you are being honest, private!" The captain gave a devilish smile. "Apologize again, like you mean it! She's not some random civvie or your superior officer, she's a Tartarus-damned Princess of Equestria!"

Both guards froze in place, realizing the mistake they made. The captain didn't even bother waiting for their response. "Open the doors, privates!"

Without hesitation, Somnia followed the captain in the barracks, proceeding to the officer quarters. Once they had gotten inside the captain's office/sleeping quarters, he took off his helmet and sat down. "Damn rookies think they know everything! Now what would you like to discuss?"

"I wanted to ask you about getting on the good side of those other captains, but now I want to know more about the royal guard and how it works." She took a seat opposite him. "Clearly they don't like me."

"No, and I wouldn't expect the older members to treat you with anything other than the most basic respect." He opened a drawer, taking out a bottle. "Want some?"

"What is it?"

"Non-alcoholic cider from Appleloosa." He took out two glasses, pouring into one before waiting for her answer.

"Uh, sure." He poured her a glass and slide it over.

"Ya wanna know about the guard, eh?" He took a gulp of the cider, half-emptying his cup and giving a relieved sigh. "What do you wanna know?"

She leaned forward, picking up her glass in her hoof to take a sip. "Everything."

Twilight opened the door to her room, her faithful assistant following close behind with the massive checklist.

"Check, check, check, check, and... check! Huh, whaddaya know? We're way ahead of schedule! I credit your extremely competent- Princess Celestia!"

"Huh? But she only provided the list. It was us who--" Twilight turned to follow Spike's gaze seeing Princess Celestia sitting at a table sipping tea, alone. "Princess!" Twilight bowed.

"No need for that now, Princess Twilight." Celestia stood up from her seat, a tired smile on here face.

"Sorry".

With a giggle: "No need to apologize."

"Sorry!" Twilight nervously smiled to her mentor, taking a quick look around the room. All the beds were neatly made, no lumps to indicate a hiding filly. "How was your time with Somnia?"

The princess frowned. "She walked out on me. I sent a guard to track her down, but it seems she made other plans."

"Other plans? But wasn't she supposed to spend the rest of the day with you?"

"She seems to have other interests." Celestia chuckled. "That's also why she won't be sleeping with you tonight."

"Huh? Where is she then? I should have been--"

"I know. You can go down the barracks to speak with her, if you would like."

"The... barracks?" Twilight was thoroughly confused. "She's sleeping in the guard barracks?"

"She wanted to experience what things were like in the royal guard. I tried convincing her to come back to the throne room, but she was adamant."

"Well she can't stay there forever. We leave in two days, and I intend to take her back to Ponyville." Twilight rolled her eyes, heading over to her bed.

"I know you do, and so does she. I would actually like to talk to you about that." Celestia took a seat on the side of Twilight's bed. "It might be a good idea to let her pursue her interests while simultaneously showing her how to be a leader. If she likes serving with the guard, we can dress her up in some armor to 'station' her in the throne room while I hold court. Completely unofficial, of course."

"She's pretty good with a sword." Spike added, tucking away the list into the dresser. "Only time I've ever seen her that focused on something that wasn't a book."

Twilight brought a hoof to her chin in thought. It was worth trying, since clearly more traditional methods weren't working as much. All the books she gave Somnia to read she wasn't interested in, but books on the sciences and adventure novels she gleefully accepted to practice reading with.

"Yeah, okay. As long as she doesn't get hurt."

Celestia giggled. "You should probably go down to the barracks then to stop her."

Realizing what Celestia meant, Twilight quickly rushed from her room, stopping briefly to yell back to Spike: "Go over the checklist one more time while I'm gone!"

Making her way down to the guard barracks, Twilight was let in by two very nervous looking privates. She proceeded towards the general troop quarters, hoping to run into an officer. A lieutenant proceeded down the hallway, saluting to Twilight.

"Princess Twilight! To what do we owe the pleasure?"

"Where's Somnia?" She hastily asked, much to the officer's confusion.

"I'm sorry, but I don't recognize the name. Are they a guard?"

"Aspiring to b- Where's the training grounds?" Twilight asked seriously, realizing that the filly probably would be with the other recruits to train.

"Across the compound, your highness." The lieutenant stood to the side, letting Twilight rush past. Making her way back outside, Twilight saw the trainees standing in formation, the drill sergeant looking over them before they turned in for the night. In the second row she spotted the filly standing at attention. Considering the lack of conflict in Equestria, there were only two rows of recruits, numbering twelve in total.

Calmly trotting over, she could see how tired to recruits were. The small black crow was watching from the barracks roof as the drill sergeant yelled out to them: "Your display today was pathetic, maggots. I expect you to be up nice and early tomorrow morning for more training. I don't care if you are used to nice cloud beds or sleeping in to noon, I expect you to be up and at attention before sunrise. Dismissed!" She saluted to the recruits who dispersed after she turned to head back to the officer quarters.

"Princess Twilight! What brings you down to the maggot-pen?"

"I'm looking for somepony. Or rather, some filly." She eyed the sergeant. "How was she?"

"Weak, but determined. Gotta treat her like an earth pony, but even then she isn't as strong." She rubbed the back of her neck. "Captain's orders, but I've been trying to go easy on her given her age. Did you give the order?"

"No, she did." Twilight shook her head. "I swear, she gets worse every day."

The sergeant took off her hat, chuckling. "Time in the guard will straighten her out, when she's old enough."

"She can't join the guard." Twilight admitted. "She's supposed to be learning how to rule Equestria."

"So she is a princess?" She laughed, motioning for Twilight to follow her to the barracks. "Thought so. Alicorn, and all that. I didn't know there was a fifth alicorn, at least not for certain."

"Did she end up hurting herself?" Twilight asked concerned.

"Other than some bruises from when she fell off the wall, nah. Probably will be feeling everything in the morning like the other recruits."

"That's fine. She has gotten bruises before." The sergeant slammed open the door of the training barracks. The recruits being startled at the sudden loud noise.

"ATTEN-TION!" She called out, all the ponies standing at attention, a few exiting the showers still soaking wet. Among them was Somnia, dripping all over the floor. "We have a visitor, recruits!"

Twilight entered into the barracks, looking the recruits up and down and suppressing a smile as she made her way closer to her daughter. Stopping in front of the filly, Twilight examined her critically.

"What are you doing here? The guard doesn't let in foals." She tried her best to sound intimidating.

"I'm Somnia Temporus, ma'am!" She shouted back. "I want to learn discipline, ma'am!"

"You haven't done a very good job so far." Twilight walked around the filly. "I bet your mother is fed up with having to put up with your antics."

"I wouldn't know, ma'am!"

"Oh?" Twilight got down to eye level. "And what makes you think that you will learn discipline by training with the royal guard?"

"My brother was the most disciplined pony I knew, ma'am! And Captain Entropis shouldn't have been a guard, ma'am. He was too unpredictable, and eventually left his troops to die." She held back a sniffle. "I don't want to be like him. I want to be a good leader. I want to know what it's like to be disciplined."

"You think you will learn leadership here?" Twilight could see the tears forming in Somnia's eyes, her own expression softening.

"I don't want to be like my grandma..." She sniffled, a tear running down her cheek.

Twilight got down onto the floor to give her a hug. "It's alright. You won't be like her." She didn't know much of how the previous queen was, but from what little Somnia had shared it didn't sound good. "I'll make sure of that."

"P-Please let me learn from them. I-I want to know what its like for these ponies." She whispered to her mother.

"I'm sorry, but you are too young right now. Maybe in a few years I can enroll you in the scouts, but you aren't old enough for this training to be healthy. I can get you somepony to train you at your own pace, how does that sound?" She wiped the tears from Somnia who gave a weak smile.

"I-I would like that. Thank you!" She hugged her mother. Looking over her shoulder, the sergeant was silently cooing at the display, and a few of the recruits were also smiling.

"Let's head back to the room. I'm sure the bed there is comfier than these beds."