Simplified

Earlier that morning...

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In the foggy dawn upon the foot of Mt. Canter, a young filly journeys through the mist and comes upon a cavern hidden behind the cresting waters of the falls above. She eyes the quiet entrance, a mossy pair of neatly placed boulders with a rectangular stone sat above it. The filly squints her eyes, using her wings to fly close to the top, seeing an inscription covered in wet moss and dirt. She activates her horn, brushing some of the moss away to reveal a worn inscription, one left illegible from both the winds of time, and water's constant flow. She glances in every direction around her before scurrying inside of the makeshift doorway.

Flurry Heart shakes herself, splattering all of the excess water from herself. "This place is new."

She quietly approaches what appears to be an alter of stone. Her eyes glance around the room, seeing a few worn items around the place. What sits resting against the wall is a terribly rusted spear tip pointed towards the ceiling. What lies next to it is an old shield, the metal reinforcements rusted through and a majority of the wood rotted away. Remnants of a set of equine armor piles on the wet stony floor. Seated besides the remnants of that is a worn inscription that proves far too damaged to be readable.

"I don't remember this place being marked on any maps. Wonder why."

She looks to the other side of the room, seeing what appears to be a tattered tapestry, a number of items that appear to be jewelry left in complete neglect. On the ground is nothing more than a pile of tattered fabrics, some far thinner than that of the dirty tapestry on the wall. The young princess illuminates her horn, walking back to the alter to read an inscription carved onto it. With a bit of cleaning of the moss, she makes out a worn inscription. Atop of the it rests a memory sphere that appears to be inactive.

"H-re r--ts the roy-- fa---- of His Royal Majesty F--- --arity and Hi-- ---chess La--li S----g. While this w---d has deni-- ---m the peace th-- --ught in eac- ---er and the f----e they aspired, may the-- ----p be a s---- -nd serene -----ony to the other side."

Upon realizing that this place was a tomb, Flurry peeks to the top of the alter, revealing a set of worn bones holding fast to a crumbling vase. The young princess bows her head in reverence to the pair before hopping off from atop the heavy stone sarcophagus. "Star-crossed lovers, and not a single marking of this place aside from a plaque and a sphere, and that's inside of it. And this is a prince of ours? Why would he not be brought out and placed in the main hall of the royal chapel? Just left here to sulk is pretty sad."

"Life is cruel sometimes."

Flurry turns her head, seeing an apparition dressed in golden armor. A pegasus stallion with a blond braided mane and tail sits idle atop of the cracked stone lid. The young princess speaks directly to the figure. "You're a new one, haven't seen you before. Then again, I haven't seen this place before either."

The ghostly stallion nods. "Well this is the first place I was brought to see. Tell me, where am I right now?"

"Apparently the tomb of one Prince F--- --arity." The juvenile princess responds, trying to make out the name. "F, arity... Farity, no... Fake-something-arity. Wait..." She ponders a little bit longer, going back to her lessons of the history of the guard. "F word, four letters. I think that one is supposed to be a C, C-arity. Charity. ...Fair Charity?"

The stallion's head juts up, snapping to every dimension of the room. "...This is MY tomb!?" He hops off the lid, looking into the crack of the sarcophagus. All he sees is a set of bones embracing the crumbling vase. "Perhaps a gift of some sorts. Funny, I was expecting something far more lavish." The specter looks around the room once more, taking in the desiccated conditions. "Looks like I wasn't held too fondly in our kingdom's eyes. Figures that they would treat me as such."

"Actually, you're not the only one here." Flurry points out, having him read the inscription on the side. "Apparently there's someone else who's supposed to be here, La--li S----g." Flurry looks at the scratched message, squinting her eyes as she makes out more of the worn letters. "La...li? No, La... there's a U... La-uli─"

"Lazuli..." The ghost replies. "I haven't seen her the entire time since my journey into the Aether!" He looks in the coffin once more, seeing a very faint impression of her imposed over the skeleton holding the broken vessel. "Oh... Lazuli. I loved her so... even if my soul yearned to serve another, I do adore what we shared together."

The filly looks at the tomb nervously. "Uh, I don't think this Lazuli pony would like you saying that."

The stallion dismisses the concerns of Flurry. "Ah, no harm done. She knows of my courtly love. We've talked much of it. In fact, she once demanded that I'd act on it. I did... eventually. It was the last time we saw one another."

"The last time?" Flurry inquires. "What happened that made it the last time?"

He walks over to the wall of time-worn items and relics. "Well, turns out that the Arimaspi are far bigger and smarter than imagined. They ambushed our convoy, slaughtered most of my men... myself included." He scowls at the rusted spear tip resting against the wall. "Ugh, somewhere around there's the soul of a blacksmith looking at his work rusting to the elements, I can imagine his screams from an otherworld away."

"So if you're Fair Charity, then that means..." The small alicorn pulls out a book of royal lineage, mentally marking through the names of all of the assigned and appointed royals of Equestria. She scans for his name, coming to a solidified entry towards the latter half of the book. "Let's see, judging from historical accounts, your year of end was well over... let's see, um... five hundred years ago?" She gawks. "Wow, you're old!"

He jumps at the number given to him. "Five hundred years? I've been searching for Lazuli for that long? She must be pretty angry that I've yet to find her." The ghostly prince looks around the room with a changed perspective, now understanding that his tomb isn't made with the idea of casting him aside, but rather worn away from five centuries of time having it's way. "Five hundred years... Well I suppose that now that I'm assigned to this world once more, I should request Celestia to see into the Aetherial Plane for me... that's if she's even alive anymore."

The filly's ears perks with interest at the name he spoke. "Auntie Celestia is still alive, she lives in Silver Shoals with her husband."

"Husband?" The prince's eyes fall to the ground with sadness, he remains sullen until he once more calculates the passage of time. "Right, five hundred years."

The filly brings up her own question. "Actually, you just said that you came from the Aetherial Plane. That means you've passed over already. Why are you back here?"

"Funny that you would ask. I too had that same question upon being chosen." He looks down to a worn-out shield, his eyes softening as he identifies the weathered item on the ground. "I have been called from the highest order to maintain balance between the world of the living and the plane. There were others assigned to this purpose, but I know not of them. Nor they of me, I presume."

"What do you think disrupts the balance of our two planes? Obviously you shouldn't be here, I mean I'm no better."

"A mutual interest of sorts. Cultists of the living seeking the dead to aid them in conquest. The dead, merely wanting to tie up loose ends and fulfill their failed agenda." He closes his eyes, placing his hoof on the shield. "To think the many warring souls were looked over for one who met an inglorious demise as mine."

Flurry identifies the purpose of the ghostly prince, citing her own experience in a similar endeavor. "My dad is at war with the Sombra cultists. We would be more than happy to deal with that. If we help you, do you think you'd be able to be at rest again?"

The stallion leaves the shield, looking towards the other side of the room. "I don't know. The longer I stay, the more I feel my former life and it's memories tether me to my desires." He whispers. "Even now, I'm starting to herald in the wish to speak with my courtly maiden, just even as much as seeing her would bring my soul unspeakable joy."

The filly then asks. "You say you're also looking for Lazuli Spring. Do you want me to help you find her?"

The prince shakes his head. "I have a feeling that she's probably looking for me. Maybe I should just hold still for a change, and she might run into me. Otherwise, I guess I'll be moving about in this world. I'll do what I can to aid your father in his fight against the cultists. I believe that would fulfill my conditions."

Flurry purses her lips before summoning a small white crystal charm. She gazes down to it and back to the ghostly prince with a drawn sigh. "I'm not usually supposed to do this, but I think I can get away with breaking the rules just this once."

"What are you doing?" He asks.

She summons a piece of parchment, using her charm to draw a circle. She then formulates the runes around it. She whispers an incantation, following it up by reading the name of the prince from the inscription. "I'm binding you to an enchanted scroll. It'll let the others see and speak to you, even if this is technically illegal by royal decree. Of course, I won't ever think to do it unless you're okay with it."

"You mean the others can't see me?" He quirks a brow.

"See you, hear you, feel you, none of that. Only I can with your current state. So this will let you speak to the others. But only if you consent to it."

"Of course I consent." He says without hesitation. "I can't be of any help if I'm incorporeal."

His spiritual form glows a bright yellow, matching that to the aura of her magic. She guides him into the scroll with care as she keeps her voice low while packing the parchment away. "Mom's gonna tan my hide if she finds this. So please try not to grab my attention until I call for you, that way I know it's safe."

The stallion snickers in the glowing parchment, the runes brightening with each word he speaks. "Such an astute little one. Who are your parents?"

"Emperor Shining Armor and Empress Mi Amore Cadenza of the Crystal Empire. We're a city-state that has it's own laws and rules, but we mainly fall under Equestrian royal family."

"What, I thought that place was long lost. Then again, five hundred years." The scroll shimmers with a curious spirit. "What misfortune to be a princess under the Equestrian banner."

"Why?" The filly asks.

"You'll find out when you're older."

"Flurry!? Flurry Heart Mi Amor, where are you!?"

The filly's ears shoot upwards, she whispers to the scroll, urging it to rest silently. "That's my mom! Stay quiet!"

The filly summons her saddlebags, stuffing the scroll and the charm inside before dismissing it to her room. As Cadance walks into the place with a magic shield raised to ward off the water, she sees her daughter standing idle in the center of the room. "What are you doing in here?"

"Just looking around, mom. I got bored and thought it would be fun to journey around the mountain."

The pink alicorn shows relief in finding her daughter, but also looks to correct her for her wayward motions. "I told you a thousand times, young lady. No wandering off."

"Sorry." She whimpers innocently, knowing that she'll likely do it again.

"Sorry doesn't cut it either." The mare says, reading past her daughter's façade. But she stops to take a long look around the room they've discovered. "What's this place?"

"It's a tomb." Flurry answers, causing her mother to grow a bit miffed at the implications.

"Flurry, you haven't been talking with the spirits of the wayward gone again, have you?"

"No, mom. No spirits in here to talk to." She answers, knowing that she is both lying in what she has done, but also telling the truth in confirming that there are no spirits currently in the room.

Cadance reads the plaque of the sarcophagus to herself. "Whoa. Prince Fair Charity? Wow, so this is where Celestia hid you off at, huh? I mean I knew she visited every once in a while, but I never knew exactly where you were so I could pay my respects somehow. But... I guess you're doing fine in here." The pink princess bows her head, closing her eyes, and offering a solemn prayer. "You majesty, it's an honor to finally meet. I'm sorry for the disruption my wandering daughter may have issued, but you can be back at peace now." The mare turns to her daughter. "Okay, let's go, young lady. Out. Let the resting souls rest, no more of this exorcism crap."

As the pair depart from the tomb, Cadance reinstates her shield to protect them both from the waterfalls. She keeps the young filly to her back for long enough where they clear the mist of the waterfalls and reach the open air. Flurry opens her wings and allows the wind to give her flight. The young filly flies beside her mother, asking as the foundations of the mountainside city come into view. "Mom, is being a princess bad?"

"Now why would you ask that?"

"Just a thought that came up."

"Just a thought?" The mare asks skeptically.

"Really mom, just a thought!" Flurry replies.

"Honey, being a princess comes with a lot of responsibilities. You know that everything depends on us, how we rule is how our citizens will thrive or suffer. That's why we look to make good choices, so that we can thrive together and make everyone happy."

"Doesn't really answer the question." The young alicorn rebuts.

Cadance rolls her eyes at her daughter's insistence. "Definitely your father's child. No, Flurry. It's not a bad thing. You're free to do whatever you please, as long as you understand that your actions have consequences and that they affect everyone around you. Okay?"

"Okay." Flurry replies.

The older mare watches as her daughter zips high into the sky, happily darting into the clouds. She takes a quiet moment to whisper to her own self. "No... we're not under that system anymore. And thank our lucky stars that we aren't."

Later that evening...

Agamemnon looks upon the newspaper headline, seeing their eldest sister standing before the podium as she did days ago in her press release. Thoughts stir within his mind as he eyes the dragon smiling awkwardly behind her. But before he can reach a definitive conclusion of his thoughts, he groans with discomfort over the nagging combination of headaches and nausea plaguing him by the second.

In seeing the stallion suffering, Eros kindly provides to his brother a glass of seltzer water and a pouch of high-strength headache powder. He shakes his head watching his unwell sibling trying to put two and two together. The stallion leaves him to his moment and travels to the bridge of the airship, seeing Xerxes trying to draft up a plan of sorts. "What are you up to now?"

The pacing prince goes back and forth before a table of chess pieces placed in a semi-circular formation, using three white pawns, both rooks, the queen, and the king pieces as their own faction. He sets the black pieces upon the table in the semi-circle, outside of the two bishops he has placed aside beneath a drawn question mark. "Here we sit, waiting, idle as the world continues to revolve. We could be doing so much more than this. Our current position would be better if we did something of use. If we're here trying to find the holy mother, then we need to be more in town. Not sitting in some damn cave with a bunch of dripping stalactites."

"And what, wander the city with no knowledge of what we'd run into next?" Eros challenges. "It wouldn't make sense for all three of us to go at once, then something happens to all of us and no one knows nothing or can report back."

"That's what the pawns are for!" The red-eyed prince rebuts. "What makes even less sense is the idea that we'd be caught sitting here with no information and choosing not to substantiate it. We already have an enormous lead on their capabilities, we can't afford to just sit here and do nothing. So I'm drafting up a plan."

The lavender-eyed prince eyes a white bishop standing besides a black night in the opposing formation. He travels to the opposing side of the table. "Do you know what, or rather who Agamemnon ran into on last night?"

"Does it matter if it's nothing important to what we need to get done so we can get out of here!?"

"Matters a lot when you realize that he's ran into a certain dragon and his changeling." He picks up the black night, placing a pawn next to the figure and scooting them both towards the middle.

"Changeling, you say?"

"Why yes, a changeling. That purple scaly andromorph was sighted walking about the town, namely that district we journeyed into. And needless to say that our faces could and would be easily identified."

With frustration, Xerxes knocks over the knight piece, sending the figure tumbling over the edge of the table. "That dragon bastard is here and we're not even thinking of following the idiot to the holy mother!?"

"You're missing my point." Eros elaborates further. "They had a changeling on staff with them, a changeling with the dragon, a changeling in the club, and each of them being different colors. Apparently they've undergone a reformation of sorts, which explains their prismatic appearances of late. But in short, they appear to be in league with them as well. And a changeling alliance only serves to complicate matters now. It would be better to remain cautious as opposed to stout-headed."

"Listen, we are in the capital city of our adversaries. There must be a million here already. To hell with a bunch of changelings, even we could be inconspicuous in a town with so many! What's a few faces in the crowd of a few thousand for every second? The only ones who knows our faces are the dragon and the holy mother. And we would sooner see them than they would see us."

Eros groans with disbelief over his brother's hubris. "I know you think our mission will be as easy as walking through town, seeing her in a crowded street, taking her under, and walking away with every smile blissfully ignoring the abduction taking place. But we must be patient. Father sent us here knowing that we would be gone for a few months at least."

"A few months!? I'm not trying to stay in this infested land that long, much less without a proper guild to back me, or a hunt to be done!"

"A few months in wait is better than rushing the matter. After all, there will be a front of our finest headed this way by means of the coast. So let's quietly hang out in the safety of the mountain, far away from the chaos of the inevitable front lines. Let them be distracted and play their little games. It'll be fine."

"We don't have a few months." Xerxes stresses once more.

"We do now." Eros stands firm, moving all the pieces back into a proper format of their usual placement. "And our dear father is hoofing the diversionary efforts on top of it, something he's doing to buy us some time. We, especially you, should take advantage of that and let the chips fall where they may. Time is on our side, brother. We flush them out, and no more." He walks out of the room with a parting warning. "And do remember this; I lead this campaign, you and Agamemnon had your chance out in the waters. You've lost five thousand of our centuries in the matter of minutes. Father has made it clear that you give not a single order. So do remember your place in all of this, you can go back to being the golden boy when we get back home."

The door closes behind the younger alicorn, leaving Xerxes to stew in his growing rage.

Meanwhile in Canterlot...

Sitting upon her throne, Twilight goes through a number of items on her scroll, seeing a bevvy of demands from foreign contacts regarding the conflict stirring between the two global powers. Along with the headache growing from the dizzying amount of concessions and trades that look to be placed on temporary hiatus. While there could be a suitable trade partner in the humans, moving that much material between worlds is far more tedious for both sides while trying to minimize contact between the two realms.

But that doesn't seem to be the only matter pulling her attention away from the present. Instead, it's another frustration that's beginning to irk her. A voice who's shrill raspiness echoes in her mind, it's owner claiming proud ownership of her number one assistant, the name that so exotically different who's memory brings nothing but a sultry image to her mind. The image of her adopted brother being made to service her in every way manifested between two adults in the heat of the moment.

"This is my dragon, he's gonna serve me till I say when! And it won't be soon, I assure you!"

"Princess?... Princess!?"

"I'm yours, pet! Make me a proud princess!"

"Your majesty!"

"Huh-yeah!" Her thoughts of that moment are brought to a startling halt as the voice of her secretary reminds her of her present. "Sorry, wandered off for a bit."

Inkwell looks around the room, seeing a few guards posted in varying areas for security. She hails to them. "Her majesty requests a moment of privacy." The guards nod and file out from the room, leaving the two alone. "I understand that there's a lot going on, your highness. But I do believe that matters requires your undivided attention. Not to be a nag, but you understand that things are quite dire."

She gives an exasperated sigh, grimacing as she looks at the scroll before her. "I am more than aware, no need to remind me."

As the purple alicorn rubs the side of her head, the secretary notices a slight scent that grabs at her attention. She easily identifies the scent. "Permit me to ask, your majesty, what distracts you at this moment in time?"

She rolls her eyes in response. "Nothing good. Just personal conflicts that I should be setting aside for the betterment of the country."

"Personal matters is something we all undergo in our day to day lives, it's how we deal with those matters that decide how we are viewed by those around us." She clears her throat. "Perhaps your majesty has acquired another escort of sorts?"

"Ugh. I wish." She grumbles before realizing that she might be showing her personal interest in a manner that goes beyond her mental containment. A blush razes her cheeks and ears. "Sorry."

"Don't be, your highness. You are still young in the mind, it happens." The secretary announces. "If it makes you feel any better, even I have had my moments. While I am freshly of age beyond foal bearing, I still have those thoughts creeping in. It's how you go about it is the issue."

"Okay. I'll admit it. Sometimes I get a little desperate for attention. And just the proximity to resources can be a bit overwhelming at times."

"So you have an interest that wanders about in your mind. And now you think to entertain the idea, correct?"

"That's... half of the problem. The other half is that I don't need to be in anything right now because there's so much going on, and right now I need to do whatever it takes to keep my attention on what matters most."

"Ah yes, the throws of responsibility. A noble aspiration to uphold such a standard, albeit futile at times in moments of high stress."

The princess scoffs. "More like annoying because of a few other things." Twilight closes her eyes, taking a deep breath. "If I may confide in you my most daring secret of the day."

"Your majesty, I await your confession with lock and key in tow."

"Top secret." The purple alicorn reiterates.

"Of the highest level."

Twilight summons her phone, pulling up a selfie of her posing in the garden with a visibly disgruntled Spike. "I'm worried that Spike's relationships are starting to get in the way of his ability to function."

"A moment to check on that. When you say, and I quote, 'get in the way of his ability to function', do you perhaps mean to say 'get in the way of your ability to function?'"

"Your job was to always hold me accountable." The princess groans in defeat. "Alright, both of our abilities to function. Like that whole debacle with Ponyland was so terrible to deal with. Just that whole... exchange... I can't get that moment out of my head, and now it's quite literally breeding interest."

"If I may?" The secretary questions for clarity.

"You know, him. Him and Zenobia when he was under her control. I was forced to watch that, just seeing the creature I raised as a sibling not being what I remember, or who I remember. Then there's the videos, the picture he mistakenly sent to me, just all of it! It's like he a different... thing!"

"You mean a male, your highness."

"Whatever! The bottom line is that he's not what I've known him to be for all of his life. I know he's growing up, I know he's got his own thing going on." The high princess rises from her seat, seeing a small stain upon her cushion. She turns away with shame. "And now I know it's starting to get the better of me because of that proximity issue."

"I'll have the maids on standby for a new cushion." Inkwell reassures the princess. "It happens more often than not. I won't divulge further."

"In the hindsight of things, I realize that Spike is not the young dragon I raised, but now a drake with his own personality, his own preferences and strengths. It's just that my mind now wanders on occasion to that moment. And I'm starting to worry whether if I'm upset over what's happened, what's taking place right now, or if I'm just somehow envious of the position others have around him."

Inkwell hums with the intuition of experience. "With all due respect, your majesty. Do you feel that your time with him is drawing closer to heated arguments as opposed to more traditional greetings?"

Twilight rolls her eyes. "When does he not annoy me? Every time we meet, there's always some stupid argument he's wanting to fight with me over the things I do or say. It's like that's the only way we can talk now! And it's not like that I don't want him to talk to me anymore, it's just that I almost prefer it if he fights with me because the time spent doing that is more time I get to know him in some weird way. Maybe I feel like I could come to a better understanding if we do argue."

"Do you imagine that those arguments or fights can sometimes get physical?"

The purple mare purses her lips tightly. "...More than I would like to admit. One time we almost came to blows with each other. He even penned a letter of resignation of his post, which I obviously refused. And sometimes I think of that moment and wonder if he's even had that heated stare-down with anyone else. And with him being a dragon, sometimes their physical altercations get... well, for lack of a better work-safe description... physical."

"Your majesty, you have a physical interest in Sir Spike." She concludes.

"Tell me something new."

Inkwell continues. "It appears that you've also discovered that he is a male with many satisfied partners."

"Obviously."

"And so you wish to quietly satiate your curiosity by the chance of inviting him to the Friendship Summit next weekend."

The princess covers her face with her own wing. "Do you have to be so loud?"

"Well if you wish for me to tell you something new, then I would like to inform you that he has confirmed the reservation, but made a request to add an additional room for his accommodations."

The mare's ears spike up. "He already has a room. What does he need another one for?"

"He said that he intends to invite a guest."

"A guest?" She starts to imagine a number of possible characters that could fit the description of his invite, but coming to a conclusion of what what could be his manner of getting her acquainted with a certain prince as his plus-one. "Oh no, not him."

"Shall I cancel the additional room?" Inkwell inquires.

"What room does he have booked?"

"Room 311."

Sternly planning her counter methods, she gives an order to her trusted secretary. "I want that room on lockdown and 24-hour surveillance. The moment he sets hoof into that room, I want him to stay locked in there until Spike is ready to leave. That way, he can leave with him."

"Still assigning Prince Amor to supervised confinement?" Inkwell confirms.

"Until he gets over this unusual obsession of me."

The secretary nods with affirmation. "Understood, your majesty."

Twilight puts away her phone, facing the mare beside her. "I'm sorry for muttering my distractions towards you, even if they are a bit personal."

"We all have moments, princess. I could easily go into detail, but that would be uncouth of me. The things I heard from your predecessor especially would only make you uncomfortable if I divulged them to you."

The alicorn mare thinks about sitting back down, only to notice yet again the fresh stain on it's cushion. She elects otherwise. "Let me guess, a lot of it's about Nondis?"

"It is true that he generated a lot of her diversions into the midnight of her tenure, but that's just one thought of many of her encounters. Some were actually directed towards a number of guards throughout the royal rotation, some she particularly rated modestly well. However only one did seem to have rated higher than many others before her beloved husband came into the picture."

Growing curious, Twilight pries into the matter further. "And who was that?"

"Well I have to apologize to your majesty, but that information remains classified." Her words disappoints the high princess, but she reels her back in with a moment of hope. "But seeing as you're close friends with the predecessor, I am willing to neither confirm nor deny details."

Given the careful wording of the mare's friendly advertisement, Twilight jumps on board in trying to probe the mind of her former mentor. "Flash?" She begins to guess.

"Non-issue."

"Spike?"

"Non-issue."

"...My dad?"

"A concern of conduct." She finally replies.

"...My brother?"

"A strict critique of his pedigree. Though not without curious thought."

The purple mare gasps. "Did she seriously have the hots for Shining!?"

"I cannot confirm that her intentions were beyond mere inquiry, but I cannot deny that her harsh critique of his suitorship to Cadance wasn't without a measure of envy." Flabbergasted, Twilight drops her jaw as the secretary continues onward. "However, the question is not why she judged him so harshly, but rather why she held him to the standard of your father so adamantly."

"Oh my Celestia."

"Oh my her, indeed." Inkwell giggles. "But one inquiry of many. Your father was a creative in the art of disguised procreation. Albeit of the many times she caught him in the act, she merely allowed for him to continue and be chastised on a much later date. Too often would she happen upon the library with piercing eyes, only to pull out a book and read passages containing the exact references and positions to the debauchery he and your mother committed whilst in working hours. But I cannot help but to debate if that was because of your father's ingenuity of utilizing stealth spells, or your mother's penchant for erotic romance novels for her inspired performances. One could even argue that she probably knows the exact manner in which your and your brother were conceived, and have probably recommended a book to you containing that exact scene for her own amusement." Twilight immediately grows flustered with awkward embarrassment, followed by a moment of sobering disgust. The secretary giggles yet again. "Such is the humor of one Celeste."

Not wanting to think about that cruel detail of her former mentor, she snatches back up the scroll and starts delving her face into the parchment. "Okay, let's get back to work now!"

"She always said you were easy to spur, your highness."

As she goes through the number of trade embargos and diplomatic demands, she issues one more recommendation to cleanse her mind. "Addendum: Please remove The Fetcher of the Rye from my reading lists."

"But isn't that one your favorite Tuesday night read for that one particular scene in the school library? Hmm... I wonder if they were as rough and loud as that scene portrays."

"AAAUUUUUGHHHH, DAMMIT!"

2407 Golden Oaks Avenue

After spending the first half of my day working off the effects of last night's outing in Canterlot, Ocellus and I come back home in the late afternoon with just enough time to cozy up to Gabby. We did a little of everything, watching a movie, making her dinner, basically anything that could satisfy my qualifications for her day to go well.

But I'll admit that in between the moments where she monopolizes my attention, I find spots to go back into my research and read up on all the things that made what happen seven years ago so terribly horrific. Apparently, it's all the research of a sadistic psycho compilated over the course of five hundred years. To think this guy had been floating around that long under the radar is insane to imagine. But then again, when you exhume the bodies from underneath the grave plot, and monopolize every morgue in town, it seems easy to get away with it. And all it took was one solemn visit to a family member's grave, all for the weight of three to sink the plot and reveal the whole operation underneath.

Can't imagine Kalimba visiting her mother's grave and finding that out. Can't imagine the pain, then relief of her father seeing that come to pass, and ask another to disrupt her rest to ensure she's still in place. The fact that Nondis braved that, and then some has to bring some nausea to his mind. Then again, he's been dealing with death and horror since his time with Twilight.... Yeah, the changeling insurgency that thought to overthrow Chrysalis with a group of souped-up drones and brutes farming and trafficking ponies from Ponyville.

Now that I think about it, he really did do way more than his job called for. The Captain's spot of the Royal Guard is mainly to be a lifeguard to the princess, a ceremonial position if nothing of note is happening. But he just did it anyways, out of the goodness in his heart. He could've just let it happen, let the changelings fall under new management, but the moment he heard a filly go missing from the abductions, he sprung on it. Just that one call opened the floodgates for everything that happened next.

And what was I doing? Getting in the way because of my own crush of a pony who liked him as much as I did her, my own obsession. To think if it weren't for the massive decapitating scar, one would barely notice the tiny incision my claw had made against his jugular from my attempt at his life.

"Spike!" My mind is suddenly snatched back to the present. I see a grumpy griffon with ruffled feathers staring back at me with boards and notepads in tow. "Are you reading that nonsense again?"

I at least be honest with her. "Well, I did take yesterday off. Ocellus didn't give me much of a choice."

"And neither am I." She announces, smacking the book closed as it still rests in my hand. "Now put that away! We've got a campaign to finish!"

As she sets everything down, I try to remember exactly where we brought things to a hiatus on our previous game session. "I forgot we weren't exactly finished with where we were the last time."

"That's why I'm keeping track of things." She states as she places her notepad next to her. "You can just sit there, look cute, and keep rolling that die like I want you to. You got more than enough secretary and administrative things on your mind to worry about. So leave that to me and me alone."

"You know, you work hard too, plus some Saturdays." I reply.

"Yeah, but you make it a habit to never take a day off, you scaly workaholic. I swear you don't pay any kind of attention to the amount of stuff you get into. It's like when you get on a roll and you start working, you never realize how many hours go by without you eating or drinking, or using the bathroom, or bathing... or sleeping... or─"

"Yeah, yeah. I get it."

A trio of ponies enter the home, they come in with a number of bags, seemingly coming back from a grocery run. Smolder,, overseeing the three Ponyland imperials, pops in with a greeting. "Oh hey, so you've made it back." She glances towards the table. "Huh, is that Ogres and Oubliettes?"

The griffon proudly answers the dragoness. "Yup, me and Spike got a pretty steamy campaign going for the both of us."

The dragon quirks a brow. "Oh really─"

Suddenly, Smolder's show of interest is sheared off by Hestia's loud interjection. "Ooh! No way you two just started a campaign and not tell me!"

"Uh, you play Oggs and Oubs?" I ask.

"Of course! I love playing this game with some of the other branch siblings! We'd always play a quick campaign after every learning day, then we'd reset the campaign and start all over like it's an infinite time loop! I mean the beginning is always the same, but the one-offs that Stephanos made for us were endless. It was never the same after he went, nobody ever played again." She recounts before plopping herself into a seat at the table, much to the disappointment of Gabby. "You two wouldn't mind a third, would you?"

"It's a pretty adult campaign." Gabby warns.

"Oh..." She starts off in disgust, but quickly shift gears in her desire to play. "Then I'll play a role perfect for my involvement on that side of things, I choose... cleric."

"There will be adult situations." I warn her.

"There's sex involved." Gabby cosigns. "But of course, it's consensual. If you want a good scenario, at least give me a few days to draft one up."

"No need! I'm a cleric, so that means I get a bonus buff against any and all sexual scenarios. Plus I hereby inflict my character with the spell of eternal chaste. So no nasty stuff for me." Amor rolls his eyes at his sister's insistence.

Gabby begrudgingly accepts her entry, but with a stipulation. "Just as a precaution, you'd have to roll higher than a fourteen in order to pass the chastity check."

The princess snags the die from my claws and spins it on her nose, juggling it to the tip of her right wing, and rolling it down her wing to the table to land on an 19. Gabby appears slack-jawed as Hestia brims with excitement over her success. "Real life luck stat never fails!"

"Too bad your in-game luck stats are always abysmal." Amor comments, earning a deathly stare from the mare. "So... what's the campaign so far?"

Seeing how the scenario is quickly evolving, Gabby sighs and flips back to the front of her notepad, reading off the prologue. "In the world of Blightia, a land of mystical creatures both known and unknown, there is an evil lord responsible for taking the dead of a recent war to build up his armies. Meanwhile, the nations of Darkvein and Luxia open their negotiations for peace. But an attack ensues on the nation of Luxia, many of the perpetrators donning the armor of the Darkvein fallen. Amist the confusion, the king of Darkvein sends for an intervention of the disavowed forces personally, but he suddenly fell under a surprise attack by members of the Luxia fallen. And with the attack observed by many of the Darkvein royal family, all responsibility is thrown to the Luxia high minister. As a result of the confusion, the war between the two nations begin anew, much to the delight of this evil lord puppeting the now-extended conflict from deep within the Blightian shadows."

Hestia nods with affirmation. "Okay, fighting off an evil overlord capable of raising the dead. Then my class is definitely what you'll need!"

"I'd have to write a whole new scenario just to accommodate your introduction." Gabby sighs.

"I could just make one up." The pink pegasus proposes.

"You're welcome to try." The griffon mumbles.

As Hestia starts to pick up her character card, she slides one over to Amor. "I know you'll be staring at all of us like you don't have any interest in it when really you do. So you might as well make your character anyways."

The stallion looks at the griffon, who flips her notepad to the last few pages. She grumbles before tossing it and pulling out another one to start over. She resigns herself and openly waves the unicorn to join in. "Well... I guess I can jump in if it's not a problem." He pushes against his sister shoulder as he speaks. "It would be awfully RUDE OF ME to hop into a game uninvited."

"It's a campaign with nasty stuff involved. And I'm playing for the moral spoil-sport." Hestia claims eagerly.

"Rather I'd just downgrade the rating just a bit." Gabby announces as she looks to Smolder. "You're more than welcome to join."

"Nah, I'd rather the version we played that one Friday night we had you on the sybian." She snickers. "You nerds have fun, I'll be off making my girlfriend make funny noises for the next half hour."

Hestia shudders as Amor looks at his character card. "I wouldn't know what class I'd be. What's all been taken so far?"

"Spike's a paladin. I'm a red mage. And Hestia's going cleric." Gabby explains.

The prince rubs his chin, thinking aloud. "I guess I can do a rogue."

Zenobia chimes in with a giggling rebuke. "You'd be better off as one of those annoying bastards that don't do anything but sing, as useless as you're going to be."

"You mean a bard?" He deadpans.

"Yes that, whatever. I'm jumping into this bullshit."

Both Gabby and I look at each other, unsure if she even knew what she was going to do, or how to do anything. She inevitably accepts her into the game. "Why not? The more the merrier. What class do you want?"

"So I guess I'll be the bastard that just hits things until they die. What's the best class for that?"

"Barbarian." Gabby jots down. "Figures you'd choose that."

The princess parks herself into a seat next to me, obviously looking to take some of the attention away from the baffled griffon. "Alright... so how do we play this?"

I do a double take at her question. "You're jumping into a campaign and you don't even know how to play!?"

"Look, I heard this campaign would have sex in it. So now I want to get to the fun parts already."

Gabby clarifies the atmosphere and rating of the campaign yet again. "Okay, just to clear the air on this. It's not an exclusively x-rated campaign. It's just a campaign with adult flags enabled."

The alicorn snags my arm, already having ideas of how my introduction to her will go. "Well I'm grown as shit. Now let's get moving."

Gabby grimaces as she starts to explain the workings of how a campaign can be run. But in the midst of that, my phone begins to play some free form jazz out of nowhere. I pull it out to see some sort of video of Discord playing a trumpet, letting the notes fall where they may with intent. I tap the screen a few times to exit the video, only for the word calling to pop up at the top of my screen. "Discord? Now of all times?"

"Discord's calling you?" Gabby asks with a chuckle. "Guess he heard there's a campaign up and running."

"Might as well get ready to pull out that archer class card." I respond before answering the phone. "Hello?"

He cartoonishly climbs from the phone screen, pulling his head up and and then his arm, which pops off of him and yanks the rest of him out of it. He stands on the table with a fedora on with the word press written on a yellow card set into the ribbon. "Well as much as I would love to jump into whatever you have going at the moment and provide a little extra immersion, I'm afraid that will have to wait. I have a bit of a pressing update to announce." He turns to Gabby and bows his head. "I'm sorry for breaking your game night here with this one, but I have to report that Nondis has been apprehended in Ponyland."

Gabby just stares with confusion, meanwhile the rest of us are left gawking with disbelief. "What?"

"Ain't no way." Amor whisper.

"No chance!" Hestia calls out. "We just left from there like over a week ago!"

"Yeah, I find that emphatically hard to believe." Zenobia adds. "How the fuck does he of all creatures get caught in a place he's already left!? Much less, why would he even think to go back outside of him being bored enough to do some outlandish shit!?"

"Well you wouldn't be wrong about that boredom part, but there was a legitimate reason why he left back to the country that moderately damaged his multi-million dollar yacht. He thought it would be important that he and your father had a nice chat about the declaration of war they made. And I'll just say that the relatively unharmful engagement left the emperor feeling a bit... embarrassed."

I immediately shake my head. "Oh no."

Meanwhile at Midnight Castle...

Nondis rests reclined against a wall that seems to be made for keeping one's hooves stretched upward. But due to his size, the most the restraints can bring him to is a comfortable raising of the forearms to shoulder height. A bored blank stare rests on his face as he patiently awaits the gathering outside of the door to come to a pause, their voices exchanging a number of opinions.

He looks at his wrists and scoffs with indifference. "Well... not the only time I've been stuck in a shitty situation. I still have to say that the last guy did it way better."

The wooden door clicks and creaks open, revealing a familiar pair. Both Gabranth and Emperor Basileus enters the dungeon cell with a cautious approach. "Is he secured?" Gabranth questions his subordinate.

"Yes sir." The guard outside answers.

"Very good." He says, getting a little closer to the seemingly relaxed human. "So, you are indeed the rogue apostle."

"You guys gave me that name, and I don't know in what way I'd turn it into something cool. But bullshit formalities aside, I'd like to personally think that I'm more of an exorcist."

"For what cause?"

"Uh, for starters purging the world of Captain Crisp's influence." He yawns. "I don't mean to offend you, but your church is a total pile of shit."

The emperor speaks up in defense of the national religion. "Our church is a sacred monument to our faith, and a foundation to all things modern medicine."

The man groans and roll his eyes. "Dude, do I really need to have this conversation with you guys again?"

"I'd like to say that any discussion you may wish to have would only be fruitful for sowing disorder." The emperor retorts.

"It's only disorder to those who've been indoctrinated for most of your life. A hit dog will holler louder than the ones watching."

"I beg to differ." Basileus clops his hooves together, summoning a pair of guards to bring in a table and two golden goblets. After setting the table, a bottle of what appears to be an old vintage is sat onto the table for the emperor's consumption. Gabranth dismisses the other two and pours the drink for his emperor. He takes a sip and instantly feels refreshed to his momentary preference. "Now I'm sure you're wondering why you're here and not being rushed towards the gallows for your little visual stunt?"

"Not really, I can already guess that you want to make a deal with me." Nondis answers.

"Yes. And in that deal, you'll tell me what else your kind has created in the time of your existence, other than this so-called bomb that you touted your horn to." He pauses before taking another sip. "Well, your lack thereof."

"And a long story short, you want weapons."

"Your weapons."

The man tilts his head with a thought. "So how much do you think these weapons are worth?"

Gabranth looks to the emperor, who responds with a nod. He summons a small chest filled with silver coins. "You're looking at about five thousand spurs in that one chest alone. That much will get you started on your new life here."

"New life?"

"Well we can't obviously make your stay here any more barbaric than it's already being to current point. So why not start here? Five thousand will easily cover your first two months. You'll stay in a luxurious penthouse suite, given the finest foods and wines on imperial account, and you'll have more than your fair share of mares... that is if that appears to be your preference."

"Silver, huh. No gold?" The man deadpans.

The emperor glances to his subordinate, who summons an even bigger chest with golden coins, and emblems resembling the same of those of their silver variants. "That chest there is the equivalent of fifty thousand spurs. Tenfold the initial offer."

"All that for a Glock 43 I have lying around in some kitchen drawer."

"Is it powerful?" Gabranth questions.

"Enough to stop a small invasion."

"Then we'll take it." The emperor replies.

"Yeah, nah." The man replies with a smirk and a chuckle. "Not selling, can't sell. Sorry. Them's the rules of my stay in Questis. If I went back on that, my wife would have my head on a platter, not that I'm unfamiliar with that experience."

Upset that the human mocks him with such a carefree attitude, he leaves the room and allows for Gabranth to stay behind, who dismisses the chests full of currency and summons instead a large maul. He points it to the legs of the human, appearing to threaten him with it. "Alright, Now that the emperor has left us, I'm going to be whole-heartedly honest with you. From what the reports have illustrated, not to mention the actions you've performed in your previous infiltration of the castle, I can say without a doubt you've merely allowed us to capture you." He brushes the maul against his knees. "Why?"

"Well before you get started, I should let you know that your doc made sure that you'll have a really hard time breaking those. So, may wanna save your energy." The man warns. "Now as for your suspicions, you're not wrong. I just figured that you'd need a bargaining chip to rule negotiations in your favor. Might as well throw you a bone with a little red meat on it."

"Both you and I know that's a lie." The stallion replies angrily. "Your mechanical contraption could easily outrun our ground support. You could kill our forces with hardly a limb raised and a bead of sweat on your brow. What are you getting at?"

"I dunno. Bike ran short on gas, she doesn't run on the barely manufactured shit you guys call diesel. I guess I was just interested in the scenery when I stopped. You could say you caught me with my pants down."

"You're not that incompetent."

"I know." Nondis smiles.

"Then please explain why you've allow yourself to be here."

He purses his lips, before smirking with a thought. "Bored, I guess. Not gonna lie, my wife and I have all the means for a good happy life, but even we both have our moments where the adrenaline needs to get out somehow."

"Well since you're so bored, I'll allow you to stay under the pretense that you'd tell me what are the current advancements of Equestria's military." The human hums at the stallion's request. "I want connections, every spy you have floating around in our halls."

"Really, that easy huh?" He kicks his feet together, browsing the idea of pointing out figures of interest. "Cause I know at least six of them meandering around in your castle even now. Pretty prominent positions too."

"...You'll tell me more of these spies." Gabranth sternly demands.

"Oh yeah, they even gave me the biz on how to nav the castle grounds. They know every passage and access used around here. Because of them, I got in pretty easily."

The century places his maul aside, leaning towards the man. "And how is it that I can trust you?"

"Honestly, we've had sleeper agents sitting in the underground passages for generations. And they've been teaching some things, spicy things. One could say that the revelations of life outside of the country can prove to be... revolutionary. Of course they know how to play their role for you guys, but most importantly how to relay that information to us without getting caught. And it's not like it's as easy as purging through every household for information." The man nods with a thought to himself. "Yeah. You'd really have to sift through every citizen, screen every family, even foals for information that could easily be transmitted to us."

"Your network runs that deep?"

"As deep as your citizens have dug their homes, as winding as the mineshafts you use to haul your metals."

"And your technology?"

"We humans have a strong policy against allowing other creatures to use our weapons. They're far too dangerous to be allowed in the possession of the uncaring and otherwise ignorant. You should know with the way your boys are trained. One misfire and it's could be lights out."

"And yet it could be easily assumed that there are some who know how to use your weapons."

"One problem." He flicks his right hand, flexing his index finger. "You see this, that's a finger. You can't fire a weapon without it, can't turn off a safety switch without the precision of these bad boys. How precise are they, well let me tell you that we can easily dig dental floss out from the grooves of your horns." The man eyes gives off a small twinkle as he looks away. "Anyways, aren't those grooves pretty essential to conducting your mana flow? With that disrupted, no spells for you."

"And what do you know about magic?" The stallion asks almost mockingly.

"Little, very little other than how to cut it off." The man purses his lips to the side, pointing a finger to his forehead. "And you may want to get that floss out of your horn."

He crosses his eyes to see a tiny thread dangling to the bridge of his nose. "Heh, light work." Gabranth scoffs and sparks up his magic to remove the thread, only to find his spell quenching before he can manifest a flow. He grabs at his horn with his hoof, trying to frantically pull the floss from off of it, only for the situation to worsen and the floss falling further in the spiraling grooves of his horn. "What the hell?"

"Yeah, you never know what's on something as simple as dental floss, could be something debilitating, could be a neural poison that infests the body from the moment you touch it, anything goes really."

Hearing the suggestive outcomes of his attempts, he loudly gives his complaint to the man. "Get this damn thing off of me!"

"Only if you trust me enough to do it. I'm still pretty dangerous after all."

Nondis smiles in patient waiting, all while the stallion begrudgingly gets closer to his hand and allows for him to touch the thread. "Fine."

Easily, the man grabs the thread and pulls at it, watching as the floss spindles out from the grooves of his horn. He stifles his laughter as the stallion holds at his horn, looking at his hooves, making sure that his end wouldn't be sudden. "So... something you wanna say first?"

With a grimace of pure hatred for the creature, Gabranth mutters his response. "Thank you."

The man unleashes a full-throated laugh, amused greatly by the stallion's moments of panic. "Thanks for humoring me, by the way. I needed a good laugh."

Before the stallion could grab his maul, another century walks into the cell and whispers into his ear. "Sire. The emperor requests you presence again."

Gabranth gives the human a side-eye, who brushes off his animosity. "Oh no, don't worry about me, I'll be here all day. Or rather, I'll be here for as long as I choose to be." He gives the stallion a playful wink.

"I will crack you. And I will find the answers I seek." He threatens before leaving.

"Can't crack the willing!" He shouts before the door closes. "...Wonder how long this might take before wifey goes nuclear."