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Today, was just like any other day.

As the early morning sky turned from a rustic orange to a nice clear blue, the late sleepers and early birds at the School of Friendship would begin their day just like any other. Throughout the academy, the sounds of various hoofsteps and chatter filled the dormitories and school halls of the academy, as the school of nearly a thousand students were ready to begin the day.

One such early bird, however, rather than go about speaking to the students, went about his day walking the academy halls with his face deep in the confines of a book, and himself within the nearly empty room of the school's library.

At the furthest table of the library, taking a seat at one fo the red oak tables that were stationed about the floor of the large room. A young, quite sharp looking green drake, read the pages of a red book that looked to have seen better days.

The young drake's eyes scanned the yellow tinted paper of the pages, as he re-read the sentences and words he had read countless times before.

"On some other world, possibly it is different. Better. There are clear good and evil alternatives. Not these obscure admixtures, these blends, with no proper tool by which to untangle the components" The drake read internally, as he continued to read down the pages of the book.

This was a book that, as long as he could remember, was something quite comforting to read. A book based in both fiction and reality, it was something that kept his mind clear, while also keeping it busy.

While he had received his punishment for not returning the book back, it was worth the world opening view he received from the novel. As well as the ability to avoid speaking with those who he wasn't supposed to know.

It was a nice escape from the sewage of noise that would spill out in his hometown. The constant sounds of bickering, and violence, and death, it all seemed to be phased out by this little book, as well as the helpful background noise of the local diner that seemed to enjoy his style of music just as much as him.

There truly was nothing like a day where he could just read his book in peace, as the sweet sounds of Flank Sinatra or Hobby Darlin, and the words of that novel take him away.

No matter what anyone said, for the green drake, it was true bliss for him.

As the drake was about to turn the page, the sound of approaching footsteps and chatter broke his bliss, It, couldn't last forever, he groaned, as he quickly closed the book just as the approaching voiced made their way into his sanctuary.

"-and so basically, I beat the shit outta him, and told him, next time you wanna mess with me think twice asshole!" The young white Persian exclaimed boastfully, as he seemed to be in the middle of yet another tall tale of his time in the Sin City of Las Pegasus.

While most of the Persian's audience, including the green drake, wasn't quite immersed with the story, a certain hippogriff mare seemed quite interested, "wow," Silverstream gasped in surprise, while the griffon to her right rolled his eyes with great disinterest, "I had no idea Las Pegasus was so, tough"

The white Persian smirked with pride, "well hey, it may be tough out there, but-" he flexed his nonexistent muscles, "Ain't nothing i cant handle"

"Yeah, cause I'm totally sure you could take on three minotaurs in a fight," The azure griffon deadpanned.

That statement seemed to wipe the large smirk off of the Persian's face, as he glared at the griffon rooster, "I-i could too," he quickly rebutted, "I remember going down to convenient store one night, and a gang of halfies was up there to beat me up me, but they didn't know I had my 'pis'ol out, and show 'em who's who of Las Pegasus,"

"First off," The dull blue minotaur cow to the left of Silverstream began, her tone like that of a scolding teacher "I'm pretty sure calling Minotaurs 'halfies', is considered offensive by pretty much everyone, and secondly " she continued, "if that really did happen, then let's see it,"

"S-see what?" The Persian said nervously.

"Your pistol?" Gallus questioned, "you always said you 'never go home without it,' so where is it?"

The Persian cat's nervous expression weakened, as a small smile etched into his mouth, "Tch, are you serious? You think I'd bring it here?" the white cat questioned with a scoff.

"From what I've heard you say, you seem really fond of it,"

"Pfft, no way, I keep it in my room back home. It's not like I care or anything, but if the alicorn bitch or my uncle found out, I'll probably end up getting a lecture, and I really don't feel like getting blood on my hands"

As the Persian said that, while the other listened with skeptical ears, Silverstream became greatly confused by his colorful words, "Wait, I thought you said that you kept it in your dorm in case of another incident like what happened last year,"

Once again, the smug smile on the short Persian's face was wiped off as soon as that memory returned. The Persian began to stutter a bit, as he tried to keep up his style, "W-well," he began, as the two cynical teens, and an increasingly confused hippogriff, looked at him with awaiting eyes, "you see, I uh, I meant my other dorm,"

Right, the green drake thought to himself, as he heard the cat's deepening lie. The young green drake left the chair, and, as quietly as he could, tried to make his way out of the library.

As silly as it may seem, the drake tip-toed through the pathways of bookshelves in order to not be heard by the four, and with much ease, he almost made it over to the back exit of the room.

However, just as he was a few feet from the door, a crackling sound not only alerted the four but the sneaking dragon as well, What the hell, he thought, as he looked down to see the alarm that set him off.

It was nothing more than a mere candy wrapper.

While to many, it was nothing butch trash, but to the dragon, he became quickly familiar with the wrapping cove.

As well as who it came from.

The green drake let out a long sigh, Bahamut dammit, Professor Pie, he cursed to himself.

The second the sound was heard, everyone in the room turned their attention over to the sneaking drake. While this was a nightmare for the dragon, this was a godsend, "Yo, 'Lan," The Persian greeted, as a small sense of relief washed over him, "how's it goin'!"

Golan let out yet another sigh, as he heard the greeting of not just the loud Persian, but of the others as well.

For what seemed like an umpteenth time, he had to deal with people that he shouldn't have known.

"Oh, hey Gol'," Silverstream greeted excitedly.

Great, another morning of this, the dragon groaned.

Golan was never one for idle talk, the simple morning chatter that he had been accustomed to was something that was a trial enough for him already.

It was one thing to have Mayor Steel Mill to force him in attending the school that was hell enough, but having to interact with the other students because of this school's principles was another kind of torture.

So for the past days, he's been subjected to a number of small simple greetings that were expected of a school like this.

As well as the general small talk of the townsponies he had to endure whenever he went out to eat.

This was one of the main reasons why he spent most of his time inside the library of walking about the school grounds at night in order to truly enjoy the silence.

But of course, there was always something or someone that would ruin that enjoyment.

But, none of that mattered. After all, there's no point in talking to those you're not supposed to know.

Not even muttering a quick good morning, Golan made his way out of the room, leaving the four with empty greetings.

Gallus chuckled, "Well, that went pretty much how I expected,"

"Dido," the minotaur cow added.

Despite the two's seemingly nonchalant reactions, the Persian cat glared at the empty space where Golan stood, "man, what's with that guy," he groaned, "like seriously, this is the only time I've actually seen him look at anyone,"

"He's probably still getting used to the school," Silveratream suggested, "I mean, I know what it's like to be new to a whole new place,"

"Yeah, but that was on the first or second day," Gallus refuted, " it's been almost a week and a half, and he's still acting like an asshole,"

"Hey, be nice," the purple hippogriff scolded, "you acted the same way during the first few days of school,"

"Whoa, don't say it like I was the only one," Gallus rebutted defensively, "if anything, it was Smolder who used to be way more of a bitch than me,"

"Used to?" the Persian repeated sarcastically which got him quite the glare from the minotaur beside him.

"She might be a bitch, but at least she's honest," the cow rebutted, "and at least she's not some loud-mouthed wannabe loser, like you"

That small smirk on the Persian's face was quickly wiped off by the minotaur's spat, and a look of anger was across his face, "Hey, who the hell you think you're talkin' to, bitch?"

"You're just proving her point," Gallus chuckled, much to the Persian's frustration.

The short Persian scoffed at the sharp comment, "Whatever, anyway," the cat continued, "where is that chick anyway? You two always seem to be les'ing out somewhere in the school,"

The minotaur sneered at the short Persian before answering his question, "I actually don't know," she admitted, "I woke up this morning and she wasn't in our dorm, I just thought that she went to use the shitter or something,"

Silver turned to the mare with a confused expression, "Really," she questioned, "I thought I saw her go near the far-back of the school?"

"The far-back?" The cow inquired.

"Yeah, I remember I was about to go to the pool, to do my morning routine, and on my way, I saw her pass by me."

After hearing that, an inquisitive look came across Gallus' face, "Huh, I wonder where she was going?"

The hours at the academy before class were hours that, for many, were the final moments of relaxation for those who were still trying to get over the early morning slowness of waking up. While most were talking to their friends, eating at the cafeteria, or just spending a few more minutes in their dorm rooms for late work.

For one certain prince, it was a moment to himself before he had to endure whatever the smalltown school had to throw at him.

As he walked the halls of the back, the sound of an opening door caught his attention, What was that? Adolph pondered, as he walked around the corner, not because he cared, but just to make sure that it wasn't one of his professors.

Looking around the corner, that rising feeling of regret soon turned to excitement, as his eyes laid on a certain orange dragoness who had just walked out of what he assumed was one of the classrooms, readjusted her clothing. The second she walked out' Adolph's licked his lips, Well, looks like my day is finally getting better, he thought, as he walked up to the unsuspecting dragon without a second thought.

As sneaky as he was, his silent approach was broken the second the orange dragoness looked up from her clothing, to see a familiar face. However, unlike him, there was a strong look of annoyance the moment she saw him, Oh great, she lamented as the prince walked up to her.

"Well well well," he cooed with a slimy smile, "fancy meeting you here my ruze~"

"What do you want, Adolph?" she groaned.

The prince let out an annoyingly playful chuckle, "Oh nothing," he fibbed, "it's just that seeing your stunning beauty could help me forget about having to stay in this backwoods town-" he scanned the dragoness' body, "and I was right,"

Smolder furrowed her brow, "For fuck's sake," she groaned, as she was about to turn away from the harassing canine and continue on her way.

The moment she turned, Adolph quickly exclaimed, luckily gaining the annoyed dragon's attention, "H-hold on now, I was just playing. For Alpha's can't you take a joke?"

"When it comes to someone like you, not really," Smolder sneered.

The prince rolled his eyes at her, "Whatever," he replied, "anyways, what I really wanted to talk to you about, is my party,"

"Your party?" the dragon repeated suspiciously.

He let out a sly chuckle, "Well, my uncle is out of town, and so he let me house sit for him in the capital. Of course, with my birthday coming up, I saw an opportunity to- how you say- not let a good opportunity go to waste?"

Smolder hummed nonchalantly, hoping for the conversation to end. Adolph then proceeded to pull a paper card from his blue aviator jacket, "anyways-" he continued, as he handed the note over to Smolder, who took it with a skeptical look, "since you constantly refuse to accept the cri-phone I got you, here's a little invitation to my "get together","

Taking the card, Smolder read it. Not because she wanted to go, far from it, she read it simply out of curiosity. "THIS ONCOMING OCTOBER CELEBRATE THE BIRTH, GREATNESS, AND ADULTHOOD OF PRINCE ADOLPH THE IV WITH THE CANINE HIMSELF.

Even his invitations are pretentious, Smolder snarkily thought, as she closed the card and looked back at the smiling prince.

"Well~" he sang, almost excitedly awaiting her answer.

Smolder let out a sigh, it had possibly been the nth time in which the royal canine had harassed her. It almost seemed like for the past few days he's been here, every interaction with him ended with some kind of sly comment about Smolder's body, and trying to, quote-unquote, get in the dragoness' pants on a daily basis.

Even though she had already told the goading dog a number of times to, 'piss off', that demand seems to fall to deaf ears.

And so, once again, Smolder found herself, being goaded.

"Look Rik, even if I wanted to go to your party, I can't," Smolder responded, although the persistent canine did not seem upset by the answer, "I have to go to Headmare Twilight's coronation that month,"

As soon as that response left her mouth, the canine's sly smile seemed to falter. Ever since the young alicorn had made her appearance at the Hunderlandian capital, Adolph's play-pup lifestyle had taken quite a turn. From having to visit Equestria, or as he affectionately refers to it, Donkey land. To have to attend this academy, he had grown quite a distaste for the mare.

So you can imagine that for the mare's coronation to not only be the same day of his birthday but to have the chance to finally get together with the orange dragon ruined, that was something almost insulting to him.

indigo pizda, he cursed, "Can't you just cancel it?"

"I wish I could," Smolder lied, just to rile up the upset canine "but my dad and Lord Ember are pretty adamant about me going, so..."

The prince groaned in annoyance, "Alright, fine," he said, as he took back the invite from Smolder, who seemed quite loose with her grip on the card, "if it's the demand of Lord Ember, then fine," he said, as Smolder silently thanked every god she knew of.

Before he could continue, there was a familiar ring that broke the silent air surrounding the two teens. Once again, Adolph groaned as he reached into his pocket, and looked to see who it was, only to emit a groan as he read the name, "Great, another osol," he cursed, before turning back to Smolder, "You owe me," he said, before finally tapping on the phone and answering the call in a language almost completely alien to the dragoness.

Smolder waited as the sounds of his paw steps got quieter and quieter, and once, the sound of his voice was completely gone, "Finally," Smolder let out a sigh of relief.

"Is he gone," another, familiar, voice questioned to which Smolder simply responded with a "yeah", before the not-so-mysterious figure proceeded to leave through the same door smolder came out of.

Slowly opening the door, a purple dragon scanned his surroundings a bit, still not sure if the dragoness was telling the truth, before finally opening the door all the way, and letting out his own sigh of relief, "Geez," Spike groaned, "good nobody saw,"

Smolder slyly smirked at the nervous dragon, "aw what's wrong, you embarrassed to be seen with me?"

"I-it's not that," Spike quickly defended, "it's just that, well what we did, was too dangerous, the door was unlocked, and would could have been caught-" he then looked down at his phone, a gift given to him by the Hunderlandian royal family "not to mention, it's almost time for classes to start, and we would have gotten in big trouble if anyone was walking around here,"

Smolder scoffed, "you didn't seem to worry about that the last few times we did it," she rebutted snarkily, causing the slightly shorter dragon to blush deeply at the memories.

"W-well, that's because we were in the castle or at least at your dorm," Spike explained, "but that was cutting it close,"

The teen dragon rolled her eyes at the comment, "Whatever, you seemed to enjoy it," she rebutted, causing Spike's embarrassment to grow at the simple mention of the duo's physical encounters

Quickly trying to steer the conversation, Spike spoke up on a previous matter, "Well anyways, what was that party Rik was talking about," he asked, much to Smolders annoyance, "I think it would pretty cool to go,"

"Yeah, you think it's cool," Smolder retorted, causing Spike to cringe with a guilty smile, as he has seen the amount of time's the Prince had tried to put the moves on the teen dragon, "look, even if I wanted to go, I can't, my mom's boyfriend want's my brother and me to get ready for Headmare Twilight's Coronation,"

The second she said that Spike's eyebrows rose inquisitively, "Wait, your mom's boyfriend?" he questioned.

Smolder sighed, "Look, don't get all teary-eyed or anything, but some years ago, before me, and my brother hatched, my dad was killed by some scum-of-the-earth dragon poachers,"

"Dragon poachers?" Spike repeated with a confused look, before a quick sense of realization hit him like a baseball bat, "You mean-"

"The pieces of shit who hunt down dragons and their eggs to skin them or sell them on the black market," Smolder growled, "Yeah, those assholes.

"My dad and his friends heard about some empty mine shaft with a shitload of gems, so they went off to go look. But it turned out, it was just a trap set up by those scum, and, from what my mom told me, they ambushed them with javelins and swords and killed him. That was the last time she heard from him," she finished, as a wave of fiery anger danced in her eyes.

Spike was taken aback as he heard his mate's story. For as long as they had been together, this was possibly the most open Smolder was about her past, "For Faust sake," he gasped, "that sounds awful,"

"Don't I know it," she replied before a small smirk crept on her face, "but luckily, with Princess Twilight and Lord Ember, we can finally give those bastards a taste of their own medicine,"

Turning to back to Spike, the dragoness' angered look subsided as she saw the drakes sadden smile, "Sorry, didn't mean to go off like that,"

"It's fine," Spike reassured, "I'm pretty sure everyone on Equus hates those guys as much as you do,"

"That's good to know," Smolder chuckled, "anyways, after all that, and after me and my brother were hatched, she's basically been single since. And when I asked her about dad, she made a promise she wouldn't find another mate-" Smolder scoffed at the statement, "apparently, that was a lie,"

"I'm sure your mom, had a good reason," Spike said, trying to defuse the dragon girl's anger, "I mean, if you were in her position, wouldn't you be a little open to dating again?" Smolder replied with a simple 'no', as she glared at the purple drake, who sighed in defeat, "Look, I may not understand what it's like, but I'd still say give the new guy a chance,"

"Why," Smolder shot back, "the guy is totally trying to pull something with my mom,"

"Well, I guess it depends," Spike continued.

"On what?" Smolder retorted

"Who is he?"

The second she heard that question, Smolder's irritation simmered. She stammered a bit, as a look of discomfort was well-read on her face. From the looks of it, she didn't want anyone, even her mate, to know, "I-it's no one special," she lied, "Just some ass that was able to trick my mom into dating him, that's all,"

This time, Spike glared at the Dragon with a skeptical look, "Are you sure?" he inquired heavily, as he seemed to back the orange dragoness into the corner, "Come one, you can tell me," he said with a pleading look.

Smolder let out a small sigh, even though she was the much more dominant one in the relationship, whenever Spike looked at her like that, she was practically putty in his hands.

Letting out a deafening sigh, she finally admitted, "Alright, but you can't tell anyone," she demanded, to which Spike replied with an understanding nod, "alright, my mom's dating-" Before she could finish, a shrill school ring echoed through the school halls.

"Good Morning everyone," the familiar-sounding announcer greeted cheerfully.

Smoulder smiled in relief upon hearing the announcement, Saved by the bell, she thought.

Spike, on the other hand, was not as cheerful, "Oh crap, I need to get to the office," he said, as he was about to head back to a hopefully unsuspicious mare. Before he could take a single step, he gave his orange mate a stern, or at least as stern a look he could give, before departing, "and don't think-"

"Were done talking about it, I know," Smolder finished, before giving the dragon a small kiss on the cheek, causing him to blush, "I'll see ya later, mister Spike,"

"Y-you too," he replied, before jogging off to the headmare's office.

Smolder quietly chuckled to herself as she watched her mate run-off to his job, He's such a dork sometimes, she jested with a smile, as she was about to make her way back to the front of the school.

"Well, you two seem quite cozy," a mysterious, yet familiar voice commented slyly, "I do hope he hasn't done anything, wicked, with you,"

Upon hearing the voice, a great irritation came over the dragoness as she turned to see a certain white unicorn, who greeted her with a suspicious yet playful smirk, Bahamut dammit, Smolder cursed as she stood face to face with the creature that would become quite the biggest change in her life.

"-and that is all for the announcements," the indigo mare said, as she spoke into the microphone, "Let's all, and I wish everyone a fantastic day!" With that, the mare lifted her hoof from the red button of the device.

Taking a deep breath in, she smiled sweetly, as she awaited what the day could bring.

Not only was it a new school year, but it was possibly the first year where not only were there a record number of students this year, but a year that sought a good amount of change both literally, and metaphorically.

Following the doubly named 'Not-So-Cozy Incident, as many media outlets have called it a number of changes had come about the school that, thanks to a certain royal family, the concerns of parent, and the rather, vocal response of a yak mother, Twilight's academy had gone through a great deal of change not only to ensure the education of the students but their safety as well.

Following that meeting, newer measures including school ID's and a newly created security unit, have at the very least give some parents a modicum of comfort.

Along with that, of course, the school has also gone through major academic changes that, for Twilight, she was actually quite excited to see. Following yet another meeting with Chancellor Neighsay, a stallion who had gone through his own major changes since the incident, further talks about the academy ultimately lead to the discussion of its academics, and classes.

And to make a needlessly lone story short, the academic focus of the academy has had to be a bit more open in terms of its courses and classes, and by that, the addition of basic classes including Math, Science Ponish, History, and other elective courses in order for the academy's practices to be considered academically appropriate by the Equestrian School Association.

As such, a whole slew of new classes had been introduced to the academy, as well as a slew of new openings for teachers, which in a way, excited Twilight, as this could not just the students, but her friends, the chance to expand their horizons beyond friendship and possibly fid something that can create a great bonding experience for everyone.

With that excitement in mind, Twilight began her days like usual, THUD with a large stack of papers and registration forms, I didn't think we'd get so many students this year, the mare thought before opening the first file, Let's see, who do we have here,

before she could delve into one of the files, a shrill ring entered her ears, which positively startled the focused mare as she nearly fell out of her chair. "What the hay," she exclaimed, as she looked around the room in confusion, "Where is that coming from?"

The second that question left her mouth a sudden vibrating noise could be heard from her desk. Looking to the right of her, she noticed the small vibrations of the desk drawer and almost in an instance, a sense of embarrassed realization occurred to her, "Oh right, my phone," she thought aloud, as she pulled the drawer open to reveal the gift she, as well as Spike, received, during their trip to Hunderland.

It was one, of the many other devices and machines that the mare had seen that positively elated her. From the numerous cars that sped about the Highways of the capital city, to the number of electronics and devices like the Crystalvision (similar to the televisions she saw during her time with Sunset) or the cri-phone, it was quite the experience coming from someone who had only seen such things only in the mirror world.

And the phone that Twilight was given was no different. Granted it was similar to the phones she saw in the mirror world, but this was still quite a marvel to the young princess. But, it was still something to get used to, especially considering the fact that it rang so loudly.

Picking up the device, she stared as she tried to remember how exactly answer the call, "Alright, how did I do this again," she thought aloud, as she looked at the phone from all angles, before finally finding a set buttons, which only seemed to confuse her more, Which one was it? Twilight, then proceeded to press on of the buttons.

However, rather than it beginning the call, it made the ringing louder, "Oh horseapples," she cursed as she tried to lower the volume.

And failed.

Twilight groaned as she tried to figure out the device, only to finally lower the volume.

With a sigh of relief, Twilight then turned to the backside of the device, to see a single button that, as if insulting her, said call in small letters.

Twilight face hoofed herself, "Of course," she groaned, before finally taping the button with her ability.

The second she did, a green-toned hologram bust appeared before her, and before her eyes, was the familiar face of her BBBFF.

"Twilly," the stallion inquired as he squinted his eyes at his sister, "Are you there?"

"I'm here Shining," she greeted with a smile, "sorry about that, I was a...looking for some important files," she lied, in the hopes of saving herself some embarrassment.

As soon as he could hear her voice, Shining smiled, "Oh good you're there, I can't really see you though," he responded, "I'm not sure what, but I don't think this device is working right,"

"I think it might be because of a bad signal," Twilight commented, "There aren't a lot of cry-towers in Ponyville, so there might be a bit of a connection issue. Or at least that's what Rik said when he gave me this,"

"I'll just take his word for it," Shinning chuckled, "I swear, I still can't figure out this thing for the life of me, trying to answer a call with is like trying to crack open a safe."

Twilight chuckled in response, "Well let's hope that Hunderland has a few features for Equestrians," she replied, "From what I heard, they're going to open up some phone stores in Manehattan and Canterlot soon,"

"Well, that should be...interesting," Shining replied, as the thought of all those high society, noble ponies fumbling with the phone quite hilarious, "Oh, speaking of Prince Adolph, how's the academy going, since thew hole Cozy Glow situation? I assume the parent-teacher conference was a blast,"

Oh and then some, Twilight thought to herself, "It was, interesting," she replied, "as you could image, not a lot of the parents were happy with how things went down,"

"How 'not happy' were they?"

"Well, let's just say that I think I may know a few Yakistani swear words now,"

Shining sharply inhaled at the comment, "Ouch, they were that mad, huh?"

"Yeah, but to some degree, I can understand their anger and concerns," Twilight said, "I mean if Flurry Heart was put in that kind of danger, wouldn't you flip out of the headmaster?"

Shining rubbed his chin with a questioning look, "Yeah, I guess," the Prince admitted, "But still, having to deal with all of that must be tough though,"

"Sure, it gets a bit frustrating from time to time, but I think the students make up for that. Especially considering how many more students we have this year, I'm not too worried,"

"Well that's good to hear," Shining Armor said with a small chuckle, "But your not the only one, I know what it's like when it comes to having ponies claw at you the second you mess up..." A deep sigh rang out on that last word, as a sadden look was clear across his face.

Now while Shinning should not see Twilight, she could definitely see him. And at the first sign of this distress, Twilight could tell there was something wrong with her BBBFF, "Shinny, what's wrong?" she asked with many worries.

The dejected stallion rubbed the back of his head, "Well," he began with a brief pause, as he tried to collect his thoughts, "It's just...well, it's about that meeting Cadence, Celestia and I had with the Crystal Libertarian Party,"

"Crystal Libertarian Party?" Twilight inquired before a familiar wave a realization hit her. A couple of years ago, before Twilight even thought up the academy, there was much political discourse occurring in the Crystal Empire for a few months now.

It seemingly began when an old proclamation signed by the late King Sombra was found. As it turned out, only those of Sombra's blood, or at least his closets friends, could take over the throne following his demise. And since Shining Armor and Cadence had not been of either. Because of that, a small group of Crystal ponies began to feel that their kingdom, once again, had been usurped by someone that they felt they had no choice in the matter.

That group, who would later be known as the Crystal Libertarian Party (CLP) became one of the biggest critics of the ruling family.

Although there was a good number of them, the majority of the population had no quims with the royal family, after all, they were the ones who freed them from Sombra after all, so what reason would they have to complain?

That was the way Shinning thought of it, his citizens had no reason to get so upset, so what need would there be for a change in leadership right?

That was his way of thinking until, almost suddenly, the CLP's party began to grow in numbers. No one was sure how; perhaps it was the birth of Flurry Heart or the mass kidnapping of the family at the hooves of the now dethroned Chrysalis, or maybe it was the growing understanding about Cadence and Shinning's relationship with the Sun Princess, but one thing was for sure, the majority had changed.

Soon enough, that's when the demonstrations began. A large number of ponies demanding for Cadence and Shinning to ease themselves of their power, and agree to a more inclusive and fairer way of leadership.

During those months, Shinning, as well as the many representatives of the politically chaotic Empire, attempted to suggest that perhaps smaller means of democracy, anything that would still allow him and his family a grand amount of power. But with each meeting, it all seemed to fall through, ending with threats by the CLP to take the matter into the heart of Equestria; Canterlot.

When the last meeting between the two opposing parties failed once more, the Leader of the Party, Gear Rust, along his a few of his party members made his way over into the capital, with the goal, and the demand of negotiating with Celestia.

After many hours of back and forth, and document searches, and a few, less than kind words, thrown about between the representatives and nobles of the Empire and the CLP, it was done.

Following that day, the Crystal Empire would forever be known from now on as the Crystal Republic, and for the first time, It would be the closest country in Equestria that was an official republic.

And for much of its citizens, the ponies couldn't be happier, and Twilight shared in this excitement. For the first time in her life, Twilight saw the making of major political history, Even though she was a princess herself, there was still a large chunk of History nerd within her that was elated to hear about how such a change that had gone through relatively peacefully.

While Twilight and much of the crystal ponies seemed thrilled by this, one certain stallion felt quite the opposite.

At the simple mention of the Party that singlehandedly brought an end to the monarchical power, it became quite Clear to Twilight why her brother seemed so, deterred, as she let out a quiet 'ooooh' as it hit her, "that party,"

"Yeah, those guys,"

"Well, what about them, is there something going on?" Twilight inquired with a slight look of worry.

"It's not that," Shinning continued, "It's just, ever since Flurry was born, I wanted to teach her about what it means to be a ruler, a good leader that ponies, griffons, dragons, or any other creature, can look up to. But, ever since that ruling, I just, I don't know, I just feel like Flurry got dealt the crap end of the stick,

"I just, I feel like I failed her,"

"Don't say that," Twilight scolded sternly, "You didn't fail Flurry, and I guarantee you, she didn't get the crap end of anything,"

Shinning groaned, "Twilight, all I and Cadence can do now is our work at the Crystal Court, and even all we do is listen to ponies go on about the littlest of things, that's not something I wasn't to leave my daughter when I die,"

As much as Twilight wanted to disagree, she could understand where her brother was coming from to a certain degree. Considering the fact that not even in a month would she be in the same position as he deposed brother, as well as her own experiences with other royal leaders and the like, it was understandable why Shinning was upset.

Afterall if the kingdom you protected with every fiber of your being, as if they were your own child, decided to do something like that to you, she would feel quite offended.

"Look, I understand what you mean," Twilight replied, "I mean, after everything you and Cadence have done, I can see why your so upset, but maybe this is for the best? Sometimes things may not go the way you plan, but that doesn't mean it's the end, sometimes you just need to go with the flow, and see where the opportunities come," with those words of encouragement, there was a brief pause in Shining's response, as

Did she offed the bemused Prince, or was it something that, because of the phone's issues, she herself could not see.

"Shinning," Twilight inquired, "you okay,"

"I'm fine," Shinning said, "I just didn't expect you of all ponies, to say something like that,"

Twilight smirked at that response, "Well, I guess living in Ponyville for so long has taught me a lot of things," she chuckled.

The Prince smirked back at the mare, but not before letting out a small giggle of his own, "Yeah, I guess so," he responded. Soon, a knocking sound interrupted the siblings' conversation, causing the Twilight to look over at her office door, I wonder who that could be? she pondered, "come in!"

"Sorry Shinning, I need to go, I think it might be one of my students,"

"It's alright," the prince responded, "I've got some work I need to do anyway, so I'll see you in a bit,"

"Alright then, bye,"

"Later," he responded, as he tried to cut the transmission, "now how do turn off this stupid-" in accidental success, the stallion cut the feed, and with those last words, the stallion cut off the connection as the green opaque bust of his body disappeared in an instant.

Once he was gone, the door was wide open to revile a certain late kid dragon, who seemed to be panting a bit as he entered the room. As soon as he did, Twilight gave the drake an inquiring look, it had been what was seemingly the third time this year that Spike had been late to her office, and it was quite unlike him to repeat such an act.

It almost seemed as if, something in Spike, since the incident, changed.

"Oh, hey Twilight," Spike said with an innocent, yet nervous smile.

"Spike," Twilight began, "Where have you been, I was looking for you this morning but when I asked Starlight, she said she hadn't seen you either,"

"Oh, yeah," Spike mumbled shakily, "well, I was, just, tutoring one of the students with their work, they spoke with me yesterday and I decided to help them, I didn't really think to tell you, 'cause I just thought you wouldn't mind," he lied to the soon-to-be ruler, who gave him an inquisitive look at the dragon.

"Really," Twilight questioned, as Spike hoped the lie would work.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure it was Rarity's class," he suggested, "I mean, not to sound rude, but I honestly never expected somepony like her to be that much of a math wiz, and I guess that student thought the same way,"

Twilight let out a faint chuckle at the small quip, "Yeah, I'm pretty sure they aren't alone on that one," she replied with an unsuspecting smile, much to the relief of Spike, "While I'm glad you're helping the students, next time, just tell me okay?" Spike gave a thumbs up in response.

"No problem," he replied, "Anyways, I heard you and Shining talking a bit, how's he doing?"

"Well, from what he told me, he's fine, but..."

"He's still upset about the whole Crystal Republic thing?" Spike inquired, to which Twilight simply nodded, "Well, I'm sure he'll get over it, I mean it worked out for Hunderland, so at least he'll have someone to relate to, right,"

"Hm, you do have a point there," Twilight replied jokingly.

"Speaking of which," Spike continued, how's everything going for the coronation? Last I heard, you were still looking for party designers to help Pinkie with the setup?"

As soon as the mention of the coronation came out of his mouth, an anxious look appeared on Twilight's face, "Oh, right, that," she mumbled. Ever since the incident at the school, life seemed to change so much for the young Princess, and for Celestia to come out and chose Twilight to be her replacement, it was certainly a surprise that the former student couldn't have expected.

While many expected the mare to break down there and then, she has surprisingly unbothered by this decree. Once the Powerful Alicorn leader announced it, Twilight was, just fine, excited in fact.

It was almost as if, all those years in Ponyville, have finally gotten rid of her anxiety issues, or so some would believe.

"Well, I was able to find one in Canterlot that would be able to keep up with her, and from what Luna told me, she was apparently a pretty well-known event planner in the city so that's who I chose," she said with an etched smile, "she said we have a meeting scheduled tomorrow, to see the plans, so that should be fun,"

"Heh, yeah I bet," Spike joked, "But hey, I guess it should be all worth it in the end, right? By the end of the day, you get to make the decrees"

"R-right," Twilight stuttered, I-I'm going to replace Celestia, Twilight thought fretfully, In a month everypony's gonna be looking up, to me, Pushing that thought to the back of her head, she spoke once more, "Uh, hey Spike," she called to the young drake.

"Yeah, Twi,"

"I was wondering," she continued, a brief pause in her words, as she stared down for a second, "c-could you get me some tea, I need a bit for a pick me up,"

"Sure thing," he said with a smile, before exiting the room.

Once he was gone, Twilight let out a small groan as she looked down at the small yellow prescription slip in her desk drawer. A look of shame was etched on her face as the writing of the paper stared back at her with a taunting look, "I can't do this again," she whispered as she picked up the piece of paper- "not now'" and quickly ripped it apart, "never again,"

With the sheet of paper ripped up, and taking another long breath, Twilight returned to her work with a clear mind, as she looked over the files of students attending next year.

Even though Starlight would take over as headmare, she still needed to know the creatures that would be attending. As she did, she picked up a rather, light file. While the others were at least a pound or so, this weight a bit less than usual.

Picking up and opening the file, she looked insight to see a rather baren application sheet of a pony who, from their picture, looked quite odd.

Not in the sense that they had any weird deformities or anything of the sort. But rather how generic they looked and bare their expression and body was.

Just a white pony with a black mane and nothing else. In fact, The soon-to-be ruler couldn't even tell what their sex was if it weren't for the sheet which comically enough, was barley filled, only with the most essential of things being written down.

The colt's heights, his sex, and of course, his name.

"Verum" Twilight repeated, as she stared at the blank colts picture with the feel as if she has met him before.