Canterlot Knights

"Do we really have to stay here the full two weeks?" Rainbow Dash asked as she threw her suitcase onto her bed.

"Well, if you really don't want to stay two weeks, then I'm not stopping you from going back to Ponyville," Twilight said, "It's just that the rest of us will be staying the whole time. It's just how Blue Blood (and most Canterlot socialites for that matter), does things. A couple of little parties and get togethers leading up to a big party two weeks from now."

"Why can't he just be normal and throw one party on one day? Why can't he have his party tomorrow or something and not drag it out so long?"

"That's a valid point, but it is kind of a big deal. It's not everyday a normal unicorn gets turned into an alicorn. Now everypony wants get to know me. Funny how they weren't interested when I was just Celestia's student. Anyway, Blue Blood insisted that we stay the full two weeks."

"Besides," Pinkie interjected, "who wants to have just one party when you can have two full weeks of parties?"

"We might as well have fun darling, as Twilight said, this is a very momentous occasion," Rarity said. She was right, Twilight's coronation was a very big deal, but the ceremony was a very formal and short affair. Blue Blood wanted to throw a big celebration for Twilight with all the Princesses there. Twilight was royalty, so she could arrange invitations for each of her friends if they wanted. Rainbow never really liked Canterlot. All the parts she had been to were very uptight and snooty, not really her style, but she thought she might as well stay the full two weeks, for Twilight.

"Well, at least we get to stay in the castle this time, and we don't have to pay to stay in some hotel." Rainbow said. Being friends with a princess has its benefits. Each pony got their own private suite to stay in until the party. During the two weeks they would be in Canterlot many other prominent figures of the upper class would no doubt throw their own parties for the princess.

"I remember when I stayed in Canterlot I received my own suite, but we've never all had our own when we come here," Rarity said. It was true that some of them had stayed in the castle at times, but whenever all six of them had to stay in Canterlot most had to stay in a nearby hotel. They realized how little sense that made considering there were plenty of available rooms and that the whole thing had been merely a formality in the past. Twilight being a princess was able to change this.

Rainbow unpacked her suitcase. It was full of the usual things like a toothbrush and so on. It also had the dress that Rarity made her a while back. It was pretty much the only thing she ever wore to formal events. "So I thought this Blue Blood guy was a jerk. Why is he throwing the princesses such a big party?"

"From what Rarity here has told me about him, ah reckon he's just usin' it as an excuse ta just throw a party fer himself," Applejack said.

"Well, I've met Blue Blood before, and I can't say that's unlikely," Twilight said. Before the mares could continue their conversation, a certain Royal Guard captain entered the room.

"Hey there Twiley, erm...I mean, Princess Twilight."

"Armor!" Twilight ran up and hugged her brother.

"I didn't get a chance to talk to you after the coronation yesterday so I thought I'd drop by now. I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

"Of course not, we were just talking."

"So I heard you all will be staying the next two weeks for Blue Blood's party." The six mares nodded.

"Hey, haven't you already been staying in Canterlot for a few months now?"

"Yeah but that's all been work related. I haven't gotten any time to myself, and the only time I got to go back to the Crystal Empire was when I had to prepare for the Equestria games test."

"Work huh," Rainbow said, "what would Celestia want you to do that's serious enough to get you away from the Crystal Empire and Cadance?"

"Well, if you haven't already heard, there's some kind of vigilante pony running around Canterlot. He's killed a few ponies. Just criminals so far, but we don't know when he'll start killing other ponies."

"Oh dear!" Fluttershy said in her usual soft tone.

"You see, this is the first time something like this has happened in Canterlot, so Celestia is taking it very seriously."

"Have you been able to tell who the vigilante is?" Twilight asked, now growing concerned for her brother's safety.

"Well, no. After a few encounters with him, we have found out he's an orange stallion, probably an earth pony since he has never been seen flying or using magic, though if you've seen him you wouldn't be so sure."

"What do you mean?"

"He's...different. He's unbelievably fast and very strong. We don't know how though."

"Oh that sounds awful, but couldn't you just look up every orange earth stallion until you found him?" Rarity asked.

"Well, with Canterlot's very large population, that's easier said than done. So I'm stuck in Canterlot until we catch him, but it isn't so bad now since Cadance is here with me."

"Oh, well that's good. Come on, let's talk about something a bit more pleasant." The ponies walked out of the room, as Rainbow finished unpacking so she could join them. She hung up her dress in closet, and thought optimistically to herself, 'Well, you never know. I'll probably have plenty of fun while I'm here.' She ran out of the room to catch up to her friends.

Away from the Castle and across the city, Splitting Saber sat alone at a desk in his basement. He was finishing a sketch that he had been working on, making sure to get every detail exactly right. As he grasped the pencil in his hoof, he drew the face of a pony, a face that he was drawing from memory. A face that was clearly burned into his brain. He finished and held up the piece of paper.

"Okay," he thought out loud, "let's see if we can figure out who you are."