Queen Celestia sat in her study, gazing down at a document put before her by one of her aids. She frowned down at it, her royal visage clearly troubled by the information on the page.

I must find this centaur... if these rumors are true... the mare’s thoughts turned over the report in her mind and like many times over the last hundred years her mind ached for her sister’s thoughts on the matter. Of course... in this case those thoughts may not have been what Celestia wished them to be.

According to the scouts’ reports; Xanthos, a dark colored centaur was traveling through the lands of the north, trying to raise resistance to Celestia’s rule. At the moment he didn’t appear to be doing more than simply talking... but Celestia knew that talking would eventually turn into something worse.

There was a slow knock on her door.

“Come in, Clover,” Celestia called.

The door opened smoothly and a mare with fading purple fur walked into the room. Her once lustrous purple mane was edged with grey and the pink stripe had long ago faded into a flat white. Despite all that, the unicorn’s eyes still glowed with the same fierce ferocity that Celestia had come to expect from her over the years, showing no signs of mental deterioration nor cataracts.

“The bastard still at it?” Clover asked, her voice reminding Celestia more of a whip cracking than that of an exceptionally old mare.

“Unfortunately yes,” Celestia answered, turning to Clover with a frown on her face. “He’s moving rapidly up and down the northern half of Equestria, trying to gather support and sow discontent... luckily he appears to be failing.”

“Good,” Clover replied with a shake of her head as she walked up beside Celestia and took a seat next to the great alicorn. A glass of ice water appeared in the air before her, and the mare took a long drag before looking over at Celestia once more. “If you don’t watch this one carefully, then he’ll be the doom of the kingdom.”

“I’m aware,” Celestia stated firmly. “I’ve already warned our northern outposts and the nobles who I am confident in,” she added with a small shrug. “I doubt he will find much, if any, support there.”

“Agreed.” Clover nodded. “If I were you, what I would be most concerned about is the thestrals... he is speaking of the injustice of banishing Luna... and even after these last hundred years there are still those among our leathery cousins who would support such a stallion,” the old mare cautioned her.

Celestia sighed slowly. “I am... aware of that Clover, but I have taken certain steps to keep that from happening,” she replied.

“Steps such as?”

“As speaking with the leaders of the thestrals and making certain that they will not be supporting a rebellion,” Celestia answered. “To be honest, their population is still far too low to even contemplate such a thing.”

“And you think that would stop them?” Clover asked her, raising an eyebrow at Celestia.

“Clover, I have grown extremely good at reading ponies over the years; thestrals in particular,” Celestia answered with a nod to the portrait of herself, Moonshadow, and his wife Eclipse which graced the wall to her left. A feeling of sadness entered Celestia’s mind at the thought of her son, now ten years dead.

“No offense, Celestia, but you have not always proved to be the best judge of character in situations like this,” Clover pointed out, somehow managing to keep her voice neutral.

Celestia shot the old mare a hard eyed frown, which Clover returned without flinching or looking away. The two continued the silent staring match for around a minute until they both simultaneously turned back to the documents on the desk.

“You have a point,” Celestia conceded slowly. “But believe me... I have learned my lesson well.”

Clover smiled. “Good,” she said with a small nod. “Just make sure that you’re watching everyone... we’ve just started getting this country back on its hooves... the last thing we need is another civil war.”

“Indeed,” Celestia said with a small sigh. “I do not think that we will truly have to worry... this ‘Xanthos’ does not seem to have the strength or charisma required to bind my little ponies to his will... unlike Luna.”

“True enough,” Clover replied with a frown. “Perhaps you should investigate him in person though... just to be on the safe side.”

“How?” Celestia asked. “My last scout report has him leaving Northport a week ago,” the alicorn said with a frown.

“Well then, your scouts are off by quite a bit Celestia, he’s in Van Hoover at the moment, giving a speech,” Clover told her with a small smirk. Celestia stared at her.

“How do you do that?” the alicorn asked her, eyes wide.

“A Grand Mage never reveals her secrets,” Clover replied with a chuckle which turned into a bit of a hacking cough.

Celestia looked over at Clover, concern in her eyes. “Are you okay Clover? Need I fetch you a nurse?”

Clover scowled and regained control of herself. “I’m fine Celestia... just old and there’s not a single thing that a ‘nurse’ can help me with,” the old mare grumbled crotchily. “Now, I’d suggest you change yourself and go view that centaur's speech. If nothing else it should give us some information on him.”

Celestia nodded, her horn glowing for several seconds before she began to shrink down to the size of a normal pony. Within seconds, Celestia the alicorn was gone. In her place was a snow white unicorn with a curly pink mane.

“How do I look?” Celestia asked Clover, her voice at a much lighter pitch than normal.

“Good, very good,” Clover replied with a wry smile.

“Good,” Celestia said with a nod before she pursed her lips into a serious expression. “It has been a while since I used this guise...”

“Right... wasn’t the last time when you and old Blueblood decided to have that trist?” Clover inquired with a raised eyebrow.

Celestia blushed a little. “How did you even know of that? We were very careful!”

Clover gave her a grin. “I’m the Grand Mage Celestia, I know everything.”

Celestia rolled her eyes. “It’s Sunny Days, now I should be on my way,” the mare said before she vanished in a small puff of light.

Clover just chuckled to herself. “Best game of poker I ever played,” she said with a smile before she got back to her hooves and stretched out her back, cracking several bones back into place in the process. “Gah... I’m old,” she muttered as she left the study.

Celestia appeared in an empty alley and was immediately reminded of where she was when a freezing blast of cold arctic wind swept over her, making her ears flap backwards and causing her to shiver.

“Should have expected that,” she grumbled to herself. “It’s been far too long since I actually traveled anywhere... and I’m getting rusty.” The air around her shimmered and a grey fleece-lined cloak flew out of it, quickly attaching itself to her neck. The mare let out a sigh of relief as the enchanted fabric exuded warmth that traveled over through her. “That’s better,” she murmured, quickly looking around to make sure that nopony had seen her do it; nopony had.

She nodded, and headed out of the alley, heading for the main square where she could already hear the throng of a gathered crowd. As she walked, Celestia let her mind wander. She saw dozens of ponies, some colts and fillies were playing happily in a snow drift off to her right. To her left a pair of buisness ponies sat across from each other, drinking coffee and looking over the local newspaper.

A soft smile touched the mare’s face as she surveyed them all, a fierce sense of accomplishment rising up in her chest as she viewed the fruits of her last hundred years’ labor. Her smile shifted into a look of surprise as a snowball lanced out from one of the colts and pegged her in the face. Celestia slowly turned to look at the offending colt, a young red unicorn, who blushed.

“I-um- sorry miss...” he said slowly, looking down. Celestia frowned for a moment, and then with a small golden light grabbed a puff full of snow and gathered it into a snowball of her own which she chucked at the colt’s face. The icy ball of snow struck him right between the eyes and he blinked several times.

“It’s fine young one,” Celestia told him. “In the future just be more careful about who you hurl your snow at, you never know when someone can throw harder,” she teased him with a smile before she headed off leaving a surprised colt in her tracks. Celestia continued on her way, dodging the occasional snowball. She arrived in the town’s main square, which was packed with ponies and griffins, just in time to see an imposing centaur walk onto the stage which had been set up there..

Xanthos was a tall stallion, easily her height as an alicorn, and his bipedal torso extended even higher. Black fur, the color of night, covered his lower body and a thick mat of black hair covered his upper portions chest. He had a goatee, and long black hair that hung down to the small of his back. Strapped to his back was a large bow and a quiver full of arrows and at his hip was a large broadsword. He only wore minimal armor, bracers around his wrists and steel horseshoes.

Celestia quietly evaluated him from her position in the back of the crowd and frowned at what she saw. He was obviously a warrior of some sort... though she had never heard of him before. Of course, centaurs generally didn’t leave their own lands to the west... so that was no surprise.

As she observed him, she also noticed the shaggy coated sight of several diamond dogs hiding in the wings of the stage, she frowned. Equestria had finally put down the dog’s offensive not ten years before, and it appeared that there were still some elements resentful enough that they’d be willing to side with the centaur.

Xanthos held up a hand, calling for silence, it didn’t come immediately, the crowd continued talking amongst themselves and Celestia felt a small smirk spread across her face. It seemed that Xanthos didn’t quite possess an overabundant amount of raw charisma after all.

“Ahem,” Xanthos cleared his throat loudly, and Celestia’s eyebrows furrowed as she felt a small wave of volume boosting magic wash over her, similar to what Celestia herself used on occasion. “If I might have your attention,” the centaur said, his voice was deep and bassy, easily propelling itself from his chest.

The crowd fell silent, most of them looking at him with a quizzical eye.

“As you may know, my name is Xanthos of Starclan,” the centaur stated. “I have come to Equestria to spread the word of the Night’s Majesty, and of the Golden Tyrant who has abused her,” he said, gesturing outwards with both of his hands as if he were reaching out to touch the crowd.

The crowd around her murmured quietly to themselves and Celestia’s brows furrowed further.

“For the last century the Tyrant has held her court from the lofty mountain of her citadel, towering over you like some sort of Goddess,” Xanthos continued, his voice dropping into an almost menacing tone at the last word.

A feeling of indignation coursed through Celestia at the centaur’s statement. Her a goddess? The idea was laughable, she made just as many mistakes as any other pony and there was hardly anything Divine about her. The crowd echoed her thoughts, one particularly loud stallion brazenly declared.

“You can’t talk about Celestia that way!” he shouted at the centaur. “It’s thanks to her that our country is where it is today!”

“Yeah, get off the stage you hack!” A mare agreed, a sentiment which was soon taken up by several dozen others.

Celestia felt a sense of warmth flow through her and she smiled at her subjects’ loyalty.

“Ponies, ponies please, allow me to continue!” Xanthos exclaimed over the protests. “I beseech thee, allow me to continue!” It took several minutes, but the crowd eventually fell silent. “Thank you,” the centaur said. “Now I know that many of you do not share in my belief that the Tyrant is indeed a tyrant. However I ask you; what has the Tyrant done other than oppressing you?”

The crowd remained unimpressed.

“Think about it, who makes you pay taxes? Who stands in the way of your trade with foreign powers? Whose guards haul you away in chains when you are forced to steal a piece of bread who-” the centaur was interrupted as a snowball flew out from the crowd and nailed him in the face. The crowd turned, as did Celestia, to see that it was the red unicorn colt from before.

“Stop talking badly about our Queen!” he shouted up at the centaur. “Celestia is a great Queen; she’s the nicest, most loving, and the most beautiful pony in Equestria, no the whole world! You don’t have the right!”

“Wrong on all counts!” the centaur stated coldly. “Princess Luna is the holder of all those titles, and she is the one true Queen of this land, not the Sun Tyrant!” Xanthos added, his goatee shivering up and down as his face thrummed with rage. “Your so called ‘queen’ banished her away from our dear land, depriving us of her loving nightly embrace!” He roared with such intensity that the colt took an uncertain step back. “It is because of the Tyrant that this country is falling into disrepair, the roads are derelict, the nobles are worthless. All that was once good has died and is decaying!”

Celestia frowned, the centaur’s words clearly carried no weight behind them... it was all bluster... but there was something odd as well. Though the anger in his voice was clearly real... it felt... off. In fact... Celestia would call the entire thing an act. Of course; that posed the question, who was Xanthos acting for? Nopony acted without an audience of some sort.

So... who was Xanthos trying to fool; her? No... Celestia thought to herself. It’s impossible for him to know that I’m here... so perhaps... she scanned the crowd and noticed several guards ponies watching the centaur.

With a practiced eye, Celestia scanned each of them, all appeared to be standard guards with no extraordinary features. No extraordinary features... except for the fact that none of them were wearing the proper enchanted armor. Instead, they wore suits with enchantments matching Celestia’s soldiers during the war. The mare frowned at that... most... interesting.

“The Sun Tyrant is nothing if not tenacious in her efforts to infect your hearts and minds so please listen to me, she is leading you down the path to evil! In fact, she is actively attempting to free Discord from his stony prison and plunge our world into another ten thousand years of darkness!” Xanthos’s shout roused Celestia from her introspection and made her snort with anger; she would never allow that foul creature out of his cage!

“It is Queen Celestia who is the Tyrant, not dear, sweet, Luna!” The centaur continued at a yell. “The solar alicorn is not fit to rule this, or any kingdom she-”

“Alright, I think that’s about enough!” one of the guards Celestia had noticed before shouted, marching up towards the stage angrily. “You take it all back or so help me I’ll turn you into a ball of ash!”

“Do you see? The Tyrant sends her soldiers at me in an attempt to squash the truth before it fills your ears she-” Xanthos was cut off mid shout as another guard approached him from the side and sent a burst of flame at Xanthos. The flames trickled over the centaur who stood bold in the center of the inferno, clearly unphased. “Now do you see? They attempt to kill me on her orders!” the centaur roared at the crowd.

The crowd reacted badly, rearing up in surprise at the sudden flames and beginning to whisper worriedly to one another.

So that’s his game, Celestia mused. Well then, I think it’s time to end this little charade.

There was a flash of light on the stage, and suddenly Celestia was there in all her glory. Celestia’s white fur shimmered in the dying after-effects of the flame spell, her prismatic mane flowed in an astral gust and her violet eyes flared with hidden fire. The reaction everypony present was near immediate. The talking stopped, each transfixed by the site. The reaction of the ‘guards’ however was worse. They stared at her, eyes wide and fear creeping across their faces while Xanthos’s expression went blank.

“What are you doing my honorable little ponies?” Celestia asked the guards. “This centaur has done no wrong other then speak his mind and just because he is wrong does most certainly not mean that you may assault him,” she continued, her voice kind and motherly though possessing a harsh edge to it.

“My... my queen we were simply-” one of the guards began at a stutter.

“Simply what?” Celestia inquired with a raised eyebrow. “Simply assaulting him because you did not enjoy the way that he was speaking of me?”

“Yeah, that,” one of the other guards, there were four of them now, said with a mutter.

Celestia frowned at them all. “Well, I believe that you must all take another look in your Guard Manuals then, for that is not how my guards react to harsh words,” the alicorn continued, glaring at the ‘guards’ and flaring her wings. “In fact, I would go so far as to say that you are not even my guards at all,” she stated, an edge of anger slipping into her voice. She then turned to the crowd.

“My little ponies, these stallions are not members of my guard forces. In fact; if I were to guess, I would say that they were hired for the sole purpose of assaulting this misguided centaur,” Celestia told the ponies watching in the square who frowned and began shooting both the guards and Xanthos glares.

The alicorn then turned to the centaur whose face was shockingly calm, however, Celestia could see beneath the mask and she could easily observe the anger roaring through him. The mare returned in kind, though her anger was more palpable. Xanthos stared into her violet eyes, however he did not speak.

“I believe that you should go before there is another attempt on your life,” Celestia suggested, her eyes not leaving his. “It would be best.”

Xanthos returned her gaze for a moment longer before bowing his head slightly, and then backing off the stage, leaving Celestia with a crowd of now bowing ponies and several terrified ‘guards’.

“Please my little ponies, there is no reason to bow at the moment,” Celestia called to them. “If I were permitted to make a suggestion, then I would suggest returning to your families for the day... I doubt there will be any more ‘speeches’ today.”

The ponies began to disperse, quietly talking with one another. Celestia turned back to her ‘guards’ and frowned at them. “You all do realize what the penalty for impersonating a Guardsman is; correct?” she asked them, her voice like a slow burning fire.

“Umm... no,” one of them spoke up after a moment of silence.

“Well, I suppose you’ll find out soon enough,” Celestia stated as her horn flashed and the impersonators fell to their sides, or in some cases on their faces, fast asleep.

A quiet voice spoke from the square below her. “Wow,” the red colt from before said in an awed voice. Celestia turned and smiled at him benevolently.

“Hello there little one,” she said, her tone motherly. “I am in your debt for your brave words earlier,” Celestia told him, her smile widening.

“Oh... it was nothing, My Queen,” the colt said, blushing a darker red as he bowed to her.

“Please rise,” Celestia said with a small frown. “It is not befitting of one so pure to bow to me.”

The colt raised his head, confusion in his eyes. “What do you mean?” he asked her.

Celestia stepped down from the raised stage and bent her head down to give the colt a gentle nuzzle, causing him to stiffen in surprise. “I mean that I have done a great many bad things in my life little one, but you... the worst you have done is hit me with a snowball,” she explained, a glimmer in her eyes.

The colt looked up at her, and instead of the alicorn’s face so that of the unicorn he had pegged earlier, a dark red blush spread across his face. “My-my-my queen I-” Celestia cut him off with a hoof to the lips.

“Hush,” she said, a gentle smile in place. “What is your name young one?” she asked, removing her hoof.

“Cr-Crimson La-Lance, my Queen,” the colt said with a stammer.

“Well then Crimson Lance, if you are looking for a job when you are an adult, come to Canterlot and I will find some way to reward you for your deed today,” Celestia told him with a smile. “Who knows, you may even become one of my personal guards.”

The colts eyes widened with surprise. “Truly?” he asked in a truly awed voice.

“Truly,” Celestia answered with a smile. “Now you should get home; I must take these criminals to the local barracks,” she said, turning back to the ‘guards’. “Goodbye Crimson Lance.”

“Goodbye my Queen,” the colt chirped, his voice still a bit awed, before trotting off.

Queen Celestia turned to survey the four stallions as her mind went over what the next few months held in store for them and a small smile appeared on her face at the thoughts. They wanted to be members of the guard so much did they? Well, they would certainly get their wish. Then, her mind darkened as a new thought occurred to her.

I doubt that this is the last I will hear of this ‘Xanthos’ character... and I have no doubt that his schemes will get more complex from this point onwards... As Uncle Jonathan once said; You may have won this battle... but the war has just begun Celestia'.

Author's Notes:

Ed2481: Two chapters in a week, I’m spoiling you guys, heh. I hope you enjoyed this little look back at Equestria more than the last one and I hope you can begin to put things in place to where I’m going... though I doubt you can at the moment. Anyways, Ed2481 out.

P.S.
Also, thanks to Speven for helping me with that odd thing called ‘subtlety’

Speven: And for the love of all that is holy learn the difference between ‘then’ and ‘than’!