After my brief discussion with Luna, I now have a clear goal in mind. Auntie Luna wants to go to war instead of Celestia. I do not understand why, but it is her desire. She is trusting me to start pushing sway in her direction, a task that is easier said than done. This means many things. I have her trust. Maybe not completely, but at least enough for her to consider me as one of her pawns. All of the work I have put in with her will soon pay off! But I have to be careful, more so than before.

This is the precipice of a new Equestria. If what the King believes will happen actually transpires, then the world as we know it will crumble. A new world order will rise from this, and I intend to lead it through. But there are many obstacles in my way. Namely, Celestia. She is the embodiment of the old ways. For millennia she has held total executive power over the noble families, but that time is coming to an end. If this war is as bloody as the King claims, then it will be easy to sway the courts in our favor. But, for that to happen, I need Celestia in the battlefield. Yet, I also need Luna's continued support if I'm going to make any leeway right now.

I've thought this through, and I have decided to start my hunt with one of Aunt Celestia's closest supporters. He wasn't easy to find. But with the right amount of gold, anypony would talk.

"Sir?" my sky carriage driver asks as we come to a stop. A small bed and breakfast stands before us. It's a... quaint little commoner location. Unfit for the elites, really. But, with its somewhat isolated location between Canterlot mountain and Whitetail Woods, it's perfect for a getaway.

"Wait for me here. I will return shortly." He nods to me as I leave the carriage. I walk in through the front doors and am met with the strong scent of books, cheap candles, and the elderly. The small establishment is rather simple, lacking the exuberance of the castle grounds that I am so familiar with.

"Hey there young fellow!" a spry stallion calls from behind the reception counter. He doesn't have any hair and his thick glasses seems to be missing a lens. His shabby grey coat looks as if he brushes it with a pet comb, making me cringe in thought. "Lookin' for a getaway? We got plenty of-"

"I am Prince Blueblood! Son of Argent Blood, heir to the Blood house! You will address me as such!" He cowers away from me, fixing his glasses to get a better look at me.

"Erm, sorry, sir. H-how may I help you?" I smirk at that, stepping towards the old stallion.

"An elitist has checked into one of your rooms recently. I need access to his lodgings so I may speak with him." He goes to his log book and reads the page carefully, shaking slightly from it.

"Um... it normally isn't our policy to give this information out-"

"And it isn't normally my policy to step within commoner filth! Now give me the key or I shall have you arrested for treason against Equestria!"

"Treason!? For wh-"

"NOW!" He jumps from my outburst and ducks behind the counter, rummaging through the drawers for what I seek. I wait impatiently for him to return, eyeing him critically the entire time.

"H-here it is! I-I don't have spares, but this is the master key! It'll open any door on the premise. They should be in room two hundred and three... sir!" I take the key with my magic and head immediately up the stairs.

I count the rooms until I find the one I'm looking for. From inside, I can hear the scandalous deeds very clearly. If I'm lucky, I'll catch him in the act with some floozy, though, not likely. He isn't the type to seek pleasure like that. I insert the key and open the door, stepping in quickly. I don't see them directly, but the mound of shifting bed sheets are all I need to know that he is here.

SLAM

"HOLY SHIT BUCK!" Fleur De Lis yells as her head pops up from the sheets, quickly followed by Fancy Pants's. Such a shame, but I guess a scandal would have been asking much. I chuckle and wait as they scramble to situate themselves, throwing covers over their previously engaged parts.

"Blueblood, what in the wide, wide world of Equestria do you think you are doing!?" Fancy demands, staring daggers at me.

"I have business to discuss with you." I tell him nonchalantly, looking over my hoof lazily.

"I don't give a damn about whatever business you have! LEAVE IMMEDIATELY!" Fleur yells, throwing a pillow at me. It hits me on the leg, but I pay it no mind.

"I have news from the Queen, news that pertains to you." They both go quiet from that, looking to one another silently. I take a short walk closer to them, getting Fleur to hold the covers closer to herself. "There will be a vote in the courts soon, one that will determine the fate of Equestria."

"I haven't heard of this, what kind of sources are you pulling this from?" Fancy demands, though I can see the intrigue on his face. Good, he knows to respect the Queen. Let's see how far I can push this. "Are you aware of the hostilities between Equestria and the Griffin Colonies?"

"Of c-"

"Fancy!" Fleur cuts him off and pulls his head down to whisper something to him. I try to listen in, but she is too quiet and too quick for me to hear.

"Of course," he says slowly as he sits back up, lost in thought. "Give us a minute, we'll talk downstairs-"

"I'm afraid that I don't have the time to talk later." I tell him as I take a seat. "It would seem that there is disagreement between who should lead the Equestrian armies. As it stands now, the duty would fall to Celestia. But, Queen Luna is going to attempt to convince the nobles to nominate her to the role."

"So you are here to try and convince me to vote for Luna? I cannot give you my vote without looking into the matters more closely-"

"That is not why I am here." He stops and stares at me, unsure of my intentions. I chuckle at that and look out the window, looking over the forest for a moment.

"I thought you didn't have time to spare, Blueblood." Fleur snaps at me, bringing my attention back to them.

"You don't like me, do you Ms. De Lis?" Her face scrunches up in disgust at that, her eyes narrowing at me.

"I know what kind of stallion you are." Sadly, I don't know exactly what she's talking about. There are several things she could be referring to. She notices this and becomes much more furious with me. "You don't even remember her name, do you?"

"Nope, but back onto important matters. I'm sure I don't have to lecture you about how this vote will affect the future of Equestria, now do I?" Fancy shakes his head, thinking deeply to himself.

"Regardless of who goes, if this should happen, the world as we know it would be over," he says solemnly. Even Fleur thinks on this, making this next part so much easier.

"But, there is a way to keep both of our Princesses home." They both look up at me, shocked by my remark. "The King."

"The... King?" Fleur asks cautiously.

"Come now, I know you've met the stallion before. Even if only briefly. The dear Sisters seem to have forgotten our texts, but I haven't. Only a pony with the title 'Royal' may lead our armies. But they have forgotten about him altogether. This is the best way to keep our heritages as safe as possible. I may not be perfect, but it is our best option."

The room goes silent. The two of them are looking to each other, worried. I'm sure they must have some reservations about this, but I know Fancy. He'll want to keep them both safe. He barely knows the King. If my informants are correct, he only knows him as the warrior tied with the Spartans. All I need to do here is let him know there is another option, he'll do the rest for me. I don't wait for them to respond, I just leave. I'm done here, onto the next pony.

It's almost too easy. I convince enough Nobles to vote for Miles, and he'll be forced to lead our army. The Spartans won't stand a chance without him, so they'll soon be taken care of. Either Luna or Celestia will have to tend to the crumbling Terradisian nation, most likely Luna, leaving Celestia back in Canterlot. If Miles can win fights like I know he can, those victories will be mine as well. From there I'll have the courts under my control.

Next I need the steel mills.

After a long and stressful meeting with Celestia I finally get a chance to have dinner. We worked straight through lunch, so I hurry through the castle into the private eating area for the Princesses. There isn't anypony here, so I go straight to the table and take a look at the menu. It doesn't seem as if they have my favorite soup today, but I'll take anything right now. Maybe with a nice sandwich-

"Mind if I join you, Princess?" I look up from my menu to see an elder unicorn stallion standing before me. I know I've seen him before, his light red hair is obvious enough, but I don't recall his name at the moment.

"Um... sure," I tell him, watching him take the seat beside me. I look back to the menu and try to pay him no mind, but he's very obviously staring at me. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"Not really, but then again, maybe you can." I stare at him, unsure of what he meant by that. "My name is Diamond Heart, I'm the patriarch for the Blood family and adviser to Celestia."

"Oh! Of course! I'm so sorry, but there are dozens of names and faces here! I always seem to forget somepony somehow!" I tell him earnestly, relaxing a bit. But then something catches my attention. "Um... Celestia doesn't have any advisers on staff."

"No, no she doesn't. It's... more of a mutual understanding between the two of us." A waiter comes to take our order, but Diamond waves him away. I didn't know Celestia had anypony to go to for advice. I didn't know Celestia even needed to go to ponies for advice! What does he know that Celestia doesn't? "Now, onto more pressing matters-"

"Did Celestia send you?" I ask quickly. He chuckles at me, making me blush slightly. That was a bit rude in hindsight.

"No, no. But I know what's going on."

"You do? How?"

"Princess, most ponies that work in this castle know what's going on. Secret meetings between Royalty never go unnoticed. And with everything going on globally, there are those among us that speculate that there are going to be troubling times ahead for us all." I nod to that. I feel as if we're about to have a massive storm hit us. I know what could happen, and I can see the signs of how bad it'll be. But there isn't anything I can do to stop it, and I won't know how bad it is until it hits.

"The Princess has asked for my help, but I'm a little weary about how effective I'll be in convincing others... do you know about that?" I have to remember that not everypony is on Celestia's side. She may not want him on her side, or maybe he doesn't need to know? She didn't mention him, so I'm unsure of how to treat him.

"All I know is that there was a meeting between the King, the Queen, and Celestia. There were then two smaller meetings afterwards, with several more to come, I assume. Now, I am an avid supporter of Celestia, I can assure you. Will you please let me know a little bit more so I may assist you, if at all possible." I bit my lip at that. She didn't mention him before. But there were several ponies she didn't mention, probably. He could be one of her supporters that will be attending the Gala... hm...

"Before I do that, can I ask you a random question?" I ask, getting him to nod. "Are you going to the Grand Galloping Gala?"

"Of course. I haven't missed the Gala in... almost thirty years. I usually stick to the sidelines, but I'm a usual there. Why? Do these meetings pertain to that event?" I let out a breath and take a look around. This isn't a secure area, so I light my horn and cast a silence bubble around the two of us. This doesn't seem to faze Diamond.

"This discussion was... mainly about who would lead the theoretical army of Equestria," I tell him, getting him to look a little shocked. "As it stands, by a family vote, Celestia would lead. But, she believes that Luna may be attempting to make the nobles take a vote to send her instead." He hums to that, closing his eyes in thought for a moment. "Also, we are making some changes to the Grand Galloping Gala this year to win over-"

"Before you go into that, I have to ask something." I go quiet, unsure of what he has to ask. "It would be safe to assume that you look up to Celestia, correct?"

"Of course. She has been my mentor for years! I owe everything I have to her! Why do you ask?" He takes another look around before scooting closer to me, so I lean in as well.

"You are advocating to send Celestia to war. Do you understand what that means?" I go to answer, but he stops me. "She will not return the same pony as she is. Even if she is leading from the rear, there is very much a chance that she may die! I know it may be unpopular to say so, but there is a choice to be made here. Don't think about who would win the battles. Think about who could lead this nation, Luna or Celestia? I respect Luna, but she doesn't seem completely invested in Equestria, if you catch my drift."

"Luna is more than able to lead, Diamond!" I tell him, leaning back in shock. "And she only has Equestria's best interest at heart-"

"If Equestria's best interest was to survive, do you think she would do so without the Spartans?" I stop myself from speaking any further. I know for a fact that she would go to them, but I don't see the problem with that. "Look how they've acted in the past. They're opportunistic. They find a weak town, save the day, and take over. Then they showcase their power over the entire world and allow evils to run amuck. They clearly have the power to solve these issues, then why don't they?"

"I will have you know that my husband is a Spartan! And I do not appreciate you painting them as such!" He reels back slightly from my outburst. I guess he didn't know Storm is a Spartan. Or, maybe it was something else.

"Well then, forgive me Princess. It seems that I have over stepped my bounds. I will leave you to your lunch. But, before I go, I will leave you with one final question: Can you really be the one responsible for sending Celestia to war?"

I watch him leave the room, keeping my head up high. I know what I'm doing! How dare he question me on my resolve! I'm not the one sending her, she wants to go! She wants to protect Luna, and Tempestive, and Shadow!

... right?

"Your order," the waiter says as he places a plate in front of me.

"But... I didn't order anything." I tell him as he leaves. I look at the sandwich and shrug before picking it up. I take a look between the bread to see that it's full of thistle. "Is this some kind of cruel joke?"

RING

I let out a sigh of relief as the final bell rings. The day wasn't necessarily hard, but I'm still glad that it's over. Actually, today was pretty easy. Nopony really looked to me, not that they would anyways. Today just seemed as if ponies were extra not looking at me. Something that I like in theory, albeit creepy. Whatever, I'm going home.

I grab my stuff and head out. With nothing needing my attention, I make it out of school quickly. It's a nice day today. No clouds in the sky, a little warm but there's a nice breeze cooling everything. Overall it's just another perfect day here in Ponyville-

THUD

I jump when Rumble suddenly lands in front of me. He looks winded, but the look on his face scares me a bit.

"Rumble? What's going on? Are you okay?" I ask shakily.

"Am I okay? What about you!? Are you okay?" he asks worriedly, rushing up to me. I back away from him, confused.

"SHADOW!" I look back and see everypony running up to me, looking as worried as Rumble. They all take turns asking me if I'm okay. Something about Tiara going too far. Apparently she's made some kind of move, but I don't understand anything they're saying.

"GUYS!" I yell, getting their attention. "I have no clue what any of you are talking about! What's going on?" They look to one another before Rumble steps forward, his head held low.

"So... I kind of made the decision to not be with anypony until I have your respect back. Because of that, Tiara has everypony avoiding you at all costs. Didn't you notice how everypony was ignoring you?"

"... Tiara, has everypony been avoiding me?" I ask for clarification.

"Yeah, sorry-"

"HA!" He jumps back from my outburst. I laugh a little more at the thought. The idiot literally knows nothing about me! School just became awesome!

"Told ya," Applebloom tells Scootaloo, making her pass her a bit. I laugh some more before continuing on home. I wonder how long this will keep up? If I'm lucky, all year! I don't think that'll be possible, but then again, I didn't think somepony could be that dumb either! HA! Today is great!

"Shadow... is everything alright?" Rumble asks from my side.

"Now it is! Geez, I thought somepony died! Why did you scare me like that?" I ask happily, confusing him slightly.

"So... this is good then?" he asks, looking back to the others.

"NO!" Scootaloo yells from behind.

"Yes it is!" I yell back at her, getting her to frown.

"You said you'd socialize more! You promised!" she yells back, getting the others to nod with her.

"I did as you asked, and look what happened! This is a good thing!" I tell them, turning to discuss it with them. If I don't do it now, it'll bite me in the flank later. "This is only a problem if we make it a problem! And I don't want to make it my problem! If we try to fight this, it'll only get worse. Diamond Tiara wants me to stoop to her level and give her a reason to fight. Or, more likely, to gather a crowd for a fight! I'm not playing her games!"

"But-"

"End of discussion!" I cut off Scootaloo before continuing on home. I know I'm being harsh with her, but I have to be. I have to drove home the fact that I don't want to be a part of Tiara's game.

"There's a little more to it than that," Rumble says, getting me to pause. "She's... spreading some rumors too. Some about you, others about your family."

"This wouldn't be the first time," I tell him, looking back to him. He bites his lip as everypony looks away from me. "What is it?"

"Are you sure ya want ta know?" Applebloom asks. "Cause, then ya might be forced ta play Tiara's little game. Iffin’ ya don't want ta do that, it'd be better for ya not to know." I think about it before looking to Sweetie Bell.

"Is it bad?" I ask her, getting her to blush.

"It's... probably her best work yet." I raise an eyebrow to that, getting her to look away from me. "Sorry... yeah, it's bad." I turn away from them to think about it. If don't want to be a part of her little game, then I should just leave right now. But, she's talking about my family. There is a line, and she's never crossed it before. Well, not to this extent at least. I don't want to be a part of this, but I will not let my family be dragged in either.

"What is she saying about my family?" I ask, getting them to look back up at me. They look to one another before Rumble steps forward to speak.

"She's saying that you're... pregnant." I blink a few times as I stare at Rumble. I don't quite understand what's so bad about that lie. "And... well... based off of the picture she used in the school’s newspaper, I'm not the father."

"What?" I ask, getting Sweetie Bell to step forward and show me the paper. I take it in my magic and unfold it, seeing the picture of me and my father at the school fair together. It's a fairly simple picture of us sitting on the Ferris wheel, but the caption says enough.

His Favorite Subject

My head spins for a moment as I read the article. It's all speculation and slandering! There isn't a single piece of factual evidence in this piece of garbage! Everything she says is vague, but points towards us being a couple. Where is she even getting all of this!? I'm sleeping with my father!? I'm servicing other nobles! TEMPESTIVE IS MY SON!?

THUD

"Shadow...? shadow...? Shaaaadow?" I blink a few times before sitting up. My head is still spinning, but that all ends when I see the article again. "Are you okay-"

"That bitch!" I yell as I ignite the newspaper with my magic. Everypony jumps back from my outburst as I stand to my hooves. "What does she think will happen from this!? What does she gain?"

"I heard some of the teachers talking before I came to talk with you," Sweetie tells me. "They're questioning it as if it could actually be true. They're using it as an excuse for your shyness."

"That's...! That's...! That's stupid! They're all stupid! They know my dad! They know he would never do that!" I yell back at her, making her back away. "How could she even print something like that? Isn't there somepony there to regulate the stories?"

"She probably sucked some pony off to get it on there after it was checked." Scootaloo tells me. I have to start pacing around as I try to control myself. This doesn't make any sense! What does she gain from this? There's nothing to prove here! My dad would never do something like that! Is she really that stupid! "That's why she had everypony avoid looking at you. She pinned the story on a pen name and started telling ponies not to look at you. Because of how ashamed you were of the story. She's trying to make herself the hero here."

"And it gets worse." I stop and stare at Sweetie bell. How could it possibly get any worse than this? "Real or not, the school has to make an investigation. They will contact the authorities and they will look into this." I go to say something, but start to lose my breath. I whip my saddle bags around and pull out my paper bag to breath into. I take a few deep breaths before I pop the bag.

"Shadow, what do you need?" Rumble asks, putting a hoof on my shoulder. I try to think of something, but the only thing that I can think to do is to go home and cry under my blankets. Or burn down a forest. Possibly both.

"I... I... I don't know. This is... this is too much," I tell him, sitting down to think for a moment. How am I going to explain this to him? What is he going to say to me? Is this going to change the way he acts around me from now on? "I need to be alone for a bit... I need to process this."

"Are ya sure about that, sugar?" Applebloom asks, stepping up to nudge me. I nod to her as I stand and put my bags back on. "I don't think it'd be wise to be alone right now."

"No, I'll talk to your guys tomorrow. I need to think right now. Thanks for telling me about this. Bye." I turn and leave. I feel too numb to think about this right now. I just want to go home and lay in my bed.

I make it home in a blur. I couldn't focus on anything. My mind kept going back to what might happen. What if they force me away from my family? What if this causes them to leave? How am I going to face them after this? Will dad be mad at me for letting this happen? What about Mama Luna? Or Butterscotch and E'Claire? This could even blow over to the point where it affects Mooseden! How could she have done something like this to us?

I go straight to my room and shut the door behind myself. I drop my bags and flop face first onto my bed, screaming into it at the top of my lungs. I have no clue how to deal with this. I don't know what to do.

"Rough day?" I jump from the new voice and fall off my bed. I get up quickly to see the dark grey unicorn thief sitting in the middle of my room, eating an apple. How did he get in here? How didn't I notice he was here for that matter?

"Who are you and why are you in my room!?" I demand from him. He takes another bite from his apple before tossing it out the open window. I guess that answers one question.

"Names Star gazer. And I want to help you with your predicament."

Happy Birthday Miles!

Shout out to Shinji for picking the flower on her sandwhich!

Brony on!