I still remember this day as a, excuse my language, clusterfuck of things happening in rapid succession. While I know that I’m partly to blame for it I refuse to hold myself accountable by something that could’ve been easily avoided if a certain

…furthermore I believe that Luna and Tia should’ve filled in the ponies in positions of power about me long before this day ever had a chance to take place.

Now I’m certain that you’re wondering about the missing piece in Cloud’s journal. I may have taken the liberty to edit out a small part about myself, it was completely justified I promise. I just hope he doesn’t go over these notes anytime soon.
-TS

She knew that Cadence’s reply about the books she had requested would take some time to arrive, after all finding everything that could possibly pertain to Storm paragons in the main library of the Crystal empire could be like a search for a needle in a haystack. Or perhaps it was the opposite, with information being so abundant that it would take time to compile it all. What she hadn’t been prepared for though was that Cadence’s reply had announced that she and Shining would stop by for a visit, coming in with the same train the books were being shipped with. And as such she now found herself waiting at the Ponyville train station, on this clear winter morning, for her brother and sister in law to arrive. She idly watched as her breath misted in the cold air, pondering over Cadence’s sudden announcement that she’d be visiting. Not that it was unwelcome of course, quite the opposite but it was weird for Cadence to do something this spontaneous. Furthermore her sister in law had hinted that there was some kind of surprise tied to the visit and thus she pondered.

It could be some new book. She thought idly but discarded the thought almost immediately. That wouldn’t be much of surprise seeing how much she knows I like to read. She reasoned with herself. But then what could it possibly be? She asked herself before the whistle of an incoming train cut any further thoughts short. Turning her head she saw the quickly approaching train from the Crystal empire start to slow down before it rolled into the otherwise empty Ponyville station. The train itself barely had time to come to a full stop before the doors of one of the carts flew open revealing her brother who almost instantly spotted her.

“Twily!” The large white stallion cheered as he hurried over to scoop up her up in a warm hug.

“Hello to you too, Shiny,” She replied with a smile as she returned the hug.

A third voice joined the two siblings’ “Are you going to keep her to yourself Shining or can I greet my dear sister in law too?”

Shining released his hug and stepped to the side, revealing Cadence just as she stepped onto the platform from the train. “Hello Twilight, Sun shine, sun shine?” The pink alicorn said almost askingly.

Twilight felt her smile morphing into a grin before she replied. “Ladybugs awake, shake your hooves?”

“And do a little shake,” Cadence finished, now sharing Twilight’s grin.

“It’s been too long Cadence,” She said as she walked over to hug the other princess.

“That it has Twilight,” Cadence said hugging her back.

Once they separated Cadence spoke again. “Now before I forget I believe that these are what you requested,” She said, lighting her horn and a moment later four large parcels levitated out of the still open door of the train.

Twilight caught the packages in her own magic. “Are these all the books on Storm paragons?”

“Yes, all we could find anyway. Each parcel contains two to five books depending on how thick they were for a total of fourteen books,” Cadence supplied helpfully.

The happy smile onto her lips again. “Thank you, both of you, for finding these. I’m sure these will help Cloud and I in our research,” She told them as she studied the otherwise unassuming brown paper parcels.

A moment later she looked back up at Cadence only to find the older princess wearing a sly grin. “So I’ve been meaning to ask ever since Shining and I decided to visit Twilight, who is Cloud? A coltfriend perhaps?”

For a short second Twilight lost control of her magic, causing the parcels to drop a foot out of the air before she could reassert control over her magical grasp. “I… No! Nonono! Stars no! Cloud and I are just friends,” She sputtered. “Besides he’s already spoken for and I have no desire to suggest a herd, that would be weird for both him and me,” She added.

At her protest Shining’s face took on a relieved look and she almost rolled her eyes at that. Cadence however was harder to read as she almost looked disappointed for a moment before replacing it with a smile. “Well we will have time to meet with this stallion friend later. May I suggest that we move to your castle for the surprise I mentioned in my reply?” Cadence said in a warm tone.

She perked up instantly at the sound of that. “Oh, of course. I hope the two of you don’t mind but most of my friends are still there since we had a slumber party yesterday,”

Cadence just continued to smile. “That’s fine Twilight, your friends will probably enjoy the surprise too,”

That caused her to tilt her head in confusion. What kind of surprise will both my friends and I enjoy? She wondered before shooting her brother a questioning glance. Her brother only shook his head though. “I’m afraid you’ll have to wait until we reach the castle Twily,” He said teasingly.

This time she really did roll her eyes. “Alright, alright, let’s get going shall we? I think we can still catch breakfast with the others if we go now,” She said with some exasperation in her voice as the royal couple chuckled at her behavior.

Taking the lead Twilight led her family members through the streets of an awakening Ponyville, catching up on what was new in their respective lives. The journey was a rather easy one, both on the account that Ponyville had yet to receive any snow for the winter as well as the fact that the three of them were all capable of using magic. The later being put to the immediate use of levitating any luggage Shining and Cadence had brought with them.

“So have you two visited mom and dad recently?” Twilight asked them as they turned the last corner before coming up on the road to the castle.

It was Shining who answered for the couple. “In fact we have, stopped by there yesterday actually. They were doing good and were happy to see us. They also asked us to pass on their regards to you sis,”

She offered her brother a grateful smile. “That’s good to hear, I’m afraid that it has been a while since I was able to visit them myself,”

This time it was Cadence who answered. “If anything you’ll meet them when the Hearths warming season comes around, you usually stop by there for at least a day during the holiday,”

She felt herself nod in agreement with what Cadence said. “That’s true, I believe the two of you were going there this Hearths warming too, right?”

“That we are, we were coerced by mom more than three months ago that we had to stay there over the whole Hearths warming week,” Shining said with a chuckle which she was quick to join in on. The Sparkle matron could be very persuasive when she wanted to be.

They continued to discuss plans for Hearths warming until they reached the entrance to her castle. “Well here we are,” She said, using her magic to open the large entrance doors.

As they entered they were met with sound of laughter and muffled conversation streaming out from her kitchen area, telling a tale of breakfast still being in full swing. “Come on, let’s join the others for some breakfast. You can just leave the luggage here for now,” She said over her shoulder before leading her new guests towards the kitchen.

They entered the large kitchen area of the castle to find most of her friends still there. Since the time she had left to pick up Cadence and Shining at the train station Rainbow seemed to have left the castle. Nor was Applejack there but she had never been at the slumber party in the first place, no she had been forced to help Mayor mare make sure all the equipment needed to clear the fields when winter wrap up came around was in working condition. The rest of the girls quickly spotted the trio just entering the kitchen though and were quick to greet them.

It was Cadence who replied to their warm his and hellos first. “Hello again everyone, it’s so good to see you all again,” She said with a friendly smile adorning her face.

“Yeah it’s always nice to see all of you, and you too of course Spike. How’s it hanging little brother?” Shining added focusing mostly on Spike.

Spike smiled at the only other male in the group. “It’s going great, life here in Ponyville is always in motion. Especially since Cloud moved in here, you should’ve seen our last Nightmare Night celebration that was epic!” The young drake exclaimed exuberantly.

An emotion Twilight couldn’t quite place flashed across Shining’s eyes for a second before giving way for a more mirthful expression as he chuckled. “I’ll take your word for it Spike,”

After a split second decision Twilight decided that whatever Shining’s reaction was it could wait instead she used the window of silence to speak. “Now that reintroductions have taken place I do believe that I promised you breakfast,” She said, looking at the couple.

Shining however held up a hoof for her to wait. “Not so fast Twily, I think it’s high time we unveiled the surprise that you are so curious about,” He said, turning to his wife. “If you would do the honors honey?”

Cadence smiled at Shining. ”Why of course honey,” She replied before looking up to address the Twilight and the others. “It is my privilege to announce that I’m pregnant,”

A deafening silence filled the kitchen for a moment before it erupted in loud cheers and congratulatory exclaims. Twilight found herself wearing a huge smile as Shining walked up beside her and threw a hoof around her neck. “You’re going to be an aunt lil’ sis,” He said as he hugged her.

I’m going to be an aunt. She repeated in her mind before her eyes rolled back as her mind became overloaded with both joy and the sudden realization what the announcement actually meant.

I walked the streets of a mostly sleeping Ponyville, the chill of winter keeping me alert despite the early hour. There was a reason I was out this early, namely the fact that I wanted to make sure that I caught Bonbon and Lyra at home. A little less than a week had passed since Bonbon had arrived outside my doorstep only to run away the moment she had heard Tia’s and Luna’s voices from inside. I sighed to myself as I turned a corner and continued down the new road I had just entered. The frosted ground glittered slightly as I silently thanked Rarity’s skill in making clothes, without the ones I procured from her I wouldn’t have been able to make any trips without half freezing to death.

Now some might question why I had waited so long to try and make contact with Bonbon after that brief incident and the answer was quite simple to me, I was partly not wanting to make it awkward. It hadn’t really been a secret that Bonbon had harbored a slight crush on me, or so I had perceived it. As such I had always intended to sit down and talk it through with her, but I had never really found a good time for it. Before I knew it time had rushed by at a quick pace as it often does when you put something off for too long, and before long we hadn’t spoken in months.

I had been quite the surprise to suddenly find her outside my door after that and despite the fact that she had run away I had expected her to show up again within the next few days. However as the week had passed by I had finally decided that I would go see her instead at the first chance I got. And so I found myself where I was right now, walking down the streets of Ponyville to catch Bonbon before she had time to go to work. The worst possible outcome is that she slams the door in my face. I thought as I spotted the two story building that doubled as her candy store as well as the home for her and Lyra further down the street. Putting my focus on the conversation to come I strode up to the front of the house to knock loudly on the door.

I waited for something to happen but as the seconds trickled by and I heard no activity from behind the door I raised my hand to knock again. Just as my hand struck the door again it swung open to reveal a tired looking Lyra. When she saw who it was outside the door though her tired expression quickly soured.

“Look who finally decided to drop by, was wondering if you would ever stallion up and apologize for leading poor Bonnie on like that,” Lyra spat out, ending it with an angry sounding snort.

I held up my hands in a weak attempt to placate her some before speaking. “Peace Lyra, peace. I’m not here to start something, and I’m here to apologize and explain as you say,”

Lyra blew some air through her nose. “Well we’re not interested in your apology any longer Cloud, you had your chance but you blew since you waited so long to do anything,” She stated as she started to close the door with her magic.

That didn’t sit right with me though so I quickly jammed a foot into the opening, making it impossible for her to close the door. “What do you mean waited so long? It has barely been a week since Bonbon came by my place,” I argued.

That caused the mint unicorn to pause, I could see the gears in her head turning as she decided on she would do next. “Wait here and don’t move,” She finally said, shooting me a glare as she marched back into the house.

I was left standing on the porch and before long I heard muffled voices coming from inside. A minute later Lyra returned, her expression being one of anger. “I had you pegged as many things Cloud, but a liar wasn’t one of them!” She growled at me before using her magic to throw me away from the door before slamming it shut.

Surprised I found myself staring up into the still rather dark but clear sky. What the fuck was that all about? I wondered for a moment before getting back onto my feet. I furrowed my brow slightly as I walked back to the door to knock again. I barely had time to do so though before I heard Lyra’s angry shout from inside. “Just go away Cloud! We don’t want to talk to you!”

I opened my mouth to retort, to shout something back but something made me pause. You know what, screw it. I can’t be asked to deal with all this if this is the way they’re going to act. I told myself as I unfolded my wings. If they didn’t want to clear things up that was their loss and even if I had been late in doing so I had at least tried to make amends. Trying to push it out of my mind I took to the sky, knowing myself I would probably be able to drop it within the hour. Hopefully this was the only annoyance I’d run into today.

An hour later I found myself at home idly cleaning in the kitchen since I was expecting Luna and Tia to drop by some time later today. I had invited Luna over to watch some movies and the moment Tia had heard about it I had been the victim of a pair of puppy eyes that must’ve taken centuries to perfect. Soon thereafter the simple movie night I had intended became a full dinner with movies and snacks to last the night added on to it. But all that wasn’t until much later, in fact it was still the early hours of the morning and the machine that was Ponyville should’ve just now started to turn in full. As such it came as quite the surprise when I suddenly got pulled out of my idle cleaning by someone knocking politely on my door.

My thoughts instantly went towards Lyra and Bonbon, thinking that they had once again changed their mind and were coming over to talk things out. So I threw the rag I had been using to clean my stove into the sink and headed straight for the door. Only when I opened the door I found myself looking down on the only two bat ponies I knew instead of a unicorn and earth pony.

“Hi Cloud,” Star Spark said happily before walking past into my home.

I was too stunned to process what had just happened at first but quickly recovered and as I did I turned my gaze over to Longshot. The stallion fidgeted under my gaze as I said nothing but raised a questioning eyebrow.

“Ehehehe,” Longshot laughed nervously. “Well you see Star and I happened to be off duty for today and the upcoming week end and by chance Star overheard Princess Luna and Princess Celestia discussing a movie night so…” He started to explain but tapered off as he saw my less than amused expression.

A feeling of exasperation slowly started to creep over me as I for the life of me couldn’t understand why my home had become the hub of activity once again. Pinching the bridge of my nose I closed my eyes and sighed before I gave up trying to fight it. “Fine, but you and Star will help clean the house and help me in any other way I may need, is that understood?” I told the bat pony stallion.

I opened my eyes in time to see Longshot snap a crisp salute. “Yes sir! Cloud sir!” He exclaimed before hurrying past me much like Star had done a minute earlier.

And suddenly he’s just as excited as his female counter part. I complained to myself as I shut the door again. As I walked back into the living room I found both bat ponies sitting on my couch, waiting for me to give them directions or at least that’s how I perceived it.

“Alright, you two can start cleaning this room and then take care of the guest rooms,” I ordered the two bat ponies and without bothering to check if they would do as I had told them I walked past them to continue my lazy cleaning of the kitchen.

The minutes trickled by at a steady pace as I worked and eventually I found myself standing in a clean kitchen. With a satisfied nod I went back over to the living room only to find the two bat ponies to actually be cleaning. For a while I didn’t know if I should be surprised that they had actually listened to me or if I should help them with this room. But when the sound of someone knocking on my door rang out once more my choice was made for me. Would it be too much to ask for that it’s Bonbon or Lyra this time? I wondered as I crossed the living room, heading for the door. Only the moment I opened the door a Rainbow blur shot past me and familiar scratchy voice croaked out. “Hi Cloud,” as it passed.

If I had a mirror I would’ve seen the tired expression that had appeared on my face. Why my home?! I lamented as I turned around to face Rainbow, who currently sat in the open arch that lead into my living room. “What are you doing here Rainbow? We’re not scheduled to train again until tomorrow,” I asked doing my best to not sound exasperated.

The pegasus’ demeanor changed quickly as she suddenly started looking everywhere but me. “Who said I wanted to train? I’m just here to- eh… I’m just here to hang out, yes,”

“Uhuh, and you just took a chance that I wouldn’t be working today?” I questioned, my voice thick with sarcasm.

“Yep, totally!” She blurted out still refusing to look at me.

“Okay, so in other words you’re telling me that Pinkie, the only pony I told about having today off, didn’t say anything during your slumber party last night and that gave you this idea?” I asked in a deceptively sweet tone.

Rainbow’s avoidance came to pause as she finally looked at my face. “You knew?” She asked sounding confused.

I rolled my eyes. “Now I do. Unfortunately for you though Dashie, I can’t train you nor can we ‘hang out’ until my home has been cleaned. In other words if you’re not going to help out there won’t be time for any ‘hanging out’ today,” I told her. The truth of the matter was that the cleaning I had intended for today was almost done seeing how Star and Longshot had dropped by but Rainbow didn’t know that and from where I stood she didn’t need to know.

I could see how she visibly held an internal debate whether she should help clean my house after a moment she seemed to come to a decision though. “Alright fine,” She sighed as I held back a grin.

“Good, go ask Star Spark or Longshot for directions on what you should do,” I told her as I walked past her, heading for the kitchen as I had yet to eat breakfast.

After some digging around in my fridge I pulled out a large bottle of apple juice, butter and marmalade. Next I headed over to the pantry to retrieve a loaf of white bread, which after slicing went straight into the toaster. Soon a pleasant aroma wafted through my kitchen as I grabbed a glass from one of my cupboards and two butter knives from a drawer. I was busy filling the glass with apple juice when the toaster finished with the bread and thus I moved over to my still smoking breakfast to add a spread of butter and marmalade. I didn’t bother with a plate for my toast and opted instead to dig in almost immediately, enjoying my breakfast of choice as I hummed to myself. From my spot I could occasionally see one of the ponies that I had coerced into working for me pass by as they were busy cleaning my living room. I definitely didn’t feel any guilt for making the ponies work while I scarfed down my remaining toast but I supposed that I at least could offer them some breakfast too. So after gulping down the remaining juice in my glass I walked back out into the living room.

I threw a glance around the room and found it to be almost spotless. “Good job, would you like some breakfast or something?” I said, not bothering to address anyone in particular.

In perfect sync all three of the ponies dropped whatever they were cleaning and rushed past me into my kitchen and as I turned around I found Rainbow shoving slices of bread into the toaster while Star Spark was busy raiding my fridge. I held back a snarky comment as I really should’ve been able to predict an outcome like this and opted instead to go upstairs to find some more work for my cleaners friends. However I only got halfway up the stairs before someone knocked on my door once again. This is getting old. I thought slightly bewildered as my face slowly turned into a mask of disbelief. Turning on the spot I went down the stairs again and headed over to the door for the third time this morning. Although this time I made no attempts to guess who might be knocking and just opened the door as soon as I reached it. What met me was a white stallion with a blue mane that I had never seen before. The only reaction he gave to my appearance was a slight widening of his eyes before he cleared his throat.

“I’m sorry to disturb you this morning sir, but I’m looking for a stallion named Cloud. Would you happen to know where he lives by any chance?” He asked politely.

I looked down on the stallion, tilting my head slightly to the left. “I know where he lives yes, but who’s asking?” I asked, being a bit cautious with the newcomer.

“Oh, where are my manners? I’m Shining Armor,” He introduced himself calmly.

Why does that name sound so familiar? I wondered as I stepped to the side. “Well Shining Armor what do you want with Cloud?” I continued to question.

His gaze turned a bit sterner. “That is something I’d like to keep to myself, now where does he live?”

I guess I won’t get anything else out of him. I thought idly before I turned and took a few steps into my home. “You should come on inside, all the heat is getting out,” I called over my shoulder. I had given up any thoughts of this turning out to be a normal day long ago by now.

“There’s no need for that sir, I just need to find out where Cloud lives so that I can go speak to him,” He replied, still standing in my doorway.

A smirk slowly formed on my lips. “You’ve been speaking to him for the past minute, now be a dear and close that door after you enter,” I said before I continued to walk back into my home.

Star didn’t really share the enthusiasm that Longshot and Loyalty, Rainbow Dash she thought her name was, shared over the toast they were making but she was happy to see that Cloud had nice supply of apple juice in his fridge. Next up she had gone through his pantry and had laid claim to a small stack of tangerines that she just happened to find in there. Who knew she might even save some of them for Cloud. She had greedily sunk her fangs into her first one when her sharp ears picked up Cloud’s voice talking to someone at the door. It was hard to tell what was being said, but somehow the other voice sounded familiar. She strained her ears for a moment trying to pick up anything at all, although the effort was short lived as Longshot noticed her stack of orange colored fruits.

“Oh hey, tangerines,” He said happily, reaching for the stack.

Star quickly threw her hooves protectively around the tangerines and hissed at Longshot who quickly withdrew his hoof. “Fine, fine, you can keep them all,” He said before backing off as he muttered something quietly under his breath.

Smiling at herself for a job well done she discarded her first drained tangerine and sank her fangs into the next one but that was about as far as she got. For at that very second Cloud wandered back into the kitchen and following him was the prince consort of The Crystal Empire and former captain of the guard Shining Armor. She felt her eyes widen before she snapped a crisp salute out of habit, at to which Cloud only raised an eyebrow.

“Right, I’ve only seen her do that when Luna tells her to do something. Is there something you’d like to tell me Mr. Armor?” Cloud asked the prince as he turned to face him.

“Ah well, I didn’t think you had other guests but I guess that the cat is pretty much out of the bag. My full title is prince consort Shining Armor of The Crystal Empire,” prince Armor answered her human friend. He then turned to Star and the others. “You don’t have to do that anymore Star, I’m no longer your captain. Also hello Longshot and Ms. Dash,” He greeted the other ponies in the room.

Cloud suddenly snapped his fingers. “I remember now. You’re Twilight’s brother, aren’t ya?”

Prince Armor nodded. “I am,”

“Okay, now that I some idea of who you are what can I do for you?” Cloud asked, tilting his head to the side as he often did when he asked something.

Prince Armor inhaled slowly. “I’d like to know what type of relationship you have with my sister,”

“We’re friends? I’m sorry but I’m not sure I know what you’re prodding for here,” Cloud answered carefully.

Loyalty suddenly joined the conversation. “You can calm down Shining, they really are just friends,” She told the prince before turning to Cloud. “Now that that has been dealt with can we practice now?”

Cloud sighed loudly. “Would it kill you to have some patience Rainbow? Also I thought you just wanted to hang out?” He said to the pegasus before turning to the prince again. “She is right though. I’m simply a friend of Twilight. Now however it seems I have to take care of an unscheduled lesson for my student. You’re welcome to stay if you want to continue this discussion after said lesson though,”

Her former captain seemed to mull over the offer for a moment or two. “If it’s all the same to you I think I’ll stay and observe this lesson of yours. May I ask what it is?” He said finally.

“Good question,” Cloud stated, turning to Loyalty again. “What did you have in mind today Rainbow? Hand to hoof or bō?”

“I was hoping we could do some extra bō practice, I feel like I’m starting to get the hang of it more and more,” Loyalty said hopefully.

Cloud made a gesture towards the direction of his training room. “Then by all means go and start warming up. I’ll be with you as soon as I’ve changed into some more suitable clothes,” He said before marching out of the kitchen again.

Loyalty quickly scarfed down the remaining piece of toast she had left before zooming out of the kitchen, no doubt heading for the training room. Left in the kitchen was a confused Shining Armor, a still calm Longshot and of course herself. Although seeing how there was little to no point to stay in the kitchen now she stretched her wings and hopped off the chair she had been sitting on. “Come on captain Armor, sir. I’ll show you the way to Cloud’s training room,” She offered.

“Thank you Star Spark, and don’t address me as captain. I’m not enlisted in the guard anymore,” He replied gratefully.

“Well then prince Armor, sir, just follow me,” She said before leading the prince consort through Cloud’s house.

When they entered the training room they found Loyalty already busy with one of the staffs that Cloud called a bō. Star had to admit that given the skill Loyalty was displaying when moving the staff around in series of fixed stances, strikes and blocks that she was a fast learner. True it was still a very basic exercise she was performing, one designed to build muscle memory, but she had improved immensely speed wise since Star saw her practice this last time about two weeks ago.

“Ah, so this boe that was mentioned is actually another word for staff then?” prince Armor asked as he entered the room and saw Loyalty practice.

It was Longshot who answered the prince’s question. “Yes, it’s apparently from a language that’s spoken in one of the countries where Cloud’s from. I think he mentioned that it was similar to neighponese in some regards,”

Star found Shining Armor nodding appreciatively. “A respectable weapon for sure, although a staff can never compare to a good sword,” He stated confidently.

“Oh? Is that a fact you’d like to prove?” Cloud’s voice rang out from behind them.

Star turned her head to find Cloud leaning on the doorframe leading into the room, his eyes fixed on the prince as he waited for him to respond to the thinly veiled challenge. “I’m sorry if offended you Mr. Cloud. I have no doubt that you are very skilled with a staff but you have to agree that a sword would cleave right through a staff,” Prince Armor tried to placate her human friend.

Cloud snorted lightly. “New plan Rainbow, today’s lesson is going to be a bit different and Shining Armor here just volunteered to help me with it,” He stated as he walked past the ponies to grab his own staff of the wall.

Prince Armor sighed. “There’s no way around this now, is there?” He said as he slowly made his way into the middle of the room.

Cloud gave one of his usual grins. “After that statement? I’m afraid no, my pride as a martial artist is at stake here,” He said, grabbing a wooden sword that he tossed over to prince Armor.

The prince caught the sword deftly with his magic, giving it a few test swings before nodding seemingly satisfied. “Okay then, I accept your request to duel,”

Cloud’s grin turned dangerous for a moment when he heard prince Armor’s acceptance. “Excellent,” He said, turning to face Star and the others. “Could you three go over to the side? And Rainbow I want you to pay close attention to this,” He continued before moving to stand in front of prince Armor.

Star did as she had been told and moved to stand next to Longshot and Loyalty by one of the walls, the spectacle that was about to play out held the potential to be a good one. She knew firsthoof just how formidable of an opponent Cloud could be, having sparred with him in the past. On the other hoof though, prince Armor had left behind a solid legacy as a capable fighter from his time as captain of the guard and that was despite the fact that he primarily focused on defensive magic. Why not make this a bit more interesting? She thought as the soon to be combatants warmed up their joints and muscles.

“15 bits says that prince Armor wins this,” She stated to her fellow audience.

Loyalty answered almost immediately. “Pff, no way! Cloud is going to win this hooves down,”

Both mares turned to look at Longshot. “Oh no, I’m not getting into that bet,” He stated quickly.

“Suit yourself,” Star said before turning back towards the two combatants. By the looks of things they were just about ready to begin.

“I simply must know which conditioners you use for your coat darling, it looks simply marvelous,” Rarity exclaimed as she studied her closely.

Cadence gave the fashionably minded pony a friendly smile. “Of course Rarity, it’s a local brand in the Empire called Evershine. I could send you a bottle some time to test out,” She told her with a smile.

This was how things had been progressing since her sister in law had fainted from the news of her pregnancy and Shining had left to: “Have a chat with this Cloud stallion,” As he had put it. Not that she minded, Twilight’s friends were very pleasant company and she was more than happy to exchange small talk and just relax as she waited for Twilight to wake up again. She sighed happily as she levitated a cup of tea, courtesy of Spike, to her lips to take a small sip. While she loved her subjects dearly it was nice to take some time off from her duties as a regent in The Crystal Empire. Speaking of time though, the hour had already passed lunchtime and were going into the beginning of the afternoon. It’s odd for Twilight to be out of it for this long. She pondered for a moment eventually deciding to give voice to her concerns.

“Spike? Would you be a dear and check on Twilight again? It’s quite unusual for her to have stayed unconscious for this long,” She asked the young drake, giving voice to her recent ponderings.

Spike looked up from an amethyst that he’d been slowly enjoying. “Sure thing Cadence, just let me grab a glass of water,”

True to his word Spike hopped off the chair he was sitting on and walked over to the kitchen faucet. With his glass of water filled he then proceeded to head out of the kitchen at leisurely pace. A moment later a faint splash was heard quickly followed by a surprised yelp. He didn’t? Cadence wondered, not wanting to believe what her mind was putting together. But as Spike reentered the kitchen with a wet maned Twilight in tow she had to hide a smile behind a hoof.

“I see you’ve decided to rejoin us in the land of the living darling,” Rarity managed to get out between snickers.

Twilight shot Rarity a withering gaze. “Harr harr, laugh it up Rarity,” She snarked before making a noticeable effort to cheer herself up.

Cadence decided that perhaps she had had enough fun at her sister in laws expense for now and decided to offer some help. “Good to see you awake again Twilight. How about I help you with your mane?” She greeted her while using a simple spell to dry Twilight’s mane.

Twilight drew a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment and when she opened them again she looked much more serene. “Thank you Cadence and even if it’s a bit late, congratulations,” She said smiling at her.

“Thank you Twilight,” She said, returning the smile. “Now, I didn’t really have time to gossip with you since you fainted but what’s new in your life?”

Twilight got a slightly embarrassed look for a moment before she collected herself to answer. “There’s nothing that new in my life. The girls and I go where the map dictates that our skills are needed but that’s business as usual for us by now. Well I guess you could technically count Cloud as news but I’m sure the others have filled you in on his special brand of weird,” Twilight slowly elaborated as she clearly pondered on what to say.

Cadence found herself nodding. Twilight’s friends had indeed been telling her tales of this Cloud stallion and she had to say that she was intrigued. He seemed to have a hoof in most things and sounded to be fairly close to most of the girls, especially Pinkie Pie. “Yes they have been telling me stories of the shenanigans surrounding this Cloud,” She tittered.

“Oh? Which ones did you talk about?” Twilight asked the others as she used her magic to grab a teacup from a cupboard.

Pinkie started rambling almost immediately Twilight had asked. “Oh, oh! We talked about Nightmare night and his research spree with you and his job as a bouncer and bartender and his Griffin friends and-”

Cadence interrupted her. “Thank you Pinkie, I think you could sum it all up to I’ve heard a lot about Cloud without getting to really know who he is,” She said, shooting a quick smile to Pinkie.

“That shouldn’t be a problem, I had intended for us to stop by Cloud’s place later today so that I could introduce you and Shining to him.” Twilight said, taking a sip from her now filled cup of tea.

Cadence took another sip from her own cup. “That would be nice, although Shining has already gone ahead to meet with him. He has been wanting to test this Cloud’s abilities ever since Pinkie started singing his praises, stallions’ right?” She said looking around at the other mares around the table. The sound of a teacup shattering brought her gaze back to Twilight though.

Her sister in law’s eyes were wide and her expression on the verge of panic. “Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no…” She kept repeating, her expression growing more and more frantic.

“Twilight!” She shouted, snapping the younger alicorn out of her funk. “You don’t have to worry Twilight, you know that Shining would never hurt anypony,” She said, trying to calm Twilight down further.

Twilight swallowed hard. “It’s not Cloud I’m worried about,” She began ominously. “You know what we better get over there right now. I’ll talk to you girls later,” Twilight declared before lighting her horn. And before Cadence had a chance to reply Twilight had finished constructing the matrix for a teleportation spell.

The world vanished in a flash and when it reappeared a moment later Cadence found herself standing in a normal living room. Well normal except for the fact that everything seemed larger than what you’d normally find in a pony’s home. That was as far as her observations got though as an exasperated voice caused her to turn around.

“No sure, just ignore the doorbell like Tia and Luna does Sparkle butt,”

What met Cadence as she turned was a torso and as her eyes started to make their way up said torso she found a creature the likes she had never seen before. He’s tall. Was the first thought her mind produced as it slowly started to work again. While he was still half glaring at her sister in law she quickly took in what she could of this creature, noting the large wings on his back, the fact that he was mostly clothed and his clearly muscled arms. That was as far as she got before the creature turned to face her instead of Twilight.

He bent down so that their eyes came to an even level. “Now we haven’t been introduced before but I’ll take any bet possibly and go ahead and say that you are princess Cadence?” He asked more calmly.

She was at a loss of words at first when those golden eyes met hers. At first she had pegged him as somepony Twilight’s age, but those eyes belonged on someone much older. There was also something familiar about the general aura this creature gave off that she could quite place. She suddenly realized that he had in fact asked her a question just now and hurried to answer.

“Yes I am indeed princess Cadence as you say. Also don’t take this the wrong way but I must ask who and what might you be?” She wondered.

The creature straightened up and shot Twilight a disapproving look. “Twi why didn’t you tell these two anything? Your brother had no idea who I was either until I told him and dead set on finding a stallion ‘till that point,” He proceeded to shake his head. “No matter now I suppose. Anyway I am Cloud a pleasure to make your acquaintance princess,” he introduced himself.

This was Cloud? The one Twilight had written about and the girls had been telling all manner of stories about? She wondered, her mouth slightly agape. Forcing herself to ignore her own surprise she tried her best to say something instead of just standing there. “So you’re Cloud? I’ve heard quite a lot about you. You mentioned that my husband was here as well?”

“Yes is my brother alright? Where is he Cloud?” Twilight interjected quickly.

The sound of her husband’s voice called out from an adjacent room. “I’m fine Twily, the only thing that was hurt was my pride,”

A moment later Shining walked into the room, proving that he was indeed fine. “Your friend here is quite formidable Twily, but I’ll beat him next time,” He said shooting Cloud a glance.

“In your dreams Armor, in your dreams. You’d have to use your fancy unicorn magic to stand a chance,” Cloud responded, shooting her husband a friendly grin.

Ugh stallions are quite impossible at times, no matter the species I see. Here Twilight works herself into a worry over Shining being injured and all they’re doing are acting friendly. Cadence thought as she shook her head. “Okay now that we’ve found Shining to be ok, I guess we won’t stay much longer. It was a pleasure to meet you Cloud,” She said diplomatically.

“If that’s what you want you’re free to go whenever you wish although as Shining and I were discussing before you teleported in you’re also free to stay for dinner if you’d like that,” Cloud replied.

“Oh we couldn’t possibly impose-” She began but was interrupted by Cloud.

“It wouldn’t be much of a problem. I’ve already altered the plans for today to include two additional guests, three more wouldn’t be that much of a stretch,” He said waving of her attempt to decline politely.

Now all she felt was confusion. Cloud was almost impossible to get a read on and yet that sense of familiarity was bugging her to no end. Why is he giving of that familiar feel? She wondered as she turned to give Twilight a look pleading for help.

“Well Cadence don’t look at me, it’s you who he’s asking. Although I’ll admit that it would be a waste to not take his offer, he’s quite the skilled chef,” Twilight whispered when she noticed her look.

Cadence looked back up at Cloud. “In that case I’ll be happy to accept,” She replied before asking a follow up question that came to her. “I’m going to assume that the other guests won’t be bothered by our presence?”

The guests she had just asked about picked that moment to teleport into the living room they were standing in. And as the flash of magic subsided she found both of her aunts standing there, much to her surprise. Well auntie Luna is standing, auntie Celestia is busy tackling Cloud to the floor while kissing him. Her mind supplied helpfully before it actually caught up with what was happening and her eyes rolled back into her head.

Cadence had to admit that the events of this long and honestly weird day had come to a pleasant end. She had recovered much quicker than Twilight had from her fainting episode and when she came to she had discarded the last events she remembered as her imagination at first. However she been forced to abandon that train of thought quickly as she barely had time to get helped back onto her hooves by a concerned Shining before her eyes landed on auntie Celestia and Cloud again. And while they weren’t busy kissing this time she could now see it clearly, they were in love. That was what had been bothering her about Cloud the entire time since first meeting him, his entire being called out to her aunt and the other way around. From that point the afternoon and following evening had been nothing but pleasant albeit a bit surprising at times.

Now though she was heading back to the castle, through the sleeping Ponyville, with Twilight and her husband walking on either side of her. They were silently talking about what plans they had for the coming two days they were going to stay here, and seeing how much entertainment this first day had brought she had no doubt that other two would hold something just as good. She stopped for a second to watch the clear winter night’s sky with all of its brilliant stars.

Shining Armor’s voice brought her back from her stargazing. “Are you coming honey?”

“Coming,” She replied as she hurried to catch up with him and Twilight who had kept walking when she stopped.

“Come on let’s get home and into the warmth,” Twilight said as she guided the three of them past a dark Sugar Cube Corner.

And as the three royals continued down the streets leading towards the castle all three missed the flash of green in one of the Corner’s windows.

Author's Notes:

Well here we are again, a long chapter. One that I at times feel is rushed, one that I wish to revisit at some point to extend. That is not now however, when I do revisit it it will be after the story is complete. Speaking of the story dark things are ahead that's the only warning you'll get...

Next chapter, Flawed ascension....