Celestia resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she sat on her throne, Luna to her left and looking very despondent. Celestia herself was finding her tea more interesting than the words cascading from the mouth of the current speaker. She glanced his way as she sipped the warm beverage.

“And once more The House of Lords motions for a slight tax increase.” He spoke. The House of Commons and House of Lords were alive with muttering whispers. The whispers stopped in unison, the decisions having been reached. “All in favor?”

“Aye!” shouted a quarter of the room.

“All opposed?”

“Nay!” the rest of the room barked.

  “Motion denied.” the speaker replied. “Any new matters to discuss?”

“Lords and Mares, I call your attention to discuss an urgent matter.” a member of the House of Commons spoke up. “It’s no secret that a few nights ago, some strange object landed on our soil. But rumors have been flying around about whether it was simply a meteor, an old satellite, or the most outrageous, something alien in nature. My constituents demand to know what in Faust’s name it is and whether they can sleep safely again!” Members of both houses erupted into a furious fray, waving arms and shouting wildly.

  Celestia closed her eyes as she sipped her tea, her free hand rising in a signal for silence. Once the throne room was silent, she lowered her hand and set her teacup down on the saucer resting in a depression on her armrest. “It is true that an unknown object has crashed into the Everfree forest. To determine if it was indeed a celestial body or something unknown, we had sent a team of our top scientific minds to investigate.”

“Well then I demand they be brought in here to tell us exactly what has happened!” A House of Lords member barked. The rest of Parliament agreed in unison. Celestia signaled one of her guards to open the door to the chamber. As the doors heaved open, Twilight made her way in, followed by Lyra and Bunsen.

Twilight was speaking quietly to Lyra as they walked. “Look. I’m just saying, pick a weekend. I’ll get you a train to Manehattan. Keep love alive.” Turning her attention to the chamber as she approached the seats that were made available for her and her colleagues, she took the floor. “I’m going to go ahead and assume you all want to know what I and my colleagues found in the Everfree.”

“That would be quite an obvious observation, Professor.” Bunsen muttered under his breath as he straightened out his necktie and any loose hair on his head.

“Hush you!” Twilight snapped back before turning to Celestia and Luna. “Before I go into that. Princess Luna?”

“Yes, Twilight?” Luna asked in curiosity.

“Next time you assemble a guard detail for me and my colleagues, with all due respect, please for the love of Faust, DON’T GIVE FACET A BUNCH OF ROOKIES!!!” She cleared her throat and bowed slightly. “Your Majesty.” The assembled representatives collectively gasped and stared at her with wide eyes, some were even sweating bullets and murmuring. Princess Luna just sat there in silence, almost in contemplation.

“Duly noted.” She spoke finally, her voice calm and collected. A mass of relieved sighs filled the room followed by a few ponies fainting. “Now please, continue.”

“Of course, Princess,” Twilight answered. “Now then, when my team and I reached the crash site, we found the remains of a spacecraft. Both wings were torn off in the landing. Once a perimeter was established, we began our investigation of the wreckage and discovered a number of fascinating things. I’ll now hand the floor to Lyra.” She sat down and allowed Lyra to take the floor.

“Thank you, Professor.” Lyra said as she took her place at the podium, taking a moment to clear her throat and run a quick check of her notes. “Contained within this rather impressive feat of extraterrestrial engineering were a number of artifacts that we believe to have originated from an astoundingly advanced intelligence.” She signaled one of her assistants to move towards the center of the room. He carried out her command, pushing in front of him a cart with a still projector mounted on the top. With almost lightning speed efficiency, he set up the projector and turned it on. Many heads turned to see a projected image of a metal cube plastering the wall. “One of the many artifacts recovered from the crash site, we so far have no data on the function of these cubic devices, but a working theory is that they may be a container of some kind.” The assistant pressed a button and immediately another slide appeared. The collective ponies gasped as they gazed upon a metal figure slumped in the pilot’s seat. “This, perhaps the most fascinating find in the craft, appears to be a fully formed machine. At this time we don’t know it’s purpose as it appears to be deactivated or it may have suffered irreparable damage in the crash. Our hypothesis is that it’s probably the craft’s autopilot system.” Another slide was shown. “We believe this device to be the ship’s engine although it too appears to have suffered some damage. Most likely the result of a malfunction. This is what most likely caused the ship to crash onto our world.”

“What have you figured out about the crew?” a member of the House of Lords asked.

“I’ll get to that,” Lyra replied as another slide appeared, detailing the strange sphere. “We have found what appears to have been an escape pod that crashed into the royal gardens. Eye witness testimony from both Princess Luna and her bodyguards say that two unidentified beings were in this pod; one adult and one infant.” The slide disappeared and in its place was a slide of the female alien atop an autopsy table. “The adult creature or what we believe is the adult creature sustained catastrophic injuries in the crash and did not survive.”

“What of the other creature?” a House of Commons member asked, drawing a flurry of muttering from the others.

“I have adopted the boy as my son,” Luna answered, a note of pride in her voice as she thought of Loki. A wave of gasps echoed throughout the room, followed by silence. Minds and thoughts were racing between all in the room, the idea of this news slowly sinking in. The air was tense and it almost seemed like no pony in the room would dare speak as if they were all surrounded by a sea of black powder that could go off at anytime. Then, just when the intensity of the situation reached its peak, it all exploded violently. Members of both houses were all screaming at the top of their lungs, their faces contorted in mind numbing anger.

“What! An alien being adopted into the royal house!” A speaker for the House of Commons shouted.

“Disgraceful!” A member of the House of Lords shouted. The shouting and arguments raged on.

“Inconceivable!”

“Shameful!”

“Heinous!” The exchange of words raged on, a tsunami of anger battering around the room, threatening to destroy anything in its path.

What they said of a mare scorned was quite true. And Luna had a lot of rage bubbling within her from her spat with Mikoda. And now an outlet for all that rage had been provided. Rising from her throne, she sucked in a breath to focus. “SILENCE!!!” she screamed, her command echoing throughout the chamber and reverberating with power.

The silence was sudden and quick. Many heads turned towards the now furious night sister, even some of the hardest and most staunch Parliament members began to sweat nervously, eyes filled with fear. No one dared to raise a voice, not even a whisper.

“If any of you would seek to bring harm to my son, rest assured, you will have him over my dead body!” Luna decreed, her tone daring anyone to challenge it. The voices remained silent. Though they were constantly at each other’s throats, none would ever dare raise their voice against Luna.

“My Lords,” a voice suddenly spoke up, breaking the silence. Heads quickly turned to gaze at he who had either had the courage or absolute stupidity to speak up. A stallion with a perfectly kempt blue mane stood up, taking a moment to dust of his black blazer. “I know that this is a lot to take in. I know you’re all scared too, but I believe we should hear out our Lady on this matter.” He spoke in a cheerful, but calm voice. “I have firm faith in her standing.”  

Luna gave him a look of gratitude. “Thank you, Lord Fancy Pants. You all see my son as a threat, but let me remind you that he is but a child. And a child needs to be looked after.”

“My lady,” a House of Commons member spoke up. “While that may be the case, we don’t know what he is or if he won’t become a threat as he grows older.” Most of the house chattered in agreement.

“I side with Lord Shilling on the subject,” another member spoke. “Can we be sure he will pose no danger to the Equestrian public? Furthermore, can we be sure his presence won’t cause mass panic?” The mutters of many began filling the room.

“Now now my Lords,” Fancy Pants spoke again. “I’m sure that this boy, with the proper care and raising, can become just like any other Equestrian.”

“Bah,” a member of the House of Lords spoke up. “Why should we listen to a stallion who’s adopted a filthy mongrel into his household?” Many of the House of Lords agreed.

“How dare you!” Fancy snapped, a frown coming to his face. “Why is it that so many of you cannot look past your precious pedigrees to see the good that can be done?!”

“What good can be done by raising a savage beast as that diamond dog of yours?!” A Lord spoke up. “It’s loathsome that you christen that thing a son. If anything, he’s merely a despicable little pet!”

“Here, here!” A few Lords chanted in unison.

“His wife probably begged him for a little lap dog and he dragged that one up from the garbage!” a Lord mocked. Riotous laughter bellowed from many of the corpulent Lords.

“Seems like history repeats itself,” another began. “That garden variety guard got her highness her own little toy pet.” He burst out into laughter, but only his echoed throughout the chamber.

Luna’s anger was near palpable as the lord’s laughter was suddenly choked off by his airway clamping shut, his hands clawing at his throat as he gasped for air. The other lords backed away, eyes wide with terror at what they were witnessing.

“Dear Faust,” one spoke. “What’s happening to him?!”

“Nothing’s touching him!”

“How can this be?”

“What sorcery is this?” Panic started to overflow amongst the Lords.

Luna smirked at the sight of all the fear of the assembled lords that dared disparage her for taking in an innocent child that needed a loving mother. She breathed out as the choking lord’s windpipe opened back up, letting him collapse into his seat loudly inhaling. The room continued to chatter amongst themselves, voices dripping with fear.

“Silence!” Celestia spoke up, swiftly quieting the room. “I call this session adjourned until cooler heads are allowed to prevail. We will reconvene tomorrow. Dismissed.” Without hardly a sound, the parliamentary cabinet dispersed in single file. Celestia slumped in her throne, face-palming herself and rubbing her temples.

“Well, this certainly was...entertaining.” Bunsen smirked. “Certainly curious as to what caused the esteemed Lord Sixpence’s choking fit.”

“A stallion nearly died and you’re more concerned about why he was choking. Of course,” Twilight muttered. “Princesses, if you have no further need of me here, I have cubes to continue studying.

“And a coltfriend to go home to,” Lyra teased with a friendly smile.

“You may leave us, my dear pupil,” Celestia said, waving her hand in a traditional gesture. “Luna and I have much to discuss.”

Twilight nodded and strode out of the throne room, followed by Lyra and Bunsen. As they parted ways, Twilight excitedly skipped down the hall, clearly eager to get home to her beloved coltfriend.

“Twilight’s a lot happier since Facet came into her life, eh Bunsen?” Lyra commented.

“Uh huh,” Bunsen half heartedly replied, his mind focused on other matters. “Real interesting. Quick question though. Who cares?”

Lyra’s ears flattened against her skull at his mean spirited tone. “Why are you such a jerk?”

“My dear Doctor Heartstrings,” Bunsen started to reply. “I find that these inconsequential and, to be frank, trivial matters involving the personal social life of our colleague are an utterly pointless and frivolous waste of time. Time that should be better spent unraveling the mysteries of the universe and of our current extraterrestrial predicament. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve much research to entoil myself in. Do whatever it is you do to waste your own time. Good day, Doctor.” Bunsen hurriedly made his way down the hallway, making sure he kept his pace ahead of Lyra’s.  

Mikoda leaned himself against the nursery wall, arms crossed and eyes filled with distrust and a hint of fear. “I don’t like this thing,” he said, his voice calm and cold. “Not. One. Bit.” He huffed loudly and began to pace from one side of the room to another.

Aysel sat by the ornate crib, half paying attention to his comrade while also keeping one eye on Loki as he slept soundly. “Sir, he’s your son,” he calmly said. “Besides, he’s just a boy. He needs to be looked after, guided, and protected.”

“Bah!” huffed Mikoda, his face becoming fiercely animated with anger. “He’s no son of mine. Not this creature. The only reason I even eye the beast is out of duty to her.” His pacing quickened and his temper slowly started to rise. “You saw what these creatures can do. They can move ponies and objects without even touching them.”

“Sir, he was scared when he threw Dr. Bunsen,” Aysel pointed out. “We all know that Dr. Bunsen is a less than savory stallion. Young children can sense ill will better than any adult.”

“The doctor’s personal foibles aren’t nor should they be of concern now,” Mikoda barked. “Our concern should be if the child’s powers develop further. It may have been an accident one time, but what if it’s not the next? Suppose this child could willfully use his power to hurt somepony? Or what if his powers are unstable? Nothing we have now could stop him. We...we need a contingency plan for that.” He paced faster and faster, bitting on his knuckles as the worry seemed to grow.

“There is a plan, sir,” Aysel replied. “Raise him well, with a loving mother and father to teach him right from wrong. Teach him to, if his powers further develop, use them for others instead of himself.”

“Plan A never survives contact with our enemy.” Mikoda pointed out. “If his powers reach a point where they can’t be controlled or contained, he could destroy everything and nothing could stop him. There has to be a Plan B, a fail safe.”

“Sir. You and Princess Luna have been trying for so long to have a child. Now you have young Master Loki. You need to start thinking like a father rather than a soldier.”

“Oh, so now you think you can give me orders, rookie?” Mikoda snarled, a hint of fire gleaming in his eyes. “Listen and listen well. This child has the potential to be a threat to everypony not only here in Equestria, but to the world at large. And it is my duty to keep our lands safe. When push comes to shove, I will do whatever is necessary to keep my home safe. To keep us all safe. Do you understand me?”

“I do understand your conviction, sir. But I’m not trying to give orders. I’m just trying to point out that you’re on a very dangerous path. A path that so many extremists have walked. If you’re not careful, you could lose everything. Your values, your honor, Princess Luna’s love, even your life if you go too far into that darkness.”

Mikoda calmly inhaled and exhaled, trying to center his thoughts. “My friend,” he spoke calmly. “I understand your concerns about me. Valid as they may be, you need to understand the larger picture. We need a plan to prevent the worst case scenario, not just for our sake or for the sake of our home and the world, but for the child’s sake as well. If it were to come that he can’t control his power, we need to make sure he can’t hurt himself or us. Now, do you agree that we need a Plan B?”

“The suggestions made by Dr. Heartstrings have merit, sir,” Aysel said. “We must ensure that our Plan B doesn’t involve killing Master Loki. I could not bear to be a cause for Princess Luna to despair. Nor could you, I’m sure.”

“I couldn’t,” Mikoda spoke softly, his fingers lightly grasping the pommel of his sword. “But should it come to that, then I’ll make peace with that decision and pray that the Empress has mercy on my soul for that.” He placed his free hand on his chest, bowing his head in prayer.  “For now, I merely suggest a way to contain him. Keep him from harming himself and others until he can, hopefully, be cured.”

“You heard Dr. Heartstrings and Dr. Bunsen, sir,” Aysel reminded. “Whatever this is is in his very blood. I do not think there will be any curing it.”

“You may be right,” Mikoda acknowledged. “But there’s always a possibility, no matter how remote. Now, we’d need to drill the men on maneuvers to corral him into this containment chamber should he escape.” He wandered over to the crib, gazing on the still sleeping Loki.

Loki stirred and opened his eyes, looking up at Mikoda. He let out a little laugh as he reached up toward him, his power tugging on Mikoda’s mail in attempt to pull him closer.

Aysel chuckled at the sight. “I think he likes you, sir.”

“I’ll admit it, he can be adorable.” Mikoda responded, a faint smile appearing. He slowly reached his hand into the crib, and placed it upon Loki’s head, rustling the patch of hair. Loki giggled at that a little.

“Ignorant trilobites,” Luna barked, rapidly pacing around the hall. “I’d see them all hanged for their insolent tones!” She huffed and snarled, steam seemed to escape her ears and her face turned a deep crimson. “Grown stallions defacing an innocent child like that is just...just…”

“You need to calm down, Lulu,” Celestia calmly advised, taking a sip of her tea. Times like this made her keep someone around to give her a refill, and she trusted her teapot bearer not to talk about anything he heard.

“How can I calm down,” Luna replied, a couple of tears forming in her eyes. “My own child was besmirched, ridiculed, put down, insulted!”

“They’re scared, Lulu,” Celestia pointed out. “You know how ponies can get when they’re scared.” Luna paused in her pacing, her sister’s words brought back most unpleasant memories. Her mind wandered to the time of her reform from the demon Nightmare Moon, and how many were anxious, scared, and downright fearful around her for a time. Luna shook her head, trying to banish those thoughts.

“Don’t remind me,” she responded, her voice much calmer in tone. She snapped her fingers, motioning the tea bearer for a drink. He quickly got her a cup and like a flash of lightning, handed it to her. “I worry for him, sister.”

“As a mother should, Lulu,” Celestia assured her. “Everything will be fine. They’ll warm up to him just as they did you after you returned. And you’ll have Mikoda to help you.”

Luna huffed slightly before taking a sip of her tea. “I’m not so sure about that, sister dear,” she replied, her voice calm and slightly cold. “His help would most likely be to put Loki in a cage like an animal.”

“Give him time,” Celestia encouraged. “I’m sure he’s already warming up to Loki. Aysel is a good influence. Truly that stallion is wise beyond his years.”

“You know, I almost thought of marrying him,”Luna replied, a little smile forming on her lips. “He was good to me, practically like a pet he was so loyal. But I couldn’t go through with it. He’s just a little too sweet.”

“He’s handsome too,” Celestia added. “You and I really are lucky to have so many studs among the Royal Guard.” She drained her cup and motioned for a refill.

“Yeah,” Luna replied softly. “But I found that the common stallion has their charm. Nice change of pace from ‘Will there be anything else, My Lady? ’ or ‘I shall wait on you hand and foot, Princess.’ They’re nice, but they can be a little too loyal for my taste.” She took another sip of her tea, centering her thoughts. “I thought that’s where Mikoda differed. Sure he was loyal, but it was genuine, not some feeble attempt to curry any special favors or for a night that he’d brag about the day after.”

“You can never stay mad at him, can you?” Celestia asked with a smile. “You two have woken me at night sometimes with the volume and passion of your make up sex.”

Luna’s cheeks blushed bright red. “No, I guess I can’t,” she replied. “But this time, it’ll take a lot more than just one wild night to make up for this.”

“I’m sure you two will make up in no time,” Celestia assured. “On another topic, what do you think happened to that noble earlier?”

“Not sure, sister,” Luna replied. “But it wasn’t nearly enough if you ask me.”

“Luna,” Celestia chided. “Don’t go thinking those dark thoughts again. The House of Lords is largely stuck in its ways.” She took a long drink of her tea and smiled at her sister. “So… What do you think of Twilight’s lover?”

“Facet, was it?” Luna replied. “He’s nice, but he’s not really my type. But I’ve seen the way your eye wanders over him, sister.” Luna smirked and let out a little chortle. “I may not be able to see dreams anymore, but your eyes say everything. You’d like to have a night with him.”

Celestia had the decency to blush. “Even if I do think he’d show me an amazing night, I could never do that to Twilight. And Facet loves her too much to so much as think of cheating on her. Won’t stop me from enjoying the eye candy though.”

“Or imagining him partaking in one of your little ‘games’,” Luna chuckled. “You’re not the only one who has to listen to the volume of your ‘fun times.’ ‘Oh yes, teacher, punish me good.’” She laughed before finally downing the last of her tea.

Celestia laughed with her before finishing her own tea. “It’s fun to do a little role reversal now and then. Let my bedmate be the master for a change.”

“A little too much, sister,” Luna snorted, dropping her teacup. “What goes on in the bedroom should remain there.”

“Let’s go check on Loki, Lulu,” Celestia suggested, not even phased at the destruction of the expensive teacup.

“Yes, let’s,” Luna replied, her laughter having calmed down. “I just hope he isn’t causing Aysel and Mikoda too much trouble.”

“Master Loki, please come down from there!” Aysel asked for the umpteenth time as the Sisters were treated to the sight of Mikoda and Aysel trying in vain to retrieve Loki from atop a tall dresser, numerous toys flying about the room.

“What in the name of the Empress is going on here?!” Luna shouted, her tone full of worry and panic. “Get him down from there this minute!”

“We’ve been trying for fifteen minutes!” Aysel answered as he made another failed grab for Loki, who jumped from the dresser to Luna’s arms with a laugh.

“Loki,” Luna cried, tightly holding Loki to her. “Don’t you ever scare mommy like that.” She turned to Mikoda, a slight scowl on her brow. “How did this happen? You were supposed to be watching him!”

“Calm down, my lady,” Mikoda calmly replied, hands instinctively raised in defense. “We were watching him and he seemed a little hungry. We went to get him a bottle and he slipped out of the crib when we weren’t looking. I take full responsibility for this.”

“In hindsight, one of us should have stayed in the room to keep an eye on him,” Aysel added. “Responsibility is equally mine.”

“Nonsense,” Mikoda overruled. “You put me in charge of caring for him and this happened under my watch. The fault lies with me.” Luna’s scowl softened a bit as she turned her gaze to Loki.

Loki just looked up at Luna with an innocent, oblivious smile and a laugh, hugging himself against her.

“So adorable!” Celestia cooed as she fawned over her nephew.

“Well, at least he’s not hurt,” Luna sighed, both relieved and mift. “But you should have kept a better eye on him. What if he wandered around and got injured or worse?”

“We won’t leave him unattended again, my lady,” Aysel promised as he snapped a salute to his princess. Mikoda silently replied with the same salute.

“Thank you,” Luna softly replied. “Dismissed.” Both Aysel and Mikoda nodded and turned to leave. “Mikoda, wait.”

“Yes my lady?” Mikoda replied as Aysel marched out of the room.

Luna looked away as she tried to figure out just what to say to Mikoda after they had last parted so harshly. “I… Well…”

“I...uhm...I,” Mikoda stuttered, searching for just the right words to say. “I...I’m…” He quickly took a deep breath, trying to calm his mind. “I...apologize for my actions earlier, majesty.”

“And I apologize for snapping at you,” Luna answered. “Your heart was in the right place, looking back.”

“But that didn’t give me any right to snap at you as I did,” Mikoda answered, almost meekly. “I hope that, eventually, we can put this all behind us.” He gently took her hands into his own. “If it pleases your Highness.”

Luna gave Mikoda a small smile and drew him into a brief embrace. “I’d like that, Mikoda.” Before pulling away, she planted a small kiss on his cheek.

Mikoda smiled, rubbing his cheek. “Will there be anything else, Princess?” He asked, standing at attention.

“Not right now,” Luna said. “You’re dismissed. But whenever I need a sitter for Loki, you’ll be my first choice.”

“As you wish, Princess,” Mikoda said, giving Luna a salute before he turned and headed out into the hall. As he just closed the door, he quickly looked left to right, making sure that he was alone. Once he was sure the coast was clear, he walked a little ways down until he found a nice quiet spot with a telephone. He once more checked to see if the coast was clear before removing the phone from the receiver and rapidly punching the numbers. “Dr. Heartstrings?”

“This is her,” Lyra answered. “What do you need, Mikoda?”

“I need to discuss an urgent matter with you,” he replied. “In private.”