Equestria was not as peaceful as it was ever since Lucifer had awoken. With the princesses of the day and night gone, along with Princess Twilight Sparkle, everything changed. Thankfully, before Celestia and Luna were slain, they had used most of their magic to lower and raise their celestial beings on their own, so no one would worry if it was supposed to be day or night. But the sequence for day and night to begin wasn't a godsend.

Now that Lucifer had named himself king, everything about the royal guard had changed drastically. They were now known as the Shadow Knights, the armor changing from gold to red and black. Those who had followed Celestia and Luna's guard had no choice but to don their new suits of armor, obeying the command of their tyrant in fear of losing their lives or their loved ones. Recruits who joined up, however, seemed to take their job in a darker light: abusing the authority they have to do whatever they pleased, mercilessly beating up others over the smallest of mistakes toward them, even taking anything without paying because they were above their standards. What was worse was that many of these new guards were spread all throughout Equestria, causing trouble when they were off duty and on the lookout for the alicorn stallion who would kill their king.

Fifteen long, grueling years have passed since the fall of the princesses. Throughout that time, everything seemed fine, but all throughout the world, every sentient being knew that they should fear the unicorn stallion who took down three alicorn princesses without even trying. Down in Ponyville, those who had known Twilight mourned for the loss of the once genius unicorn, ascending to princess-hood. Everypony went about their daily lives while being wary of the young, brutish recruits patrolling the town. Many rebels in the past had tried to assassinate Lucifer, but his arcane magic was impenetrable. No weapon or spell could kill him, not even poison in his food or drink.

Today was a special occasion, and only those who knew of princess Twilight's son knew that it was his birthday today, turning fifteen years old. Unfortunately, only the remaining Elements of Harmony could only go, not wanting to risk suspicion on them if they traveled in big groups. During the decade and a half, they had started families of their own, marrying the pony they loved and having a foal or two. It was difficult to tell their children to keep Solaris's location a secret, but luckily, the guards ignore what "lies" the foals say.

Each of the mares left their homes, bidding their loved ones goodbye, and began to head up the mountain range, saddlebags with a gift, party supplies, punch and soda, and a variety of delectable treats to munch on. They met up at the start of the trail, unable to see their teenage nephew.

"This is gonna be the bestest party EVER!" Pinkie yelled, bouncing along with the unlimited energy she always carried. Her saddlebags were stuffed to the brim with so many different pastries that they could burst if she continued bouncing like that. "I just hope Solly can show me a smile again. He hasn't been happy with the last few parties I threw for him."

"He's probably going through some teenage angst thing," Rainbow assured. "I mean, I've gone through a phase when I was his age."

"When you began dating other mares and dyeing your hair black?" Fluttershy asked.

Rainbow blushed, nearly falling to the ground when her wings stopped flapping. "H-Hey! I did not do any of that!"

"But I have pictures of you with all that-" Rainbow tried to silence her fillyhood friend, but it was too late. The others laughed as the rainbow-haired pegasus groaned in embarrassment.

"Fluttershy, darling, you have got to show me those pictures," Rarity tittered, embarrassing Rainbow all the more.

"No! No pictures! It was a phase, nothing more!" As much as Rainbow Dash tried to make it sound like it was just something she went through, it only made the others more curious. "Can we change the subject!? Like when we're going to tell Sol about what he needs to do?"

"We'll tell him after the party winds down, Rainbow," Applejack said, leading the way. "We're gonna have to break it down gently to him. It's gonna be hard on him when he realizes Twilight's been gone since he was little."

"I just hope he doesn't try to hit us. Remember that heavy punching bag Rainbow got for him last year?" Pinkie shuddered, remembering just how much power the young alicorn had when he tested it out, nearly knocking the sand out of the thing. "He's a lot tougher than earth ponies, that's for sure. But don't worry! I'll make sure he smiles this time! Nothing can go wrong!"

Up in the cave where Spike and Solaris reside, the interior of the caverns seemed more like a large, earthy hut, filled with furnishings and torches lighting the place up. Spike had indeed renovated the place: digging out different rooms to Solaris's liking, adding a bathroom for them to shower or do other business, even a large room for the alicorn to train when reading or sitting around gets him bored. Along with the furniture the others provided to make them more comfortable, it was like a home, only with lots of gravel and dirt, and the occasional bat making their home inside the furbished den.

Down in the training room, where several weights of differing sizes laid strewn about and a bench lifting set rest in a corner, Solaris was hard at work punching and kicking his heavily worn out heavy punching bag he got last year. His hits were quick and accurate, though he had to limit his strength, or else risk slamming it off the chain it hung from and create another dent in the cave walls. The stallion had grown quite a bit since then: lean but muscular, a large wingspan that seemed to be a little longer than a griffon's, and his mane always preferred cut short so it doesn't get in the way when he trains.

After an hour of his nonstop routine, he finally relaxed, working up a sweat from the exertion he unleashed. Though his workout went through without any interruptions, Solaris still felt unsatisfied.

"Time for another dull day of sitting in a cave, bored out of my mind and unable to go outside...again," Solaris sighed, frustrated that his dragon uncle keeps him cooped up in this cave. "Might as well be a dragon hoarding all this furniture and old books, living in seclusion until I grow even more bored."

Mumbling to himself, he made his way to the bathroom, always wondering how Spike managed to get indoor plumbing inside of a cave supposedly far from civilization. Ignoring how it was possibly done, Solaris leapt into the shower, turned on the cold water, and rinsed himself down. It was just him and his uncle living here, so he didn't bother shutting the entrance with the large boulders used as makeshift doors. After he was cleaned off, he shut off the water, shaking himself dry and wandered about the cave for a while.

Passing through the cavernous hallway, his ears perked up when he heard Spike snoring, sleeping in his room. It was close to noon, and the dragon always slept a few hours past Solaris's wake up time. He poked his head in his uncle's room, finding him sprawled out on his large mattress. The dragon had grown in size, now an adolescent teenage dragon, though far more mature than the dragons he had met during the Great Dragon Migration years ago. His spines were a little sharper and stood a couple feet taller than the alicorn.

Spike snorted, flicking his wrist up and down like he was writing with an invisible pen. "Check, check, check, check..." He dropped his arm and rolled onto his side, the springs creaking underneath his weight. "Hey, Rarity. How's about you handle a real dragon?"

Solaris rolled his eyes, hearing his uncle have yet another dream about Rarity. Using his magic, his aura a golden hue, he shoved Spike out of the bed, the fall slowly waking him from his slumber.

"Uncle Spike," Solaris said, annoyed at his incoherent sleeping schedule. "You realize it's the middle of the afternoon, right?"

"Is it?" Spike stretched, yawning loudly. He looked at the clock near the bed, the time a quarter til one. "...Wow, time sure flies."

"Yeah. It does when you can't tell where the sun is inside of a cave," Solaris complained.

Spike groaned, rubbed his eyes, hearing his nephew complaining yet again. For the past few years, Solaris had been giving him an attitude, always wanting to go outside no matter how many times he said no. And just like the last few thousand times, he was going to hear his plea yet again.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Solaris? You can't go outside," said the irritated dragon.

"There's nothing for me to do!" Solaris leered at his uncle as he shouted. "I'm starting to get sick and tired of doing my daily workouts, I've read all the books given to me, at least ten times, and you're always sleeping day in and day out! Speaking of day, I don't even know what the sun and moon look like! Just what it sort of looks like in my science books!"

Spike sighed, secretly hiding a claw behind his back, mimicking it along with his words, knowing exactly what Solaris was going to complain about. He was also mere inches away from yelling at his nephew, but he managed to hold himself back, otherwise they would be caught in a never ending shouting contest.

"You're not ready for what it's like out there. You'll be able to go outside soon," said Spike.

Solaris pouted, crossing his forehooves, acting like a toddler ready to throw a temper tantrum. "Which'll be in a thousand years."

"A thousand years is a long time to wait for the best day of the year EVER!" Pinkie shouted, popping up out of nowhere between the two.

"Ahh!" Solaris screamed, backing away from Pinkie's sudden appearance. Even after all these years knowing her wildest of aunts, Pinkie was by far the most confusing pony in the world. Spike wasn't all that phased, knowing her the longest and never questioning anything, as one should. "Aunt Pinkie!? How did you even-"

"I read ahead of the script and popped in!" Pinkie explained, never making much sense. Solaris just stared at his crazy aunt, once finding her antics hilarious as a colt, now finding them annoying and hurting his brain. "You know, that mountain hike takes almost an hour on hoof? I couldn't wait that long because today is somepony's birthday today!" She rummaged through her bags, pulling out her patented party cannon, pressing the button and shooting out confetti, also instantly setting up her Pinkie Pie style parties. "Now this place is all set up for the greatest birthday bash ever!"

"Pinkie," Spike interrupted before the party mare decided to get started too soon. "Are the others here yet?"

"Oh!" Pinkie slapped herself on the forehead. "I completely forgot about the others! I'll let them in!" Pinkie ran off to the entrance of the cave, blocked off by a heavy boulder. It was too heavy for her to move, but try as she might, she pushed with all her strength, unable to budge it an inch. Spike followed her, watching her trying to move the boulder with her hind legs. He got up behind her, easily shifting the heavy rock aside, making her fall on her belly. "I got it!"

"Sure did," said Spike, rolling his eyes.

Out in the distance, the others got closer to the cave, spotting Pinkie leaping in the air, waving them over. As soon as the dragon set his sights on the mare of his dreams, he wasn't as love-struck as he used to be years ago. He did find out that she had married a stallion and had a child, a filly who was like her mother. He did meet her once when the mares brought their kids to meet Solaris a couple years ago. It broke his heart, but he didn't show it, still in love with the unicorn even though she was with someone else.

As everyone entered the cave, Rarity was the last to enter, staying behind with Spike as he closed the entrance. It was a pretty awkward moment between the two. Ever since Rarity brought her daughter with her to meet Solaris, the dragon put the pieces together, and she felt awful when he didn't gaze at her like he used to. He always did whatever she asked out of the kindness in his heart, never asking for anything in return. It made her role as the Element of Generosity dull in comparison to Spike's. She even used her charm to practically "steal" the fire ruby Spike had grown years ago for his birthday treat, abusing his smitten love for her just to have a gem he willingly gave up just for her.

"...Hello, Spike," Rarity finally said after a moment of silence.

"It's been a while, huh?" Spike said. The awkward tension rose between them again. "...So, how's Sweetie Belle?"

"She's good. Finally got a platinum album. Most popular songs in Equestria nowadays," said Rarity.

"Good. I gotta hear her latest hits..." Spike trailed off, the conversation really growing awkward. "...Rarity-"

"I'm sorry, Spike," Rarity interrupted, stopping Spike before he could even say what he was going to say. "You don't have to keep hiding it from me. I know you've been hurt ever since I brought Gemstone with me..." She couldn't look at him as she explained. "I knew you've had a crush on me, but I never told you I was in a relationship before I had her. I wasn't able to tell you because I knew it would break your heart. Only, I seemed to make things worse when you found out."

"...Yeah. It did hurt," Spike said. Even though he was upset, he knew it would never be as they were completely different species. "As long as your husband makes you happy, then I'm happy for you."

"But-" As Rarity looked at him, her protests were silenced as a claw pressed against her lips.

"No buts." Spike lowered his claw, both pony and dragon looking at each other again after so long. "It was just a crush. Once Lucifer's finally taken down, I might find me a pretty female dragon, assuming they aren't as cruel as Garble and his pack of dunces. But no matter who I meet in the future, you'll always be my...diamond in the rough."

Rarity blushed, both of them knowing that little compliment had to be the cheesiest line Spike had ever said, but he was being honest. He saw her as one of a kind, where everypony saw her as beautiful by her looks, he viewed her as beautiful on the inside, her personality and generous heart. Rarity made a bold move that she hoped her husband would never find out: She stood on her hind legs to reach Spike, grabbed his cheeks with her hooves, and pulled him closer, giving him a deep kiss.

Spike's eyes widened in surprise, staring at Rarity up close, her eyes closed and her lips pressed against his. His eyes fluttered shut as he melted into the kiss, kissing her back as she gently caressed her cheek, pulling her closer. Spike felt like he was in a dream and wished he would never wake up from this moment. After a minute, feeling almost like an eternity, they pulled away, needing oxygen. Spike stared at Rarity, still confused but with a dopey grin on his face.

"If I'm dreaming, please pinch me," Spike said, hearts popping behind his head.

"It's not." Rarity kissed Spike's snout, assuring him that what he experienced was no dream. "That was for my horrible selfishness toward you, making you do everything I asked and brushing you off when you did a wonderful job helping me."

"But I wanted to do all those things," Spike said.

"I know, but I never gave you any decent rewards for your generosity." Rarity nuzzled Spike's snout, then proceeded down the caverns to meet back up with the others to celebrate Solaris's birthday. "Now, come along, Spikey-wikey. We have a party to start."

Spike watched Rarity as she sashayed her hips from side to side. Leaning against the wall, he sighed, feeling his heart racing. Even though he could never be with her, that first kiss from her was all he really wanted. With renewed vigor, he hurried after her to get the party started.

The party went off in full swing, party games set up by Pinkie Pie herself, still as childish as ever even as she neared the age of forty. There was the classic pin the tail on the pony, using the old Celestia model that had been discontinued after the princess was killed, the classic bobbing for apples, everything that made a classic Pinkie party fun. However, as the others were having fun, Solaris was the opposite. He didn't find any of this party fun at all, not because everything seemed fit for a foal's party, but it was the lack of a certain somepony he was expecting to see. Like every previous year, that pony never showed up.

"Hey, Sol!" Rainbow Dash flew up behind the teen, patting his back with a hoof. "You wanna have a little round against me in this new game Pinkie made? She called it 'Twister', some weird game where somepony spins a spinner, landing on a color for a certain limb to step on and contorting as we try to stay up. Wanna try?"

"No," Solaris said, not wanting to partake in any fun.

"What's up, squirt?" Rainbow ruffled Solaris's mane, annoying him even more than the party. "Oh. I get it. You wanna open your gifts now." Rainbow sped off and returned within a couple seconds, grabbing her gift she got for him. It was a thin, square shape, possibly a book or magazine from its slight thickness. "This is from me. Though I gotta warn ya, kiddo, I suggest opening this up when you have some privacy."

Rainbow winked and nudged Solaris's shoulder, giving him a smirk like it was some sort of prank. He placed the possible prank gift down on the table, not amused by her childish antics.

"When's my mom going to show up?" Solaris asked, his question being overheard by the others, causing the record Pinkie brought that played upbeat music to a screeching halt. The entire cave was silent, the others looking away, trying to ignore the question. The teen grew more frustrated, having the exact same reactions like the year before, and so on. "I'm gonna guess no. Yet again, she's not going to show up! Just like every other year!"

As Solaris was fuming in anger, detesting his mother for never being around, everyone else looked at each other, all nodding in agreement. Today was the day that they thought Solaris was old enough to understand, revealing the secrets he was kept unaware of and why he wasn't allowed to leave the cave.

Applejack was the first to approach Solaris, placing a hoof on his shoulder. "Sugarcube...Ah think we need to talk."

"Oh, sure! Talk for mom when she's too busy with her duties as a princess!" Solaris yelled, growing more angry as his feeling of neglect hurt him emotionally. "She doesn't even care about me anymore! She doesn't even write me any letters, telling me if she actually loves me or acknowledges I'm her son! She left me and abandoned me!"

Solaris slammed his hoof into the wall behind him, shaking the entire mountain with the amount of force he unleashed. Thankfully, he didn't break it down, otherwise risking a cave in and trapping them all inside.

"Solaris, calm down," Applejack said, trying to keep the alicorn from losing his temper any further. "There were...a few things we kept a secret from you. Most of it is about your ma...and what's been goin' on outside this cave..."

So they began telling Solaris everything that he had missed out on, and for good reason. They told him about what happened to the princesses, the death of his mother, Lucifer's reign causing more chaos than Discord could with a snap of his fingers, and the reason why he was kept hidden in this cave. The news that hit him the worst was the fate of his mother, Twilight Sparkle. Even though he was old enough to understand, now he felt like a donkey for acting out like he had. He had an excuse to be upset, being told all of this fifteen years after all this happened and thinking that things would be fine after he was told the truth. How Applejack managed to keep the truth hidden without her easy to tell lieing facial expressions giving it all away.

And to make matters worse, they told him that in Twilight's vision of the future's outcome, it was his destiny to take on Lucifer and take back the throne. They expected a teenager, who's been locked away in a cave with a dragon for an uncle, to go out there and stand triumphant over a tyrant that wanted him dead, and rule a kingdom where he has no experience in politics or any social interaction outside of his family.

After they finished explaining everything, Solaris was completely silent, no reaction. It was so much for him to take in, and now all of this pressure is put on him to save Equestria when he has never even seen with his own eyes. Minutes had passed until he finally did something, slowly walking down to the homemade gym.

"Solaris?" Spike asked as he and the others grew worried. "Where are you going?"

Solaris ignored his uncle, wanting to be alone, growing more angry and upset as the seconds ticked by. For so long, he wanted to see his mother, talk to her, have her be there for him, but she was killed when he was still an infant. He hated her, hoping beyond hope that she would finally see him, apologize for leaving him in a cave with his uncle, far from civilization out of his own protection. Now that he knew the truth, he couldn't contain his anger anymore.

Screaming at the top of his lungs, he flew into his worn out punching bag and began venting out his rage on it, punching and kicking as hard as he could. He managed to knock it off its chain, yet again, but he didn't care, watching it fly off and hit another part of the wall, mere inches from the entryway where his family watched. Solaris broke down, tears streaming down his face, letting out all the pain of rejection from his mother he thought he had, turning into sorrow for his loss after fifteen years.

Hours had passed after Solaris discovered the truth. The party was over after he lashed out in sadness, thankful no one got hurt. They tried to offer him comfort, but he wanted to be alone, understanding that he was still trying to absorb all of this information he was left out on for so long. Now, Solaris was in his room, staring up at the ceiling as the green flames lit on the torches in his bedroom flickered. He felt empty inside, miserable, hating himself for despising a mother who did care about him. She sacrificed herself to try and save Equestria, but failed, and she went to all these lengths to keep him safe, away from Lucifer and his psychotic fury.

"Everypony...relies on me..." Solaris turned over on his side, still confused, and even scared. He looked up at his bookshelf, filled with some of his favorite novels and educational books for his home schooling, or cave schooling. He was smart, not a prodigal genius like his mother, but he passed the basic forms of education with flying colors. Solaris even recalled stories Spike told him of Twilight and his aunts of their triumphant victories against villains using the Elements of Harmony. "How am I supposed to do all of this on my own?"

Solaris kept tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. His worries kept growing, anxiety setting in, wanting to punch something again just to let it all out of his system. After rolling around for the next few minutes, he grunted in frustration, his sheets a mess and his pillow resting on top of his head.

He spotted his gifts that his aunts had given him, still unopened. He wasn't mad at his family, knowing they were just trying to protect him, and he acted so harshly out of his angst and chance of rebellion. And Solaris was curious as to what he got this year. Since he couldn't fall asleep, he got off his bed and unwrapped his gifts.

The one he got from Pinkie was a vinyl record, with smash hit songs from somepony known as DJ PON-3. Applejack got him a thermos of Sweet Apple Acres hoof-made apple cider, the greatest quality of apple cider everypony in all of Equestria would die to have a taste. He was lucky Rainbow Dash didn't sniff it out before he opened it. Fluttershy got him a book on exotic animals, one that talks about the dangerous of creatures that ponies should avoid. It has some really detailed pictures of them, like the hydra, manticores, timber wolves, cragodiles, and more. Rarity usually made him some clothes for his birthday, but this year she went with simplicity. A simply made bandanna, colored similarly to his golden mane, along with a note saying it was sweat proof, meaning he could work out with it on, look like a bad flank tough stallion, and never have to worry about it reeking.

Then there was the small book like gift Rainbow Dash got him. He slowly unwrapped the gift, immediately regretting it as he blushed heavily. What he was looking at was the front cover of a Playcolt magazine, the picture showing a sultry looking pegasus mare, wings splayed out with her hindquarters in the air, wearing a pair of pink panties that's thankfully covering her naughty bits. She had that look on her face that was begging for the camera pony to just take her.

"A-Aunt Rainbow! Seriously!?" Solaris immediately looked away from the porno magazine, tossing it away. His wings were flared out after staring at the picture longer than he should have. "I should have known she was going to do something like that. First it was the joy buzzer, then snakes in a can, pepper sauce covered lemon drops, and now this! It was awkward when Uncle Spike taught me sexual education, but I know better!"

He stayed where he stood, his eyes darting to his bed and the naughty magazine. He wasn't going to give in to his growing hormones, no matter how much a part of him begged him to look through it. Even though the only mares he knew were his aunts, they were his family, and he knew it was wrong to look at their behinds. His ear twitched, as well as his wing boner, when he kept staring at the magazine. His resolve eventually wavered and gave in, grabbing the magazine in his magic and sitting back down on his bed. He opened the first page after staring at the cover, his blush growing more intense at what laid inside.

"Oh my..."