Heeeeeyyyyy. I lied about Act 1 updates it seems. Anyway, after some serious discussion with my special critic it was decided some context was needed to actually make things work for any new readers. (and honestly older veteran's of my bad writing too.)

Enjoy!

The stallion found himself no longer able to rest so he rose from his bed. He vaguely looked around his room, it's posh elegant decor feeling well done but somewhat needless. He still was not sure what had led him to this point, how this immense sense of longing and purpose had taken over his life. Even with all the wealth and power that he possessed and the ponies he could command with it he felt empty save for his new routine of research, meetings, and discussions with the Princesses. Sometimes life had a funny way of changing your perspectives in the barest hint of an instant, not that he minded, the stallion had not been this happy in over a decade.

Leaving his room he mosied slowly to his kitchen casting his gaze out the big windows of the penthouse he lived in. The view was spectacular, this portion of the highrise home faced south capturing all of downtown Canterlot, the Palace, and the broad expanse of the Equestrian middle plains. The sun was peeking its head up above the far horizon on his left, the golden rays casting a blurry light on all that it touched. Canterlot itself was still covered mostly in darkness as the day had not grown enough to cast away all the shadows of the Palace that stood high up on its crested hill next to the mountain’s main spire. He turned from the blissful morning picture and poured water for his coffee.

Within a few minutes he had successfully boiled and dripped coffee to his liking. He stared down at the pitch-colored liquid before reaching into a cupboard for creamer. The stallion vacantly thought that he did not need the coffee but enjoyed the taste nonetheless. The steam rose up and away from the mug in tiny breezy tendrils as he watched idly. The thin milky see-through wisps danced as he breathed lightly. They moved away and towards him twisting and shattering as they were stretched too far. He heaved a final sigh and began drinking deciding he would enjoy the brew instead of becoming hasty and making breakfast. He remained there watching the sunrise, pleased with the morning, slowly sipping his beverage.

Once finished the stallion stood from his kitchen table and walked out onto his balcony. He then jumped from the position with nary a care. The stallion was a pegasus after all and a bit of a fall was not at all dangerous when you had wings. He fell about four floors before snapping his wings out and flying towards the Palace mentally preparing himself to deal with this week’s meeting of nobles. Such was his duty to attend and his formal wear was kept in the Palace much to the chagrin of many of his peers. None of them besides Lord Fancypants had as close a relationship with the Princesses that they could leave their regalia in the Palace without it being thrown away.

It took him just a few minutes to lazily glide to the Declaration Hall that hung over the main city square. Most ponies would not dare just fly directly into a secure area of the Palace air space but the stallion was more than aware of the limits he could push when it came to the Royal Guard. He breezed down with a light unison clop of his hooves and started trotting towards the stairs down into the main hall. He grinned wryly at the sentries stationed at the doors of the open-air hall as he left.

Canterlot Palace had always been his second home since he was small. His father had often brought him there when he had attended weekly meetings like the stallion did now. He was still nursing when the Weather Workers’ Union took up a strike against the Farming Consortium. The strike had decentralized all the weather production across the whole of Equestria and broke up all the large scale farming operations that had held the WWU responsible for low crop yields, and thus lowered their pay. It had been a rough year for his parents and the rest of Equestria, causing his cozy kin to leave him in the care of Celestia herself for a the majority of the strike. A vague sense of dysphoria wash over him as he walked down the white marble halls remembering his childhood and the hours he spent in the Palace. Back then everything had been much simpler making the stallion wonder how he had come to take his father’s place at the table of governance, especially since he loathed the necessity of politics.

Passing through the State Offices section of the Palace he turned towards the front Entrance Hall. He took a plain little door on his right, seemingly out of place in the immaculate Palace and opened it taking his usual way to his in house office. The room therein was a utility location filled with various equipment and carts for hospitality purposes. Unlike the extravagance of the Main Hall the room was a functional blue and white, bustling with the many servants that the Princesses employed. A few of the more veteran workers waved him hello and good morning as he passed by them. He smiled in return, nodding and expressing his thanks, before depressing the down button for the elevator. The mechanism beeped instantly and he strode into the small moving room before selecting the basement button. The doors opened and closed with a soft clingk as he rode and exited the elevator.

The stallion picked up his pace breezing past many researchers and various royal agents that populated the halls of the Palace’s bowels. He quickly skirted through the bustle and into the section of the complex where his office resided. All the ponies he passed saluted or bowed at him causing the stallion to roll his eyes and wave them to ease with his hooves. There was simply no reason for everypony to address him formally, frankly that was the reason he hated the weekly meeting. Sighing deeply upon reaching his little cubby-in-the-Palace, the stallion pushed open the door to his office. The dusty room spared little in the way of comfort or space having only a desk, an armor display, and a closet. The closet was, of course, his target; hiding away inside his regalia needed to be donned before he went to Court.

Door thrown open to the small enclosure, the stallion gazed at the traditional attire. The main body of the ensemble was comprised of an ancient uniform complete with a baldric, shoulder tassels, and medals. The formal wear was a dark midnight blue not unlike the color of Princess Luna’s fur and its accents were done in white and gold. Attached to this atrocity of modern fashion was a thick black cape that was only half length, meant specifically for Pegasi to wear which was only fitting, certainly. Finally, an iron and silver wreath was placed on his head to complete the eminence of his lordship. Perhaps it had been the way he was raised but the stallion was annoyed by the attempted oligarchy the rest of the Equestrian Nobility tried to enforce. Fully dressed he looked into the dingy little mirror on the inside of the closet door. He looked good, better than he had in years. He vacantly surmised that was because of his smile, something he had been lacking for some time. The unwilling lord turned around and left his dusty office and made his way to the Throne Room.

He made it, pleasantly uninterrupted, to the last section of the main hall before he was accosted by other ponies.

“Lord Cloudsdale!” shouted a group of mares-in-waiting. They popped out from various pillars and suits of armor that adorned the hall near the Throne Room. The stallion looked down at the collection of pretty faces and bouncing bodices. He smiled warmly at them, more than ready for this song and dance. Snapping his wings out from his back he relaxed his posture and changed his smile to a provocative gaze.

“Anything I can do for you, ladies?” he sighed internally at his own smooze. Anymore he responded merely to humor them, wealth and nobility attracted mates, being tall helped too. However, even if their intentions were pure, regular mares like these had lost their luster to him. It was no fault of their own that was why he at least pretended to be interested. He looked over them with a faux care and picked a timid little mare who was clearly rather nervous. He pushed past the other ‘ladies’ who parted with quiet giggles.

“Miss, what is your name?” he asked her. She stood twitching and shaking as the peers around her gasped at his choice. She probably got bullied by the others fairly regularly, and that was why he chose her.

“M-m-m-my name...my name! Is...Gala Prance!” she stammered. The stallion bent down in a bow, lowering himself to her height. It was a practiced theatrical move he had been working on since he had been coming to court meetings. Gala Prance swooned at the motion but somehow managed to have the wherewithal to extend a hoof to him as formal greeting etiquette required.

He took her hoof in both of his gently caressing the well polished shoe and soft fetlocks. The little mare shivered the entire time until he looked up at her and met her eyes. She froze, pupils dilated to the extreme and a blush rising redder and redder to her cheeks by the moment. He delicately placed his lips on her hoof and kissed it never breaking eye-contact. Gala Prance’s mouth hung open as she breathed hard to try and control herself, her eyes half closed.

“Dearest, Gala Prance, there is just so much more you could be instead of mare-in-waiting. Perhaps something with me?” he breathed the line with perfect pacing. Gala Prance sighed deeply in a rush of blushing and promptly fainted in response. He swiftly snagged her in his wings and stood up much to the shock and awe of the other mares around him who shrieked like they had seen a ghost. Miss Prance was quite petite and she fit snuggly inside one of his big wings where he grinned slyly at her sleeping face, thinking up his next line.

“Alas, a shame. I shall just have to take her into court with me…” he said as extravagantly as possible. He did just that leaving the other mares to gawk incredulously. He slowly made his way towards the Throne Room’s doors listening carefully to the posse

“Can you believe he just did that!” one said.

“Yes! But why her! She isn’t anything special at all! She’s just a Earth Pony!” another scathed. A murmuring of agreement arose at the statement the mare made.

“Even if he chose her, doesn’t mean she will know what to do! You know how awkward she is! I doubt she even understands what a lady-in-waiting is supposed to be about!” the first one said her voice all venom. The stallion made a mental note that he would have to do something a little extra for Gala Prance. Something she could use to thoroughly lord over those vile mares he had thankfully left behind. He smiled thinking of their faces when Gala Prance returned the next day with her “evidence” in tow, for now though he had more important matters to attend to, like chastising Celestia before the meeting started.

The golden plated Royal Guard stood up a little bit tighter as he reached the door. They opened it up for him without need to cast so much as an inquisitive glance their way. He stepped into the purple and gold clad chamber admiring the new Crystal Kingdom crafted crystal chandelier that had been installed. Large and opulent the decoration reflected dozens and dozens of his face back at him in a rather disorienting fashion. Ignoring the sparkling distraction the stallion gazed around the room quickly spotting Fancypants, his chief ally in these meetings and an old family friend.

“Good morning, eff-pee.” he said to the elder noble. Fancypants turned with a quick start and raised the eyebrow above his monocle. He was aging well, grey highlights over his ears and a thicker mustache suited his friend.

“Good morning, dear boy. I say, utilizing the informal greetings today, I see?” Fancypants responded with a pleased smile.

“Of course! You think I’m going to greet my friend with ‘good day, sir Archduke of Canterlot!’?” he pantomimed back at his friend with a sarcastic tone. Fancypants gave a chuckle and shook his head in both agreement and relief.

“Well, I am glad you are in a good mood, old sport. The Princess was just informing me of your new change in appearance, and I say, you wear it well.” Fancypants commented with a short nod. The stallion rolled his eyes, he supposed he looked different but at this point it did not weigh heavily on his mind.

“Thank you,” he started, mulling over how he was going to approach Celestia’s loose lips. He decided it was best to go straight for it, she used to appreciate that. “So ’Tia... what rumors have you been spreading about me?” he asked turning his gaze up to where the regent of the day sat on her golden throne.

“Why do you have a mare in your wings?” Celestia questioned back. Although dodging his question, she looked genuinely concerned with her discovery. The stallion pursed his lips and fixed Celestia with a questioning glare; it was like her to move onto the newest possible subject and ignore the present.

“I thought you had a particular mare in mind…I am surprised.” The Princess of the Sun answered his unspoken question with grace. Countless meetings and long developed political shrewdness greatly helped her navigate he and her’s new relationship, not that she needed to be that careful. He shifted his tone realizing that Celestia was not ready to banter so casually as they once did.

“Don’t be. While I do certainly have a particular mare I am interested in; this one was having a bad day so I thought I would help her escape those dirty biddies outside.” he calmly responded. Grabbing the plush pillow of his that was meant for the meeting he lowered Gala Prance out of his wing. She only vaguely stirred reflexively curling herself on her side as she lay in the cushion.

“Indeed. That is not something you have done in years…” Celestia trailed off before diverting the line of thought, “How did she become unconscious?”

“Well, I put on a good show of theatrics, kissed her hoof, flirted with her...and she fainted.” he smiled. “The other mares-in-waiting about threw a fit when I picked her up and brought her in here too. I plan on writing a personal letter and giving her one of my feathers. It should rile those vile creatures quite well.”

Fancypants burst into outright laughter cutting off an open mouthed Celestia. He was slow to recover, wiping tears away from his face with a kerchief from inside his suit. After a bit of clearing his throat he spoke: “I withdraw my earlier statement lad. You are not in a good mood; you are in a stupendous mood. I just hope you carry it through this upcoming borish affair.”

The door to the Throne Room swung open and the remaining horde of nobles cantered into the chamber. They spoke loudly, tossing out various high brow insults to each other. A lesser duke by the name of Jetset was at the head of the group acting especially snotty as he and his wife made their way to their spot in the room. Upper Crust, his wife, the Countess of Baltimare, actually held the higher rank but had the misfortune of possessing extremely low intelligence and naivety letting her husband do the business dealings of their household. She sat across from him now a look of disgust on her face.

“My word! Whatever happened to you, Lord Cloudsdale!?” she shouted rudely.The whole room of nobles went silent and suddenly they all looked directly at him. The stallion gravely stared back at them doing his best to not snarl at their gaping mouths.

“Something on my face?” he knowingly snarked purposely rubbing his left eye as he spoke. These ponies made their lives on their image and poise; it made him sick. The way they gawked and grimaced at what real loyalty and service looked like made him wish he was anywhere else.

“Enough. Lord Cloudsdale is to be commended for acquiring that marking, and we are lucky he is still alive to tell the tale of how he got it.” Celestia’s voice cut over the crowd's murmurs. He looked up at her in surprise, he had not expected her to stand up for him. Then again, it had been a great deal of time since Celestia actually acted how he knew she could during Court. He smiled proudly at her glad that the mare he had known was finally, truly herself and back on the throne.

“I say old sport, how did you get that anyway?” Fancypants politely asked next to him.

“That is para-level one information, Archduke. And I will not be declassifying at this time.” the Princess responded tepidly. Fancypants nodded sagely accepting her answer without any objection whatsoever. The rest of the Court murmured suspiciously and gave him scared, humiliated looks.

“Now. The weekly meeting of the Equestrian Commonwealth Nobility will come to order. I, Princess Celestia, make a motion to skip last week’s minutes so we may proceed to discuss the newest member of the Royal House.” she quipped dryly.

“Second!” The Lord of Cloudsdale raised his hoof quickly. Finally, they were getting on to the topic he was most interested in, Gusty Twilight, the mare he had a particular interest in…

-------

“So this new alicorn...you sayin’ ya found her just wandering around?” The Duke of Vanhoover questioned. Being the only Earth Pony in the room of nobles, he cut away the whispers of the early leavers with his drawl. Celestia had called the meeting formally adjourned a few minutes ago, leaving him, Vanhoover, and Fancypants to continue.

“Yes. Quite literally.” Celestia responded evenly, “And as a reference Lord Cloudsdale was the one who found her. She has not been in Equestria for at least a century that much is clear. Many of the customs of modern courtesy are quite lost on her.” Vanhoover raised his eyebrows in response before adjusting his hat, casually motioning for the Princess to continue. Celestia waited until the door was closed to the Throne Room as the mash of nobles finally exited, before she continued.

“That is the reason behind keeping her in the Palace. It is for both her safety and the citizens’ safety. We are currently investigating her...juxtaposed behavioral habits. That doesn’t leave this room, dear Duke.” she gave him a hard glare as she finished.

“Of course your majesty.” Vanhoover bowed fully, his chest touching the floor. “Thank you for indulging my curiosity.” he said while standing. Celestia nodded with a small smile on her face in return, approving his fealty. Vanhoover made another tuck of his head before turning to leave.

The stallion looked over at Fancypants who smiled back at him. “Shall you join me for lunch, lad? It has been sometime since we raided the Market Square.” he chuckled at Lord Cloudsdale.

“Sadly, no. I have business to attend to here in the Palace, let’s do next week.” he answered his friend trying his best to not sound rude.

“That sounds like an excellent plan, my friend. I shall definitely be clearing that day’s afternoon schedule.” Fancypants grinned with a waggle of his mustache and eyebrows. The stallion chuckled and waved him goodbye, leaving him alone with Celestia in the room. She rolled her eyes at him before pointing over at Gala Prance who was starting to stir.

He had written the letter of “confirmation” during one of the noble’s low winded complaint that Celestia had inducted some no name pony into the Royal Family instead of one of his many children. He needed just to give the letter to Gala Prance along with a primary feather and word of warning before he could send her on her way. Wasting no time the stallion trotted over to the little mare and set the letter down on the ground before slipping his wings underneath her. He picked her up and completely wrapped her body in the appendages, trying to make even her smell indicate they had spent the day together. After being jostled about in his wings Gala Prance yawned and woke up about the time he was sitting her down.

“L-lord Cloudsdale?” she blinked up at him.

“Hello!” he responded cheerily.

“W-what happened? Did I faint? Oh, how embarrassing.” Gala Prance blushed, looking away from him. Her eyes widened as she looked past him towards the throne.

“Princess Celestia!” she cried. Jumping up and away from the pillow she landed in a practiced low curtsy before the Princess. Gala Prance rattled off about a dozen greetings and apologies, clearly drilled into her by an etiquette school. Celestia stood up from her throne and strolled down the raised dais before reaching down to the pitiful mare-in-waiting and kissing her on the forehead.

“Relax, my little pony. You are among friends.” Celestia said with comfort in her voice. She pulled Gala Prance up off the floor, her horned glowed yellow and the letter he had left on the ground floated over to the two mares. “Lord Cloudsdale would like to present you with a gift.” the Princess told her small compatriot.

Gala Prance took the letter in her hooves and started reading it immediately. Her face began changing from cream color to a deep, deep red. From over her shoulder Celestia snickered as she examined the letter herself. Cloudsdale looked over his right wing and selected one of his finest primaries before giving it a pluck with his mouth. He did not have a purpose for a single feather, even one that did not “regrow.” A gasp from Gala Prance caused him to look up, the feather hanging his mouth dumbly.

“Milord you don’t have to do this! Well...you already...I…” the timid mare stared at him in shock. Her face slowly turning back to a normal color she became vacant, eyes unfocused as she looked at him. Celestia re-levitated the letter and moved it back and forth in front of Prance who did not even flinch.

“It would seem that you are still quite the charmer, my prodigal stallion.” Celestia commented. She barely finished before Gala Prance shot over to him and almost knocked him off balance from her flying hug. She nuzzled her whole face into his chest desperately, as if she was trying to unbutton his uniform and suffocate herself in his fur.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!” she cooed over and over. “Uh...no problem Miss Prance,” he started, rather surprised at her sudden confidence. He tucked the feather he had taken into her blonde mane next to left ear. She just responded by humming and sighing and squeezing herself tighter to his chest. Gala Prance made another gasp before speaking up.

“You have no idea how much this means to me! Now those dreadful bullies outside will really have something to think about!” she mumbled from his chest. He barely heard her, the stallion had become distracted by a welcome and familiar presence approaching the Throne Room. He peered over to Celestia who appeared to have just narrowly hidden a jealous pout and made eye contact with her.

“‘Tia, would you be as so kind as to move Miss Prance for a moment.” he said to her sharply.

“What? Why what’s wrong?” Celestia questioned looking confused.

“Quickly!” he commanded. The Princess instantly levitated Gala Prance away from him her action prompted by her recognition of his tone. Not a moment later the distinct hum of Gusty’s golden magic made him reflexively dodge back. He narrowly missed having his neck become cloven by the banged-up-old blade of the errant mare in question. Somewhere behind the throne itself came an annoyed grunt and the floating sword danced towards him with angry speed.

The element of surprise lost, he deftly dodged the disembodied strikes with ease. The levitating bastard blade sped up faster and their rhythm bounced together in a waltz of death. It was moments like this that he lived for, to be truly challenged by another being. Gusty’s raw skill and talent were a barrier none but he could climb and avoiding her strikes without a weapon to parry with was exhilarating. And true to form Gusty jumped from behind throne her face twisted in anger and determination as she fired a volley of spells at him. The mare knew such an attempt would only stoke his fires more but she was too stubborn to relent. She combined the spells with several swings of her sword towards his flanks. This forced him to dodge forward in a roll and then take to the air with a leap. He met her eyes as he hovered in the center of the Throne Room she scowled as he smiled down at her. She swung her head angrily and the hum of her blade grew instantly deafening as her blade flew towards him with frightening speed. However, this was where he would end the dance.

Dodging with as little movement as possible while airborne, the stallion let the blade tug at the fur on his neck. He rotated his body with the motion of the blade so his rear legs faced it as Gusty slowed it down to swing at him in a different direction. Just as it slowed to its minimum, he snapped his back legs in a floating buck as hard as he could. He caught the flat of the weapon and sent it sailing out of Gusty’s magical grip with a clatter and clang. It bounced and slid across the chamber as he glided down to the floor staring right at Gusty the whole time while she visibly fumed at her lack of success.

“Still too slow, Gusty.” he taunted her for his own sport. He adored her when she got frustrated, she would blush and throw her nose in the air to try to cover it up. Instantly she did as he expected.

“Don’t talk to me you vile stallion!” she grumbled, eyes to the ceiling. He was fairly certain he heard Gala Prance gasp at the statement but the little mare did not understand he and Gusty’s relationship.

“Nonsense.” he continued speaking to the teal alicorn, “What are you doing here so early, anyway?”

“That’s none of your business, cretin.” Gusty spat. She moved slowly towards Celestia and Gala Prance keeping her body facing him. She continued to grumble as she fumbled with her cobalt skirt that she always wore.

“I convinced her to have lunch with me.” Celestia chimed in answering for her friend.

“‘Tiaaaa! You weren’t supposed to tell him, just like that!” Gusty complained.

“Why not? He has things to do today, don’t you?” The Princess turned to ask him. He nodded in return, “Yes. I have other investments to check in on before doing some studying on little miss ambush over there.” he pointed to Gusty with a wing and a chuckle. The mare scrunched up her nose in that upset way she had about her. He could not help but enjoy pushing her buttons, after all she was the reason he had turned over a new leaf, so she got to deal with the results. Most mares would probably love to have him take such a vested interested in them, Gala Prance being a grand example, but he would keep that conceited thought to himself.

“Well, get going then!” Gusty reproachfully proclaimed. “And take this poor mare you have been misleading.” He gave Celestia a knowing look raising a brow at her to see if she would humor him. The Princess nodded in agreement and stopped Gala Prance with a hoof from walking towards him.

“Actually I think it would be appropriate, that Miss Prance eats with us as well today.” She said to Gusty. The teal mare looked over her new creme colored guest rubbing her chin with a hoof. She gave a short nod as if coming to an internal conclusion.

“Alright, she seems cool.” Gusty deemed curtly. Gala Prance bounced up and down on her hooves squeaking with joy. She ran in a quick circle and beamed with pride.

“Taken on a ‘date’ with a high ranking Lord and a lunch with Princess Celestia! Today has been a great day for this mare! What are we going to eat?” The petite mare cheered merrily. She waited eagerly, an extremely wide smile on her face. The stallion grinned pleased with his one good deed for the day. That would allow him to move forward with the rest of his day without the nagging sensation of needed karma.

“Have a good lunch you three.” he spoke casually with a wave. Gusty blew a raspberry at him while Celestia gave a small chuckle at Gala Prance’s enthusiastic waving. He turned and strode towards the doors where the inside pair of guards waited horns aglow to open the portal for him. He passed through the threshold without even breaking stride on his way to check in on his other investment.

The stallion moved towards the Entrance Hall again following his earlier path down into the basement complex. However, instead of taking the hall to his office he continued down the main corridor towards the deeper, grander portion of the concealed complex. The masonry and finishings gradually changed from polished and publicly appealing to drab and functional. He could hardly walk down these halls without having ponies wave, blush, or salute. Doing his best to ignore the notoriety despite himself, the stallion arrived at the entrance to the section he was seeking.

A security checkpoint was manned by a pair of guards, their armor a not golden but a combination of shined iron and bronze finishes. They both stood at attention immediately knocking their respective chairs to the floor. Silently they waved him through the location’s security measures and recorded the identity confirmation. The prompt and stoic service was to be expected they were on his payroll although he would rather they at least say “hello.” He continued past them and went further into the facility. He took his time following the crooked path to his destination arriving finally at a heavy metal door with a number of locks on it.

Grasping the handle and the many locks in a wing he pulled the door open with a harsh creak. No lock could keep him out of a room, it would be better if there was not a door, but then again that did not necessarily mean anything to him. He entered the dark dingy feeling chamber knowing exactly where to step to avoid the room’s many hazards. Such hazards included a growing pile of broken glass and brittle polymers coming from the room’s resident as they were discarded without a care. The acrid smell of a chemical burn filled the lab and the tinkerer kept coughing regularly not realizing he was too close to his experiment.

Having slipped in unnoticed by the pony he was intent on berating he cleared his throat. The tinkerer remained too engrossed in his work to even notice the loud grunt as he tossed another glass apparatus over his shoulder as if keeping it would cause bad luck. Unfortunately, for the busy pony bad luck had just strolled in the door.

“Well, well, well...just as dirty as last time I see.” the stallion declared aloud.

“Ahh! What-the-hell! Please gods, no!” the tinkerer screamed incoherently. He practically front flipped behind the table he was working at shaking with fright. Staring back at him with pure terror in his eyes and soot all over his face the experimenter balked, breathing hard.

“Boo.” The stallion replied with a sneer.

“Wha-what did you come here for?! To finish the job?!” The tinkerer questioned hurriedly. He barely got the shrill inquiries out, still heaving in air like it was the only physical action he could take.

“No...just checking in. Making sure you are still here...and enjoying watching you squirm and scream like a little... baby... school...filly.” The stallion mocked savoring every word and its venom. Shameful perhaps, but the unwitting subject of his displeasure certainly did deserve the trouble, regardless of how incredibly pitiful he behaved when pushed. Princess Luna would have scolded him for chastising her only possible “helper.” Perhaps she would have less empathy for the tinkerer if she knew who was sponsoring his reformation, she had always been aloof to the emotions of that pony, if he was even a pony anymore.

“I-I’m fine...I’m not going anywhere..I like..just leave me to work, p-please.” the fool pleaded to the stallion. The stallion snorted incredulously in response, he would leave he supposed.

“Just remember...make your deadlines.” he admonished before turning and leaving the messy lab. Behind him the tinkerer forced a massive sigh of relief and began muttering to himself.

“How did he even get in here the door was lock-Wait....what did he just say about deadlines?” came his panicked voice echoing down the hall as the stallion left. He felt a dark ironic laugh coming on so he let it ring down through the facility. There were no deadlines, but that did not mean that the turd back in his personal lab needed to know that. Besides it was significantly more pleasurable to let him torture himself.

Mission of torment complete the stallion made his way back towards his office. His intent was to return his regalia to its closet to rid himself of the persistent itch it caused on his shoulders. It was only a few minutes before he was pleasantly stretching his wings, free of his uniform and enjoying the musky smell of his office. As tradition dictated, before he started any researching in the Archives the stallion pulled open the bottom draw of his desk.

There, nestled between a pair of dingy little cloths sat a jar of corn alcohol better known as moonshine. It had been provided to him by a certain small entrepreneur from Ponyville as both a gift and a trial run for the new product. It was another of his investments, gritty tasting and full of wheat and corn starch flavor the beverage had an amazing clean crisp apple finish. It was by far one of the finest alcohols ever produced, trouble was finding a market to sell it in. Equestria’s tight liquor law environment made it difficult to sell much beyond cider and wine. Nonetheless he would enjoy this jar to himself.

Exiting his office the stallion tucked his jar under a wing and made his way up to the main floor of the Palace. Being only mid afternoon, ponies bustled back and forth through the halls dodging past him ignoring him on their way. It was a welcome reproach from his usual notoriety to walk through a crowd without being stopped every ten paces. It allowed him to pass through the State Hall and make his way towards the Archives quickly.

He stood before the small entrance to the collection of ancient texts and scrolls. Unlike other portions of the Palace these guards maintained their relaxed postured, each lowering their spears across the doorway. The guard on the left extended a hoof in a gesture to indicating he required proper credentials before he allowed anypony to enter. The stallion reached for the lanyard he had donned back down in his office and passed the attached identification card to the impatient fellow. Examining the glorified library card with extreme scrutiny it took a while for the sentry to return the lanyard. He did so with a quick nod of his head, refusing to speak at all.

Spears removed from his path, the stallion pushed open the doors into the Archives intent on making progress on the riddle that was Gusty Twilight. He figured that it was best to cross reference a number of documents he had already marked as potentially valuable sources of information. He navigated the immense towers of the main stacks with ease; the Archives and their many sections and labels had become very familiar over the last couple of months. Finding the “Histories and Legends of the Dragons” section he began scanning the materials searching for lists and details of previous draconic leaders. He found some relevant materials relatively quickly and took his several books and a single scroll over to his favorite table within the Archives.

Fssshooptop! Echoed through the otherwise silent collection of knowledge. It had come just about the time he had sat down and opened the first book.

“What are you reading?” Came the curious voice of Princess Luna.

“What are you doing awake?” the stallion questioned right back. Luna had a tendency to be rather distracting whenever he was actually doing important work. He often wondered why should did not bother to follow him around when it was more convenient for the both of them.

“Well...just because I am the Princess of the Night does not mean I sleep all of the day. You know that. Seems particularly silly you would ask me something like that.” She responded. Perhaps she was simply trying to cover her true intentions, not that she was any good at that. To make it worse for Luna, the stallion knew exactly what she was attempting to accomplish, she had never been terribly subtle. Unfortunately, he had lost interest in that type of relationship with her some time ago; he still liked her quite a bit but Gusty consumed nearly all of his thoughts at any given time. Luna would need to prove that her interest was genuine beyond all forms of doubt before he could deal with such an entanglement with her.

“I suppose. Then again…” he started mulling over the last couple of thoughts he had had before continuing, “I would think that you had better things to do than watch me read.”

“Not really. You asked me to help you with Gusty after all, I could review one of the texts if you like?” Luna suggested pointing tentatively at one of the unopened books.

“You know what you are looking for?” The stallion eyed her enthusiasm with doubt.

“Well...no. I really don’t.” She admitted.

“What about that idea you had planned for Zeccaran?” he asked her. Luna pursed her lips clearly surprised that he would ask such a question. She opened her mouth to speak but closed it again before a spark of inspiration gleamed in her eyes.

“You’re right! I should look into that right now!” she declared. This was promptly followed by another, Fssshooptop! as she teleported away from the stallion. This left him to sit there and blink in surprise.

“That was a lot easier than usual.” he said aloud. The strange occurance made him reach for the jar of moonshine he had placed on the table before searching for the books. He took a big gulp before twisting the lid back onto the jar. The liquor burned and made him shiver with its raw potency alone. He shook his head and rubbed his eyes trying to make sure Luna had actually left him to study and after a few minutes it became clear that she had.

He looked down at the old ponish text and began reading translating it in his head as he went.

Dragons. Dragons once ruled the lands long ago. They warred with the the great empire of the Pegasi, hunted the farms of the Earth Ponies, and set many a Unicorn mage down the path of desolation. But, it would seem that one day the dragons began to disappear, where did they go? Who could have caused such a grand disappearance of the world's mightiest creatures? None know, but there are tales amongst the Pegasi in these days of the Pillars that tell of terrible deeds wrought by their ancestors…

“Ahh.” the stallion mused to himself. Everything had just gotten a little bit clearer, truth be told. The cross-reference he was using may not be mentioning specific details, but it was already referencing the events of the Cirra-Dracca Wars. That was the time frame he was most interested in, and maybe, just maybe he might finally find some details that would lead him to uncovering what had happened to Gusty Twilight. He hoped that something would explain why the dark aura surrounding her mind felt so incredibly familiar, and why the mare herself was too. But for now all he could do was read on...