Knock knock knock

That was the first thing Twilight heard as she woke up. Opening her eyes and blinking a bit of eye crud out of her face, she looked at her alarm clock. It was seven in the morning. She reluctantly sighed, flopped out of bed and groaned tiredly. Getting to her hooves, she walked slowly to her bedroom door and opened it.

Noble Blade was there, a nervous look on his face.

"My lady?" he asked. "There's something I think you should see." He turned and led the way to the front doors of her castle.

Twilight, now interested, followed him to the doors.

As she got near to the front entryway to her castle, Twilight could hear some muffled yelling behind the doors. Slightly concerned, Twilight used her magic to swing the doors open.

Outside were about fifteen to twenty mares protesting loudly at the doors of the castle. The only thing keeping them from bursting into the castle was Freedom Fighter, who was on his hind legs right in front of the doors. He held a long metal staff Twilight hadn't seen on him before, and had borrowed Noble Blade's shield to use for crowd control.

Some of the mares wore T-shirts with the words I LOVE THE STORM! with a picture of Firestorm's face under it. Others were holding up signs that said FFC with lots of spiral hearts on them. Twilight could see Lyra Heartstrings, Bon-Bon, Colgate, and Sparkler, among others in the crowd.

Twilight had to raise her voice over the noise of the crowd. "ALL RIGHT EVERYPONY, WHAT'S GOING ON?"

The crowd quieted down long enough for Lyra Heartstrings to step forward. She had a T-shirt with I LOVE THE STORM! on it and had a hat with the same insignia on it. She raised her voice. "Twilight! Where's Firestorm?"

A little confused, Twilight said, "Probably still asleep! Why do you want to see him?"

"He's inside!" Lyra announced to the mares behind her, and they cheered and pushed forward again. Freedom Fighter angled the shield as they surged, and he swept the staff in a circle. Nopony got within the deadly staff's radius, but they were getting more and more fed up.

"Okay, what's the deal, Lyra?" Twilight asked somewhat irritably. "Why do you want to see him?"

"Because I- I mean, we want to date him!" she indicated the mares. "We are the FFC- the Firestorm Fan Club!"

"The what now?" Twilight asked quizzically, tilting her head to the side. "Why don't you go after Rainbow Dash?"

"Well, for one, she's already a proven legend," Lyra explained, "But he's also a legend now! He's just what he said he is! He's fast! He's deadly!" She sighed romantically. "And he's super hot!"

Twilight gagged.

"What about super embarrassing?" Noble asked politely. "He did mention that as well, didn't he?"

Lyra faltered for a little bit, then said, "Well, apart from embarrassing, you know. He's still hot!"

"You'd better not let Firestorm hear you say that," Noble said to her.

"Too late!" a voice came from behind them. Firestorm himself elbowed his way between Twilight and Noble and raised his arms up high. "BEHOLD!" he cried in a ridiculous voice. "THE OBJECT OF THY WORSHIP! I WILL ACCEPT ONLY OFFERINGS OF PURE VIRGINS AND APPLE CIDER!"

The mares screamed in excitement. There arose some cries from the crowd.

"I'm a virgin! Take me!"

"I gladly offer myself!"

"Please! Accept me!"

"I have a bit of cider, if you want it!"

Firestorm stood there for about five seconds while all of this was going on, then he bowed and reversed direction, going back into the castle. The mares surged forward yet again, and Freedom spun the staff he had in a fast radius. That kept them at bay long enough for Twilight to fire her horn into the air. From the apex of the burst of energy, a pink bubble surrounded the castle. Twilight and Noble Blade backed themselves into the castle again, and Freedom followed them. He shut the doors to the castle, and the cries of protest died down.

Twilight wiped her brow, then looked squarely at Firestorm. "All right, explain."

"Look, I don't know anything about this, I swear!" Firestorm protested. "All I know is I woke up, and after I lay in bed for about an hour I got up and I saw this thing going on outside. I heard somepony say I was super hot- " he flipped his mane stupidly, "- and that got my attention. I didn't know I now have a fan club! I swear!" he said, noticing the hard stare Twilight was giving him.

Freedom Fighter unslung Noble's shield from his left arm and offered it to Noble, who took it. He then looked at Firestorm. "I can't believe it," he said simply. "The second day here and you already blow our anonymity."

"Celestia didn't say we had to be anonymous," Firestorm pointed out. "All we have to keep secret is that we're underground secret princess mercenary warrior guardians."

"That's what you call it now?"

"Well, what would you call it?"

Twilight threw her arms up in exasperation and turned around away from the two stallions.

The mares outside of the castle stayed right where they were for the next two or so hours. They were determined to wait out Twilight putting up her shield with the reasoning that she would get tired soon from the effort. As a result, the occupants of the castle were trapped inside indefinitely.

Firestorm didn't mind that all that much, as it presented him with an opportunity to wander the castle to look for things to do. He tried to hang out with Spike for a little bit, but after he invited Firestorm to a gem-tasting activity in the kitchen, Firestorm had politely declined.

Freedom Fighter stayed in his room for as much as anypony could figure out. When Starlight asked Noble Blade about it, he told her that he was taking inventory of all of his weapons. After all, he did have quite a bit of them, making it hard to keep track of them all. So he stayed hidden, cut off from outside contact. Nopony saw him for a long time.

Twilight was now in the library with the final Guardian. Noble Blade was reading a spell book in Twilight's library, dully turning the pages and trying to ignore the mares loitering outside. Twilight would glance up from her own book at him from time to time.

Finally Noble shut the spellbook and sighed in annoyance at the muffled yelling outside. "When do you think they'll go away?" Noble asked Twilight.

Twilight popped her head up from her own book. "Hm?"

"The mares," he indicated. "I need to go out today and see Rarity, and these mares are making that particular mission rather hard."

"Why do you need to see her?" Twilight asked. "You don't need clothes, do you?"

"No, no, I'm fine on clothes, but..." He faltered for a bit, then quietly spoke. "Yesterday I called her selfish. At the flying competition. You were there, Twilight. You heard me. I insulted the Element of Generosity. Just because I disagreed with her methods doesn't mean her motives were unclear. She got us a good seat for the show, and I insulted her for it. I feel terrible, and apologizing is the best way to clear that up."

Twilight put a hoof to her mouth in astonishment. At the competition, she had actually silently agreed with Noble that Rarity seducing and manipulating a stallion wasn't the best option to get a spot. And here was Noble, thinking he was the one who needed to apologize? She didn't know if that meant Noble was wrong, but she was astounded that he was so willing to make reparations. In a quiet voice, she said, "No...no, you don't have to."

"I don't care if I have to or not. It's something that I want to do." Noble looked down. "I want to be on good terms with you and all of your friends. I want to not live around you or them feeling awkward and guilty about circumstances involving me. So I want to apologize for not realizing the good she did and instead focusing on the bad things."

Twilight set her book down and looked at Noble directly. "Look, Noble, you did nothing wrong. You have no reason to apologize. Just accept that what happened was unfortunate, and I'm sure Rarity will forgive you."

"The unrepentant are the unforgiven," Noble uttered. "If I don't apologize, how can I expect any kind of acceptance of my apology?"

Twilight sighed. "Fine. You do what you want, then. I'm telling you, sometimes there's such a thing as being too good."

Noble tilted his head to the side. "Was that a compliment?"

Twilight blushed. "Take it however you want," she told him.

There was an uncomfortable silence for a little bit more.

'All right, Twilight. Just go ahead and talk to him. It can't be that hard. Just ask him if he has a policy on dating.'

But what if he takes it the wrong way? What if he thinks badly of me? What if he doesn't want to see me because he would rather be with somepony else?

'Why on Equus would he do that? He's been understanding so far. He's not the kind of guy who'd push me away because I asked a single question, right?'

Twilight coughed and said, "Um, Noble? Can we talk?"

"What about?" Noble Blade asked.

Twilight took a deep breath. "Can you date?" she hurriedly asked.

Noble looked confused at the question for just a moment. Then he spoke contemplatively. "I...never really thought about that before. I actually haven't dated before, to be honest."

"You haven't?" Twilight asked, somewhat surprised.

Noble smiled sadly. "Undercover mercenary bodyguard warrior for Princess Celestia, remember? Doesn't leave a lot of room in my schedule for that sort of thing." He put a hoof to his mouth. "Although there's no rule in my orders telling me that I can't date. If I were to date, though, it'd be with somepony that has mutual interest. She interested in me, and I with her." His countenance changed- just a bit. "Twilight, I feel a little uncomfortable talking about this, but I...I have to tell you something. About one of your friends."

Twilight nodded. "Go on..."

Noble's color in his face rose, ever so slightly. "It...It's about Fluttershy..." His color rose even more. "Since the day I met her, I...I've thought that she's..."

Twilight waited for him, somewhat disappointed.

Finally Noble exhaled. "Beautiful," he breathed. "I've..." he gulped. "I think I have a crush..."

Twilight was at the same time overjoyed and disappointed. Overjoyed, because of his crush on one of her closest friends and that he would make her more happy than ever. Disappointed, because it wasn't her he had a crush on. She got out of her seat and walked over to Noble. In a quiet voice she said, "Oh my goodness, Noble...I'm so proud of you. You're finding feelings!"

Noble looked up, a little startled. "You're not disappointed?" he asked.

"Why would I be?" she asked. "You're finding love! And with one of my friends, as well? That's great! I can tell you, Fluttershy would be great for you. I'm sure you'll get along great with her."

Noble looked at her, hope shining in his face. "Then you're okay with me trying hopelessly to go after such a beautiful entity as herself?"

Twilight chuckled. "Absolutely! Trust me, I think you would be great for her. She's so kind and sweet- there's no way she can't like you back!"

Noble Blade gave a genuine smile. "Thank you, Twilight. I just- " He sighed. "She really is the most beautiful pony I have ever seen before. There's just nothing about her that's rotten or cruel. She's respectful and quiet and cute and demure...and look at her appearance! Her mane's so long and smooth, and it's the richest pink color you can think of, and her eyes!" He looked at Twilight. "Oh my goodness, her eyes! I just can't look at them for too long, or else it'll be creepy, but her eyes are just so pretty! I can't believe..." He trailed off as he saw Twilight's expression. It was smug. "What?" he asked.

"You really like her, then," she said, with just a trace of morose. It was concealed, however, by a light, friendly tone.

"Yes, Twilight. I do. Every time I'm alone, I think of her. I've only seen her a few times, but every time I do, everything seems better around me. She brightens everything." He sighed and leaned back in his chair miserably. "Oh, listen to me. I haven't even been around her for two days, and I already think I can just go and say these things about her. It's stupid, is what it is. I need a bit more time before I can just say I'm completely infatuated with somepony who I'm not sure even likes me back all that much." He put his face in his hooves.

"What makes you think she doesn't like you all that much?" Twilight asked, somewhat confused. "She's been kind, hasn't she?"

"Well, yes, except that she's kind to everypony else as well. She's acted no different to me, except for the fact that she's too intimidated to really speak up to me at all," Noble said.

"Well, she is Fluttershy, after all," Twilight mused. "She might just be shy around you because you're new, is all. Either that, or..." Twilight broke off, then gave a smirk. "...Or she might be infatuated with you as well."

Noble took his face out of his hooves. "What?" he asked.

"I said, she might be infatuated with you as well."

"No, no, no, I didn't mean "What?" as in, "I didn't hear you." I meant "What?" as in the, "Excuse me, but I know what you just said and I can't believe that's what you just said," kind of way." Noble explained, then exhaled slowly, his mind rocking from Twilight's suggestion. Could Fluttershy actually like him? Him, of all ponies? He wasn't anything special by himself. All he was was given to him by Celestia, molded by his friends in the field of battle and tribulation. Without anypony else, he wasn't all that special, he knew. He sought for no glory of his own.

"The only way to figure out if she likes you," Twilight said, with just a hint of satisfaction, "Is to ask her yourself."

"WHAT?!" Noble shrieked, leaping up a foot into the air and landing back on the chair. It was the first time Twilight had seen him genuinely startled. "I can't do that! What if she doesn't like me? What if I come off as a female predator or something, and I can never look her in the eyes after that? What if..." He trailed off.

Twilight put on an amused smile. "Are you telling me that you- the same pony that faced down monsters and armies and isolated outposts and rescued me from captivity- are scared of talking to a mare?" She was teasing him, just a little.

Noble's expression grew pained. "That's different."

Twilight simply chuckled.

"Why are you so interested in this?" Noble asked her curiously.

Twilight suddenly grew very fascinated with the ground floor design and did not look up.

"Why is this important to you? Is this a questionnaire?" Noble pressed.

Twilight gulped. "L-look, Noble, I...I have to tell you something as well." She took a deep breath. Her stomach lurched, and she tried to stay calm as she said, "I...I think I have a crush on you."

Noble widened his eyes and inhaled through his mouth. He sat back and looked down. He looked a little sad.

"Is it bad that I do?" Twilight hurriedly asked. "I-I mean, I know you're obsessed with Fluttershy, but I...I just thought you needed to know that. Ever since you rescued me, I...I just couldn't help it. You're just too kind and helpful and eager to serve that I just...I fell for you."

Noble looked like the guiltiest thing in the world. "And here I was, going on and on about Fluttershy, right in front of your face. I didn't know, otherwise I would have kept silent, I swear."

"No, no, it-it's okay!" Twilight rushed, trying to make him not feel guilty. "I needed to know too. I just needed to know if you had your eye on somepony else, or if you were free to have. I really don't want to make you do anything uncomfortable just to make myself happy. That's not how friendship works."

Noble sat forward. "I would sooner refuse my life than refuse affection, but thou must know, much as it pains me to hurt thy feelings, that I do not love thee as a mate." His voice was sad as he relapsed into archaic language. He stood up. "But know this," he said, gripping Twilight's shoulders, "that this does not mean I despise thee. Just because I do not love thee as a mate, it doth not mean thou art worthless in mine eyes. Thou art a studious, powerful, special mare who I will stand by, serve, and protect for as long as I am able. To see thee hurt because of mine interest in somepony else...it pierceth me to the center. And I know that I can do nothing to lift thy burden. But I think that if thou dost accept mine own agency to choose for myself a mate I love, thy bitterness shall dissipate. I do not hate thee, Twilight. I will not push thee away. But it is Fluttershy who I have fallen for."

Twilight felt both hurt and relieved at his words. He wasn't being hurtful about it, but she still wasn't his special somepony. She saw what he was trying to do, however, and she grew a wavering smile. "T-thank you, Noble." Her voice was hoarse. "For telling me now and not later. I mean, if in the future, several months from now, I had decided to tell you, that would have been even worse, because I would have believed you loved me for so long that when the time came to tell me, I would have been utterly devastated. So...thanks."

Noble smiled warmly. "And thank you for not lashing out and blaming me for not being your special somepony. Really, there's nopony to blame in cases like this. Blame simply doth not exist."

Twilight gave a small laugh. "You know, it's cute, the way you talk in fragmented old language."

Noble looked at her. "Is that why thou fell for me in the first place?" he asked her.

Twilight sniffed. "Well, not the only reason," she said.

Noble sighed. "Oh, love is complicated," he said. "I suppose this'll make an interesting letter to Aunt Cadence."

Twilight froze.

Noble noticed this. "Twilight? What's the matter?"

"Aunt...Cadence?" she asked in horror.

Noble, now a little apprehensive, replied, "Yes...Princess Cadence is my aunt. She has a brother- Strong Heart. I'm Strong Heart's son."

"Cadence is...my sister-in-law!" she exclaimed.

"Thou art related to Captain Shining Armor?" Noble said in astonishment.

"I'm his sister!"

"I never knew that! He never told me about you! All our conversations are strictly business- war business and stuff like that. We rarely meet to discuss anyway!"

"So if you're Cadence's nephew..."

"And you're her sister-in-law..."

There was silence for a little bit. Then Noble continued from the sentence he left off of. "What does that make us? Are you my cousin, or my aunt, or..."

Twilight put a hoof to her mouth in thought, stunned slightly. Her arm was weak for some reason. "I...don't know. Cadence is the connecting tie to all of this, but the only way how is by marriage. That's the only reason. So we aren't related...I think. We shouldn't be related by blood, but..."

"But this is still kind of awkward," Noble said, scratching his head and blushing just a bit. "At least this'll put a damper of some sort on all of this, right?"

There was a bit more uncomfortable silence between the two of them.

"Can we change the topic, please?" Twilight asked after a minute.

Thinking quickly, Noble blurted out, "I had a question for you."

"Sure, Noble. Fire away," Twilight stuttered.

"Since I first came here and laid mine eyes upon..." His throat felt dry. "Fluttershy," he said, remembering once again the overwhelming sheer beauty in a mortal form, "I have noticed a similarity between our Cutie Marks. For most of my life, I assumed the butterfly wings on the side of the blade symbolize the peace and love that exists in a warrior. But now that I've noticed her Cutie Mark and its eerie compatibility with mine, I hypothesize it could mean something more."

Twilight looked at Noble's flank. There it was, the sword pointing downward with a pair of butterfly wings on the side of the blade. Looking closely at it, she noticed that indeed, the butterfly had pink wings like Fluttershy's. It was almost too eerie.

Noble tried to breathe calmly at the prospect he was about to propose. "Twilight, what if...Fluttershy and I are...marked?"

Twilight's eyes widened. "You mean, like soul mates?"

Noble's mind rocked with the possibility. Her and him, connected since before time began to flow? If she was truly the mare he was to spend all of eternity with... "No, not just that," he admitted. "I wonder...who- or what- marked us, assuming we are. Granted, some ponies can get the same design and not end up as partners. But if we are to assume that I am to be with her...who orchestrated it and why?"

Twilight thought about that. There hadn't been a reported case of such an event happening before, so far as she knew. So the question gave her pause. Who would be behind it all? Was it coincidental that a stallion having the same elements of a mare's Cutie Mark would be head-over-hooves in love with said mare? Some Cutie Mark designs were common, like hourglasses, painting easels, and construction materials. And just because two ponies with the same design components were attracted to each other, it didn't mean they were predestined.

But then a thought hit her. It was a wild thought, out of nowhere. "What if it was the Tree of Harmony?" she offered.

Noble Blade raised an eyebrow.

"I've seen the tree work behind the scenes before and plan things out years in advance. It has control over the Elements- and it created the element of Kindness in the shape of a butterfly, the same as Fluttershy's Cutie Mark. And you then show up under the command of Princess Celestia, with a mark similar to that of one of the Element Bearers. Is that a coincidence?" she asked, her mind suddenly more awake and alert than ever. If it was true...

"And if it wasn't coincidence?" Noble asked with trepidation.

"Then...we were gathered here together for a reason!" Twilight realized. "Probably by the Tree of Harmony!" She started to pace around the room. "But why? What's going on here?"

Once more, silence fell.

"Something big, Twilight," Noble declared grimly. "Something...big."

Noble twitched an ear all of a sudden. "Is it my imagination, or is the silence a bit...quieter than usual?"

Twilight kept her ears open. Sure enough, the silence had no annoying background noise. "Have the mares gone away?" Twilight asked hopefully.

Noble came to the library's window and peeked out. Sure enough, Noble saw through the pink haze of the pink bubble shield that the mares that had laid siege to the castle were no longer there, but were instead running towards the main center of Ponyville. They were following a trail of fire flying through the air low to the ground.

Twilight came next to him. "Does this mean I can put down the bubble shield?" she asked. It did take effort to maintain the barrier using subtle magic subconsciously.

Noble shrugged. "Might as well."

Twilight broke off the mental connection. The large pink bubble wavered for just an instant, then popped. The view out of the window was no longer pink-tinted. Twilight sighed in relief.

"Good job, Storm," Noble murmured, watching the trail of fire fly to Ponyville's square. "You were always good at distractions."

He turned to face Twilight. "So does this mean I can go into the town to apologize to Rarity?" he asked her.

"Now's a good time," Twilight said. "I'll come with you. I know the town and its ponies. I can show you the best places to visit, the ponies in town, the memorials- it'll be a day out. You'll get to know the town."

Noble smiled. "A day out?" he asked.

Twilight shook her hooves hurriedly. "Not like a date or anything, just...an outing."

"I won't say no to that," Noble said. "Let's go, then. It's three fifteen. Let's try to hit all the best spots before night."

And with that, the two ponies pushed the library doors open and prepared to leave to meet the town and what it had to offer.