Morning rose on Canterlot as the first glimpses of sunlight peeked through the windows of the royal bedroom to awake lord reagent Sir Marshall but before the warden could even inch himself out of bed, he was seized by two arms that wrestled him back down and found himself being straddled by Luna who seemed peculiarly happy this morning despite her nighttime duties.

"Morning dear husband~." She said sweetly while giving him a kiss.

"I must be dreaming if the Princess of The Night is here to greet me." He teased with a smile that made her giggle before holding her close.

"I assure you husband, this is no dream."

"Really? Cause I don't recall your flank being so...squishy~."

"Are you saying I've grown fat?"

Luna's expression turned sour for a moment when she was pulled down for another kiss and Marshalls arms began to gently embrace her.

"If I said "Yes" would that be a compliment or a death sentence?" He inquired before groping her once more as the morning sun began to shine through the window.

"I suppose I should get dressed. Imperius needs his daily training." The warden sighed while trying to get out of bed but Luna and her magic had other plans

"Celestia has it covered." She said while using a spell to hold him down as she removed her night gown and gave him a seductive look that seemed to almost hypnotized him.

"For now, your princess commands that you satisfy her~." She whispered while undoing the spell and moved his hands to her chest. Marshall seemed rather impressed by her boldness.

"Hm. As you command....my love."

Meanwhile

In the Canterlot courtyard, a small crowd had gathered to see Prince Imperius on his daily training regiment but today was particularly special when the heard about who he was sparring against.

The prince stood in the center of the crowd, dripping in sweat and completely out of breath with one hand planted on the ground keep him balanced and the other barely holding onto his spear.

"What's wrong? don't tell me that's all you've got!" Shouted a female voice that seemed to annoy him as he took off like a shot towards his opponent and began zig zagging through the air like a bullet.

"Hm using your speed to confuse your opponent. Smart." The mysterious mare complimented with a grin before blocking his attack with ease.

"But not smart enough."

The prince was then instantly dropped to the ground like a sack of rice as a cloud of dust filled the courtyard. For a moment, everything was hazy until Imperius found himself staring down the tip of a gold plated halberd with a sun crest decorating the blade and the one holding that weapon was none other than Celestia herself; the princes own mother.

"You still have a lot to learn sweetie." Celestia said with a smug grin before helping her son up and dusting him off like any mother would despite his objections.

"Mother! stop I can dust myself off!"

"Oh hush and stand still."

A few of the guards could not help but snicker at the young princes predicament as his mother finished dusting out his wings and even began to fix his mane as if he were preparing for a school photo.

"There. All handsome."

"Mother..."

Celestia could not help but smile and cuddle her son despite his protests and even proceeded to walk him back inside while having the servants prepare their breakfast.

"I hope you worked up an appetite sweetie. I made your favorite."

"Double chocolate chip pancakes?"

"Mm hm."

Imperius wasted no time in gorging himself on the stack of flapjacks before him after sitting down and despite being raised a royal he was lacking in table manners when in came to his favorite breakfast as the pancakes were smothered with syrup. It was at this moment when Celestia's secretary; Raven appeared with the usual stack of paperwork for her to sign.

"I take it your son worked up an appetite again?" She inquired while fixing her glasses and helping herself to a cup of coffee.

"Indeed. He trains hard like his father."

Celestia used her magic to take the stack of paper from Raven and began to skim through the documents and sign her name faster than lighting which always seemed to be an impressive skill even for a princess.

"How goes the housing for the refugees?" She inquired after signing the last document.

"Things are going well your majesty but to be honest our borders are getting rather crowded." Raven replied while following the princess to the other end of the table.

"Have the foreman of every construction crew brought to me at noon. Perhaps we can build a settlement for them."

"Understood."

Raven departed the dining hall after receiving her orders and allowed Celestia to dine with her son who was chugging down a cup of apple juice after some food got stuck in his chest.

"I told you to slow down when eating sweetie."

"Yes mother."

It wasn't long before Luna and Selena appeared and joined them for the morning feast while discussing the events planned for today. The family were planning a trip to Ponyville to inspect the growing refugee population as well as visit Twilights school before appearing in some public events to help boost the morale of the citizens now that war was inevitable.

"So good of you to join us sister. You look refreshed." Celestia said after noticing the satisfied look on her sisters face.

"Thank you sister."

Marshall entered shortly after and seated himself between the children who he greeted with kisses to their foreheads and a warm smile.

"Morning daddy!" Selena said with a smile of her own as the servants prepared a stack for him and poured a cup of coffee.

"You were late getting out of bed this morning." Celestia pointed out with a smirk as her husband took a sip while Luna turned her head away with a slight blush as they continued their breakfast.

"Well you know how it is. Training the troops, doing paperwork." Marshall responded casually though Celestia could see the drop of sweat trickling down the side of his head as they continued to dine.

"So how did Imperius do in his training this morning? I heard you two tore up the courtyard."

"He's learning. Though he could use more flying lessons."

Both rulers smiled for as they finished their breakfast and their children went to attend their morning lessons while their parents made their way to the throne room to deal with the council and daily get togethers with the nobles, one of which being a tea party with Fancy Pants in the gardens.

The event was not only a good distraction but it was a great way for the princesses to keep in contact with their closest friends as well as hear about the latest gossip going on around the kingdom, Marshall would also be attending with the captains from the city guard as security but that did not stop them from enjoying the small banquet set under the gardens gazebo.

"I love security detail." Said one of the guards as he dined on some cakes from the desert table while the other helped himself to some sandwiches.

"Just don't overdo it boys. We're on duty." Marshall replied while grabbing a small plate as he went over to join Celestia who was talking with Fancy Pants himself.

"I'm so glad you were able to make it your highness." He said before taking a sip of tea while listening to the music playing in the background while Celestia helped herself to a sandwich.

"As am I Fancy Pants. It's nice to get away from work once in a while though I can't say the same for some ponies." Celestia replied while looking at Marshall who was surveying the party guests for any suspicious activity.

"Marshall my boy, come sit down!" Fancy pants called while offering some refreshments and though he was reluctant at first, the warden strapped his sword to the chair and joined them for tea.

"It's been too long old boy."

"Indeed it has. Haven't seen you since the Harvest Festival in Ponyville."

Fancy Pants was one of the many secret supporters who helped finance the campaign against Dain Stonehoof during the war and was also the one who kept Rarity's sister safely hidden. When the stonehoof regime finally fell, he was the first to help reestablish the old government and help the victims who were affected most by the conflict and overtime he became a popular influence among the commoners as well as the nobility.

Marshall had come to befriend Fancy after meeting him at a few parties and ceremonies. Because of his noble upbringing he was able to get along with him quite well and would often listen to his council when it came to matters of state or matters of family especially when he learned that Celestia and Luna were having both his children.

"I hear your boy is becoming quite popular among the recruits in the royal academy." Fancy said while pouring his friend some tea.

"Indeed. He's a fast learner but a bit rash when it comes to combat training." Marshall replied while taking a sip and helping himself to a few sweets laid on the table.

"However, he is doing terribly at chivalry training." he sighed with a bit of disappointment.

"The moment he even looks at a girl, he starts to molt."

"Well then perhaps we could ask a certain Viking Ruler we all know to teach your boy about the opposite sex?" Fancy joked with a smirk as Marshall sprang from his seat, cheeks pink from blushing.

"Absolutely not! If Wulfric's gonna teach anything about women to my boy it's how to bed them!"

The party laughed for a moment as Celestia seated her husband back down while he caught his breath.

"Speaking of which. Where is the old Stag?" Fancy inquired while fixing another cup of tea.

"He's busy evacuating the northlands as we speak, in fact he should've arrived at the border days ago."

It was at that moment a messenger rushed into the gardens carrying a scroll for Sir Marshall and as the warden read the scroll his expression became filled with worry and concern before he slowly stood up from his chair and whispered an order to the messenger before sending him off.

"Marshall what is it?" Luna inquired as her husband strapped his sword to his waist.

"Something's happened at the border. I'm joining a scouting party to investigate."

Celestia could instantly tell that something was amiss and did not hesitate on insisting that she accompany him to the border despite his objections and while this worried some of the party guests, Luna assured them that it was nothing more than a simple errand that needed her sisters attention.

After forming their party, Marshall and his best knights rode out with Celestia at the head of the group dressed in full battle armor and as they departed the city many citizens looked on with concern since news of Bluebloods invasion had already begun to spread like wildfire and already began fearing the worst.

"Our scouts report that Wulfrics caravan was ambushed on the royal highway. We'll hook up with another unit at the border and begin our search!" Marshall shouted over the trampling of their steeds as his soldiers acknowledged his orders while Celestia looked on towards the horizon fearing the worst and prayed for the safety of her friends.

"Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Wulfric...please be safe."

End.