It was quiet on the palace grounds, even with the several dozen ponies in attendance. There was little mood for talking- the Royal faction, including both sets of families and their staff, stood tersely to the left. Two major alicorns were in attendance, and neither were particularly happy; Cadence was sticking close to the ice cold Shining Armor, while Twilight Sparkle helped Golden Dream with her gear. Several high-ranking military ponies stood in the centers around the dueling grounds, keeping an eye on both parties.

The opponents’ group was far larger. More than House Quartz had joined in this venture, it seemed. Representatives of House Sapphire, Ruby, and Crystalsong stood close together, cool and confident, not seeming to mind the baleful gazes of their monarchs, but not meeting them either. Mostly, their eyes rested on Golden and her own family.

Golden’s mother and father had not been particularly surprised to hear the news, though neither were excited, either. Especially now that they saw their daughter’s opponent, a strong, young stallion. They stood respectfully back from the circle, but in a tight, protective group. They were bound by custom to not interfere in any way, and to be ready to flee should Golden lose. It did not happen often, but being chased out of a city was nothing new to the family.

Both duelists were dressed nearly the same- honor duels were far different than tournament bouts. Golden’s armor had been eschewed for a long leather coat and buckled boots over her forelegs. Chainmail was strung over her neck and her flanks, while a metal visor protected her upper face and eyes. The object of an honor duel was points, not the grievous injury of one’s opponent. Typically.

Golden was not too sure with this one. The nobles were not particularly hostile, but that could simply be decorum. The stallion, Tourmaline, certainly did not give anything away in his dark, now hidden eyes. He rolled his shoulders as his squire stepped away, wing-sabers glittering in the sunlight. Golden Dream did the same, testing the strength of her wingblades’ buckles and straps. They would both have the same weapons- this was a test of skill.

“Apologize to Lady Dash on my behalf, ma’am,” she told Twilight softly, “Seems I won’t be able to spar with her yet.”

She smiled shakily up at the other princess, and was relieved to see a bit of a smirk there. The princess of Magic chuckled quietly.

“I will. But I think she’ll be fine, waiting a few more days. ...good luck. No matter what… you’re marrying Cadence and Shining. They can’t take that from you.”

But they could certainly overshadow the marriage with a loss of honor for them all. Even if they were not married yet, she was their betrothed. Gritting her teeth, she turned to walk to the center of the dueling circle, staring at her opponent as he matched her walk. They were a foot apart. Above, a pegasus noble from a non-affiliated house floated over them, his staff of office gripped in his hooves- he would be the judge in this fight, ready to call out strikes.

“Salute your opponent.”

Golden Dream stared into Tourmaline’s eyes as she stretched her wings out, tilting the saber-blades to glint in the sun while she bowed her head quickly. Tourmaline mirrored the bow, letting out a quick, sharp breath before stepping back into a ready position, wings settling back. Golden frowned as she stepped back into her own position; was his wing-

“Begin!”

Tourmaline lurched forward, right wing stabbing forward as he stepped and prepared for a jump; Golden twitched to the side to let the wing-blade pass and swept forward, left blades pinging off each other. Her boots skidded over the cobblestones as Dream ducked under the stallion’s jump, slashing against the chain-studded coat covering his back legs.

“Point,” the judge called, but did not drop the staff to signal a pause to the fight.

Tourmaline did not seem overly surprised- he snorted as he spun around, neck rolling down as he acrobatically spun, left blade slashing down Dream’s guard before the right powerfully cut across her helm.

“Poi-”

And the pegasi were at it. Dream’s hooves locked into Tourmaline’s jacket and flung him away; her hind legs launched her forward into a stab- the right wing-blade punched into his clavicle through the jacket and chain, and the mare firmly ripped it free, taking a step back. The stallion yelped and stumbled forward before standing back into position, blades raised to block, quivering only slightly.

“First blood!” The judge shouted, staff dropping between them as they zipped down; he glanced over at the wincing, quietly cursing stallion, “Concede, or continue?”

“Continue,” he gasped out, shaking his sweat-slicked mane out of his eyes, “I-”

“That’s enough, Tourmaline.”

Duchess Citrine had stepped forward- the amount allowed during an honor duel for those of the party. She nodded to her scion, a small smile on her face.

“We have done our duty, son. Concede.”

Golden Dream blinked over at her in surprise, head and ears tilting.

‘That… that was it?’

“You concede? Just like that?” Shining Armor barked in full General voice, his entire body bristled up as he stepped forward, “After all this?”

“Yes, Prince Armor,” Tourmaline replied quietly, bowing his head low, “I-I concede.”

“We have shown the Equestrians that we are not toothless,” Citrine added firmly, “And will not allow them to take pieces of our Empire without retaliation.”

She drooped slightly in her stance, lips pressed together, “Do not blame the others. I orchestrated this. And I stand by it.”

The Prince did not answer; indeed, glancing back at her betrothed, Golden could very well see that he was struggling to hold in a retort.

“...I accept the concession. Good fight, Tourmaline, scion of House Quartz. Please, accept the healing of my house.”

“G-good… good fight, Golden Dream, of House Bolt. I accept your aide.”

“This fight is over,” the judge intoned, seeming… fairly bewildered himself, flying to a respectful distance as the two parties converged.

Golden was happy to see the humility in the young stallion; offering aide was standard, but more than a few losers had refused it, and that was foolish, in her mind. A unicorn retainer of her family dashed over to give aide, alongside several other healers of the gathered noble houses. The air had cooled somewhat; Aurora had dashed over to Golden, gently unbuckling her helmet, while Aurem moved to undo the jacket and chain, and unbuckle her sabre-blades.

“You did well, Goldie,” Aurora signed, smiling at her softly, “Your father saw he was a novice at the beginning.”

“Quite. Flashy, but a little too sure of himself. Cost him that blood point.”

Golden Dream was only half-listening, eyes flicking worriedly to the Royals. Twilight and Cadence were speaking quietly with Shining Armor, his face hidden his mane- he had removed his diadem at some point. But Rainbow Dash was confidently striding over, a big smirk stretching her muzzle. She nodded firmly as their eyes met.

“I’ll remember those moves, from both of ya. Quick and brutal.”

Her eyes flicked over the duelist before playfully punching her shoulder, grinning as Dream repaid the hit and winked.

“I haven’t forgotten our spar promise, Dame Dash,” she told her softly, stepping away from the noble families, and towards the Royals, “Perhaps tomorrow. ...when my head stops ringing.”

Dash’s smirk however did not disappear, “I don’t think tomorrow’s gonna happen. Twily’s pissed, Shining’s pissed, and Cadence… well…”

Rainbow's eyes suddenly widened, and a warm body pressed a top Golden Dream, a familiar scent halting the duelist's instinctive tense.

“Cadence is going to snuggle you all night,” that familiar princess’ voice whispered in Dream’s ear; powerful legs lifted her into the air before the blush could even register.

The alicorn was stronger than Golden even imagined, not struggling to lift the nearly full-grown mare high into the sky. She peeked sheepishly up at the Princess of Love, noting the tenseness around her jaw, and remained quiet. ...it was understandable. Talk about taking the wind from her sails… the pain in the eyes of her betrothed at this challenge…

“I hate that I understand why they did that,” Cadence spoke after a few minutes of flight, voice loud to hear over the wind, “And that I shouldn’t be as angry as I am.”

The alicorn snorted, grip tightening around Golden’s barrel- she winced slightly, eyes widening as she realized the power behind those muscles.

“My aunts run Equestria well, but the Duchess’ fears aren’t unfounded. The nobles have been snipping at each other since the Empire re-appeared. The unicorns, the pegasi, now I’m worried about the damn…”

Cadence paused, taking a deep breath and gritting her teeth lightly.

‘Alright, Golden. Consort duty time.’

She reached to carefully take her hoof, squeezing lightly; she felt her shift to look back down at her.

“If it helps, Pr- C-cadence, I am not upset at them, myself.”

Dream closed her eyes, letting what she wanted to say coalesce properly, “They gave the challenge, and followed through. No underhoofed tactics, no major insults, and a polite explanation. ...take what the Duchess said to heart; the others were her vassals.”

The rest of the flight was quiet; Cadence’s wings shifted and they dived down along the city’s market district. The scent of cooking food and spices rose up to meet them; Golden flushed as her stomach rumbled loudly. Fighting always burned through her reserves, heh. Thankfully, Cadence either sensed the need, or felt something of the same, as they moved to carefully land- Cadence gently let Golden go, allowing her to slow at a prance, while she flew on to land a few feet on. Mana sparkled off Golden’s feathers for a moment before Shining Armor teleported onto the street opposite, giving both mares a nod.

Golden’s eyes flicked up thoughtfully; they’d settled down in front of a pub, if she had to hazard a guess. Dark-colored granite and limestone, a somewhat darker theme than other businesses in the area, which tended towards marble or crystal. Above the dark-tinted crystal-glass was a small, enchanted sign- (red and italics) Rosie’s. Huh… Shining caught her gaze and smiled, horn lighting up as he opened the door for them.

Fragrant smoke billowed out into the mild evening air; Golden sucked in a slightly surprised breath, blinking a few times. A few of her uncles had tried their hooves at tobacco cultivation; this was not the first time she’d smelled good cigars. Cadence gently nosed her side to guide her further in- they didn’t bother with much electric light here, most of the dark pub lit by a roaring fireplace and magical torches settled across the smooth stone walls. Cadence moved along towards the bar, manned by a curious Crystal Earth Pony; Golden shifted to follow- only for a familiar magic field to gently steer her off towards a side booth.

Shining Armor answered her questioning look with a small smile, nodding to a booth seat, “She’ll get us something good. Let her do it- Cadey prefers to do things herself when she’s in a mood.”

The pegasus sighed softly as she settled into the booth, tail swishing slowly over the faux-leather.

“...I am so-”

Shining’s hoof lightly clopped to the table; he was smiling a little sadly, shaking his head.

“Don’t be. You did great, and I understand why you said yes, Golden. ...though going forward, we need to talk about things before accepting duels like that.”

The veteran pressed his lips together, sighing after a moment, “It won’t be the last of them. And I refuse to put you in danger if it can be avoided. Can we agree on that?”

“Of course,” Dream replied softly, swallowing back a nervous apology when the stallion beamed at her, “I-I will, Shining. ...thank you, for everything. Let’s…”

She let out a slow breath before smiling up at him, willing her nerves and remaining energy down, “Let’s have a nice victory night.”

Not quite the biggest fight, but there will be more!