Over one thousand years in the past, before Luna's banishment, the alicorn sisters, as well as the other alicorns throughout the land, were faced with a new and very dangerous threat, hellbent on destroying all of the alicorns. So to save themselves from extinction, seven alicorns, Celestia and Luna among them, attended a meeting in Canterlot to create a magical item to defend against the new threat.
The seven alicorns enchanted the item, pouring all of their energy into it. Once they finished they all collapsed and passed out from exhaustion.
With the alicorns unconscious, a thief, who had been watching the meeting unfold, swept in and flew off with the newly enchanted item. He traveled to a distant town, and sold the item for a substantial amount of money. And, for nearly one thousand years, the item passed from owner to owner, not a single one knowing how powerful the item really was, nor would they know how to use it even if they knew the extent of it's power. And while the alicorns searched high and low to find it, they never even got close to finding it.
But one day, it's powers were rediscovered, and this is where our story begins; the chronicles of the Shamrock Shield.
"Wake up Everen, you're going going to miss the parade."
Everen's bright green eyes shot open as he woke up, noticing that the sun was up. He threw his covers off of his orange-brown fur and leaped out of bed, putting on his necklace as he went, eager to go to the parade.
"Honestly, I don't know how I even manage to wake you up each day. I should get a medal." Everen's mother complained, as Everen galloped out of his room,and past his mom. "Now, now don't get so excited that you trip over your own hooves. And do you really have to wear that necklace all the time, I understand that you like your birthday present, but you've seldom taken it off in the month and a half you've had it." she continued while Everen ran down the stairs and into the kitchen to have a quick breakfast, blissfully ignorant to his mother's nagging.
"Come now dear, today is a day of joy." Everen's father replied heartily, ruffling Everen's messy light-brown mane as Everen poured oats into a small bowl. He took a sip from his coffee mug before continuing. "It's not every day we get to celebrate the founding of our town."
"I suppose you're right, but I'd still like a little something for even trying to wake you up Everen." she responded, turning to look expectantly at the little colt.
"Thank you." Everen said through a mouthful of oats, he swallows his food before proceeding. "When is the parade starting, again?"
"In three quarters of an hour." Everen's dad responds promptly.
Everen eyes widened up in surprise. "What? I need to eat fast so we can get out there now!" he shouted, louder than he had intended. And he stopped talking and resumed eating after getting a stern look from his mother.
"Oh, calm down Frost, he's just excited." the father said with a touch of laughter in his voice. Finding Frost's exasperated state amusing, as usual. "Lighten up a bit."
"Shut up, Blaze." Frost retorted, venom clearly audible in her voice.
Blaze merely chuckled at his wife's futile attempt to intimidate him. "I love you honey." he said as he cantered over and kissed his wife on the cheek, causing her expression to soften.
"Hurry up and finish your coffee already." Frost said, much more calm now, but still a little annoyed. "We don't want to be late for the parade." she touched the tip of her horn to her husbands', creating a quick spark of energy that died away after a second.
Blaze smiled and moved back over to his seat, Frost taking the chair right next to him, and took another drink drink of coffee before asking his wife in a quieter voice so Everen wouldn't hear, "Will your brother be at the parade, Frost?"
"He should be there. He hasn't told me anything yet, though." Frost replied, lowering her voice as well.
"It's okay if he doesn't come you know, he doesn't have to be at every family gathering." Blaze comforted her, putting a hoof on her shoulder as she gets that all too familiar look on her face. "He's got a life of his own you know. You can't expect him to always be there."
"I know, but it'd be nice if he could show up a little more often. Everen loves to hear his stories, and he loves learning how to be a proper gentlecolt." she said, with concern.
Everen finished his oats, and looked up at his parents. "Come on dad, hurry up." the little colt nagged, impatiently.
"Okay, okay. I'm almost done." Blaze responded, smiling at his foal. He chugged the rest of his coffee, then got up and walked over to the sink to wash the empty mug and place it on the dish drain. "Alright, lets head off to the parade."
Everen raced out of the door, closely followed by his parents.
Upon arrival at the street where the parade was going to pass through, Everen and his parents joined the crowd of ponies surrounding the street, Everen climbing onto his father's back to get a better view.
Trumpets blared signaling that the parade was starting, and the marching band began their journey down the street, followed by a myriad of parade floats. There were floats for the farmers, the weather team, the local performers, and even the town's resident princess; Beatrice, a pale blue alicorn with white and blue hair, amber eyes, and an abhorrence for even the smallest bit of violence. The alicorns float was tall, rectangular, and layered, so that it looked like a very large cake, with the princess in question standing at the very center and top of the float.
"This is awesome!" exclaimed Everen, over the din of the band and the cheering.
But then, as the princesses float was passing in front of Everen, a figure wearing a black cloak appeared on the front of the float, seemingly to have come from thin air. The figure then galloped straight at Beatrice, with hostile intent, judging by his body language; muscles tensed and head lowered but still facing the alicorn.
Then, not really sure what the hay he was thinking or doing, Everen jumped off his father's back, kicking off his head to get some extra distance, and landed on base of the float, half-way back from the front. Everen ran in between the cloaked pony and the alicorn, a single thought going through his mind: I have to protect the princess. He turned to face the running pony, then, lowered his head, and his horn glowed green as he charged his horn with magical energy, not exactly sure what it would accomplish.
The mysterious pony was about to simply bowl over the little colt, but, just before he reached him, a force field of green energy suddenly appeared between them. He then ran face first into the shield, then fell to the ground. He got up turning around to give the energy field a few swift kicks, to no avail, the force field remained in place, unscathed.
The figure shed his cloak, revealing his wings, and Everen got a split-second glance at his eyes, which were a solid, glowing azure. Two pegasi guards appeared then, flying towards the assailant. But before they could reach him, he flew off, to fast to follow, leaving an azure streak of color behind him. Just then Everen collapsed from exhaustion, still conscious, but worn out. And the magical shield dissipated.
Beatrice then walked over to Everen, her horn lighting up with a sky blue glow, and she restored his energy with a portion of her own magic. Everen's eyes fluttered open and he looked up at the princess. "Are you okay princess Beatrice?" he asks, trying his best to stand. But he falls back down, still too exhausted to get up.
"I'm just fine, thanks to you." she assured him, giggling a bit with her next statement. "You saved my life and got your cutie mark to boot."
Everen's eyes widened in surprise, then opened even further when he looked at his flank to see a green three-pointed shield there. "Yesyesyesyesyes!" he shouted in delight, suddenly able to stand from shear excitement.
"Tell you what, how would you like to spend the rest of the parade on my float, next to me?" Beatrice asked smiling down at the hyper little colt.
"YES!" he yelled, nodding emphatically. "Thank you very much princess." he continued, regaining his senses and bowing politely.
"Oh, aren't you well mannered." Beatrice said, bowing in response, but still smiling, amused by this peculiar colt. "Might I ask my saviors name?"
"My name is Everen and I learned how to be a proper gentlecolt from my uncle." Everen elucidated, a grin spreading on his face. "He lived in Canterlot for a few years before coming back here to stay."
"Well I might want to meet this uncle of yours and congratulate him on a job well done teaching you." she replied, laughing a bit.
"I can show you to his house after this if you want." he said, proud to show off his uncle. "We'd just have to get there before nine o'clock."
"Why's that?" she asked, curious to know what would prevent people from seeing him after nine.
"Because he always writes a letter to a friend of his back in canterlot every night at that time, and he doesn't like to be disturbed when he's writing." he explained.
"Oh well perhaps I can meet him tomorrow then." she said. "I'll be busy until a quarter after ten tonight. I have a lot of business to attend to, and a little reading up on some history as well."
"I understand. I'll be pleased to introduce you to him anytime." Everen said, a little put down, but still elated. Saving the life of a princess and getting his cutie mark all in one day has made him quite upbeat.
"Well then, enough small talk." the princess said, raising her voice so the crowd could hear. "On with the parade."
And so the parade float continued its progress down the street. Everen's parents were rushing down the sidelines, unable to push through the crowd to the street, to get to the end of the block to get to their son and make sure that he is unharmed. Meanwhile Everen was enjoying his position atop the float, waving to the ponies on either side of the parade.
When the parade float arrived at the end of the street, Beatrice and Everen walked off the float and over to meet Frost and Blaze halfway at the corner of the street.
"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING EVEREN?" Frost screamed, unable to contain her anger, worry, and fear. "YOU COULD'VE BEEN KILLED! DON'T YOU EVER DO THAT TO ME AGAIN!" she went on, wrapping Everen in a tight embrace.
"I'm fine mom. Really, I'm okay." Everen complained, blushing, embarrassed. While his mother looked him over to make sure he's not hurt.
"Your son saved my life today. You should be proud." Beatrice said, trying to contain a giggle.
"How did you manage to make that shield, son? That was very impressive." Blaze asked, awestruct that his own son could perform such incredible magic.
"I don't know, I just channeled magic into my horn, and that shield appeared around me and the princess." Everen explained, suddenly wondering just how the shield was created. "Do you know what happened, princess Beatrice?"
"I would imagine it has somthing to do with your cutie mark. But I don't know for sure." she replied.
This caused Everen and his parents to look at his flank, his parents just now noticing his cutie mark.
"It looks just like my necklace!" Everen exclaimed, taking the necklace off and holding it up next to his cutie mark; they were indeed identical. "The necklace must've made the shield!"
Blaze and Frost exchanged looks of mixed curiosity, fear , and alarm. Noticing the expressions on their faces, Beatrice looked questioningly at the two.
"Where exactly did you get this necklace?" she asked, her face now carrying a firm look that says that she wants an answer, now.
"About a month and a half ago, we were looking for a birthday present for Everen." Frost said, looking a bit worried.
"And we couldn't find anything to buy him that he didn't already have, or didn't want." Blaze continued for her, feeling a little guilty. "But then this peddler came into town, and he offered us that necklace for ten bits. A reasonable price. I don't know what it was, but something about the necklace just seemed…" he trailed off, trying to find the right word. "Extraordinary."
"So we bought the necklace, and the peddler left town without another word." Frost finished, looking away from the princess.
A small laugh escaped Beatrices' lips, and the two looked back at her surprised. "You shouldn't feel ashamed, if you hadn't done that, I might not be standing here right now." Beatrice said, giggling a bit more at their expense. They sighed in unison, relieved that the princess was not upset. The whole time, Everen was grinning ear to ear at the prospect of the necklace that he loved so much actually being able to create a powerful and magical shield.
"I really must be going though." Beatrice said. "It was nice to meet you Everen, thank you for saving my life. Farwell…" she turned to look at Everen's parents, a question painted on her face.
"My name is Blaze Wood, and this lovely mare is my wife Frost Bite." Blaze said, gesturing towards Frost as he introduced her. The two then shook hooves with the alicorn. "Goodbye princess Beatrice." and with that, Beatrice began trotting back to her home.
"Come on Everen, it's time to go home." Frost said, as she starting cantering home herself, Blaze and Everen following her.
"Now where is that book?" Beatrice wondered aloud, as she looked around her large library. "I know I saw it not long ago… Ah! Here it is!" she said, rather loudly. She took the large gilded book off of it's place on the shelf and opened it, flipping through the pages until she found the right page. As she read the page, her eyes widened in astonishment. The necklace Everen had was indeed no ordinary necklace. Beatrice went to her quill and parchment to write a letter to Celestia, to tell her the news. But then she decided against it, choosing instead to keep a watchful eye on the little colt to see him grow up and develop his skill with with his newfound magic. This way, he would have years of experience with the power he now held, the unfathomable power.
"He doesn't need to know how powerful it is just yet." Beatrice stated, grinning at how clever she is. "I'll be keeping a close eye on you, Everen. You and that necklace." she continued, walking out onto her third floor balcony, and looking down on the town, searching for that telltale green glow that she knew would come, Everen wanting to test out the shield again. And sure enough, a few minutes later, a green dome appeared in the backyard of an unremarkable two story house. The alicorn then turned around to look directly into a deep shadow in the corner of the library. "Keep a close watch on him, don't let him out of your sight, and don't let him see you."
"Yes princess, we will do as you wish." said three different voices in unison, coming from the shadow. The shadow then disappeared completely, and Beatrice turned back to see the green dome dissolve in the backyard, Everen deciding to go to sleep and continue in the morning.
"Lets just see where this all goes, shall we?"