Greetings Once again, dear readers. I hope you've had a decent week. Unfortunately, I have no odd stories or witty comments to make today, so I will simply move on to comments.

Kevin Lapse: Odd, I've been told that before.

Dragonlord Ryukizoku: To be perfectly honest, I had intended to show Tyr killing the four stallions. But i decided against it as I was writing. Sorry for that. And Tyr did not kill him instantly. It takes a long time to freeze to death, after all.

Chaddmychal: Well, Tyr has to find someone who can make them, first. No worries, that should happen before long. And the easiest way to get a meaning for a Norse name is probably just to type it into google.

N1gh7Wolf93: Yes, Audio is Trixie's. Hard Rock is indeed her father, but he really hasn't been a good father to her. Trixie kept her pregnancy hidden until it was too late to abort so that she could keep the filly.

theflammablefiredragon: Yeah, I did say I was planning to earn my M rating, right? And yes, it is going to be awkward.

Well, here's hoping Tyr doesn't get his head torn off.

Chapter 24: Royal Privilege

"I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS!" Luna roared, Royal Canterlot Voice coming out as she expressed her discontent. Tyr winced at the volume, but pressed on regardless.

"Neither of us were truly in our right minds," He offered, glancing over at the other three mares. None of them had spoken up to this point in his story, only Luna's outburst bringing it to a halt. Chrys looked absolutely amused, Rarity looked worried, and Pinkie seemed more pensive than he had ever seen her. Luna, of course, was livid. After a few moments of composing herself, the Princess of Dreams spoke again.

"That does not excuse what you did," She said in a more measured tone, a noticeable glance towards the door that led to the bedrooms. Then, she sent a glare Rarity's way. "I thought I made it clear that the extent of your affections were to be restrained to at most kissing!"

Rarity winced under the gaze of the angry princess, but seemed a bit more at peace with the whole situation. "Then we were foolish to think that we could maintain that sort of boundary," She said softly.

Both Chrys and Luna looked over at the seamstress in shock, although Chrys's gaze was more delighted than surprised. "Ooh, now that is quite the claim."

"What are you implying?" Luna said evenly, composing herself once more. Rarity met her glare with all the poise and calmness bred from years of dealing with nobility and high class clients. Tyr had to wonder how many of those she worked with hit this level of… ferocity.

"I am saying that it was bound to happen sooner or later," the white unicorn said. She had not moved from her seat, simply looking up at the Princess of Dreams. Luna had stood up, adding to her height advantage over the other mare, but ultimately failed to rattle her. "Pinkie was already dragged into bed with Tyr once, and although that ended with mostly harmless kissing, what would happen if he didn't wake up, or his dream took him in a… different direction?"

To Tyr's surprise, Pinkie actually blushed. "I don't think I would have really minded," The pink pony said, but only he heard her.

"You should have taken the appropriate precautions," Luna snapped, frowning. She glanced over at Tyr. "The same goes for you, Tyr."

The man frowned at the use of his name. Luna had to really be upset to not be calling him 'Beloved' as she always did. "We didn't even sleep in the same bed until that night," He told her matter-of-factly. "That was my idea."

"And yet you ended up getting drunk, going back to the hotel, and having s-sex." Luna stumbled over the word, a slight blush on her cheeks. Tyr had to repress a laugh—Luna still had trouble saying sex, like a teenaged girl just learning about the concept for the first time. Rarity, however, had not such compulsions.

"Yes, we had sex," She said with a nod. She gave Tyr a small smile. "I have to admit, he was quite… gentle with me."

"He's always gentle," Luna said before she could stop herself. She shook her head quickly. "That is beside the point!"

"I believe it is very much the point—ah, Cindy, do you mind making us some tea?"

The controller brightened at being addressed. "Ah, of course! Give me one moment, Miss Rarity!"

Watching the automaton hurriedly go about her work with a sense of renewed purpose made a smile cross Rarity's face. "Ah, she is quite adorable. But back to my point. Tyr's very actions doomed us from the start."

Luna blinked. "They did?"

"I did?" Tyr asked, slightly confused.

Rarity gave him a quick nod. "Yes darling, namely your treatment of Pinkie and I. Albeit somewhat closed with your affections, you still indulged us in our little demands. All the kisses you gave, the hugs, the unconscious affectionate touches…" She sighed. "Luna told you once that I loved you. And I do believe I told you about my dear Pinkie-winkle's feelings."

"You told him?" Pinkie whined. "Rare-bear…!"

"I had to tell him, darling," She said with a comforting back rub. She glanced up at Tyr. "Despite the… restrictions placed on us, any prolonged contact was bound to result in intercourse."

"B-but…!" Luna tried to protest, only to be silenced by a hard look from Rarity.

"Tell me Princess, what would have happened when Pinkie and I went into heat?"

"Into… heat?" Tyr blinked a couple times, frowning. "You have a… mating season?"

"I suppose you could call it that," Rarity blushed at Tyr's bluntness. "Over the past few years, Pinkie and I have sated our… carnal desires with one another, or poured our newfound energy into other endeavors. But with the addition of you into our lives, I doubt that will work out again. We are naturally drawn to males at the time, you realize."

Tyr blanched. The majority of the ponies in Ponyville were mares. "I'm not going to be accosted in the street, am I?"

"That would be quite entertaining," Chrys added with a giggle.

There was a little giggle from the white unicorn. "Oh, I doubt it. Perhaps you may need to be careful around say Fluttershy and Applejack, but I'm sure that you have nothing to fear."

"That would make for a deliciously erotic story," Chrys said appreciatively. A slow smile creased her lips. "Oh, curse the fact that Rainbow and Twilight are married to stallions. I'd love to see them squirm under my master's… ministrations."

"Keep it to yourself," Tyr muttered dryly, giving her a look. He didn't need thoughts like that surfacing next time he spoke to Twilight.

"Oh? I'm sure you've entertained the thoughts of rutting her—"

"Chrysalis."

The Changeling giggled, realizing her teasing limit. "Very well, Master."

Rarity sighed. "Perhaps we should consider dropping the ban?"

Luna's eyes narrowed. "…A part of me regrets allowing this herd to be created."

There was silence in the room, Cindy pausing with her mouth slightly open as she brought over a tray with cups and a pot of tea atop it. But the one to respond wasn't Rarity. It was Tyr. A dark look had crossed his eyes as he looked at the Princess of Dreams. "What?" He asked softly, but the look on his face made the dark blue Alicorn wince.

"…I…"

"Sit."

Luna did so immediately, wings snapping to her side. Rarity and Pinkie were also sitting up a bit straighter, and even the amused smile that had refused to leave Chrys's face had been wiped off. Tyr sat up straight, sparing a glance over at Cindy, who had not moved. "…Go ahead."

"As you wish, Operator," She said evenly, setting out the cups and pouring an even amount of steaming tea into each. She gave him a small bow before retreating back to her station. Tyr lifted his cup, took a small sip, and nodded at the taste. Unsurprisingly, Cindy beamed from where he couldn't see her.

"Now, onto matters at hand," He said, setting the cup down. He looked over at Luna. "I realized what's wrong here, and I intend to fix it. Any objections?"

"No," Luna said weakly. The other mares shook their heads.

"Good. As Rarity said, this is all my fault. Although not in the way she intended. As Cindy pointed out, the Alpha male of a herd is in charge. I should have taken my position willingly instead of letting decisions be made around me."

He glanced at Luna. "My love. You know I care for you a great deal, and I would give you the world to make you happy. But I cannot let you continue like this. We are a herd, a family, and we need to act like it. We're doing more damage to ourselves like this.

"Rarity," He said next, turning to the white unicorn. "We did break the rule Luna put in place. We can only blame ourselves. To be honest, we probably haven't been acting like a herd probably should."

He spared a glance at Pinkie, who simply nodded. The pink mare then got up and walked briskly over to Luna. Without missing a beat, she reached up, took hold of both sides of Luna's face, and pulled her in to kiss her. Not just a simple kiss, but one that was deep and full of passion. Rarity gasped. A muffled 'oh my' came from the other side of the room from Cindy. Chrys looked both surprised and appreciative. Their lips broke apart with a small pop noise. "…what?" Luna muttered dumbly.

Pinkie gave her a grin. "How was it?"

"How was… it was very good, although I feared I'd suffocate…"

The pink mare beamed at the praise before bouncing over to Rarity and giving the shocked unicorn a kiss of much the same fervor. She left the fashionista in a dazed yet happy state when the kiss ended. That left Tyr. He winced slightly, fearing the mare was going to attempt to suck the air out of him. But she hopped into his lap, wrapped her hooves around his neck, and kissed him gently on the lips. It wasn't as aggressive as the ones she gave Rarity and Luna, but Tyr could feel the undertones from the way she moved herself to be held.

I'm yours. Stop holding back.

She broke the kiss herself, a languid smile on her face just before she laid her head against his shoulder. "…I love you, Tyr," Pinkie said softly.

The man couldn't help but chuckle. "I love you too Pinkie."

She looked around at the other shocked looks. "And I love Luna too, and Rare-bear of course! I love all of you so much!" She grinned. "And I want us to be a happy family, all the time!"

Luna and Rarity shared disbelieving looks, before finally sighing and nodding. "I suppose you are correct," The Princess of Dream stated. "I apologize for what I said and did."

The seamstress was as gracious as ever. "You were well justified, Luna. I no doubt would have acted the same were our roles reversed."

Chrys seemed a bit upset. "That's it? No make-up make out session?"

"Oh, Chrissy!" Pinkie giggled. "If you wanted to make out, you could just ask!"

"Wait what— mmph!" The pink mare leapt onto the Changeling like a predator, lips locking with hers before the confused Chrys could even resist. Despite the pointless flailing, Tyr could sense his Changeling was enjoying the attention. He chuckled.

"Pinkie," He said between laughs. "Let Chrys up. We don't need you on top of her when—"

"DADDY'S HOME!" A happy voice squealed, and suddenly Tyr's neck was being crushed by a happy violet filly. Aurora was all smiles as she nuzzled her father. "Did you bring me something back from Los Pegasus? Huh? Did ya?"

With a somewhat rough pinch of his daughter's ear, Tyr managed to get her off and into his lap. She was still a little bundle of happiness, however. "Someone's happy to see me," He said, ruffling her mane.

Aurora grinned. "Of course! I missed you!"

"Oh? And why was the first thing you asked was if I brought anything back, hm?"

"Um…" His daughter looked a little sheepish. "Ancè told me?"

Tyr rolled his eyes. "Of course. Where are your brother and Cori?"

"Coming, but they're sloooow!"

Rarity giggled. "Someone must get along with Vibrant, I feel."

"Vibrant's fun to race," Aurora agreed. "But I'm not as competitive as him."

"Certainly doesn't show," A voice said dryly. Tyr glanced back to see Aleron, Cori, Ancè and Jubilee coming into the common room. The colt had been the one to speak, a small smile growing on his face when he spotted his father. "Hey dad."

"Hello son," Tyr nodded back. "Did you keep all your sisters in line while I was gone?"

"Attempted," The colt chuckled as the other three fillies went over to their father. He joined them a moment later, scooting onto the seat beside his mom. "I missed you too, Mom."

Luna gave him a loving nuzzle. "And I missed you, my little crescent moon."

"What was Los Pegasus like, father?" Cori asked, eyes bright with curiosity. "I mean, I sensed your feelings about it while you were there, but…"

"Still odd to know that you know our father's feelings so easily," Ancè said with a frown.

"S-Sorry…"

The white filly sighed. "One of these days, I will cure you of that habit."

Tyr simply smiled and patted Cori's head. "It was an interesting city, full of bright lights and sounds. I'd never want to live there, but it's fun to go once in a while."

"So what did you bring us?" Jubilee asked, bouncing up and down.

Tyr rolled his eyes before pulling out a box. "Here ya go, Jubilee."

"Ooh, fireworks!"

Aleron shot his father a sharp look. "Dad… are you trying to kill me?"

Tyr grinned. "Jubilee is only allowed to use them on special occasions."

The pink filly sighed. "Aw. I guess that's fine."

"And for Aurora, I got you a book."

Aurora looked distraught. "A book? But daddy~!"

Tyr tilted his head to the side. "Hm? I just said I got a book for Aleron." He handed his son a book titled 'Everyday Defensive Spells'. His son glanced at the book, glanced over at Jubilee, and then back at his dad. A knowing smile crossed his lips.

"No, you said you got a book for me!" Aurora asserted.

Aleron noticed the playful look on his father's face. He smirked. "I'm pretty sure he said 'Aleron', sis."

"No, he definitely said me!" Aurora pouted.

Tyr chuckled. "Why would I give you a book? I got you this." He reached behind her head and tied a bright silver ribbon into her hair, tying it into a large bow. It glittered when the light caught it.

"Ooh!" Aurora smiled. "I love it! Thanks daddy!"

She hugged him, getting a smile from her father. "Of course love. Now, who's left?"

"Cori and Beri!" Jubilee said with a grin.

"Ah, how could I forget?" He reached into his cloak and extracted a glittering headband. It had sapphires set along the center, and Tyr set it atop his daughter's head. Both Ancè and Rarity gaped at the accessory.

"Where in Equestria did you find that?" Rarity asked, moving slightly to look at the headband. "Those are real sapphires!"

Tyr shrugged. "I found a little curio shop, and it was on display. I thought Ancè would like it."

Ancè pushed herself up so that she could plant a small kiss on her father's cheek. "I adore it, father, and thank you so much." Her eyes were shining, much like the gems on her head. "I will treasure it always."

"And last but not least…" Tyr turned to Cori, who looked both anxious and terrified. "My little Changeling. Here."

He pulled another book out, and placed it in front of the Changeling. The cover had no title, but it was quite elegant. "Um… Father? What is… what is this?"

"A journal," Tyr said with a smile. When his daughter looked up at him in confusion, he chuckled. "For you to write in."

"To write in…" Cori blushed. "But, I can't…"

"Consider it a way to practice. Just write whatever that comes to mind in there."

Cori pulled the journal to her chest, realizing what her father's intentions were. "…I will treasure it, father."

"Did you bring me anything?" Pinkie asked excitedly.

Tyr smirked. "I believe Rarity has a gift for you."

Rarity blinked several times, not realizing what was going on before Pinkie pounced on her. Tyr chuckled, watching the white unicorn try to explain that Pinkie would get her gift later. There was a nudge on his arm, getting his attention. Luna had her hoof against his arm and was looking up at him with a somewhat sheepish look. "Um… Beloved…? Did you bring back anything for me?"

"Of course I did," Tyr said with a smirk. He reached into his cloak once more and pulled out what looked to be a hairpin adorned with Roc feathers. Luna's breath caught.

"Are… are those…"

"Roc feathers. We managed to catch one outside of Los Pegasus."

"But Rocs haven't been seen in Equestria in ages!"

"Um, Miss Luna?" Cori raised a hoof. "What's a Roc?"

Luna glanced at her, blinking a couple times. "Oh… I apologize, little one. Rocs are immense birds that used to grace the skies of Equestria years past. From what we know of them, they used to be all over, but they ended up dying out due to a disease of some sort…"

"Well, we found one," Fenrir said, shrugging. "He seemed quite put off after we let him go."

Luna blinked again. "You… didn't kill it?"

"Of course not! We had no reason to. All we did was track, stalk, and trap it."

"And take a few feathers," Tyr added with a smirk.

"Well, I hope you don't tell Fluttershy," Rarity said, finally convincing Pinkie to calm down. "I think she would be quite upset with you."

Tyr chuckled nervously. "I'm pretty sure you're right in that regard."

"Um… Beloved?" Luna nudged him again. "…May I wear it?"

"I suppose you can—I did make it for you."

Luna suppressed a happy smile as Tyr fixed the hairpin into her mane. "How does it look?" She asked, turning to the other mares.

"It looks really good!" Pinkie said happily.

Rarity nodded in agreement. "It suits you quite well, darling."

The Alicorn mare wrapped her forelegs around Tyr's neck, kissing him long and deeply. "Thank you, beloved. I will treasure this gift."

"Well, that's all of them," Tyr said, leaning back. Chrys blinked several times.

"Wait, nothing for me, Master?" She asked, pouting slightly.

Tyr gave her a flat look. "You already got your gift."

"I did—oh, I see." She giggled. "Thank you Master."

"Oh!" Cindy suddenly spoke up as Tyr begrudgingly petted his Changeling. The sudden exclamation from the machine girl caught their attention. All of them turning to look at the redhead.

"Is something wrong, Cindy?" Tyr asked, frowning.

"Oh, nothing is wrong, Operator. In fact, more so something is good!"

"Um… make some sense, if you please," Luna requested.

"Our visitor is awake!"

Chrys perked up. "Oh, our mystery mare? She finally wakes?"

"Finally?" Tyr repeated with a frown. "What do you mean?"

"After she arrived, she asked for a place to sleep. Cindy prepared a room for her, and then she went right to sleep. Claimed she hadn't slept in ages and she was about to pass out."

Cindy nodded in agreement. "She has been asleep up until a moment ago…"

The door to the bedrooms opened then, and a dark gray mare with a blood red mane and tail came walking in, rubbing at her eyes. She paused, blood red eyes wide in shock at the number of eyes looking directly at her. She opened her mouth, and a slightly raspy voice came out. "Uh… did I… interrupt something?" She asked softly.

Tyr blinked twice. He recognized this mare. Although the last time she was significantly more… dead. "…Mitta?"

Hearing her name seemed to calm the mare. "Oh thank goodness. You remember me."

"Considering the last time I saw you, you were a zombie…" Tyr muttered, but he gave her a small smile. "So you drank the potion?"

Mitta nodded, but frowned. "I did, and it broke the curse like you said, but… It tasted like blood."

"Oh, that's expected. It was blood after all."

"You had me drink blood!?"

Tyr smirked. "Did it taste sweet?"

"Well, I… it… it did."

"As intended."

Luna frowned, glancing from Tyr to Mitta. "Beloved… who is this mare?"

"I'd like to ask the same thing, dear," Rarity said. "I don't believe I've ever seen her before."

"Everypony, this is Mitta. She's from the Everfree forest," Tyr said quickly, before any other questions could be posed. "She was victim to a dark curse and I freed her."

"A curse?" Rarity frowned. "That sounds horrible."

Luna was a bit more pensive. "This curse… what was it?"

Mitta lowered her head. "We were cursed to repeat the day of our sin… and every night we were trapped as undead."

The Princess of Dreams paused, breath catching in her throat. "I had heard… felt the emptiness in the forest, but I never knew why. You never… you never dreamed, did you?"

"I haven't slept in ages," Mitta admitted. "Last night was the first time I have actually gone to sleep."

"An entire town of ponies who never sleep…"

"If it's alright will you all… I'd like to move on past it."

Rarity nodded. "Very well. I can understand feeling that way."

Suddenly, a growling noise came from Mitta's stomach. "Sounds like somepony is hungry," Chrys said with a small giggle.

"Forgive me," Mitta said with a blush. "I… I haven't eaten in—

"Ages!" Pinkie and Jubilee said with glee.

Tyr smirked, patting Pinkie's head. "A valid point. Would you like something to eat?"

"I… If I would not be imposing…" Mitta mumbled shyly.

"Of course not. Cindy? Breakfast, if you would. A large one. I do believe we're all hungry."

–x–

"So let me get this straight," Mitta said slowly, walking beside Tyr and Chrys as they entered Ponyville proper. Tyr had suggested going into the town to get Mitta familiar with the area. The former zombie-pony had also wanted to escape the small but still wild welcome-to-Ponyville-party Pinkie decided to throw. Escaping out into the open air was a welcome change, and she had the opportunity to question the man who saved her. "You're a human."

"Right on that point," Tyr said with an amused smile.

"And you've formed a herd with several mares including the Princess of Dreams, one of the most well-known dress designers in Equestria, the foremost party pony in this area of Equestria, and the Queen of the Changelings."

"Former," Chrys corrected. "But other than that, right on all counts."

"You live in something called an 'airship', specifically one from another dimension."

"Supposedly," Tyr said.

Mitta thought for a moment. "Oh, and you've got a talking wolf."

Fenrir, perched on Tyr's shoulder as usual, snorted derisively. The man himself simply chuckled. "That's right, Mitta."

"Okay, anything else weird I should be prepared for?"

"No, I believe we're the strangest thing around for the time being."

"Wonderful. And why are we wandering through town?"

"Master thought it prudent to introduce you to his friends," Chrys pointed out. "In order to… smooth the transition."

Mitta looked around at all the brightly colored ponies going about their business, the occasional hello being thrown Tyr's way. "…I suppose that's fair enough. I'm still getting used to… all this."

Tyr raised an eyebrow. "What's the matter?"

"All of them have the Marks, right?" She looked up at him. "And… and that's okay?"

"It's more so normal," he replied. He honestly was a bit surprised that nopony was reacting to seeing Chrysalis wandering freely through the town, but perhaps it was because he was around that they weren't worried. "Not having a Cutie Mark is a bit more unusual."

Mitta glanced back at her own bare flank. "I see…"

"You never discovered your own special talent?"

"More like I never tried. If you got a Mark, you were killed. I would have liked to find something I was good at, but…"

Tyr gave her a soft smile. "You'll find something eventually. Look, we're coming up to Twilight's castle."

Mitta looked up at the crystal-tree castle with undisguised wonder. "Oh wow… somepony lives here?"

"I think five do, actually," Tyr said flippantly, hand lighting up with his silver aura to open the door. He led the two mares inside. As they walked in, they noticed Starlight sitting in the main hall, a small pile of books arrayed near her and one open in front of her. She looked up as she heard them enter.

"Oh, hello Tyr," She said with a slight nod. "And Chrysalis. Who's… who is your friend?"

"This is Mitta," Tyr said as a way to introduce her. "She's… well, I'll explain it in a bit. Twilight available?"

"She's talking to some weird wood pony that wandered in…"

"Wood pony… oh wait, was her name Sycamora?"

Starlight blinked. "You know her?"

"We met her shortly after meeting Mitta," Chrys said nonchalantly. "How is she doing?"

"I think Twilight is much more interested in simply figuring out how she… works," Starlight said with a shrug. "I had something I needed to do, so that's why I'm out here."

"Sorry for disturbing you," Tyr apologized.

"It's no big deal."

One of the doors opened, and out came Twilight. She looked extremely excited. "Starlight, you gotta see this!"

Starlight blinked, looking up at her mentor. "What? See what?"

Sycamora came out after the excited Alicorn, but she was different from what Tyr had seen of her in the Everfree. Instead of simple bark skin and leaves, she was covered in flowers and long chains of braided vines. A dark color rose on the wood-pony's cheeks. "Please stop making such a big deal of it, Twilight Sparkle…"

"But you completely changed your appearance!" Twilight beamed. "I've only ever seen Chrysalis or a Changeling do that!"

"Sounds like you're having fun," Tyr said with a chuckle. "Hello Sycamora."

"Greetings, Tyr," The wood-pony replied with a nod.

Twilight smiled. "Of course I'm excited! I'm learning something new—I'm always happy learning something new!" Her gaze fell on Mitta, and it looked to be a bit more pensive. "Are you new in town? I don't think we've met."

Mitta shuffled her feet nervously. "I… I just got in town yesterday."

"Well!" Twilight opened her wings and flapped them once, giving her enough clearance to pass the guard rail on the balcony. She landed a short distance away. "Welcome to Ponyville! I'd tell you to watch out for Pinkie, but since you're walking with Tyr I suppose you've already met her."

"Pinkie?" Mitta thought for a moment. "Oh, yes. I have met her. She's crazy."

Twilight gave an amused chuckle. "Stay in this town long enough, and you'll understand were all a little crazy."

"I… I see."

Twilight opened her mouth to say something, only for Starlight to suddenly gasp. The Alicorn blinked and looked over at her student. "What is it, Starlight?"

"She doesn't have a Cutie Mark!" Starlight got up from her book and walked over, moving around to Mitta's side.

"She doesn't?"

Mitta shifted again. "I… I never got one. My village was… terrified of them."

"Terrified?" Twilight blinked at that comment.

Tyr glanced from Mitta to the Princess of Friendship, a small frown growing on his face. "If you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to, Mitta."

The dark gray pony shook her head. "No, I… I want other ponies to know what I went through. I don't want others to make my mistake."

Twilight glanced up at Tyr, who simply nodded. "…Alright Mitta. Everypony, follow me, please? Starlight, could you go get Spike to get us some tea going?"

–V–

The room was silent after Mitta finished speaking. Twilight and Starlight were both quiet with horror and confusion, while Chrys seemed more concerned than anything else. Mitta kept her eyes on her hooves in front of her, letting her ragged red mane hang over her face. After a long minute of silence, Starlight finally spoke. "…Well, if anything I can say I was probably worse."

Mitta looked up sharply. "What?"

"Not trying to belittle what you went through," The unicorn said hurriedly, holding up a placating hoof. "It's just… I had stripped all the ponies of my village of their Cutie Marks with the explanation of making us all 'equal'."

"You… you took what made them special away from them?"

"Exactly, that's why I think what I did was worse. You can't miss what you don't have, right?" She scrunched up her nose. "But murdering an innocent filly? That's just wrong."

"Well, Ponyville isn't that kind of town," Twilight assured Mitta. "Cutie Mark or no, you're welcome in our town."

Mitta smiled up at the Princess o Friendship. "Thank you so much, Princess Twilight. That means a lot."

"Just Twilight is fine, Mitta." Twilight chuckled.

"If… If you say so…"

"So are you planning to stay with Tyr and his family for the time being?"

Mitta glanced over at the man in question. "As much as I do not want to inconvenience you, I have nowhere else to go…"

Tyr smiled. "It's no problem, Mitta. Really, I don't mind."

"If you were looking for a house, I believe the Mayor was talking about a large house that just emptied," Twilight suggested. "Maybe you should look into it?"

"Worth a shot. Thanks Twilight."

The purple Alicorn nodded. "Of course! I'm always available to help."

The man smiled. "I'll remember that. Come on Chrys; stop sleeping on me so we can go."

"Not sleeping," The Changeling mumbled, sitting up from her spot in Tyr's lap. "I was thinking."

"Whatever," He patted her head. "Come on."

The man, the Changeling, and the mare got up to leave. "Don't be a stranger, Tyr!" Twilight called after him. He gave her a smile and a wave in response as they exited the castle. Starlight glanced over at the Princess of Friendship.

"So… what do we do now?"

Twilight thought for a moment, noticing that Sycamora had left the room. "Let's try out that spell we were working on. The one to fix the map table? We might as well go ahead and try it. Oh, and we should probably get all the girls…"

–x–

Grace was waiting on Bright Soul outside the doors to the throne room, that familiar book in front of her as she read to pass the time. Atop her head sat one of her two ravens—Hugi by the color of the collar—leaned down as if reading the book with her. The other knight, in full uniform, frowned as she approached her senior. "You were called too?" She asked.

"Indeed," Grace replied evenly, closing her book and slipping it into the bag at her side. "And before you ask, I have no idea why Princess Celestia called us both."

"Wonderful," Bright muttered, adjusting her collar. "Shall we?"

Grace nodded. "I was only waiting on you."

The two Lunar knights entered the throne room, nodding at the salutes the guards gave them. Up on the thrones were Celestia and Sherry, currently conversing with a rather important looking pony. Flash and Ace stood at either side, looking relatively bored. Surprisingly, Sunset was there as well, seated on a cushion beside Celestia. As trained, the new arriving knights simply stood off to one side as the conversation before them continued. "As stated Princess, refitting the Guard would require quite the large amount of materials."

"Which we could rectify by simply open up trade negotiations with Griffonstone or Yakyakistan," Sherry countered. "The Griffons maintain a standing army much larger than ours."

"But they have easy access to ore mines. We do not."

Celestia glanced over at Sunset. The flame haired mare nodded. "There are the old Diamond Dog tunnels. There were a lot of gems there—but who knows how much ore."

"We'd have to send a team down there to know for certain," Ace said matter-of-factly.

The unknown pony frowned. "That's all well and good, Sir Ace Guard, but we do not have the ponypower to staff any mines we do find."

"A fair point," Celestia said. "However, securing new sources for metals and the like should become a priority, Stat Tracker."

Stat Tracker frowned slightly. "Forgive my bluntness Princess, but why? I understand the need for materials, but why the emphasis on refitting the Guard?"

"My father has a saying," Sherry said with a small smile. "It goes like this: 'If you desire peace, you must prepare for war'. Our land has been weakened since the Merge happened, and we've been recovering—albeit slowly."

"But we are not in any shape to protect ourselves from outside threats," Celestia pointed out.

Stat Tracker adjusted his glasses. "Could we not simply rely on the Elements of Harmony?"

A slow shake of the head. "Those young mares we have relied on for so long are mothers all, Mr. Tracker. They have their own families to watch out for, and we cannot place all of our hopes on their shoulders."

"That is a fair point. I suppose not all threats can be dealt with by the Elements. I'll see what I can do on the requisition front, but please do not expect any miracles." He bowed, and took his leave. Once he was gone, Celestia let out a heavy sigh.

"It's becoming more obvious that relying on Twilight and her friends had long standing complications," The Princess of the Sun said wearily.

"She and her friends have been the only ones who could really react to the threats we've faced," Flash pointed out.

"Almost. If it was not for Cadance and Spike, the Crystal Empire might have been reclaimed by Sombra. If not for Discord's slight change of heart, Tirek may have destroyed all we hold dear. Even the Changelings were stopped by Shining Armor and Cadance. We cannot allow Twilight and her friends to shoulder all the responsibility themselves."

"Sometimes I don't think they mind," Ace said with a shrug. "Sometimes I believe they go out of their way to find trouble."

"I wouldn't put it past them," Sherry said with a light chuckle. She glanced over at Grace and Bright. "You two can come over, now."

"Of course Princess," Bright said as she and Grace stepped forward. AS they approached, she had to pause. Sherry looked every bit a princess as Celestia did, looking regal and confident as she sat on the smaller throne beside her aunt. A lot had changed over the years. With a quick shake of her head, she addressed the two present princesses. "You summoned us?"

"Ah, yes," Celestia nodded. "Sherry brought up a point about your jobs."

"Our jobs? You're not… you're not firing us, are you?"

Sherry chuckled. "Oh, no of course not! I'm sure my mom has to be the one to fire you anyway. The actual point of order was the fact that you're my mother's knights, yet you spend more time here in Canterlot than with her."

Grace raised an eyebrow. "You're not asking us to move in with Tyr, are you? I've already done that before…"

"Oh no," Celestia said, covering her mouth as she giggled. "I do believe Tyr has enough mares in that airship of his to worry about. No, it came to our attention that there was a house in Ponyville that just opened up. A rather large family moved out it seems."

"Just the two of us?" Bright glanced over at Grace.

Sherry smiled. "It's a big house. You can get more roommates if you like."

"What about my sister?" Bright asked. "I don't want to leave her alone…"

"Heart Song is moving in with her," Ace said with a smirk. "I didn't want to leave my sister alone either."

Celestia nodded. "On top of that, Sunset? I'd like for you to join them as well."

Sunset stared at the Princess of the Sun in surprise. "What? Me? But why?"

"You need to get out from behind all those dusty books—why do I feel like I'm giving this talk again…"

"Probably because you gave it to Twilight all those years ago," Flash joked.

Celestia laughed at that. "Fair point. But the point still stands, Sunset. You cannot spend all your time in the library."

"I just…" Sunset bit her lip. She spared a glance at Grace, who kept her face impassive. "There's so much I have to catch up on…"

"And you can do it. But not at the expense of your social life. I'm not asking you to become a social butterfly, but at least make some friends. I believe you will like Shining Light and Heart Song."

"…Fine."

"So, you two will be going to Ponyville at the earliest convenience," Sherry said with a smile over at the two knights.

Bright sighed. "Great. Reassignment. How wonderful."

Flash chuckled. Bright was complaining, but there wasn't any ill will in it. "Hey, I'm handling recruitment for the Equestrian Army."

"And I've got to apparently organize a recon squad to search the Diamond Dog mines…" Ace mumbled ruefully. "Hopefully I'll get something to fight while we're down there…"

Celestia rolled her eyes, but leaned over to nuzzle the belligerent knight lovingly. It still surprised Bright how… motherly Celestia was to Ace. And how the normally free-spirited snow white pegasus always blushed whenever the Princess did it. Regardless, she would have normally called them out on it, but since it was in the privacy of friends, she let it slide. "Well, I suppose I'll go tell my sister about the arrangements."

"And I have to get my things," Grace said with a shrug. "If that's all…?"

Celestia nodded. "Go ahead, Grace, Bright Soul. We will speak before you leave."

"Of course."

The two Lunar Knights bowed slightly before heading out of the throne room. However, they were barely out of the throne room when Sunset caught up to them. "Grace, a word?" She called after them.

Grace glanced back at her, before turning back to Bright. "Go on ahead. I need to talk to Sunset for a bit."

Bright actually cracked a smile. "You've got some famous friends, Grace. The Student of Flame, huh?"

Sunset blinked. "Student of Flame…?"

"A nickname the guards have been calling you," Grace explained as Bright Soul left. She was smiling after the other mare. Nice to see Bright Soul was becoming friendlier. "Did you need something?"

"I can't move in with Ace and Bright Soul's sisters," Sunset hissed, keeping her voice low. "Remember my 'condition'?"

"I'm well aware," the medic replied.

"So what am I supposed to do!?"

"You could always tell Princess Celestia," Grace reminded her. "I'm sure she'd help you if you told her."

"I mean… I know I can, but…"

"Afraid of what she'd say?"

"Of course! I'm a vampire now, Grace! That's kinda a big deal."

Grace sighed. "I can't help you now, Sunset."

"Wonderful…"

"…Look. I have a few bottles left over in my apartment, so I can give you those. But I want you to talk to Heart Song about this whole thing."

Sunset blinked. "Talk to Ace's sister… why?"

Grace smiled. "I believe you'll find she has a particular affinity for blood. Just trust me on this."

"…Okay then." Sunset nodded. "Guess I have to get used to not having you bail me out all the time."

"Don't worry, 'll keep in touch…" She trailed off as the sound of wings could be heard down the hall. Grace glanced back as her other raven came flying to her, a message tied to his leg. However, unlike the normal colored scrolls, this one was a dark red. "…Oh no."

"What? What's wrong?" Sunset asked, watching the knight remove the message. She was in such a hurry to read the message that she didn't do her normal habit of feeding them. Instead, the two ravens went into her satchel themselves to retrieve the bag of feed. Sunset wanted to move closer to see the message, but she didn't want to intrude. But the dismayed look that crossed her friend's face was beginning to worry her. "Is… Is something wrong?"

Grace didn't say a word, instead pushing past her in a hurry and going back into the throne room. Sunset followed in time to see the confused look on Celestia's face as she saw the Lunar Knight coming back into the room. "Saving Grace? Is something the matter?"

"I just got an urgent message," Grace said shortly, lifting the red paper up with her magic. "And the news is not good."

Sherry frowned. "What… what is it?"

"This report is from a scout group I had deployed south of the Everfree," Grace said gravely. "And this report tells me they spotted at least two dozen dragons flying towards the Badlands."

Flash blinked. "What? Dragons this far north?"

"The dragons control that island in the south, right?" Sherry asked. "Why would they come into Equestrian territory?"

"Are they just passing through?" Ace asked with a frown. "That happens occasionally, right?"

"They're sticking around," Grace said with a shake of her head. "As of a few hours ago, the Badlands became Dragon territory."

Sunset looked around the throne room. The guards looked mortified, while Ace and Flash looked more determined. Sherry was looking to her aunt for help. Princess Celestia stayed silent for a long moment, her ethereal morning colored mane waving quietly behind her. The tall Alicorn straightened up. "Any suggestions on what we do?" She asked softly.

"As eager as I am to fight a dragon, I doubt the guard could handle more than one or two in a combat situation," Ace offered with a shake of his head.

"There's not a lot ODIN can do either," Grace said, putting away the message. Hugi and Muni came flapping over to land on her head, dropping a half empty bag into her satchel.

Celestia glanced over at Sunset. The gold mare blinked rapidly. "I-I don't have anything. Sorry."

"How about we ask my father?" Sherry suggested. Everypony looked her way. "I mean, he's an Ice Elemental. He'd be the best pony for the job. Er, person."

"She has a point," Celestia said softly. "But we do not want this to become a conflict. Perhaps we should ask our Ambassadors of Friendship?"

"Twilight and the others?" Flash asked. "Are you sure?"

"Twilight has experience with dragons. She and her friends are also our best diplomats, short of calling Princess Cadance down from the Crystal Empire."

"And she's currently… unable to come," Sherry said with a knowing smile. "I suppose asking Twilight and the others is a good idea. If they're willing to go…"

"I'll go with them," Grace said with a nod. "If things go south, they might need my healing magic."

"I guess I'll go too," Ace said with a shrug. A grin crossed his face immediately. "And maybe if I'm lucky I'll get to fight a dragon."

Celestia gave him a hard look. "Do not go looking for a fight, Ace."

"Oh come on! I'll fight a small one."

The Princess of the Sun looked over at Grace. "Give Rainbow word to keep an eye on her husband."

"Turning my own wife against me? That's low, Princess…"

"I want you all to come back safely," She told him gently, nuzzling him. "You are my precious son, after all."

"Yeah, yeah…"

"I guess that means I stay behind," Flash said. "I'll let Bright Soul know. Should we keep her in Canterlot for the time being?"

Celestia thought for a moment. "No. I was considering going to the Dragon lands and speaking to King Horntail, but depending on how this situation plays out, we may not need to."

"As you wish."

"Let's get going, Gracie!" Ace said cheerily, walking over to the other knight. "Let's go have words with the fire breathers!"

Grace followed him out, sending one of her ravens to perch on the arm of the throne. She gave her companion a flat look. "You're way too eager about this."

"Says the mare who was absolutely giddy about doing a heart transplant."

"Hey! That's something completely different!"

Their voices fell away as they left the throne room. Sunset returned to her spot beside Celestia. "They're almost like siblings," She muttered.

"We've all known each other a long time," Flash pointed out. "Grace was more shy and nervous at first."

"Certainly changed after spending almost six years working with Ace," Sherry said.

"Well, we have put the matter into their hooves," Celestia said, leaning back. "Now, we have to address other matters…"

"What time is it?" Sherry asked, looking at a sheet of paper. "I think we had a meeting planned…"

"It's noon," Flash said shortly. "You're meeting with some members of the mercantile district."

Celestia paused. "…Noon?"

"Yep. Is something…?"

"I need to step out for a bit," Celestia said quickly, standing up. "I may be gone for some time, so Sherry? You will be in charge of the meeting. If you require help, contact your mother."

Sherry blinked rapidly. "Wait, Aunt Celestia, what—?"

"And… she's gone," Sunset murmured, watching Celestia hurriedly leave the throne room. Her vibrant tail vanished around the corner. "…She certainly left in a hurry."

Sherry rested her face in her hoof. "…Flash? Please contact my mom. And someone go get Bright Soul…"

–x–