Chapter 165: Developments and Secrets

"Begin!" shouted someone.

Two soldiers began to trade jabs and jousts with their lances as they were sparring. Night Light and Velvet watched the royal army; the King and Queen observed their army as new recruits were shown all the different positions and classes offered. All the magic classes were firing their tomes and hands out as magic was flying everywhere.

The more combat-based classes were in a circle, surrounded by others watching as the sound of metal against metal rang throughout the courtyard. Shields clashed against shields, arrows flying through the air with such precision. The King and Queen saw their grand army before turning away.

"Your Majesties," said one of the scholars as he bowed before Velvet and Night Light before showing his respect and kissing their hands.

"What is the progress?" asked Night Light.

"You arrived just in time, your Highness. We have perfected it," said the scholar as he snapped his fingers.

The others stood to the side as two suits were on the armor rack. One was Night Light's, and the other was Velvet's. The pair approached the stands as the scholar touched his tablet, and the armor responded as it hummed.

"We managed to break through. May I present to you both nanotech armor fused with Equism!" said the scholar as the armors lit up. "We managed to merge our Equism with our nanotechnology; now you can activate and summon your armor all with a single touch. Observe."

The scholar touched his tablet as the armor transformed; the atoms and molecules began to form as they revealed Night Light's patent armor with a few new designs. The same occurred with Velvet's armor, fitted for her size.

The King approached the armor stand as he turned around. The armor attached itself to its owner as Night Light felt the nano mites scanning his body before leaving him in his original clothes as a single bracelet was left on his wrist.

"Impressive," said Velvet.

"Indeed, your Majesty. Before, you and your family wore rings and called on the phrase: Emblem, shine on! Now with this new nanotechnology, that is a thing of the past. You no longer have to worry about losing your ring; your armor activates at a moment's touch." said the scholar, taking pride that the Queen was impressed with his work.

"And how does it activate?" asked Night Light, still looking over himself.

"Simply touch it."

Night Light looked at his wrist as he put two fingers on it. The nanites on him began to stir immediately when he touched his wrist. In mere seconds, his armor began to show as it covered his body, shoulder pads made of gold infused with Equism appeared and were broad to display his power for all his army, and a red medium-long cape flowed out the back. Night Light gawked at what he saw as he circled in place, taking it all in.

"Very well done," said the King.

"My lord, thank you," said the scholar, knowing he was getting praise from the King and Queen of Equis for a well-done job.

"The Queen likes," said Velvet, taking in her husband's appearance in his armor.

"Perhaps, her Majesty would like to also?" said another scholar.

Velvet approached her armor stand as it attached to her before forming a bracelet. She touched it, and the nanites recognized her in mere seconds; she, too, had a suit of armor like her husband's. A more skin-fitting design to hug her body, showing off some curves, but also having some broad shoulder pads that weren't as big as Night Lights. And a cape flowed out the back, Velvet taking in her armor as it was colored red compared to Night Light's blue.

"The Queen likes this very much," said Velvet, admiring her armor.

"The entire armor sits within the bracelet. You'll be happy to know the suits come with other perks that we have been working on," said the lead scholar. "Such as, they are completely sound absorbent."

Night Light and Velvet looked down at their feet as they stomped the ground. Surprisingly, the armor covering their feet didn't make any noise.

"Interesting," said the King.

"Should be useful when wanting to sneaky up on someone," chuckled the lead scholar. "As you know, our design group and blacksmiths make all our armor from Equism. And the shields the royal army uses have nanites that absorb the kinetic energy and hold it in place for redistribution. Well, your armor now does that as well."

"Very nice," commented Velvet.

"Let me show you a demonstration," said the lead scholar as he approached Velvet. "With your permission, your Majesty."

"By all means, in the name of research," said Velvet.

The scholar was grateful that the Queen allowed him to strike her. He punched Velvet's midsection as the armor felt it, and so did Velvet, but it wasn't painful. Her suit's nanites were now doing their thing as they seemed to glow with small ancient runes and symbols. Another scholar approached a device as she loaded a small ball into a cannon and aimed it at the Queen. With a trigger pull, the ball shot out and headed toward where Velvet got hit. The moment it made contact, the ball was immediately pushed back and broke a nearby window.

"Ow!" said a voice.

Some scholars looked out the window as they looked down below. It seemed the ball hit Derpy, who was leaving from delivering the royal family their mail and was on the ground, rubbing her head as several guards stood about her, seeing if she was alright.

"My bad, Derpy!" shouted Velvet, apologizing to the girl for the bump on her head.

"Cover the cost of the medical bill," instructed Night Light to one of his servants. The King wanted to show his forgiveness to the girl for what happened to her just now. "And have the royal engineers install a new window."

"Yes, your Majesty," said the servant as he went to take care of his orders.

"Well..." said the lead scholar as he coughed to get things back on track. "As you can see, the results speak for themselves. Also, your capes are made from Equism and infused with magic; they can act as shields."

Night Light and Velvet grabbed their capes and held them out like shields. A forcefield shield barrier appeared that could absorb blaster shots and allow the pair to see the enemy still while blocking.

"The suits also enhanced your abilities to jump and run."

Velvet looked at her hand before she began to run. The Queen approached a wall and leaped as she held onto it briefly before she began to wall run-crawl upward. The scholars were in awe at their designs as they quickly made observations. The Queen was enjoying it as she pushed off and leaped into the air; she touched the ceiling before dropping down and landing before her husband and the lead scholar.

"That was amazing!" shouted Velvet as she felt an adrenaline rush kicking in. Night Light merely shook his head at seeing his wife get her thrill of adventure.

"We took the data from the Jedi when he ran his trials against our army. Now you can match his power in speed and jumping ability. You were right, my King. The Jedi proved useful to us. We not only know how to fight a Jedi, we can meet them in every aspect."

Night Light after hearing that Storm was a good experiment when he put the boy through hell.

"Seems the boy was a good lab rat to test. Only makes me wish I'd beaten him even more. Perhaps he could have given us more data to collect." said Night Light thinking about what other things Storm could give them if he put him through hell again. Also, it served as a message to keep away from Twilight.

Velvet then flicked her arms out as weapons appeared in her hands. The Queen was holding ring blades as they hummed with energy.

"In addition to your magical prowess, your Majesty. We designed some special ring blades. They're constructed by two rings linked together by an energy field. They are also made from Equism, lighter than steel while being vibration absorption and extremely resistant. As such, they can cut through various materials, from solid wood to metal. Oh, and one more thing, you can throw your ring blades which will return to you once thrown."

Velvet threw one of the blades out, as it returned immediately to her hand. The Queen quickly threw them upward as if juggling them as they kept returning.

"They can also emit energy blasts upon impact with a target."

"I love it!" said Velvet, liking their scientists' new developments.

The King and Queen then recalled their new armor as it was disabled and formed back to the bracelets they wore.

"Feel free to keep them," said the scholar to his King and Queen.

"You and everyone else have outdone yourself. Your services to the crown will be rewarded," said Night Light.

"Thank you, my liege. You'll be pleased to know that we also designed sets for the rest of your family."

"All of my family?!" stated Velvet as she got in the face of the scholar.

"Uhm, well, everyone except your youngest son, my Queen. We thought it best to wait until the young prince was more... mature," stuttered the man.

"Good! The last thing I need is my son running about with a set of armor, thinking it's a toy when it's a tool for survival!" declared Velvet, as she didn't want Spike to have one of his own until he was older and more grown.

"Yes, my Queen. Let me show you the armor we made," said the scholar, leading the royal pair to where the other stands were. "This one here is for your son, Prince Shining Armor. And this one here is for your daughter-in-law, Princess Cadance."

Night Light and Velvet saw two suits of armor like theirs, one dark blue and the other light pink.

"And this one is for your daughter and the future Queen of Equis."

The two adults looked as a suit of armor was created for Twilight. It was designed to match her hair color as it symbolized her royal crest in the center.

"We are on the cusp of cutting new technology. This nanotechnology is but the first step in evolving our society once again. And Equism itself has evolved once more." said the scholar as he held a piece of the metal in the shape of a rock.

Night Light grabbed the rock as he looked at it. He tossed it up and down as he smiled.

"Our legacy grows once again. We are the bloodline that thrives Equis. With this metal by our side, nothing can stop us." said Night Light. "Equis in aeternum."

"Equis in aeternum!" shouted everybody as they responded to their King. They all banged their right fist across their chest as they stood at attention.

Night Light as he pulled Velvet in close and smiled. The Queen ran her finger along his face before he kissed her deeply; they broke from their kiss before looking at the metal Night Light held in his other hand. The power of this metal, of Equism, and how it defined them and the bloodline they were a part of. A bloodline showing they were the ones!


Twilight was currently sitting by a window. The girl was continuing her drawing from yesterday; she hummed to herself rather blissfully as she added some color to her drawing. The princess was lost in her own world as her partner was all she could think about. The teen looked at her drawing of the boy she adored as she couldn't stop daydreaming.

"Thinking about something!"

Twilight yelped as she got her drawing from slipping out of her hands.

"Master!" responded the girl as she saw her teacher standing before her with her hands on her hips and a serious expression.

Twilight quickly put the drawing inside her book in her lap and smiled nervously at her teacher.

"What do you have?" asked Celestia.

"Oh, uhm, nothing..." responded Twilight as she sweated.

"Nothing?" responded the Jedi Master as she got closer to her apprentice, Twilight fidgeting like crazy.

"Nothing," said Twilight as she doubled down on her statement.

"Then, if it's nothing, let me see it!" demanded Celestia, putting her hand.

"Uhm... N-No," responded Twilight to her teacher.

"What?!" said Celestia, wanting to hear what Twilight said.

"I said... N-N-No."

The princess felt bad that she was lying to her Master. Celestia didn't like that Twilight was disobeying her as it showed how much of Storm's influence was showing if he was making Twilight act rebellious when she should be a good student and listen to her Master. Celestia glared at the teen as Twilight felt like Celestia was about to scold her for disobeying.

"Come with me," said Celestia as she retracted her hand and walked.

Twilight blinked as she saw her Master leaving. The girl took a deep breath, hopped off, and followed her teacher. The Jedi Knight followed Celestia into a room with dim lighting. Twilight noticed a single table in the room and a chair as she gulped. The princess approached the table as she took a seat.

Twilight was fidgeting on a whole other level as Celestia was shown circling her student like a predator to its prey. The Jedi Master kept a calm and collected expression as she showed no emotion, which made Twilight even more nervous. Celestia stopped pacing as she stood before her star pupil and gripped the table.

"M-Master..." started off Twilight, nervous. Her hands gripping her book tighter. "Am I... in trou.."

Twilight was cut off as Celestia tossed something on the table. The girl looked as it was a round device. Soon Celestia stuck her hand out as she used the Force to take Twilight's book from her. The princess felt the book wanting to leave as she tried to hold it back and not give it to her Master. But Celestia was more powerful than her apprentice as Twilight couldn't hold on, and it flew out of her hand. The Jedi Master had the book in her hand as she looked at it.

"Please! Don't ruin it!" pleaded Twilight with her teacher.

Celestia merely scowled at her before opening the book. The Jedi Master was flipping through the different pages of Twilight's personal diary as she read what she wrote down. She soon stopped on a certain page.

"This is interesting... Do you know what I'm talking about, my student?" said Celestia in a menacing tone.

"N-No," responded the princess as she tried herself smaller.

"No? Well then, allow me to refresh your memory!" stated Celestia with some volume before clearing her throat and reading one of Twilight's diary entries.

"Day 21st of the Garland Moon. After returning home, I'm glad to have seen my family in a long time. And I introduced my family to my partner, Storm. My mother had wild speculations and thought that he and I were together. But I debunked her speculations and merely told her that me and Storm were friends. The following day we went for a horseback ride in the nearby meadows, and Storm decided to play a prank on me as we ended up tumbling and laughing among the field of flowers. And today, being the Summer Solstice, we went out on the river bank and watched the lanterns light up the night sky. And... I found myself becoming entranced in Storm's gaze."

"Remember that, Twilight?" asked Celestia.

The girl didn't answer as she looked away.

"No? Well, how about this one!" said Celestia as she flipped through another page.

"Day 19th of the Horsebow Moon. Tonight's Gala was an experience. Not only did I get to spend my first Gala back with my friends and family, but with my partner. Storm was my escort for tonight, and he protected me when he ran down some nobles. I was so lucky to have him by my side, and the dance we shared was even more magical than I envisioned."

"Ring a bell, my apprentice?!" said Celestia, a bit louder than before.

Twilight put her head down.

"No! What about this one?!" said the Jedi Master as she flipped through another page.

"Day 7th of the Red Wolf Moon. I nearly had a panic attack. Storm jumped in front of me, protecting me by shielding himself and taking the spear from Discord. At that moment, I felt my entire world crumble. Seeing Storm dead and in my arms, I felt like my life had no meaning. I blame myself for not turning around and seeing it coming at me. I need him. I need him in my life."

"Well, my student!"

Twilight kept her head down as small sniffs could be heard, indicating that the princess was trying to hold back tears.

"Day 2nd of the Eternal Moon. My brother's wedding."

Twilight gasped after hearing that.

"My brother and Cadance were set to be married. But after some speculation, I discovered that a changeling was impersonating her. Nobody believed me when I said something was off, and I can partly blame myself. Instead of acting like a protective little sister, I should have kept calm and provided evidence to show that Cadance was a fake. I let my emotion get the best of me; I can admit that. But I can also admit that when I saw Chrysalis starting to drain Storm of his love, I felt an urge. An urge that I didn't want to lose him, and I leaped into action and saved him. At that moment, I decided to stop ignoring my feelings and listen to my heart. And my heart is saying that I... I... love Storm."

"Star pupil!" shouted Celestia.

Twilight didn't respond as she started to cry, not letting her teacher see. Celestia ran through pages of her diary.

"25th of the Eternal Moon. Heartswarming Eve. Today me, and my friends exchanged gifts and had fun spending time with each other. Even though Storm didn't get me a gift, he promised me if I ever asked him for anything, he would do it. Maybe... maybe I can ask him to... stay with me. Plus, he has some incredible muscles."

"Day 14th of the Pegasus Moon. It's Hearts and Hooves Day. And it was the best day of my life. My father allowed me to be a normal girl, and I spent the day mostly with Storm. It was better than I could have come up with. It was... perfect. And with Cadance's help and makeover, I sparked Storm's interest in me. I admit, it was fun seeing him all flustered and blushing when he was around me. And as the day went on, I found myself falling for him. The rowboat on the water, the night so beautiful, I felt like a genuine princess having found their prince charming. I felt like all those girls in the books that my mother used to read to me when I was born. I felt like Storm was sweeping me off my feet and would take me away to live happily ever after. Maybe that's why I decided to take our partnership and relationship to the next level. I still can't believe that I... that I... kissed me."

Celestia slammed the book down on the table; it jolted the lavender-haired girl. Twilight dared to look up as the water was still in her eyes as Celestia held the drawing her apprentice refused to give her. The girl had been working on a drawing of Storm and was hoping to give it to the boy. The Jedi Master had the biggest scowls of disappointment and shame as she glared at her so-called student.

"You have brought shame to me, my student."

"M-Master, I..."

"Silence!" shouted Celestia as Twilight flinched. The girl was on the verge of a breakdown as she didn't like her Master yelling at her. "You broke the rules, Twilight."

"No... No! No!" said the princess.

"You know the penalty for betraying the Jedi Code of Conduct!" shouted Celestia.

"I know... please give me that," pleaded Twilight as she tried to reach for her drawing, but Celestia yanked it away.

"I had high hopes for you. I had expectations that you would succeed. I can see that was far from the truth. You've failed every test I've put before you." gawked Celestia as she glared at the drawing in her hands.

"Master! Please, I can do better! Please." said Twilight.

"Let me tell you something, my pupil. When I proposed this idea to have you and my sister's student partner up, I did it expecting you to be able to reach new heights. Be able to learn stuff you can't learn from me one-on-one. But it seems the opposite effect happened." said Celestia, turning her back to her apprentice. "I had hoped you could be the thing I imagined, but what a disappointment that turned out to be."

"Master..." Twilight was at a loss for words, hearing what Celestia was saying.

"A Jedi's most scared duty is to learn to let go. You failed that test when you started to think with your heart and not your brain. I put my respect, honor, and dignity on the line when I took you in as my apprentice against my Master's wishes. Everyone on the Council criticized me for doing what I did and taking you in on my own accord. I told them that you needed my guidance to succeed. And then comes along Storm. A mere boy to offset you and everything you've worked for up until that point! As time went by, it became clear what he really was. He's an anchor! I'm the wings! I lift you; he drags you down! You have a great future in front of you, but guess what, my apprentice! You can't be a Jedi and a princess simultaneously!"

Twilight couldn't take it anymore.

"So good ahead! Let him plead to you. Let him beg you. Let him show that 'supposed' love he has for you. Just know, I could put on a mask as well." said Celestia, calling out that Storm wasn't fully committed to returning her feelings for the boy. Showing that he was more dedicated to being a Jedi than Twilight's plaything.

"I thought you could be better than Sunset."

Twilight gasped and finally looked up as she saw her teacher starting to leave.

"So it's true..." said the princess. "She was your apprentice."

Celestia stopped as she turned her head to look at her pupil.

"Why? Why didn't you tell me?" asked Twilight.

"Who told you?" asked Celestia calmly.

"Sunset told me when I was on Onderon," confirmed Twilight as Celestia sighed heavily.

"It's true," confessed the Jedi Master as Twilight gasped and almost fell to her knees hearing that. "Before you, I had another student. One who was talented and smart, just like you. But Sunset became tempted by the dark side of the Force, and as such, she was no longer my apprentice."

"So you abandoned her?" said Twilight.

"I didn't abandon her. She made her choice to attack me. The darkness in her heart had overtaken her completely. Nothing I could say could change her mind. I tried to help her, to see reason, but her darkness and rage consumed her." stated Celestia, keeping her hands behind her back. "As such, she disappeared. And then I took you as my new apprentice."

"Why? Why did you keep this from me?" asked Twilight.

"It was for your own good. You didn't need to be concerned about it. It wasn't your business."

"But it is now! Why? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Do not try to try this around on me. I have told you the truth since I took you under my tutelage. Have I not? Have I not!" shouted Celestia.

"Yes," confirmed Twilight, as Celestia had always been honest with her, apart from Sunset being her apprentice.

"My duty is to teach you all I know about being a Jedi. And your deadline is fast approaching. You will turn 18 very soon, and you will go back home when that happens. These past three years, I let you go. I stood back and wanted to see what you could do without my guidance. Turns out you were more lost than ever. Maybe I was the fool for partnering you up with Storm. Perhaps you would be better now had you never met him and stuck with my teachings until now. Perhaps Luna was right about this idea."

Twilight was thinking back to the conversation that Sunset had told her.

When faced with herself or her apprentice, she chose self-interest. She'll sell you out two. I trusted and looked up to her because I wanted to be her. But in the end, she abandoned me.

I will stand by my Master, no matter what.

Funny, I thought the same thing once.

"Will you do the same to me as you did Sunset? Will you abandon me?"

"You would believe the word of my fallen former student over your own Master?" said Celestia, as she couldn't believe Twilight would listen to someone motivated by revenge. "You have something that Sunset failed to learn, and it was that something that I was confident you could be what she never could. A true Jedi. But now... that is even in question."

"Celestia..."

"If you think me some evil manipulator that has lied and kept secrets from you. Then that makes me a bad person. And as a Jedi, it is their duty to defeat darkness. So..." Celestia then bent down on her knees as if meditating. "Feel free to strike me down."

Twilight gasped at what her Master was saying. Celestia closed her eyes as she concentrated and let the Force dedicate what would happen next. The princess stood before her teacher as she wrestled with her thoughts; Celestia left herself defenseless and allowed Twilight to strike her down to clear her conscience. The Jedi Knight looked at her teacher as images and visions of her past showed them together. The girl saw how happy she was learning from Celestia's lessons and the time they had spent since she became her apprentice.

All of it was making Twilight grip her head as she screamed. She walked close to Celestia, fell to her knees, and cried. The princess buried her head into her Master's chest. Celestia felt Twilight's tears as she opened her eyes to see her student clutching her; the Jedi Master put her arms around the girl and comforted her while rubbing her back. Twilight felt a sense of safety in her Master's arms as she sniffed.

Celestia looked down at her student as she let out a sigh. Eventually, the crying ended as Twilight wiped her eyes and nose. Celestia looked at her student with a warm smile before getting up; she stuck her hand out to make the device she planted on the table fly into her hand. The Jedi Master began to walk as she left Twilight by herself. The princess slowly got up and looked at her journal on the table. The teen saw her diary and the drawing as she picked it up. Twilight traced the drawing as she sighed, putting her head down. The single light above her head soon shut off as everything went black.

Author's Note: So, first off, this takes place during the episodes Eminence and Shades of Reason. Second, it seems back on Twilight's homeworld, things are being developed. New nanotech suits with tons of features and being able to match a Jedi's speed and power; all thanks to Storm. Night Light using the boy to study and learn so that they could be prepared for his kind. And it seems Celestia has revealed to Twilight that Sunset was indeed her fallen apprentice. Things are definitelyhappening.