In The Kingdom Of Hope [Concluded]

"Sugary Market, Madam." After introducing himself, he'd remain attentive to the conversation between the mares. He'd keep in mind to ask Summer about other possible contacts for good measure, as it seemed she was well prepared for various scenarios despite setbacks.

He was curious as to what Loré's intentions with what was given would do for her, but was even more curious as to the spell Summer was using; Especially once she seemingly got into a trance because of it, which put him on alert as he brought out a couple shields from his Inventory and levitated them around the both of them as he looked at Loré. "Hey! What exactly did that spell do!?" He looked back and forth between the mares, expecting either one to answer, but not quite so from Summer as he suspected her to be currently detached with the way her body language was. He would have agreed with what One thought the spell did, but he had no way of knowing it's true purpose right away as it were.

"She will make a fine assistant under that trance if that answers your question, Sugary," Loré laughed shaking her head. "If I were going to set a trap, I would at least make sure that I had caught you all. I'm sure that I could find uses for you all. You should seek me out if you ever find yourself in need of work.” It would have been wise to notice that she hadn’t answered the question she had been asked. She hadn't so much as flinch at Sugary's defensive reaction either, showcasing no fear of reprisal.

Mittere gave groan akin to a yawn as some of the herself began to to return to her. The spell was potent, but Incredibly rough around the edges. She shook her head very acutely to try and shake off some of the nasty effects of the spell.

As Blade approached the room, the guards outside didn’t stop to question him, which they maybe would have, were it not for the volume of ponies doing the exact same thing that were going past them with more and more regularity. They were more scared of holding up the system and the consequences of that, than of the safety of the princess they were meant to be serving.The guards on the interior could worry about that, and he knew that some form of normality was Important to be maintained, even during times of crisis "She's going to have fun burning that lot," one of the guards said in a way that could have been a joke, but would be hard to discern. "The amount that's been coming in could heat the building for a year."

The door was unceremoniously thrown open for Blade, leaving him a view of the throne room. Celestia was sat, being informed of something by a guard who's posture and heavy panting suggested he had been in a hurry If one were to look and ignore the sweat and weighted down body language,  one would not be able to discern that anything was at all wrong.

"If it is...alright with you...your majesty, I'd rather rest here...a moment," the guard said between his task of reducing his oxygen debt.

"It is rest you have earned," Celestia replied with a small, soft smile. The guard seemed grateful and sat on the steps leading up to the throne.Blade as of yet had gone unnoticed by the princess, or at least not done enough to register her full attention.

"Maybe not, but you might be cute when you're angry," he said with a slight tease to his voice. He was really starting to feel the strain, his cock now twitching. He had to last to at least the end of the conversation, he had to.

"Oh..." One stared at Miterre, then the book. "Are you going to use that for what I think you're going to use that for?" He asked, stepping forward. Ahhhh... Sir?

Yes?

The armour... It got free.

I see

The door on the far side of the room swung open, with a swarm of black, metallic-looking bad spiralling through the room. They landed in front of One, before they melted, the liquid seeping upwards, as if around some invisible pony, till a set of baroque black armour was standing in front of him. "Hello Night. It's been a long time, hasn't it?"

"Indeed it has," a female voice eminated from somewhere inside the helm. "A thousand years dormant, both of us."

"Until our country needs us again. Luna has spurned my love, and with good reason," he replied.

"A thousand years is a long time to wait. Even if she was on the moon." Night paused. "I take it you wish to wear me?"

"I do," was all he said.

"Then tell me who you are. Stop hiding in the shadows, and take your place in the light Moony."

One blinked, and nodded, a smile on his lips. As he spoke, he seemed to fill with a confidence and inner strength that he had not possessed before. "I am Lord Commander Fearful Moon of the Royal Equestrian Army. I am here to take my post once again."


"I... Am cute~" was all she managed, her breath coming out in gasps as she whined loudly, holding him tight against her body as she kissed him hard again, her moans filling his mouth as she came. She collapsed on the bed as her nectar cocked his cock, each thrust now better lubricated.

"Madam Loré, what do you mean by assistant!? I want a straight answer since Mittere has yet to give me one herself! I am in no mood to play guessing games!" The mild scowl on his face was not one he intended to remove any time soon. These were unforgiving times, and he wasn't all to eager to waste any more time in the event that foul play had been done.

After Summer shook her head, he gave her neck and cheek a light nosing in concern and comfort. "Madam...?" He was still wary of his surroundings. The shields would keep steadily hovering around them since, even if there was no foul play, she was still in a trance, and she was likely somewhat vulnerable in her state. Perhaps he was wrong, but he wasn't about to let his guard down.

This became especially true when the enchanted armor of One's arrived, prompting Sugary to bring out two more shields around them, and making preparations to erect a barrier proper if needed as he watched his conversation with the armor. He had to admit, it was an awfully crude moment and declaration, yet it held a certain flair of the likes he had not seen for some time himself since his days back home.

Blade nervously glancd around as he as he passed the guards though he nearly fell after hearing that Celestia burned her letters. At first it made him slowly walk towards the door, wondering what he should do if she did burn the letters. If she did so without even skimming over it then his entire plan was for nothing. He shook his head and decided not to think about that and had to keep to his original plan. He didn't see any reason why to deviate from the plan now since there was nothing for him to do to stop the Princess from burning the letters. Most of them probably talked about the same thing anyways. It would make sense of why they would be burned.

Blade had never really gone into the throne, but knew that the door opening the way it had was not how it should have been done. The stallion slowly trotted into the room as he glanced over at the ponies in the room, growing worried about the guard for some reason. Soon, his attention shifted to Celestia herself and his mind seemed to go blank suddenly. He stopped and stared for a moment until he internal smacked himself again. Celestia had seemed to be like she had always. She showed kindness to her subject or at least those who did there jobs without fail. Blade didn't say anything and looked over the Princess, trying to see if there was something outside of her warm and gentle aura that she warmly gave. Celestia had seemed to be everyone's mother and would try her best to provide for them, but that seemed as if it was in the past. 

The bag was nearly cut through now and if he stopped now the thing would rip on it's own, so he stopped and waited for it to do so. The guard didn't know what to do now, but bowed to the Princess out of formality. Now, he only had to go through his plan and pray to Cel-er-Lu-er-Faust that his plan would work without a hitch.

Mittere seemed to reflexly smile from the nosing,  but didn’t respond as she may have by pulling away or into it depending on her mood. "Mr Market?" she said, still sounding rather detached.

"I'm only borrowing her to help me. You can have your mare back after that." One's declaration had made an impact on her confidence in her plan.That was some fanciful and serviceable armour that she would love to get her hooves on. "If you are still unsure, would you care to show them Mittere?"

"I think not," Mittere snapped back. "It find it very audacious you are willing to make jokes at a time like this. Did you plan that joke around the momentary lapse you knew would occur because you are trying to hide the fact you are incompetent at the one thing that might actually make you a pony of any worth? I was going to ask for your help in proceeding further, but if your humour is in such bad taste, perhaps it is better that we do not." She had taken Loré’s little joke to Sugary as a serious insult. He had enough pressures to face without the addition of fake ones. "You are lucky Mr Market held until the situation was made more apparent." Mittere in response to the unreciprocated attention a moment ago lightly nosed the back of Sugary's neck in reward for his devotion.

"You may rise," Celestia said, Blade now having her attention. She could feel the anxiousness on him,  but assumed the more natural explanation. "Is this your first time in this room? " If he was a throne room virgin so to speak, his hesitance made sense. "I must admit, I am better with faces than I am names. For my own sake can you tell me your name?" Celestia asked kindly. With a name and a face, she could see what could remember about the pony. She was losing touch with ponies, and that was exactly how she wanted it. He seemed to be bringing more letters, at which she hid her annoyance. If they came to her face to face she might be able to explain things, though she knew that was an unfair request as it had been a long time since she had an appointment. It was nice using this time as a break, though the shock to the common pony at their princess's passiveness made her somewhat sour when she thought about it.

As Zephyr felt his dick being coated, that was the all clear he needed to go ahead and release his own load. He grunted, as he gave one final, powerful thrust inside her, sheathing himself all the way to his balls. He spasmed again, before unleashing a stream of cum,  twitching once more and releasing the final load. Were it not for the fact he enjoyed the feeling of Isabelle's moans reverberating through him he would have said something. Just because he was spent though didn't mean that there was not enough left for a few more thrusts.

The faceplate of the armour turned to face Lore, having caught the look she had given it. "Excuse me. I can sense some that you wish to wear me," she said, before laughing loudly. "Not a chance." She turned back to Fearful and trotted forward. "So Moony. You know what you have to do to wear me."

"Fight yo-" Fearful nodded, then blinked as Night grabbed his neck and grabbed the and dragged him into a kiss. He snapped his head back and groaned. "What... was that?"

"Well," Night spoke softly. "Last time you were taken. Now you're not."

"I am not dating my armour!" He exclaimed incredulously.

"Fine, fine..." She muttered and dissolved into the swarm of bats, before settling onto his body. As they shifted into armour again, he sighed and shook his head, before straightening up. Gone was One, the stallion who had shifted moods, who had killed without remorse. Gone was the stallion who had turned innocents without reason, and who only seen darkness. Here was Fearful Moon, soldier and vampire.

Isabelle gasped, her walls milking his cock for all he had as she clutched onto him, lips on his neck as she squealed. She collapsed again on the bed, kissing him as he thrust into her again. "U- unnnnf~" She murred and rested her head on the duvet. "W- well... done..."

Blade got up and gulped as he tried to get his mind to work. The stallion nodded slowly to the Princess' question. He let go of the the breath that had been kept in his chest for too long now. He shifted his attention to the Princess and nodded uneasily. His ears perked up when he was asked for his name. "My name is Blade Shield, Princess." He said as he was tempted to give another bow to the Princess, but thought one was enough for now. Blade knew that the bag would rip soon and he knew that it wasn't the time to do so yet. The stallion actually thought about if he should really just tell the Princess why he was actually there. 

The stallion gestured to give the letters the Princess, praying that should wouldn't burn the letters like he thought she would. He thought about his chances of actually being able to get away, but if Celestia didn't want him to he wouldn't be able to. Still for some reason telling the alicorn why he was really there seemed like the best option for some reason. He hadn't done anything against the throne or really anything outside of walking and talking with the revolutionaries. Why shouldn't he just do that?

It was fair for Sugary to believe that his mood had been soured rather harshly by Loré. As glad as he was to find out that Summer was actually well, he would make no effort to forgive their host, though he'd still share a thought with her, right after he leaned into the nosing Summer gave him that is. "Loré, with what little respect I have left for you, now is not the time to make us second-guess who is an ally and who isn't! We've barely avoided capture as is!"

Remaining by Summer's side on alert still as she dealt with the spell she had put herself up to, he could only pay so much attention to One and his living armor. What little he did see and hear, was still enough to fill his mind with many questions. Mostly, about whether or not he could bring himself to trust the enchanted gear at this point in time. He had curious admiration for it as well, but now was not the time to act upon it, much to his chagrin.

Sugary’s reaction drew a small laugh from Loré, but Mittere's reaction, in addition to having been rejected by a suit of armour that was too feisty for its own good annoyed her. "I was not aware of the fact that I was being subsidised to take into account your feelings. The joke might have been in ill taste,  but you should be thanking me that it was just a joke." She lowered herself to pick up the dropped book. As she was rising however, she fell with a slight magical nudge from Mittere, landing a little harshly.

"You should respect your elders, as well as your betters. Your work was to the expected standard however, so I have not written you off as a contact. If you wish to do business with me again however, I suggest you keep your humour and whatever attitude problems that you may have to yourself.” Loré gave some grumbling in response as any sense of power she may have had initial projected was viciously eroded. This fact meant the words were likely not that nice.

“I am going to take that as an apology, as well as a ‘Yes Mittere’,” Mittere said to the mare, allowing her back up. “Do not allow me to keep you from whatever banal task it was I interrupted with my calling for your presence.” With Loré gone in hopefully as foul a mood as she had placed Sugary in, Mittere now turned her attention to One, and the shift in how he carried himself, she missed a thing or two in her lapse of consciousness.  

"Blade Shield, have you enjoyed your short time as a guard so far? It is a viable career path with many opportunities for advancement," Celestia sighed, the enthusiasm not there in as great a presence as to be expected. "I can’t prolong dancing around the subject; I imagine you're wanting to talk to me. That is a common wish these days.” She grabbed the the bag of letters loosely, keeping them half way between the two of them. “It would not be the first mistake I’ve made if I am wrong, and you came for a different reason, but what would that be? You need not call me Princess for this conversation, or ask to speak your mind.” She would ideally have like to be called Princess even without any enforcement, but to get him to speak she was more than happy to allow it.

"Heh. Didn't disappoint you after all, did I Princess?" Zephyr in his mind had damn well better be good enough after the effort he had put in. He gave a slow withdrawal as something else began to withdraw. Once he was out, he collapsed on the bed beside her, giving a tired laugh. He felt happy, hot, tired, and a little fuzzy right now.

Fearful watched the mare walk out, not even blinking at the beat down she had just received. Instead, he sheathed Hope inside the armour, the blade vanishing as it slid into the black steel. Finished, he turned to Miterre and Sugary. "Well then. No doubt you have questions about what has occurred. Unfortunately, assuming your guard has delivered his letter, we have a limited time frame of operation. As such, I would like to hear your battle plan so that I may evaluate it. Further, I wish to reclaim the post I never technically left. If your questions are desperate, I will answer them though."

Isabelle nodded in contentment, cuddling into his side as he collapsed next to her. She laughed with him and giggled, kissing his cheek. "You were wonderful~" she purred.

Where it any other day, Sugary might have been hesitant to allow Summer to do what she did with her magic without a word of cautionary advice... but Loré had not earned that sort of defense from him, and merely watched to make sure she wasn't harmed... much. Her attitude was the sort that grated him. He was Working/Warrior class in the end, and he did not need a random apparent-Noble to waste his time and efforts for their amusement. Summer's critique of Loré would go unopposed.

He was curious about One's armor to be sure, but he was more interested in seeing to Summer's condition first and foremost. "Madam Mittere, do you need any assistance with the spell? Or are you feeling better already?"

Blade looked away from the Princess as she asked about his time as a guard. He didn't know what to say. His body froze for a few moments as he listened to the fact Celestia knew that he hadn't been the regular new mailpony. He watched as the bag hovered between him and Celestia and sighed as he used his construct to pull the letter out of the bag. "Well, I came to deliver a letter from a mare named Mittere." He said as the letter finally came out of the bag. His eyes watching for the reaction of the name Mittere would have on the Princess. "I am not sure what it says, but for some reason her and somepony else wanted to add something to the letter as well. I'm not sure what that could be though." 

Blade let the letter float over to Celestia and hoped that the letter wasn't something that would get him killed. He hoped it would be a simple sit down between the two or simply else peaceful.

“The spell worked fine, Mr Market, and I will be alright when we are done.” Mittere looked to the floor. She could still feel the rough effects of the spell, a mix of motion sickness, brainfreeze and general fever. If a pony were to lay a hoof on her though, they would not feel any of the symptoms.There was a feeling of personal satisfaction, but it was for very personal reasons. “Please reveal any plan of your own you may have before I color it with my own intentions,” she said to one. “And I do believe you reclaiming your position may cause a problem for the current pony upholding the position. Not that any fight between the two of you would be fair I am sure.”  

“Well,” Diurnae said excitedly. He happily bobbed his head up and down in time with his cool ideas. “I was thinking we could rappel down, smash the windows and-”

“Some of those panes are hundreds of years old,” Ashen said, placing a hoof on his friend to cool him slightly, though that was a poor choice of phrase. It was clear he didn’t want to break anything, and he certainly didn’t want to fight. He did remember what Sugary had said about him, as well as his rather flirtatious encouragement from Diurnae.

Spring stayed quiet, but looked rather bemused. She couldn’t really believe that those two stallions were adults. One had childish energy, one had childish reluctance. One had the excuse of possibly receiving a little too much attention from grandma while the other seemed to have a mess of inadequacy issues. That's how it seemed to her anyway. They may have been perfectly moderate, but she wouldn’t get those kinds of highs or lows.  

“A mare?” Celestia said, taking the letter. “As I said, my memory of faces exceeds that of names. I can’t think of anypony I know called Mittere.” This matter was puzzling to her. The mare was obviously not a nopony, as she had managed to convince a guard to do something that could have been very stupid. If his movements were too sudden then she may done certain things in the interest of her safety. Celestia flipped the letter around a few times looking it over corner to corner, flipping it and then doing the same. The seal captured her attention. “You said the name, Mittere?” she asked looking over the letter to Blade. “That’s what she calls herself now…” she said, to herself mostly as she broke the seal. She unfolded the letter from the envelope and began to read. Her eyes trailed over the page, her neck moved into a slightly more comfortable position, she felt an itch but didn’t scratch it. After she had finished reading, she neatly folded the letter back into the envelope and began to speak..

“I’ve always been fond of using tests to determine character. I have one question for you, Blade. Which side of the line are you on? If you are unsure, I can understand and respect that. It’s good if anything, it shows you’re smart, a trait that like all those I work with to have. I need a choice before I do anything more.”  .

“Well…” Zephyr said whilst smiling. “Was there ever any doubt? And don’t say yeah. I can get work done with the right motivation.” He cuddled with her happily. He was warm from all of the exertion, in addition to the heat, but she felt cooler than him, which was soothing.

Fearful rolled his eyes and snorted. "I doubt Celestia would have filled my position so quickly. And even if she did, I was never court-marshaled, nor did I ever quit. Technically, she couldn't have filled it. As for whether I would fight the pony, I would do it through a battle of wits, not brawn." He paused as he listened to Diurnae, a smile twitching his lips. "Unfortunately, your love is correct. I do not wish to break anything unnecessarily. Instead, as you have sent the letter, I intend to walk into the throne room, invoke some bullshit, and force Tia to accede the throne to me. If she refuses, I will call in my small army, and perhaps threaten some nobles. Of course, if she remembers that I value pony life above all else, she'll call my bluff, and I'll be forced to draw Hope. But that is a last resort. Now, I assume you have plans of your own?"

She snorted happily, kissing his snout. "There was never any doubt Zephyr." She curled up against him, purring as she nuzzled him, enjoying the warmth his body was exuding.

Blade was surprised that Celestia didn't remember Mittere's name, especially since was another alicorn. He watched her uneasily as she looked at the note and then nodded to confirm what he had said. The stallion was surprised a little that Mittere didn't give them her real number, but in all honesty it didn't mean all that much. She might have already told the others and had failed to tell him about it since she knew that he wasn't going to stay long. The stallion didn't move from his spot as the Princess read the letter silently to herself. Soon, he watched as Celestia slid the letter the back into the envelope. 

The stallion looked at the ground when he was questioned. "In all honesty I want to side with you Princ-er-Celestia. But, unless you can make your Sun cooler I can't really do that no matter how much I want..." The stallion sighed as he thought about the mare that called herself Mittere. "And I don't trust that mare all that much. She is too ready to kill and the way she seems to want to rule is out of fear." He looked up at Celestia again, stepping towards her slowly. "But, I know she wants to help Equestria and I want that as well. It's something that I hope you want as well. Something that could help get rid of this stupid line between people that want the same thing." Blade stopped and looked away as he would reach the base of the stairs if he went unhindered in his small talk across the throne room. "All I want is that things can go back to they way they used to be though I know that can't happen." Him and many more ponies would question Celestia's judgement. A fact that Blade didn't think that had to be said. 

"But, I think I should ask the question that is on everypony's minds before I go even start to consider which side to chose. 'Why can't you cool down your Sun?'" He said as his eyes locked onto Celestia's.

While Summer might have been reassuring him of her eventual well being, Sugary nonetheless would keep close to her and protecting her as he nuzzled her gently to give her comfort, occasionally licking her as well to make sure she kept coherent and was certain there was someone by her side.

That aside, he didn't have much to add given the plans already given. He did not know the castle from the inside, he did not know the princesses personally, and he was only one of the members of the group and had no one to formally command. "All I can say is... It depends on how much time we can spare. If it's about getting the sun out from Celestia's grasp in the end, then whatever means to get that done soon is what I'm up for... We can always try talking to her afterwards once problem #1 has been fixed, right?"

“Our plans seem to diverge from the point where we walk into the throne room,” Mittere said. She looked to Sugary, who seemed rather on board with her thinking. I would like to go in heavy from the start. “Once we have her majesty contained we can negotiate terms in a much stronger position. I would very much like your support and I am willing to compromise slightly to accommodate you.” Mittere would never beg for help, but she could bend a few things, like her plans for the other princesses. Despite her attitude thus far, she now had no intention of wanting to kill any of the princesses. Any brute could do that. “We also cannot eliminate the threat of Luna, how was she when you saw her last? Do you think she will be a problem?” Getting attention like she was from Sugary, combined with planning the moment she had waited for was perfect to her.

Diurnae didn’t seem at all phased by the rejection of his idea, seeing as it was a longshot at best. He really wanted to walk down a wall and laugh in the face of gravity. He now gave thought as to if there was a spell for that kind of thing. It could be used for multiple things, so there was no reason to believe that there wasn’t, since somepony likely needed it at some point before him. The luxury of being born in the times period he was.

Celestia needed to lie, obfuscate, or at the very least say something. She thought she was prepared, but she really wasn’t. Her eyes didn’t reveal anything though, and they stayed as calm and serene as ever. “I always try to do what is best for the ponies of Equestria, do you understand that? I can remove this dreadful heat whenever I desire, which believe me, I do. I fear the consequences of such an action.” She could have snapped at Blade, telling him that she was the one asking the questions. That was not her however, and she remained unaffected by the increased intensity of their conversation. “If you wish to be a hero for solving the issues at hand, please, go back to MIttere, I will be understanding. If you wish to do the right thing for Equestria, stay here with me and I can explain further.” She rose from her throne in place of asking the question again. Both sides did want the same thing, but one side lacked all of the information.

Zephyr was perfectly comfortable where he was at that moment. There was a brief flash of thoughts about work, but there was little he could really do about that. He was doing his job by keeping Isabelle here. Would he need to get a new job after everything settled down. Any excuse to get rid of him would probably be welcome by those above him. A disturbance of this nature could easily be that excuse. If it was a choice between Isabelle and his job, the mare won the day. Could she get a job working with her, then again, the guards he had passed on the way in seemed to be doing a better job than he could.

"Hmm... I see. You wish to strike hard and fast. A good tactic... Fine, I will get you as far as the doors of the throne room. From there, I shall have words with my former fiance, as she has stated to me that she will resist, and I would rather not see her fight anyone bar me. If you find this agreeable, I suggest we move out, now." He began to walk towards the throne room. "I'm sorry I did not speak more with the King when I had the chance."

Isabelle was equally as comfortable laying with Zephyr. No longer under the constant pressure of having to look after her father, her two distinct personalities had melded together, leaving her a fierce, protective mare, who also enjoyed quiet comforts over extravagance. She kissed him gently. "DO you want to get something to eat?" She purred quietly.

Sugary kept to himself for the most part for now. Tending to Summer was now his priority until he was certain she could move well on her own and was no longer as vulnerable. Not that he didn't have continuous reservations about One. "... Speak with the king...? What king? Is he still stuck in the past? He'd better not forget the bigger issue just to settle an old score first."

Before One were to go too far, Sugary would attempt to halt him. "Oi! Aren't you gonna wait on the Madam to be finished first? And I told you, this isn't just your conflict. Princess Luna may want to side with her sister above talking with you or any of us. And before you ask, yes. I am willing to fight Celestia and Luna if it comes to that. What will you do then...?"

The stallion didn't think that the Princess was lying to him though having over a thousand years ofmpractoce would gove enough time to create the best poker face. Also, why would she lie to him? She could simply have him arrested since the castle was surrounded by guards and the most powerful being of Equestria could turn him into ashes with a single blast.

Blade raised a brow at the fact Celestia had believed she was helping Equestrian with the heat wave and made no effort in acting like he fully believed the Princess. Then, he thought about all the crazy things that had happened in Equestria recently. "Well, I came for answers and if you're to give them I will stay. I will do what I think is best for Equestria." Blade said as he kept to where he was, not even glancing over to the door. He did look uneasy as he stood, not sure whether or not keeping the heat wave was doing more harm than good.

"Let him pass, Mr Market. The sooner we get this done is better for all."  Mittere wanted to make it clear to Sugary that she was fine in a harsher way, but it was all care and loyalty on his part, and that was hard to turn down, even when hurtful to her excessive pride. “I should also ease your mind by telling, I have a perfect spell to contain the battle. Only ponies and property present at the battle shall be at risk. There are a few stranger effects, but I imagine they shall not pose too great an issue.” She trotted to One’s side. “I believe the rush was towards the throne room,” she said to the stallion. “I lied somewhat when I said I would allow you to lead the charge. You may help from my side is what I meant to say.”

Celestia smiled kindly at Blade, glad he had the character to listen to her. She knew she was asking a lot. Her horn lit up for a second, but to Baldes likely relief, he remain in the room with all of his body intact. The guards all received the signal however and began to make their way to the door, giving them the whole of the grand room to pace. And pace Celestia would, walking past Blade, and turning to  walk the other way when appreciate  "I hope you will support me, or at the very least understand why I feel this is best.. Let me explain..." Celestia was pretty brief in her summary of events. If Mittere was the mare who Celestia was thinking, one she had written off as any credible threat to her, then she would not waste time in coming for her. Impatience in front of temptation was a flaw that characterised her. "I hope with that knowledge you understand. Would it be too much to ask you to do as I say now? And for what it is worth, just for listening, I’m going to give you a place in my ‘lifeboat’ program." Perhaps upon seeing her guard friend defending Celestia once more, Mittere would stop with the useless fighting.  

Zephyr was pretty content how he was, but content didn't mean lacking the want for more. "Well, I'm always hungry for something. What kind of thing you got in mind? Would we have to go very far.” These were all important factors when grabbing food when alone, so it made sense it would with another too. You had to balance effort and reward.

One paused for a moment, turning around slowly. "You seem to have forgotten who you are speaking with Mr Market. True, this is not just my conflict. But you seem to have forgotten just how large it actually is. I do not fight for myself, I fight for all of ponykind. If that means putting Luna down, then so be it. Ultimately, their happiness is worth far more than my own. If it comes to fighting them both, then I will put the younglings down. However, I do not wish it to come to that." He began to hurry towards the throne room, smiling back at Miterre as a seven ponies appeared by his side, including Rain. "Dear Miterre, it seems you thought you were in control. Sadly, this is not the case. After all, you seem to know both Princesses quite well, and thus I assume they know you. Therefore, I shall handle this coup. You may cast your spell whenever you desire however." With that, he turned to face the direction of the throne room, a helm snapping closed around his head, the eyeslits beginning to glow red. "Oh, miss Spring,' he called, the armour magnifying his voice. "You may wish to stay back. The sound will likely be atrocious."

She giggled at his questions, stroking his chest gently. "Not at all silly. This hotel has room service~" She gestured to a bell and grinned. "What do you want?"

With some reluctance, Sugary allowed Summer to move about unhindered even though he was almost certain she wasn't entirely free from the negative effects just yet. He'd slowly go about rearranging the shields overhead, as she moved, and One spoke. The look he'd give to the latter was the same one when he asked the question. "I have forgotten nothing. I am making sure you're the one that remembers. The words you just spoke are the words I will hold you to... I also hope you remember that those younglings are ancient, and command a country and beyond. Though your confidence is superb to say the least..." The last sentence he said in a lower voice as he moved towards him along with Summer, rather skeptical given previous experience.

He was rather un-amused at having to hear One make light of what Summer had been doing thus far, and was not happy at having to prepare for further setbacks as he deduced that his actions might end up interfering with her plans, and those were the plans he was sticking with, not out of blind loyalty or devotion, but because she had shown herself to be prepared thus far for what was to come.

As Rain had returned, and the more had joined the group, he'd greeted the newcomers accordingly. "Well met." While it might have seemed unnecessary, he also assured Summer he was still alert and on board with her as he became engulfed in light and donned his own armor once more, subtlety being lost with such a group as theirs. "... Still at your service, Madam Mittere."

Blade smiled back nervously. He tensed as he saw Celestia' horn glow, not sure if he would be dying soon or not. Instead of seeing a blinding flashing light, he saw the guards leave the room. The guard froze as Celestia stepped down towards him and wasn't sure what was about to happen now. What he had listened to next had surprised him greatly and now understood the Princess' actions.

He looked down to the ground and wondered if they were doing the right thing or not for a moment. Blade knew they were saving people, but they were also killing them as well. The guard's ears perked up when he was asked about if he would do what Celestia wanted him to do and the thought of that brought a small bit of happiness to him as a smile formed on his face briefly. It faded as he heard about the 'life-boat' program. "Well, before I before I get into any program. I have to ask about what you want me to do."