A Shimmering Intellect

by DungeonMiner

Chapter 26

Night stood, hiding in the shadow of Twilight’s throne, and stared down at the pony, making his case before the throne. Since their long talk four months ago, Night decided that the best move he could make would be to make himself the pony into a pony good enough to stand in Twilight’s court. When he asked Spike the best way to go about that, the young dragon answered, “Well, if you’re going to get into politics, you should probably know what’s going on.”

“And how do I do that?”

“You learn. Read books, go to court. Stuff like that.” Then, with only a casual look back, Spike finished with, “It’s going to suck. Sorry.”

Night did his best, regardless, and began watching the courts, day after day, and listening to the nobles’ careful plotting and the common ponies’ requests.

No matter how ridiculous they were.

“Princess, I have worked hard to keep the sun from my eyes and took the precautions you have requested. Yet now, I must ask for a different boon.”

Twilight’s sigh echoed over the courtroom. “You must, huh?”

“I have taken up gardening,” the pony explained, “and my Chantilly Snapdragons cannot take the full sun of the middle of the day. I understand your stance on changing the time of sunset or sunrise, but could I ask if you could simply move the sun so that my snapdragons can enjoy some shade in the middle of the day.”

Twilight took a deep breath through her nose. “Have you planted these in the ground, or did you plant them in pots?”

“Well, they’re in pots currently. They don’t have the root system to—”

“Then put the pots on the east side of the building, where they get sun in the morning and not in the afternoon. I cannot believe that with how long the sun has been around, you have not discovered how to watch for shadows.”

“But Princess—”

“Captain Azure, escort this stallion off the premises and let every guard know he is no longer allowed in the castle.”

“But Princess!”

“If you want to petition any further, do so by letter!” Twilight said, letting her patience wane for a flash of a second.

Night made a note of the pony. He had been insistent lately, and he didn’t doubt that he’d find some way to become a thorn in Twilight’s side.

“Next!”

As the pony who had a problem with shade walked away, a new pair stepped into the throne room.

“Sunset!” Twilight cried, joy filling for the first time in hours. “It’s so good to see you!”

Sunset, dressed in well-worn adventuring gear, a thick cloak that doubled as a blanket, and basic armor for her legs and sides. A wide smile sat on her face and a sparkle in her eyes. “Princess, it’s good to be back in Canterlot.”

“How was your trip?”

“Good!” Sunset said. “I’ve been studying the effects of Thronestone near leylines, and I think I’ve discovered that you might want to look at.”

“What? What is it?”

“Well, you know how Thronestone has a material and thaumalogical structure similar to crystal, right?”

“Right, that’s how it absorbs magical energies.”

“Yes, but crystals do undergo growth, and I think I found out how to initiate Thronestone to grow.”

“No!” Twilight said, the shock at the idea evident on her face. “The implications of that could be huge!”

“That’s what I thought,” Sunset said.

Night, meanwhile, turned his attention to the other pony that walked in. Flash Sentry, not the one from the Crystal Empire, stood behind Sunset, smiling gently as she explained her findings to the Princess. He also wore his own rough traveling clothes and looked like he could use a shower. Despite that, he looked happy enough to let Sunset go on about what she discovered without pushing her in a more productive direction.

Night figured he’d give Sunset another minute or so before he’d stop her.

Night nodded his respect, and Flash nodded back.

“If I’m right, Thronsetone mostly needs a solution of liquid, magic-infused gemstones that—”

“Sunny,” Flash said gently, “you wrote a report. We can’t stay long.”

“Right, right,” Sunset said before she pulled a stack of thread-bound pages from her saddlebags. “This should cover everything.”

“I’m excited to read it, but what’s this about not staying long?” Twilight asked.

“We need to head to the portal,” Flash said.

“You decided to head back to the human world, then?”

“Sort of,” Sunset said. “I can’t disappear on my friends, and Flash has family over there. We can’t just leave forever. So we plan to visit the human world whenever we’re in Canterlot, check in with everyone, and then return and continue working here.”

“Until we can find time to settle down,” Flash said.

Twilight looked over at him, giving Flash her full attention for the first time since they entered her throne room. “Is that until you and Sunset find time to settle down, or is that you find time to settle down?”

Flash smirked. “Why Princess Twilight, I have no idea what you mean.”

She stared over at Sunset, who was desperately trying not to look the Princess in the eye. “Are you two…?”

Flash smiled.

“But you two already…” Twilight said, looking between the two with some panic.

“We sort of did,” Flash admitted, “and while there is a point that you shouldn’t go back to a bad relationship, there is also a point that I didn’t date this version of Sunset.”

Twilight blinked and looked back at Sunset. “We’re doing our best, taking it slow, making sure we’re being smart about this.”

Watching Twilight immediately pull out of the conversation at breakneck speed was almost hilarious. “Wait, no! That’s not what I mean!” she said. I just wanted to make sure you……knew the risks! I mean, uh, did the right thing. No, I mean, knew what you were getting into. I’m going to stop talking now.”

Night smiled despite himself.

As Twilight socially retreated, she pulled open the notes. “Night, why don’t you take them to the mirror? Make sure they’re on their way.”

“You got it, Princess,” he replied before walking away. “Come on, let’s get you to your next appointment.”

Flash and Sunset followed behind, heading up toward the mirror chamber. “You guys had fun out there?”

Flash nodded. “We ran into a giant trying to set up a fortress out in the badlands on a leyline. We’re pretty sure he was trying to resurrect someone called the Storm King or something.”

Night paused for a second before he continued. “Ah, good job stopping him, then.”

“It wasn’t the worst fight we’ve had,” Sunset noted. He was kind of an amateur.”

“I think ‘amateur’ is being a little reductive,” Flash said. “He did have a decent plan.”

Sunset shrugged. “Maybe.”

Night turned the corner and led them up to the pedestal where the mirror was waiting. “Well, guys, we’re here. You enjoy yourselves back in the other world, where you do whatever it is you do.”

“That’s about right,” Flash said.

“There is a lot of whatever over there,” Sunset agreed.

As the two made their way up toward the mirror for the transition back, Night spoke up. “So, Flash.”

“Yeah?”

“When you return, you might want to think about working with the guard. You might like the Explorer’s Corps.”

“That’s a thing?”

“That’s a thing,” Night said with a nod.

“You know,” Flash said. “That doesn’t sound like a bad idea.”

Night smirked. “Glad you think so. Sleep on it, and let me know when you get back.”

Flash nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”

Sunset smiled. “We’ll be back soon,” she said. “Don’t wait up.”

Comments

[JD1]

Wish the ending was longer, but still heartwarming. Any plans there might be some sort of sequel or follow up to this?

[Noobblue]

Loved it, thanks for writing <3

[DungeonMiner]

11896153
Possibly, but I have some original fiction to write first.