As soon as both alicorns were gone from my room I immediately went to work by heading straight to my table and pulled out several rolls of parchments, inks and quills and simultaneously wrote down on them new orders pertaining to our equestrian guests.
It only took me a few minutes to write down my orders along with the guidelines on how to deal with our guests along with plans on how to watch over them, what to do if they are caught in an area where they aren't supposed to be and so on and so forth. Wrapping the four scrolls into cases of etched iron I placed them into the delivery tube and sent them on their way.
With my orders sent out I waited patiently for dinner time to roll around before leaving my chambers and headed for the main dining hall.
But as I walked to the dining hall something felt off in the air, like 'someone aired some foul smelling dirty laundry in front of you' type of off, with these disturbance running through me I went to go find the source of it all and sure enough it was within my dining hall. Whatever is causing this unfavorable feeling is beyond these doors and I am about to find out what it is!
Placing my hands on the door I began to push on it but as I did so I saw through the crack and peeked inside to see that it was the entire equestrian entourage with both princesses and the new alicorn. This new one is pink in fur color and is a mare if the gentle curves and feminine form was appealing to the eye but seeing how I am already spoken for all it does is make me run to the end of my chain and bark.
She is sitting between Celestia and Luna and from what I can see she is looking mighty pleased, almost like she has been trained for this moment.
Time to spoil her little parade and ensure no foreign princess rules this kingdom ever again.
Pushing the doors all the way everyone inside turns their heads and soon enough all eyes were locked on me, the equestrian guards tensed up, realizing that the pony walking in wasn't a pony at all and is towering over them all, including their princesses.
Walking across the room I slowly pass our guests, my ears picking up everything that is being whispered behind my back, some of them are afraid of me while the rest are intrigued, but most of all the pink one is staring at me and for damnedest reason I can't seem to put my finger on it but this pony feels familiar...like I have seen her before.
Getting to my seat I sit down beside my wife, Forge was busy laughing up a storm next to Morning Star the two were talking about their exploits they have undertaken back in their clans and the battles they have been through during the war, but as soon as I sit down next to Forge she excuses herself and immediately scoots closer to me to the point where she is pretty much rubbing up against me.
"Awfully affectionate today aren't you." I said with a chuckle as my upper left arm wraps itself around her back, rubbing her side as she nuzzles underneath my chin, making sure to avoid goring me with that spear of a horn of hers.
Daintily laughing which almost seemed out of character for her I watched from the corner of my eyes as she kissed me on the neck before removing her head from my chin and started to look around the room, absorbing the jealous stares that is coming our way.
'Huh...seems like after all this time one of the two sisters still has her eyes on me, maybe if she was a little faster and wasn't such a puppet.'
"And why shouldn't I be affectionate towards you? After all you beat Sombra to a bloody pulp, slayed High King Tryffing the Great with your bare hands, destroyed the griffon capital of Griffonstone with nothing but fire, saved the entire empire when those two princesses nearly got us all enslaved or worse to those same griffons and to top it off I get to rid your dicks."
I promptly place my head in my hands as I let out an explosive sigh of shame as every single guest at the same excluding those that knew that this was going to happen stared a gasp at Forge for what she just said.
Shaking my head in shame and disbelief all I really could do at the moment, I mean what else could I do? She just waved that out there without a care in the world but then again I bet she did this on purpose to make the mares in the room even more jealous of her.
"Really now Forge...really? You could have said anything else, anything that we have done in the past, and you had to pick that one?"
"Hehe, don't like it when others know that you can rutting prowess is far superior than any other stallion out there? And besides making all these other mares jealous of me that I got somepony that they can never have or ever match up to fills me with joy."
"Why?"
"Because it belongs to me and no other mare can have it you daft fool!" Forge laughed out loud before grabbing me by wrapping a foreleg around me neck and brought my head low enough to meet hers as her horn glowed its orange-ish brown color as it lowered my breathing mask and planted a fat, sloppy, wet kiss across my lips.
I knew this was going to happen because she always does this whenever some mare tries to make her interests known that she wants me for herself. That and she loves to show me off, especially to her friends from her clan.
Once we part lips I placed my mask back on for a moment before taking it off and lowering it to my neck as I relaxed in my seat just as the chefs came in with their carts full of food and brought them to the table as the unicorn chefs levitated them to the table and revealed what lay underneath the lids. The ponies at the table were staring at the food in awe as all of it is something they have never seen before with the exception of Celestia and Luna, the two just couldn't remember any of it because they have been gone for so long.
"I am just glad that you learned to not leave any slobber on my mouth, unlike the last few times."
"Oh please, we all know that you love it when I do that. And besides it gets you ready for the main course." And like magic the amount of blushes faces spreads like wildfire as almost every single pony in attendance either looks away to try and fan themselves down or just stare at the two of us in shock.
Yes that's right, your ruler and his wife are fucking freaks in bed. And then some.
"Oh for Faust's sake Skolas! Can you please keep that type of affection in the bedroom, for all of us because we do not need to see any of it here before we eat let alone before the day of our peace talks." Celestia said, her face burning red, I bet she is daydreaming that it was her being on the receiving end of this kiss.
"But Celestia, we do keep that kind of affection in the bedroom...and in the throne room...the armory...the bathroom...what used to be your room...Luna's room as well...this table...hell even on the stairs going up and down this castle." As I said that the ponies from Equestria quickly scooted back from the table, acting as if its corrosive acid to their delicate fur and hide.
"Really sir? On the table? Please tell me you had the decency to clean up after yourself." Crucio said as he backed up a bit from the table, looking a bit disgusted seeing how he eats here.
"Of course I do, who do you take me for? That one guard and maid that decided to rut on my bed while they were on duty?"
"Oh right, those two. Didn't they leave you a present when you chased them out?"
"Aye, they did, and I am disappointed that they left me a mess to clean up when they did. Bastards could of had the decency to clean up after themselves."
As we talked about well, my conquest throughout the castle the head chef open the dining hall door declaring that dinner is now served.
With food coming in and being placed on the table we stopped our little chat and began to eat, for the most part the room was quest but the equestrians were staring at me and the others, but for the most part it was mostly centered at me. Well the purple unicorn was staring at me, I saw a quill scribbling down on a scroll while she ate her seasoned salad.
While she was looking at me while eating I only gave her a sharp-teeth filled toothy grin before I raised the lid on my plate to only reveal a cube-shaped crystal that glowed brightly with magical energy.
And naturally the equestrians were looking at me or more specifically the glowing cube. Even their pet dragon was staring at it in awe a chunk of sapphire falls out from his mouth.
Before I could grab and suck on the cube I looked up to hear that the sounds of chewing has stopped and that everyone was looking over at me.
"Uhh, what? It is just an Ether crystal. Why are you looking at me as if I am eating with the wrong fork or spoon?"
"Love, they have never seen a being like you bother let alone know of your eating habits. That and usually its dragons that are eating gems so this may come as a shocker to them."
"Then it looks like that these girls have a lot to learn then if they are going to be staying here for a few days for the diplomatic meetings and to enjoy the festival." With that said I went back to my crystal and latched my teeth onto it before making the weakest of suction sounds.
The crystal cube glowed brightly for a second before dimming down and gradually growing dimmer and after five seconds the cube's energy reservoir ran out and it's luminescence died down before disappearing altogether.
As soon as the cube lost all of its power I took it out of my mouth and placed it down onto the plate and went back to resting myself against my wife who also finished her meal which was a diced crystal trout that was imported from the port town of Duskfall. A strange town that built itself on the side of a slanted cliff that gave it the appearance of several tiers and it was naturally defendable as its top tier was placed underneath a rock shelf that formed above the cliff.
Now this shocked the ponies, the fact that a non-pegasus ate a fish was enough to make plenty of them go slightly green in the face. I guess for these equestrians they are a lot more herbivorous than I last thought they were, maybe being gone for a thousand years and then some allowed them to alter their biological makeup just a tad over the long years.
The silence was broken the purple unicorn sitting beside Celestia coughed a bit too loudly to draw my attention and when she did I cast my hard gaze onto her small form and watched with glee as she shivered and withdrew herself from my withering stare. She pulled herself together, calmly did a brief breathing exercise before finally looking me in the eyes and spoke in a loud, commanding tone that immediately faltered when she realized exactly who she was talking to.
"Excuse me! Sir! I am wondering if I-I may ask you...some q-questions? Please?"
Looking at the purple pony I waved my large right arm at her and she took as a sign to ask and she did, just without the stuttering that I was enjoying.
"I am wondering what exactly are you...not trying sound rude or anything but you are not in any of the books on sapient or even wild animals and creatures that room the world and I am just trying to figure out where you came from."
"Why, my dear Twilight, our friend here...he comes from-"
"Tartarus, to you ponies anyway but there we simply call it Hell." I said with a straight face as I struggled on the inside to not laugh.
I always wanted to say that line, 'Where did you come from?' 'Hell.'
"T-t-t-t-Tartarus! Then t-that means your..."
"A demon, yes." And with it now known every single equestrian guard drew their weapons and pointed them at me.
Such an amusing sight to behold.
"Stand down everypony! Oh Skolas I am so sorry about this, it would seem my good captain is still on edge since the changelings attacked him and his wife at their wedding last week." Princess Celestia said as she gave a glare at her captain before passing it onto her guard who immediately disengaged from their mildly threatening pose and stood back at attention.
"Don't worry little princess, there is nothing apologize for, after all their toy weapons wouldn't have done me any harm let alone get through my armor and thick hide."
"A surprise isn't it good captain, that the king of the Crystal Empire is a denizen of Tartarus? A demon that worked for your princess long before you were born let alone your ancestors were even born. The very same demon who worked for your princesses, fought for them, bled for them and even bent the knee to them."
"Back then I was trying to get used to the surface after how do I say this...my sudden appearance onto the surface world, landed me in a prison cell before being led to these two princesses, who back then were a lot smaller than they used to and did not have their ethereal mane and tails, let alone their darker and lighter colored coats."
"You know Princess Celestia when she was just a young filly!?"
"Yes, and oh the little misadventures these two used to go on." I said with a grin as the two alicorns fidgeted in their seats, realizing that I now had the capacity and the will to spill their dirty little secrets and naughty escapades to their citizens and most of all a dear friend.
"Oh you have to tell me one! Please tell me, tell me, tell me!" Twilight chanted out as she bounced in her seat, the look of wanting in her eyes, the need to know everything about her mentor that was probably never written in any book, I could use this to my advantage.
"Now Twilight, I am sure that our gracious host has more pressing matters to discuss than moments in the past-"
"I remember when little Celestia over there used to be more happy and easy-going, she always walked among her citizens, talked to them, laughed with them, hell even sang and danced with them. But of course she was a terrible dancer back then, not sure if she even improved much after all these years..."
"Does the princess dance just like Twilight?"
"How does your friend dance?"
"Well, its very cringy to watch and when I watched it unfold I wanted to laugh but I couldn't so I just held it in. It looked like she was having a seizure."
"Yup that sounds just like Twilight." Applejack said and with this I started to laugh.
Hard.
"Holy shit! Like mentor like student, you taught her how to dance? Why? You knew that you were a terrible dancer back then and it would seem that you still are a terrible dancer!"
After that everything went back to normal, or as normal as possible as Twilight and I continued our little discussion, the two of us talking about each other, and my oh my is this little mare a well of information just waiting to be siphoned and used at my pace and time. This girl just talks and talks about all of the adventures she and her little friends went on and I must say, good move Celestia, get your student to solve your problems for you, but a few of them nearly backfired and would have resulted in her death or worse implemented your nation in an unsavory light to the point that a war or two might be declared.
Sending your student and her friends, without an armed escort or even backup of any kind to dislodge a dragon from a top a mountain to stop it from breathing smoke that would have lasted for 200 years. They could have been burnt to a crisp and eaten or worse, pissed off the dragon to the point where it goes on a rampage and burn down the entire country side.
The thing with that gryphon that came to town...if that hen was a noble's daughter or lord forbid the king's heiress then your little Equestria would be in a world of hurt right now. Probably in chains as well, and possibly being eaten.
And then we got the incident in the desert far off from Equestria that borders are deep south...the buffalo there if unchecked would have easily crushed that town underneath their hooves and heavy bodies. Not much can stop a buffalo stampede with the exception of a massive hole in the ground or a big gun...well my big guns. And maybe some spears and pitfall traps.
But none of those even compare to what they did...
Those girls managed to stop Discord, the very same bastard that tainted my friend and made her into the demon pony that she is today, a chaos abomination that had turned her very friends against her and eventually herself, but managed to overcome the corrupting influence that Discord put onto them. I don't know how she managed to do just that but because she managed to free herself from his control she managed to not only rescue her friends from the very same fate she was in, but then she confronted Discord and sealed him in stone.
Now that is what I call commitment to the job, you failed once at your princess's castle and lost your friends in the process? Doesn't matter just kept on trucking. Lose yourself by wallowing in defeat? Pushed on through and broke free from the chains that bind and freed your friends as well before fighting the demon one last time and succeeding. How is this girl not the captain of the guard for these ponies?
And finally it brings us to what happened apparently two weeks ago for these ponies.
A royal wedding, for the captain of the guard and this...new alicorn...even Twilight doesn't know where she came from, just saying that this...'Cadance'...is supposed to be Celestia's niece which by their right made her into a princess. But this wedding, this one mare knew something was wrong with the groom because she was acting like nothing she was supposed to and when her friends, her mentor, even her brother abandoned her when she tried to tell them that she was evil and something was wrong with her.
For her efforts she confronted Cadance on her own to realize that she was indeed an imposter but also was the one who was orchestrating the entire invasion against Equestria, the changeling queen herself, Chrysalis. This changeling queen led her entire hive to Canterlot to suck it dry of its emotions and love to just sustain themselves, but to lead her entire hive in the invasion? A very desperate gamble and one that failed it would seem.
Being trapped under the capital in what was once lost crystal mines, she eventually found the real Cadance, after almost killing her in the process by choking her with magic, and the two escaped from the Mines of Moria...I mean the crystal mines. The pair eventually made it back to the wedding to crash it, crashed their own wedding, who knew they had it in them to do such a thing? Anyways the two crashed the wedding which threw everyone off guard, which in turned allowed Chrysalis to reveal herself and in turn kicked off the changeling invasion, Celestia tried to stop her but because she was lax in defense and martial training she got her ass handed to her on a silver platter.
So much for raising and lowering the sun and having unlimited power when you get your ass kicked by a pony that was once mortal and weak.
After Celestia got her ass whooped she told her friends to go get the ancient artifacts that she and her sister ran off with when Sombra and I were duking it out, and it is safe to say that they failed to reach it because between them and it was an army of pissed off bugs. Even the starship troopers would have had a problem with an army of bugs when it was just six people against a near endless flood of bodies. They eventually got captured by the changeling army and while the evil queen was gloating, karma decided it was time to cash in that check and in a sudden turn of events, this new princess kissed her mind-raped fiancée and that broke both the hypnosis spell placed on him and it also created a sort of cascading effect that threw all of the changelings out from the city and scattered them to the four winds.
I still think it is utter bullshit that somehow love managed to save the day and liberate an entire capital city from enemy occupation.
The rest of her adventures with her friends though were boring, they seemed trivial for the moment but seeing how their bonds strengthened over what she says is two years...this made me think that it might be harder to bring her over to my side and to get the inside scoop on Equestria as an agent.
As we talked it soon was put to an end when the dawning of the ninth lunar bell rang throughout the halls, signaling that it was now nine o'clock at night. All of us parted ways, I stayed behind to keep talking to the purple unicorn as she joyfully talked about her little friends and the things they got into, of course we were accompanied by the princesses, their guards, Captain Shining Armor and his wife Cadance.
"And you are saying that you actually went to a Gate of Tartarus by yourself to lead its guardian back to its post?"
"Yup! And to think that all it took to do so was a red rubber ball!"
"It would seem that your gate needs a new gatekeeper if it can be so easily distracted by a mundane object."
"Not really, there luckily aren't any red rubber balls in Tartarus."
"As far as you know of?"
"Well...yeah. But Tartarus is so hot and from what I saw it was just rocks and fire! You need latex and stuffing and they don't even have trees to get the latex nor vegetation for the stuffing, so by all means they can't re-create the object of their freedom!"
"Look at me, I managed to escape Tartarus and I am wearing metal, leather and a cloak. The first two can be easily acquired but the cloak on the other hand, that actually took patience and time and since we were in a prison, that is all that we have to work with."
"I see, but what is it like down there?"
"Its hot, its rocky, and it sucks. Water is a precious resource and anything that is grown that can be considered food was worth more than all of the gold and rare metals in the world. My people...we were just lucky to be made to have brains and brawn."
"Interesting...but how did you get out when the rest of your race didn't?"
"What we did to get me out is not important, just know that it was incredibly risky and many lives were lost. The House of Wolves may be no more but with my solemn vow it will rise again, better than it ever was." I said as I led Twilight to her room which just so happens to be across from where Crucio is staying.
Motioning for the young mare to step into her room I waited patiently for her to cross the threshold but as soon as she did she turned around to hug her mentor and as she did so I graciously returned to my room unnoticed. As I rapidly phase-shifted my way through empty rooms and derelict hallways until I finally made it back to my private chambers, my wife was already in bed but instead of waiting for me as she usually does she was snoring like a manticore.
Tomorrow will be the beginning of the construction of the festival, everything must be set up right and not a thing out of place or missing.
Let us see if these equestrians can listen to what I have told them and not disturb my new charges.
The Next Day
Waking up in this world has become a routine thing for me, it usually starts with me waking up underneath a mass of fur and mane, a pool of drool on my chest, and my body being overheated because of the heavy mass on top of me and the blankets around me. Usually I would slowly pry myself free from her limbs and I would try not to wake her up so she doesn't try to get into my pants so early in the morning.
There are days for that and she knows that too, but it doesn't stop her from trying anyways hehe.
Lets just say that her desire for children haven't stopped her from being overly flirtatious and alright rubbing herself against me to the point where all it would take to set her off was for me to rub her ears and then bam! Like magic she is in mood and we are teleported to an empty room and we make sweet, sweet love.
Hot, sweaty, unadulterated love that is capable of feeding a changeling for a week.
But not today, no this morning is different. Forge was awake before I was and I knew why, she was in charge in setting up the jousting coliseum and making sure that the lances were in proper conditions.
Waking up all alone and with the blankets not on top of me I found myself not freezing to death as the insulation of the palace along with my thick hide doing its job to keep my blood warm and my body loose and limber. Rolling out of bed and shuffling to the bathroom to give myself a hot shower, stripping myself of my leather undersuit and tossing it into the sink as I strode into my porcelain rectangle and with the turn of a crystal knob, scolding hot water splashed my flesh only to feel like warm water is cascading across my chest.
The good thing about having a thick, strong hide instead of spongy pink skin? I can take the weather like a champ and hold water does jack shit to me that I have to make it almost hotter than the sun to feel it. The downside? I won't know if something is digging into my body until I either notice it or someone points it out, I can barely feel anything with it unless I focus on the area being touched and lastly I can't tell if I have a six-pack or not.
Scrubbing myself down with what is essentially steel wool and soap I cleaned myself up before drying myself off and strapping myself back into my leather undersuit and then my armor. Pushing open the front door to see two centurions standing guard I closed the door behind me before lumbering through the hall towards the stairs, my duty for the day is not to hold open court, but to actively participate in the construction of the festival.
My role for today is to carry the large and heavy pieces of lumber to serve as the main support beams for the stalls, tents and other buildings that are being set up. I know that the few unicorns here can do the same job but they will be busy doing other work such as moving the smaller pieces of wood and tents to form the structures.
Everyone within the capital has to do their part for the festival and I'll be damned if a single pony tries to skimp out and not help!
Striding through the halls and down the stairs I left the palace behind me and went to the assembly area of where the center of the festival will be taking place, it also serves the dual purpose as also being the storage area where all of the lumber and tents are being placed before they get scattered to the four winds to be set up.
There was dozens upon dozens of ponies in attendance for the festival construction, earth ponies were talking to each other, the pegasi were lazily laying on clouds or flying back and forth between crowds and the few unicorns are milling with other unicorns as they got themselves ready to lift the heavy materials.
As soon as I arrived all of the ponies stopped what they were doing before standing up and started to stomp their hooves as I got closer until I stood beside the pile of lumber which the stomping turned into a deafening rumble.
Raising my hands to silence the masses, the ponies slowly stopped their hoof stomping as the noise from it all began to die down and as it came to an end did I speak up.
"Greetings everypony and today marks the assembly of the Crystal Fair! Tomorrow marks the beginning and we must make sure it starts on time so all of today or until it is finished. Now my precious little ponies, let the construction begin!" And with that shout the ponies around me started to cheer before quickly grabbing pieces of lumber while others grabbed the instruction manuals to properly put the stations together, scattering to their designated areas to set up shop.
Ponies were humming and singing as they worked, some were even dancing while they were setting up decorations and other frilly filigree on shops and homes.
The city was receiving a light sprinkling of snow and as it started to lightly come down ponies were enjoying themselves by either making small snowballs or were gathering it up to make snow ponies.
I was moving from place to place, moving several one hundred pound poles of maple and oak lumber from one end of the city to the other, street to street and building to building I lugged around the heavy wood for the festival.
I bumped into quite a few ponies that I recognized, a few friends from my time when I was the only warden of the wilds and it is funny that the few ponies who are still alive that knew me at the time were saying hello to me. I still thought that they might hate me because of the incident with that one noble mare that kept on following me into the woods to help me slay feral beast only to end up a monster herself when she made a deal with the devil himself. And to think they still feared me back then, but now after countless horrible events that occurred one after another and I helped lead them all through the encroaching darkness and back into the light.
What an ironic twist of events...me, a being of darkness and evil, leading a species not my own out from the twisting tendrils of shadows and evil and back into the light of peace and prosperity.
Looking at the ponies as they go from place to place, assembling tents and stalls for the festival to come, all of them doing their part for the annual event.
Sparing a glance behind me I saw a few of the equestrians standing around, watching the crystal ponies working on their assigned duties, a couple of them trying to ask them questions but only to be turned down because they are busy. It never fails me to wonder why people would always try to talk to someone when they are busy doing back breaking labor, they need all the energy they can muster and talking takes away from it, that and running out of breath could lead to one dropping a heavy block of lumber on top of oneself.
Shaking my head at the equestrians for their inquisitive minds I went back to work, helping the weaker ponies move the larger pieces of lumber around with occasional bucket full of nails and rolls of fabric for tarps.
Hours started to roll by and not a single pony got injured during the entirety of the construction effort and I must say that these ponies are highly proficient at putting this festival up. It wasn't long before the festival was set up and as soon as it was the crystal ponies assembled themselves back at the heart of the city as I announced to them all that for all of their hard work that it is finally done.
"Crystal Ponies! For all of our hard work, for us all toiling away in the sun and cold snow we have finally built the festival! Now go home, rest up, enjoy the time with your family, and think on things to remember for tomorrow our hearts and minds goes out to those that can not return to us, for those that fell in battle for the defense of the empire, and for those that have been claimed by the ravages of time."
"Tomorrow we will remember those that are no longer with us and remember them as a guiding light through the darkness that is our future. We have returned to an unknown time, we have no true allies, we don't know if our enemies still remember us or even hold their grudges against us, but what we do know is that they all thought that we are dead. They will eventually find out that we are alive and that we are weak and afraid of everything around us, if they dare to prove this to us then they will feel the power we hold without our hooves."
"Now go home, rest, drink, play and enjoy yourselves for tomorrow, we remember the past to embrace the future!"
The thundering herd of an applause was truly deafening to the equestrians but to me it was loud enough for me to concentrate and tune out the noise but for the most part it wasn't that bad.
But for the equestrians though quite a few of them were covering their ears from how loud it was.
Heh, seems like they never had to deal with loud festivals and family events.
Soon my crystal ponies left the jousting coliseum where we gathered and returned to their homes, the sun was cresting the horizon as this entire construction project has swallowed up countless hours to just finish but I can say that it was worth it.
Tomorrow these equestrians will enjoy the fruit of my ponies labor along with the surprise at the end of it all that I have in stored for them.