Princess Celestia sat in her throne, thinking about the letter her faithful student had sent her moments before detailing what had occurred in Ponyville that morning. It was three in the afternoon now, and the group would be back shortly. Suddenly, the doors to the throne room swung open and two royal guards came in.
"Your Highness, the train has arrived. Shall we send an escort again?" One of the guards asked.
"No that's quite alright. At this point I think it's safe to assume that Ra'zaan is on our side. Be ready however, as the group has captured one of the mages that attacked Ponyville." Celestia said with a smile.
"Yes, Princess!" The guards said in unison, taking positions on either side of the throne room.
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Ra'zaan stepped off the train, still carrying the unconscious Big Macintosh. He was pleasantly surprised when the Princess hadn't sent guards to "escort" him this time. One by one, the others stepped off the train, with Twilight floating the purple sphere with Kynan in it out. They stretched, readying themselves for the walk to Canterlot Castle.
The Khajiit looked at the three ponies that had been most seriously wounded. Rarity looked like she was fairing better now that her headache from the blow to her head had subsided. The Captain's broken leg was still bent at a sickening angle, but he seemed to by doing better as well. The only one of the three that seemed to have gotten worse was Applejack; she was visibly exhausted and the burns she'd received looked extremely painful.
Ra'zaan voiced his worry. "AJ, how are you holding up?"
"Ah'm fine... sugercube... don't worry... 'bout little old... me... Ah'll be alright..." Applejack tried to look confident, but her heavy breathing from dealing with the pain made it obvious she wasn't doing so well.
"I think we should take you to a doctor, Applejack... If you don't mind..." Fluttershy was surprisingly forward about her worry.
The others nodded in agreement and Applejack sighed. She knew she wasn't going to avoid going to the doctor with everyone on her case about it. She just nodded painfully and stood up. The group proceded down the streets of Canterlot. They were moving at a fairly slow pace because of their wounded, and weary eyes watched the battered group as they walked.
Twilight looked at Applejack carefully. She wasn't going to handle the pain much longer; the burns on her sides were obviously more severe than they looked. The mere fact that the farm mare was still standing was amazing.
"AJ, you sure you don't need a rest? I could carry you with my magic if you want to relax..." Twilight smiled, hoping her friend wouldn't get the wrong idea.
Applejack did get the wrong idea, unfortunately. "Twilight, Ah don't need no pony's help walkin' on mah own, thank ya very much!" She said angrily.
"Whoa! Calm down, there, Applejack," Ra'zaan said, a small chuckle appearing in his voice from the situation. "Don't be fighting with your friends, now! We'll have plenty more fighting coming up!" He smiled.
"Well, don't y'all start gettin' worried about me then! Ah said Ah'd go to the doctor's, now leave me alone 'bout it!" Applejack was fuming. She didn't like feeling helpless.
"Alright! Alright! Let's just get to the castle. PLEASE, no more arguing everypony!" Rarity exclaimed, showing that her headache had come back.
The remainder of their trip was spent in complete silence. The only noises were the constant quiet huming coming from Kynan's prison, and the heavy breathing coming from Applejack. The group looked up at the castle and saw the Princess standing at the entrance to the Castle. They walked past the gates, and when they made it about halfway from the gate to the Princess, Applejack collapsed. She'd obviously had enough punishment for one day.
"Applejack!" The five remaining elements and Ra'zaan all called simultaneously. Another voice joined them as well. A deep, rough voice came into focus.
"A-AJ?!" Wha' 'appened to her?! Why am Ah on this thing's back?!" Big Mac' said worriedly, jumping off of Ra'zaan and running to his sister's side. Ra'zaan cringed at the way the stallion reacted to him, but kept silent. "Somepony gonna tell me wha's goin' on?" The farm stallion demanded.
"All in time, my little pony. For now, your sister needs to get to a doctor, and I'll take her to the castle's private clinic as soon as possible." The Princess said, smiling at the big red stallion.
Big Mac' looked up, and then instantly bowed. "S-sorry, Princess! Ah didn't realize where Ah was..."
"There is no need to bow. It's alright, you've been through alot. I'm sure your sister and the others will fill you in on the details later. For now, let's go inside." Celestia smiled and motioned for two guards to take Big Mac', Applejack, Rarity and the Captain to the clinic, then turned and started walking back into the castle. Everypony else followed, the rest of the group was soon in the throne room again.
"Now, I know you sent me a letter detailing what happened, Twilight, but I'd like to hear what happened to everypony straight from their own mouths. Let's start with your arrival." Celestia said in a serious tone. She glanced at the trapped mage for a moment before turning back to the battle-worn group.
Ra'zaan started the story. "Well, the train pulled up to Ponyville station, and we saw two of the mages walking toward us..." He continued, and each pony began telling their story.
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Golam was furious. Not only had that damn Khajiit survived, but he'd injured one of Golam's subordinates and captured another. The four mages gathered together near the train station.
"There were ten of them. TEN OF THEM! We couldn't even handle that with all the ponies we're controlling?!" He raged.
"B-but sir! We had only just gotten control. We weren't ready for the fight yet!" Ysura stammered.
"We should have been! Now the enemy has Kynan, and who knows what they could be doing to him? Especially with that damned Khajiit watching over him!" The stressful state that Golam found himself in made him look years older than he was.
"Well... we could go get him back..." Nadene offered.
Golam pondered this for a moment. "Hmm... Alright, I've got an idea. Halius and Nadene; I need the two of you to find and infiltrate the place Kynan is being held, and get him out of there. While you're doing that, I will be leading a small crowd of ponies into the main area of the city as a distraction. Ysura, I'll need you to remain here and organize the rest of out little army. Understand?
Ysura started to argue that she wanted to fight as well, but quickly realized there was no point. Golam knew what he was doing, and Ysura knew she'd get to fight eventually. "Yes, sir..." The anxious Nord said finally.
"Well then, let's start walking. We don't have the luxury of a fast way to get there, so we'd better get moving now." Golam motioned for a group of nine pegasi to follow. Eight were fairly normal looking, and mostly uninteresting. There were four stallions and four mares, all in a rainbow of different colors. The ninth pegasus, however, was much more... unique... She tripped as she was walking and tumbled forward before getting back up and continuing. She had a gray coat, a blond mane and tail, and the strangest eyes...
Golam, the two mages accompanying him, and the nine pegasi began their trip to Canterlot. The trip on foot would probably take them into the night.
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Big mac' sat quietly by his sister's bed watching her rest. He had a bandage around his head as a precaution after taking such a hard hit to it. Applejack was out cold, and the doctor had dressed and bandaged her burns. Rarity sat in the seat next to Big Mac' with a bandage around her gash on her head. She was equally worried about her friend.
The only ponies in the room that weren't with Applejack were the nurse and the Captain. The Captain did not look happy.
"What do you mean I should stay here until my leg heals?!" The captain glanced down at his leg. It had a splint and a heavy cast on it to keep it from moving. His cutie mark was visible now that he wasn't wearing armor. It was a picture of a red, circular shield with a gold rim and a gold center. "I have to go and fight!"
"I'm sorry, Mr... what's your name again?" The nurse asked.
"The name's Iron Pride, but that doesn't matter right now!" Iron never usually used his name, but he didn't care at the moment.
"I'm sorry, Captain Pride, but if you don't rest that leg you could damage it forever."
"I'll just have to take that chance!" Iron growled as he started towards the door.
Suddenly the door opened, and Princess Celestia stood in front of the Captain. Twilight, Ra'zaan, and everypony else stood behind her.
"Ever restless as always, I see, Iron. Come sit and relax." Celestia said as the group filed into the clinic. Twilight, on the Princess's request, floated Kynan and his prison with her.
The Princess had come to know all of her royal guards, and held each and every one of them dear to her. All the color flushed from Iron Pride's face when the Princess addressed him. All he was able to mutter was a meek "Y-yes, P-princess..."
Twilight brought Kynan and his sphere to the center of the room. Applejack opened her eyes and immediately saw the Breton.
"Not the purttiest sight to wake up ta in Equestria!" Applejack smiled, still staring at Kynan.
"AJ! Ya alright. sis? How ya feelin'?" Big Mac exclaimed, running to her side and ignoring everypony else.
"Big Mac'? Well, 'bout time ya woke up!" Applejack teased.
"The red stallion smiled. "Ah could say the same for you, sis." They hugged.
Suddenly Applejack became aware of what was going on around her. Everypony was here. She spotted the Princess.
"Um, Princess? What's goin' on?" The farm mare asked.
Celestia looked at Applejack with a smile on her face. "Good to see you're doing alright, Applejack." The Princess's smile vanished, however, when her gaze set itself back on Kynan. "So, you are one of the mages that has been causing so much trouble in Ponyville, hmm?" She asked the Breton.
"What's it to you? You important or something?" Kynan snapped.
"You're talking to our Princess, the benevolent ruler of Equestria! Watch your tongue!" Iron said angrily.
"Calm down, Iron. Shouting at him will only serve to make him more resistant to helping us." Celestia said. "Now Kynan. Will you please explain to us what you and your friends are doing in Ponyville and why you are doing it?"
"I guess it wouldn't hurt to tell you. It won't matter soon, anyway." Kynan gave a malicious grin. "My leader wants to take over your world, and we're here to help him do it!"
"But why our world? Why not any other? Why not your own?" Twilight asked.
"Our world's warriors and mages were strong and there were far too many for us to handle. Take that Khajiit over there. While he is stronger than most, warriors like him are everywhere in my original world. Also, don't get the wrong idea. It's not like we chose your world on purpose. We couldn't control where the teleport spell would take us. But we're here now, and we're gonna make the most of it!" Kynan sounded as if he was sad he had ended up in Equestria.
"You seem to think our world will be easier than yours to conquer. Do you think we won't put up a fight? My beloved subjects are more capable than you may think." The Princess stated.
"Well, we have nothing to lose, now. Our world is behind us, and there is no way that we know of to return there, so we're going to make something for ourselves here."
"You know, you could've just come to Canterlot and talked with me. There's plenty of land out there for anypony who wants it. Too late for that now, though." The Princess was fighting to keep calm. These creatures were barbarians. They had no care whether or not others got hurt as long as they got what they needed.
"We don't want to control just a part of this world though. We want it ALL." Kynan gave a disturbingly happy smile and then faced away from the Princess, signaling that he was done talking.
Suddenly a loud bang was heard and everypony turned to see that the door had been slammed shut, and Ra'zaan was no where to be found. Twilight ran to the door, opened it with her magic, and saw Ra'zaan just across the hall, deep in thought.
Ra'zaan, are you alright?" Twilight asked.
"Alright? ALRIGHT? I just found out that not even the people that got me into this world can get me home, and your asking if I'm alright? No, I'm not alright, Twilight. Not in the least." He was visibly shaken and was trying very hard to keep calm.
"We'll figure this out, Ra'zaan, I swear. Please come back in and sit with us." Twilight said, trying to calm the Khajiit.
"...Okay..." Was all the warrior said after a long pause.
The two walked back in together, and everypony sighed. They were all worried as to why the Khajiit had run off.
Everything alright, Ra'zaan? The Princess asked. When he nodded she continued. Now then. I need somepony who knows what these mages are capable of to stand guard tonight. Ra'zaan, would you be willing to?"
"Yes, I will."
With that Everypony filed back out of the room. It was dinner time.
Everypony enjoyed the meal. Even Ra'zaan, who was given some cooked beef even though nopony else would ever eat it. He ate pretty quickly, and then headed back to the large room that Kynan had been brought to. The Breton had been brought a meal as well, and was finished eating. It was just about seven at night.
"Looks like it's just you and me tonight, huh, Kynan?" The Khajiit laughed and sat down on a nearby cushion. The Breton just sat and stared out a window. Neither had any idea what was headed their way as they sat.
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Golam, Halius, and Nadene could all see Canterlot from where they were. The big, towering castle was surely the place the enemy had taken Kynan.
"Just a few more hours, all of you. Just a few more hours." Golam said calmly. They hoped to get inside the city later that night in hopes of attracting less attention.
"Let's give them a visit they won't soon forget!" Nadene said happily. The started off again down their long route to Canterlot.
TO BE CONTINUED