New Royalty: Two Princes' Journey into Equestria

by Praeco Nigrum

CH: 6, Retaliation

Author's Note:

This is an outdated chapter, And yes... i am taking this story back up for the time being, until I get enough of the next installment of the Corpus Verse done for my liking.

“Okay, you guys know the plan” Devin said as they approached the cave in the side of the snow covered mountain approximately a mile away from the Crystal Empire.

“Yeah, and I still think you’re insane” Splits mumbled.

“I could care less. You’re under my command now, and I guarantee that you’ll have some fun working for me” Devin said as he trudged onward into the cave.

“Ah, here we go” Devin said after a moment of examining the side of the cave.

Devin put his hooves on two small outcroppings in the wall and pulled on them. Slowly, a door opened and as the four stallions looked through, all they could see was green forest.

“Ah, that’s so much better” Double Down said as he went through the door before the others started to go through.

“Keep it down! There’s a reason those patrols disappeared” Devin said as he went through the door a bit more cautiously.

“Okay, we need to head in which direction?” Devin asked as Splits and Skyfall followed him through with similar caution.

“We need to head East for about a quarter of a mile” Skyfall said and Devin quickly pulled a compass out of his mane and checked their bearings.

“Okay, so we need to go this way” Devin said as he lead the group Eastward.

"Are you sure this is a good idea? Wouldn't it just be easier to assault it without sneaking in and just burn it down or something?" Splits asked with a hint of fear in his voice.

"Splits, are you really scared to return to the place we've been living for almost twenty years?" Double Down asked.

"It's not the place I fear, it's the commander" Splits said as an involuntary shiver was visible passing through him.

"Seriously, what could be so bad about your commander that makes you afraid to return for a short while?" Devin asked.

"He's the commander for a reason, and that position has only ever belonged to a certain pony with special skills and talents throughout the ages" Skyfall explained.

"What's so special about this commander?" Devin asked curiously.

"He has a very strange ability, even by magic standards" Splits said as he glanced around as if the commanders right behind a tree.

"He can raise the dead with the slightest thought, and has complete control over them" Double Down said, fright flashing in his eyes.

"Even Sunnytown's undead will obey him" Skyfall added.

"Sunnytown, where's that?" Devin asked.

"Its in the EverFree. It was a small pony establishment ages ago, but they were cursed for inconceivable crimes, and they are the living dead for all eternity unless they learn the error of their ways" Splits explained.

"Cursed town of zombie ponies, I'll definitely have to tell Cory about it when we're done" Devin said to himself.

"There it is" Skyfall said, pointing his hoof at a large wall approximately ten yards in front of them.

"Sir, I believe now would be a good time for that disguise of yours" Double Down said.

"Right you are Double D, just give me a moment" Devin said as his horn began to glow.

Slowly, Devin's features began to change. His black fur turned white and his flame-like hair turned brown. Then, his wings drew back and disappeared.

"Well, it certainly worked, how long will it last for?" Skyfall asked.

"As long as I want it too, or if I lose consciousness" Devin informed them.

"Okay, do you remember who you are disguised as? Splits asked.

"My name is Charming Charger. I was named for my ability with words and for charging upon enemies with a magical spear made from my magic" Devin recited.

"Okay, and what do you say if anypony thinks they saw you die?" Skyfall asked.

"I survived because I was trapped beneath fallen comrade as the Alicorn attacked us, and when night came you three survivors searched the battlefield for additional survivors and rescued me" Devin replied immediately.

"He's good. I just hope we aren't ever on different sides again, I'd run home real fast" Double Down said.

"Come along then, we have a job to do and a limited amount of time to do it" Devin said as he began trotting towards the base, quickly followed by the other three stallions.

"Halt! None pass without speaking the oath!" A voice said, startling the four stallions as they made to enter through the gate.

They all looked up in time to see a Pegasus wearing silver armor land in front of them, spear in hoof.

Devin gave a sideways glance at the others that went unnoticed as Skyfall stepped forward closely followed by his two comrades.

"United we stand, Divided they fall" the three stallions said in unison and Devin nodded quickly.

"Very good. Pray tell as to why Charmer didn't recite the oath" the Pegasus asked while staring at Devin.

"He's a bit shell shocked. He was stuck under the body of one of our fallen comrades during an assault by a garrison of troops that had just arrived" Splits said serenely.

"Really now? And do you know what happened to everypony else?" the Pegasus asked.

"Nopony else returned?" Double Down asked in shock.

"Nopony but you four have been seen since you all left" the Pegasus replied sadly.

"But how could that be? We watched about thirty or so troops retreat just before we hid to scout for survivors at night" Skyfall said.

"It is this forest. I have told the commander before that there are beasts that seek to weaken our efforts to lay waste to our enemies" the Pegasus said as he shook his head in defeat.

"I suppose we should report to the commander then?" Splits asked.

"I'm afraid not. He is away on business of sorts. But you will have to report to his first lieutenant, Silver Star" the Pegasus said.

"Ugh, that ought to be fun. Well, let's get going" Skyfall said as he lead them into the base.

"And I hope that you get better soon Charming, I miss that sharp tongue of yours" the Pegasus said.

"Why would you miss that? Do you enjoy being upstaged?" Devin asked and he received a laugh from the Pegasus.

"His tongue is no longer tied, but his mind still needs time to heal I'm sure" the Pegasus said as they continued walking away from the Pegasus.

Devin gazed around variously. Taking note of what he saw and making sure not to stare at something for too long. In his glancing he saw an armory of sorts, a forge, a training area that currently serviced about fifteen young colts and fillies, and a few buildings that clearly served as the barracks.

Then Devin realized their destination was the large building standing in the center of the base. A red flag with a picture of crossed swords and the modo the three stallions had spoken earlier was waving proudly on top of a flagpole in front of the building.

The building itself was rather unexpected. It had the appearance of a mansion but at the same time retained a defensive appearance that suggested a high role of military leadership. The outer walls were the same red as the flag and a few windows had cannons pointing out of them. On the roof there was mounted crossbows and a catapult complete with large rocks for ammunition.

“They really go all out” Devin muttered to himself as they approached the double front doors.

Two guards in silver armor nodded to the four stallions and opened the doors as they approached.

The four entered, Devin glancing around covertly at the stuffed heads of random forest creatures while the other three mentally prepared themselves for what was coming.

The four walked down a dark hall and approached a door at the end of the hall. Skyfall knocked thrice and patiently waited.

They heard a “Enter” and they preceded to enter the room, Devin slightly more cautious before doing so.

As they entered the three stallions saluted respectfully and Devin quickly followed suit as they gazed at a white Pegasus with a silver mane and tail with along with a silvery star for a cutie mark.

“It took you guys a while to report back, how did your mission go?” she asked casually.

“We were overrun ma’am. Celestia sent additional forces and we were crushed. According to our comrade, we are the only ones to return, is this true?” Skyfall asked,

“First off, you guys don’t need to call me ‘ma’am’ I hate that my father won’t allow you guys to talk to me normally. As for other survivors, one did make it back, but he died moments after. Apparently a small group made a retreat, but they were attacked by something in the forest. We recovered their corpses and gave them the sendoff” Silver explained.

“Well, that explains a bit. Where’s The Commander though? I’m sure he wants to hear our report” Splits asked.

“He is away on business. I think it has something to do with making an alliance with another group in the west, why do you care though?” Silver asked.

“Before we answer that, I would like to know where your loyalties lie” Devin said as he stepped forward.

“What do you mean Charmer? I’m pretty sure most of you know that I disapprove of a lot of my father’s insane plans” Silver said, all the while giving him an observing look.

Suddenly, Devin dropped his spell and his wings reappeared on his back and his fur returned to its normal black color and his mane turned back to its flame-like complexion.

"Holy Nightmare Moon" Silver said in almost a whisper.

"What's wrong, haven't you seen a transformation spell before?" Devin asked.

"You...you're the one my father was talking about...a new Lord of Flame" Silver said as she gazed in awe at Devin.

"Lord of Flame, what on earth are you talking about?" Devin asked.

"My father said that long ago there was another male Alicorn that looked like you and he was entitled The Lord of Flame. He was Nightmare Moon's lover and was destined to marry her, but when The Elements of Harmony locked her away upon the moon, he disappeared" Silver explained.

"I will have to look into this later. However, we have more important matters to attend to. I have a legion of troops coming and your forces will have a choice, join Equestria's populace or military, or be locked away" Devin informed her.

"Most are not even loyal to the cause, there are only a dozen or so that are truly loyal to my father. What shall we do with them if they refuse imprisonment?" Silver asked.

"They will either die in battle or be hunted down and forced into prison if it comes to that" Devin explained.

"Fair enough. I'll have those troops gather in the courtyard before your troops arrive. I just want to know one thing, what's your name?" Silver asked.

"My name is Devin, and as far as I know I'm not a 'Lord of Flame'" Devin said before exiting the room.

Devin walked out of the mansion and several of the armor clad troops looked at him in concern, as if they weren't sure of what to do. Then, one of them approached him cautiously.

"I know not who you are, but may I ask what your business is here?" the troop asked.

"I just had council with your leader, and it is decided to put this to an end" Devin said as he magnified his voice so all could hear.

"Your unnecessary war efforts and lost lives shall no longer continue. This operation is joining Equestria and you all have the right to join the populace or military. All that do not comply with this will be subject to either imprisonment or death in combat. I now ask that anypony that does not wish to join Equestria to face me now" Devin stated.

Suddenly, the courtyard around him cleared away quickly as fourteen stallions clad in their silver armor marched forward with their swords drawn and levitating in front of them.

"We know not who you are or thy purpose here, but your heresy must be rooted out" one of them said.

"Then you shall be imprisoned" Devin replied.

"We refuse to be imprisoned when we are here to serve our one true master" the stallion replied.

"And I could care less. If you defy imprisonment, then you shall face me right here and right now" Devin said fiercely and the cloud backed up a bit more.

"Ha! All of us against you? You have no chance!" Another stallion said arrogantly.

"We shall see" Devin said as he dropped his voice spell.

Then to the surprise of all save three of the silver clad troops, Devin stood upon his two hind legs and drew out his scimitars. Then, as Devin rushed upon the fourteen stallions, his horn glowed and magic encased his still running form.

Then as he came upon them, his appearance was once again changed, but this time, he was a creature unknown to them. They didn't know it, but he had transformed back into a human.

His hair was dirty blonde that went down to his eyes. His eyes themselves were a dazzling crystal blue. His exposed skin was lightly tanned and he wore a black leather jacket and faded blue jeans with two sword scabbards strapped to his sides and a pair of hiking boots upon his feet that crunched the dirt beneath him as he continued his charge upon the fourteen stallions.

The group was in so much shock from his transformation that by the time they realized they should be attacking, it was too late.

Devin's arms and swords were nothing but blurs as he moved quickly through the group at high speeds. Several body parts flew away from from carcasses as he sliced and thruster through the group. The few that had raised their swords to defend themselves stood only a few seconds longer before they too were cut down.

As Devin came to a halt he turned to face his comrades and Silver, and he took notice of the bewildered looks upon their faces, as well as the many troops around him.

"Something wrong guys?" Devin asked after a moment.

"You...you're a human" Skyfall said as he pointed his hoof at him.

Devin stared down upon his form before a grin split across his face and he looked to the sky momentarily.

"Ha! I'm gonna have so much fun with Cory now!" Devin said as a horn blew in the distance.

Golden clad Equestrian troops filed into the base quickly and stood beside the wall inside the entirety of the base, completely surrounding all the silver clad troops.

"You've got to be joking"

Devin turned and found himself looking at Shining Armor, who was giving him a death glare.

"Can somepony explain why we have ANOTHER human in Equestria? And where's Devin?" Shining asked, his tone suggesting it was his hope that this was a joke.

"I'm right here" Devin replied, startling Shining quite a bit.

"Oh, so this is how you normally look? You appear to have a stronger build than Cory, and a much better style of clothing" Shining said as he walked around Devin while he observed him.

"I take it those were the loyalists?" Shining asked as he pointed to the corpses after he finished looking over Devin' human form.

"Indeed, is there any news from Celestia?" Devin asked.

"No, but she wishes for you to speed up this quest and to go visit Cory" Shining said.

"How is he? Is he okay?" Devin asked quickly.

"He’s fine, he may have a few scars from his fight with a hydra, but he is being leased from the hospital later today so I suggest we get there in time to congratulate him on his speedy recovery. And Princess Luna is also awaiting your arrival there as well" Shining replied.

"Well, what are we waiting for, let's go!" Devin said excitedly as he marched out of the base and into the forest, quickly followed by his three comrades and Silver. The rest of the ponies took that as their cue and followed them and began to cheer.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Dawn came to the tenth day, Cory was able to stand without falling over and his wounds had healed nicely, save for his left leg, some of the cartilage had been smashed into nothingness leaving him with a slight limp. He walked out into the hallway and down to the waiting room, he passed many patients, all in different states of health, as he made his way to the checkout desk.

“Good evening nurse redheart, I’d like to see about my release forms please…” Cory asked of the white coated pony behind the desk, she smiled and handed him a clipboard and a pen.

“Here you go Cory, I hope you are feeling better today, I know Celestia and the others have been pinning about you for the last five days, wondering if you would ever get out, well not so much the Princess as the rest of them, seeing as she has been your caregiver for a few days now.” The white earth pony said with a slight blush, she had heard some of the things the two of them had said while being in the room… least to say were they ever innocent when it came to the ‘gory details’ of some of their high times in life… well those of their friends anyway.

“Yeah, sorry about all that, I know we made it kind of awkward for you a few times… Ok maybe most the time. So thank you, I wish there was something I could do to make it up to you and the other staff for putting up with me and the princess for so long, I am indebted to you and the other ponies on your staff…” Cory made a slight bow and fished a good amount of bits from inside one of his pockets, leaving it on the counter.

“Have a good day Miss Redheart!” Cory said as he walked out the door.

“Same to you Cory!” She yelled back, blushing slightly at the way he had thanked her just moments ago.

______________________________________________________________________________

As Cory limped out of the hospital, he was greeted by all his new Ponyville friends as well as Celestia who had the biggest grin of them all.

Just before Cory could say anything however, a horn sounded from the direction of the forest and everypony looked over to see an entire legion of guards and a bunch of regular looking ponies exiting the forest, many of whom had grins upon their muzzles.

Leading all of them proudly was a human nopony recognized, but Cory knew exactly who it was and waited for him to approach due to his limp.

"Well, time to rise and shine, 'ay mister monster fighter?" the human asked Cory.

"Excuse me, but who in Equestria are you, and where is Devin?" Luna asked as she landed beside the gathering.

Both Cory and the other human looked at each other before bursting out laughing, much to everypony's surprise and to Luna's heated expression.

"I demand to know where he is! And for pony's sake Cory, who is this human?!" Luna demanded fiercely.

"You want to tell her?" the human asked Cory.

"Nah, go right ahead" Cory replied.

"Okay then. I'm sorry to inform you that you're looking at me Luna" the human said as he turned to her.

Looks of total confusion spread through the small crowd until finally Celestia smiled as she figured out what he had meant.

"Did you figure out what he meant sister?" Luna asked her.

"Indeed, I do believe this IS Devin" Celestia said as she waved her hoof in Devin's direction.

They all looked at him for a moment and then he just started grinning again.

"Took you long enough" Devin said before he and Cory continued laughing and a few of the others began laughing too, especially when they all saw the flustered look on Luna's face.

"Ugh...stallions" Luna muttered as she shook her head in defeat.

"Oh come now Luna, it's a great day! We've halted an opposition against Equestria and have gained plenty of new ponies that we can sort into the populace and The Royal Guard depending on whichever they choose" Devin said as he swept his hand towards the unarmored ponies.

"Ugh...that means more paperwork though" Luna said and they all laughed again.

"Paperwork is much preferred to unnecessary death and destruction my dear" Devin said as he placed his left arm around her neck as he stood beside her.

"Oh I agree, but the whole process will take time, and filing all those new citizen documents won't be easy" Luna said, Celestia nodded her head in agreement.

"Then why don't you use some of those worthless nobles and lawmakers to decrease the amount of paperwork? Have them create a simple and easy to fill out registration form and then the politicians can file them away" Devin suggested.

"We've never thought of that before. My goodness, can you imagine how much more free time we'll have?" Luna inquired to her sister.

"Sounds good to me, but I'm on vacation anyway, so it's your decision" Celestia replied.

"That's not very helpful Tia" Luna replied.

"Seriously Celestia? You're going to make your sister make a hard decision on her own? Jeez" Devin said curtly.

"Hey, watch your Damn mouth" Cory growled angrily.

"Sorry bro, my eyes don't go down that far" Devin replied smugly.

"Yeah, but I can fix that with my fist, and you can't fly away from me genius" Cory replied as he cracked his knuckles menacingly.

"Just a quick word of advice mister, but he has two swords strapped to his side's and he can move impossibly fast" Skyfall said.

"Impossibly fast huh? Seems to me that Devin got one hell of a package deal after we ended up here" Cory said as he studied Devin.

"You got one yourself Cory. You have some abilities, but I'm just twenty percent cooler than you'll ever be" Devin replied sharply.

"Big whoop, I can still kick your ass any day" Cory replied just as fast.

"Do I need to recap your memory, or does this ring a bell?" Devin asked as he pulled a coin out of his pocket and tapped it against his arm, creating a metallic ringing noise.

"What in Equestria...?" Several of the nearby ponies said at once.

"Yeah, it may hurt a little, but I could just take it off of you" Cory replied.

"Alright, let's not get too much farther. Cory, you're still recovering from your wounds. Devin, you should go get some rest after all you've been through" Celestia intervened before Devin could retort further.

"Now hold up a minute, they wouldn't have let me out if I wasn't in good condition. So I clearly am authorized to kick his ass" Cory

"I don't know Cory, you sure you can kick me with that limp?" Devin asked with a small smile.

"I'll do better than kick you, I'll shove it so far up your ass you'll taste it" Cory retorted.

"Seriously Devin, just leave him be" Luna pleaded.

"Fine, I'll have to write up an I.O.U. for ya' Cory" Devin said as he turned and followed Luna towards the train station, and they were quickly followed by Skyfall, Split Sword, Double Down, Silver Star, and about half the Equestrian troops that were present.

"I know you think it's a good idea to allow your sister more authority, but I don't like the idea of Devin in power" Shining said to Celestia.

"Believe it or not, I have to agree with him" Cory said, much to everyponies' surprise.

"And why might that be Cory?" Celestia asked as she watched the group board the train.

"He may seem perfect, but he has a few emotions that can get out of hand from time to time. Pure anger cannot be described on his level, he can become a rage monster within seconds if he isn't restrained" Cory said uneasily.

"He loves Princess Luna quite a bit though, right?" Fluttershy asked.

"Yes, it appears that way, but why does it matter?" Celestia replied curiously.

"Because love can create restraints that can hold tighter than anypony ever can" Fluttershy explained.

"That is good to hear my little pony, but the only problem is that Luna has never been able to love before now, and anything could easily affect their relationship" Celestia replied uneasily.

"Devin has only had one previous relationship, and it only ended because she wanted to be with someone else, and he respected her wishes and broke up with her, but they remained good friends" Cory told them.

"Princess, what about you? Doesn't Luna love you?" Twilight asked

"Yes, she has loved me dearly, but that is very different from being IN love with a special somepony. But as far as I can tell there relationship will remain stable unless something major happens that causes serious problems" Celestia replied.

"Meaning what?" Shining asked.

"If there was something where they sided against each other or had very different beliefs on a touchy subject, it could shake their relationship very badly" Celestia explained.

"You know, I think you may be just a tad bit unnecessarily paranoid" Cory said after moment.

"What makes you so sure? I could be completely right you know" Celestia stated.

"The fact that for as long as I've known Devin he's always Loyal to his friends and even more so to anyone he loves" Cory said as he stared off towards the train.

______________________________________________________________________________

"So, how did your little adventure go?" Luna asked.

"It went okay for the most part. I met Shining Armor and Cadence, and I even have a few new friends now" Devin said as he waved his hand in the direction of the three stallions.

"What about her?" Luna asked as she pointed at Silver.

"I'm not sure yet. Her father was the commander of the enemy forces, and for some reason she decided to tag along" Devin said as he looked over at Silver.

"I'm not really sure, I just followed along. Sounded better than being registered as a citizen. These guys look happy with their new jobs" Silver said as she glanced over at the three stallions.

"Oh, I almost forget to introduce you all! Luna, these are, Skyfall, Split Sword, Double Down, and Silver Star" Devin said as he pointed at each individual as he named them.

"How did you end up with these three?" Luna asked as she looked at the stallions.

"I offered them jobs working directly under me in exchange for any and all information regarding their ex-base" Devin replied happily.

"Wait, they told you what you needed to know and you completely believe in their loyalty?" Luna asked as she raised an eyebrow at Devin.

"I'm pretty sure they're not going to oppose me in any way, they saw my skill on the battlefield and I do believe that is a rather helpful factor" Devin said with a grin.

The three stallions shivered involuntarily at the mention of Devin's skills on the battlefield and Luna took note of their reaction.

“Well, as long as you understand where my concern is coming from” Luna replied.

“Don’t worry my dear Luna, I know exactly what I’m doing” Devin assured her.

Luna looked out the window, her expression turning sad as she saw Canterlot in the distance.

“Hey, could you guys give us a minute?” Devin asked as he turned to his friends.

“Yeah, come on guys” Silver said before they followed her into the next car.

After a moment Devin walked back over to Luna and sat beside her quietly for a moment before speaking.

“Why are you sad? I’m back now and we’ll have plenty of time together” Devin stated.

“I’m glad that we’ll have more time together, but there is so much more to come. Celestia and I have ruled this place for so long, we know what to expect” Luna said as she thought about the past.

“Then it sounds like its time for some change. There has to be a reason why stuff like this would happen more than once” Devin replied.

“That’s just it, it hasn’t. This is the first time we’ve come across an operation of this size that had no clear reason for existence” Luna said as she turned to Devin.

“I guess there’s a first time for everything, but that doesn’t imply that this is over yet” Devin said as he looked back into her deep blue eyes.

“Yes, and that worries me beyond anything. An invasion force that was seeking allies can’t be good no matter how you look at it” Luna said as she glanced back out the window.

“Then I will have to stop them again” Devin said flatly.

“I know, but I fear for your safety. If they seek alliance with Gryffins, or any other longtime feuding country of Equestria, there would be stronger and faster enemies, and a far larger multitude of them” Luna said as she looked back at him, concern clearly visible on her face.

“Well do you have anything that could help? A magical artifact or something that could protect me?” Devin asked.

Luna’s eyes slowly widened as a thought occurred to her, and Devin could tell she had an idea.

“I do possess something that would help, but there is one thing about it you may not like” Luna explained.

“What wouldn’t I like, the color?” Devin asked with a small smile.

“No no, but it used to belong to a rather old friend of mind that vanished at about the same time that Celestia locked me away on the moon” Luna explained carefully.

Luna’s expression remained hopeful, so Devin didn’t think it wise to ask if it may have been this ‘Lord of Flame’ he had heard about from Silver.

“Sure, I don’t mind. As long as it doesn’t smell funny” Devin said with a grin.

“Thank goodness, now I won’t have to worry. I’ll take you to it when we get to the castle” Luna said happily as she sat back down looking so much more at peace in her mind as Devin sat beside her and gave her a hug, completely rapping his human arms around her.

______________________________________________________________________________

”Cory and the others had taken to holding up the back of the train, Cory had invited the elements, Spike, and the CMC to a small get together up in Canterlot. The entire time he was in the hospital he had thought of what he could do to show his gratitude to the other ponies that had saved his life.

Being known for outrageous thoughts and acts, he was trying to come up with a sensible way of having a fun, yet exciting, party… that would leave the roof over their heads in once piece.

“Princess…” He turned his upper torso to look at the majestic white alicorn that sat caddy corner to him. “... is everything… okay?” He asked, his voice betraying his anxiety at her downtrodden visage.

“I’m… Fine… I think…” she grimaced and gently got up off the couch seat and strode over to the human; resting her haunches on the floor, she set her head in his lap and closed her eyes. This prompted Cory to stroke his hands over her smooth fur and through her billowing mane, trying to comfort the white alicorn Princess.

“I don’t know any more Cory… after hearing that The Crystal Empire was attacked, at the same time you were hurt… I just feel like everything’s falling through the cracks, more so than usual…” She sighed and buried her face into his lap, some how not puncturing him with her horn.

Soothingly Cory wrapped his arms around Celestia’s neck and brought her up into an all encompassing hug. For her it was like all the worries, anxieties, pain, and fear, were washed away in that moment of gentleness and love. Something she hadn’t felt since she had banished her sister over a thousand years ago.

“Thank you.” she whispered, not even caring that the rest of her subjects in the car could, and did, see her in such a helpless position. Everything crashing down… all at once.

“Cory… I’ve done this for over a ten millennium… it’s only ever gotten harder…” She sobbed gently into him, shamelessly. Cory just continued to hug and comfort her, not caring that they were being watched. “I’ve been alone with my sister for almost my entire life, none have been able to understand what kind of things we’ve had to do over the years to make sure our subjects can live a peaceful life, BUT, somehow the two of you have already experienced the dread of ruling… and dealt with it, where I and my sister have not…”

“Devin and I have been ruling for only five years Tia… WE just have hundreds, if not thousands, of years of history and politics to look back on to deal with many different situations… But you have several life times of experience to draw from… I can say this though, YOU and YOURS would be able to lead any of our countries to a better place than any other in all of history… all you need is someone to temper your advice… and you have six wonderful mares here that can be that temper. Me and Devin have been groomed since birth to be politicians… but we had thrown that away to be closer to our peoples… even joining wars to help bring peace.”

Celestia had fallen silent and listened as Cory spoke softly, but firmly, to her and the other occupants of the train car. None of them had even the balls to interrupt such a touching statement, even though it was very… odd, to say the least.

“Thank you… Cory… I needed that.” Celestia rose up and sat on her haunches and looked him in the eyes with a grand smile spread across her pink lips, her radiance would blind most, but for Cory it just warmed his heart and lit up his soul.

“There is nothing to thank me for Tia… I have grown attached to you and your citizens… And I know how it feels to want to defend them and be unable to… I will always be by your side, till the end of time!” Cory proclaimed, he knew that Celestia was immortal, but to him… Time could kiss his shiny tan ass and kiss its balls goodbye!

“Tia… can you hear me?” Cory asked, trying his best to extend a sense of telepathy towards Celestia, hoping that she would hear.

“C-Cory? Is that you?!” Celestia jumped slightly in her spot next to him. the rest of the cabin wasn’t even aware of the new conversation.

“Yep… It’s me, but I need to warn you… I don’t think those militants up north were the only ones…” Cory said through their new connection.

“Well… this is new… how?”

“Didn’t that one Pegasus say that their commander was away?”

“Yes, and he was off...gathering allies

“Come on, I’m not letting you go anywhere without it!” Luna said as she dragged Devin off the train with her magic.

Devin, who wasn’t exactly enjoying being dragged by the ankles, looked rather relaxed and he received some rather funny faces from his friends as he was dragged by.

To his surprise, Celestia and Cory stepped off the train just as he was dragged by and he couldn’t help but laugh at Cory yelling something about how he knew Devin was a drag. And the look on the faces of some guards he passed as he was dragged down the halls was priceless.

When finally came to a halt, he found himself on the floor in the throne room. He quickly got up and walked up to Luna, who was standing beside her throne.

“Come on, its down here” Luna said as she magically moved her throne to one side, revealing a set of steps that lead down into a dark tunnel.

Luna waved her horn and several torches along the wall lit up instances, and Devin walked in while Luna sealed the tunnel behind them.

Devin followed the tunnel until it expanded out into a large room that was filled with assorted chests of bits and gems as well as several pony shaped manikins that held ancient pony armor that appeared to be in perfect condition.

While Devin stood there examining the room and its contents, Luna walked straight forward and stopped at a delicate looking golden box that was the size of a small book and it stood upon a silver pedestal in the center of the room.

Slowly, Luna opened the box with her magic and removed a crystal vial about the size of an egg and it was filled with a bluish liquid.

“What exactly is that Luna?” Devin asked as he approached slowly while he gazed upon the vial.

“This is one of my friend’s greatest creations. This is Caeruleo per Noctem in Armis” Luna replied.

“The Blue Armor of the Night” Devin translated smoothly while still gazing intently at the vial.

“Yes, the liquid inside is extremely magical. It forms to whatever form it is put on, and will appear however the wearer wills it to” Luna said as she handed Devin the vial with her magic,

“But what if it becomes damaged or rusted?” Devin asked.

“This isn’t normal armor. It is impervious to rust and all you have to do to remove the armor is hold the vial upside down on your head and it will flow back into the vial, which removes any damage done to it while reverting back to its liquid state" Luna explained.

"I see, but the properties this could posses, and you're giving it to me. It's a bit overwhelming really" Devin said as he wiped his brow with the arm that wasn't holding the vial.

"It'll be fine, as long as you have the vial. Which I can ensure by putting this on it" Luna said as she pulled a rather thick looking string out of one of the chests full of assorted treasures.

"Is that what I think it is?" Devin questioned as he stared at the string levitating in front of him.

"Dragon heartstring. Strongest know thing that suffices as strings and rope" Luna said as she took the vial from Devin and began using her magic to attach the string to the vial.

“Luna, that stuff must have cost a fortune” Devin said as she levitated the vial back towards him.

“It doesn’t matter. As you can see, I have plenty of money” She replied as she swept a hoof around her, “Besides, I prefer to have it put to good use then let it sit here and collect dust”

“Well, if you insist” Devin replied as he grabbed the bottle out of the air.

“Go on, you should try it out” Luna said as she gazed at the bottle.

“Alright, here goes nothing” Devin said as he uncorked the bottle and emptied the contents into his hand.

Almost immediately, the liquid writhed and began to travel up Devin’s arm and as Devin watched, the liquid went over his clothes and began to encase his torso.

Devin closed his eyes and focused on the ideal armor, and he prayed that it would look how it was supposed too.

Slowly, a grate like visor spread across his face and Devin could see the liquid traveling down onto his jeans

“Wow, I’ve never seen armor like that before” Luna said as she gazed at him.

Devin lifted the visor and closely examined the gauntlets upon his hands. They were blue and were etched with many swirling patterns and had the same appearance as ancient brass knuckles.

He looked down at his chest and saw to his satisfaction that the crossed sword mark was there, and when he looked to his sides there was two blue scabbards that were perfect for his curved swords and still looked the same as he envisioned them.

“Where did you come up with such an elaborate design?” Luna asked.

“Believe it or not, but this is what armor looks like from where I am from. Well, except for the fact that it’s blue” Devin replied.

“It looks very nice, and I can’t find any chinks in the armor where you could be wounded” Luna said as she walked around him slowly, assessing the armor.

“My country happened to have developed a special armor and they made sure it was superb to others, you just have to remember to put the visor down” Devin replied.

“I see, and it clearly will serve you well” Luna replied as she stopped walking around him.

Devin held the vial upside down on his head and he armor quickly turned back to liquid and flowed back into the vial. Then, Devin tied the string around his neck and placed the vial under his jacket and shirt.

“Thank you Luna, I’m sure this will come in handy in the future” Devin said with a bow.

“There’s no need to thank me, just remember to use it” Luna said as she gave him a small kiss on the cheek, “Now that that’s done, I do believe its time we spent some time together, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Completely, I’ll wash up quick and we can go. In fact, I think Cory was taking his new friends somewhere as well” Devin said as they began climbing the stairs.

“Yes, I saw him and my sister, but I think I would prefer just the two of us” Luna replied sweetly.

“If you insist. In fact, I may have an idea on where we can go” Devin said as they reached the top of the stairs.

“Oh? Well then you’d better hurry, its rude to keep a mare waiting” Luna said with a giggle.

“I will be back in a moment my dear, I do believe I passed the restroom on my way in” Devin said with a chuckle as he rushed off.

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“Whelp… there goes those two… and pry the next round of toilet paper to boot…” Cory guffawed at his little joke at his friends expense and led the large party out into the city.

“So my dear, where are we going?” Celestia whispered as she placed her muzzle next to Cory’s ear, her breath, and the closeness of her voice, sent pleasant shivers down his spine.

“Well, I was going to treat us all to a very colorful evening at one of the capitals more… reputable… night clubs… I figured that everyone deserved a little treat after all the crap i put us through.” Cory smiled and slung his arm around Celestia’s neck for a goofy hug. “Plus it will give us a little privacy, being among so many… But I would advise using a disguise.” Cory whispered seductively into the alicorns ear, making her blush a deep red and look at him in embarrassment.

Celestia quickly regained her composure and gave Cory a knowing smile, and even a little wink.

“If that’s what you want… Lover Boy…” This in turn made Cory blush, though in excitement and not embarrassment.

“Bring it sunbutt…” Cory replied with a sharp little smack to her flank.

“Oh! You’ll regret that latter… don’t you worry!” They grinned evilly to each other and followed the bouncing pink pony towards the more lively district of canterlot.

“This is an absolute disgrace” a dark grey Unicorn with a deep blue mane and tail said as he stomped around his previous headquarters.

It had been an absolute nightmare. he had approached the base with the normal expectation of being welcomed back by his daughter and and troops. Instead, he was only greeted with absolute silence and nothing but a multitude of his troops silver armor laying about.

He knew from the corpses of his loyalists that something had happened, and the rest of his troops had done nothing. But what baffled him most was that ALL his loyalists were dead before him, but no others were dead among them.

His loyalists had been the highest ranking and had the highest skills of all the troops, so how had they died?

He entered the central mansion and searched about, hoping to find some sort of clue as to what had happened.

He searched through the meeting room, the bedrooms, and the bathrooms, but he found nothing.

When he finally reached his office, his hopes were all but gone when he saw that not even his daughter was to be found.

Just as he was about to leave the office, he saw a small paper out of place. He knew his daughter would never have allowed that so he immediately ran over and levitated it in front of him so he could read it.

‘Dear Father,
I am sorry to say that we were overrun but I managed to find time to write this note to you. I am fine and I will remain so as long as I do not show any signs of sinister intentions. The reason we are all gone is because an Alicorn of tremendous skill arrived today in disguise and offered the troops citizenship in Equestria, gaining him their cooperation.
The reason I am going along with all this is because I believe that this Alicorn is a new Lord of Flame, and I must see to it that I befriend him as to deliver him to you so you can bring him over to our side. I do hope you will see that my intentions are clear and will not punish me for the loss of this installation’s troops

Sincerely your daughter,

Silver Star’

“Well this certainly sheds some light on things. A Lord of Flame is once more among us? I shall need to make preparations. I shall also need a means of communication between myself and Silver” The Commander said to himself as he exited the building and walked out of the base’s magical anti-teleportation barrier and teleported away.

________________________________________________________________

“The Lord of Flames, a name I have not heard in over ten thousand years…. it seems that the princesses have gathered such fine mates… it may be Prudent to go and pay them a visit… Wouldn’t you say… Discordia?” The dark figure cooed to a rather slender form curled up behind him.

The being was a rather lithe and slender Draconicus Female with parts rather similar to the master of chaos himself… Discord, the twist was that she was his sister, though long lost being a key factor in their relationship.

“Whatever… I just want to see how much chaos I can cause with these little insurgents they have running about their kingdom… and what I can do with these two little monkey looking creatures they have… They seem to be bringing about a wave of chaos like nothing I or my brother have ever done… and the Princesses are condoning every single act of it!” The draconicus growled, grinding her teeth in the process.

“It is alright my dicordic friend… we will have our revenge… but we will have to wait and see how well these little ants further our plans.” The male voice chuckled, slowly changing into a throaty laugh.

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A/N- We thank all our readers for reading this far and we hope you have enjoyed it thus far. We will start updating the story more regularly now that I am off my writers block and Harbinger-of-Script is back from his vacation. Please feel free to leave any sort of review, compliments and criticism are both welcomed.

Also, (Harbinger-of-script here!) If you want, you can send us a any ideas you have in regards to what could possibly happen next in the story, since random shenanigans seem to be the moral of this story… XD Some of which include the mass havoc caused by one man not getting his Ice cream… and then melting the poles…

Cory: When will the next villain come out? I wanna punch their face in!

Celestia: … No comment…

Harbinger: … Cory… You’re insane… Any thoughts guys?

Celestia: … Just remind me to smack him when he tries his hsit again…. OK guys?

Harbinger: Um… Sure… But you do realize that we control him… right?

Celestia: Yep… Wai… I’m’ah ganna kick your ass Harby! (Celestia proceeds to chase my ass all over Canterlot and some of the countryside.)

Harbinger: We’ll be back soon folks! Just as soon as Celestia stops trying to turn me into a shish kabob!