Chapter 17:

'Roar of the Mad Unicorn'

Hearing all of the animals outside her cottage running around panicking, Fluttershy carefully stepped outside to see what all the commotion was about. She immediately got her answer however when she saw the eclipsed sun in the darkened sky.

"Fluttershy, what is it?" Shining Armor asked as he stepped out of the cottage next, only for his eyes to widen in horror. "What in Luna's name?"

The shy Pegasus turned to the Captain. "I...I have a very bad feeling about that Shining Armor..."

Shining Armor nodded. "So do I...let's head back to Ponyville and meet up with the others." He took a step forward and immediately dropped down on one knee. He let out a low painful growl before standing back up.

Knowing full well he still needed to recover, Fluttershy said, "A-Are...are you sure? I mean, I can go and meet up with the others myself. Shouldn't you stay here and get some rest?"

Shining looked at his body for a moment. With the Pegasus's help, he had taken off all of his armour so she could bandage up all of his wounds injuries. Only a small part of his coat was seen at the chest, and most of his legs were almost fully covered up in bandages. The stab wound he got needed extra treatment, but he managed to use a spell to ease the pain and, thanks to Fluttershy's help, they managed to stop all of the bleeding.

Turning to the Pegasus, he smiled weakly and said, "I'll be fine Fluttershy, I can manage."

Fluttershy nodded nervously before rushing back inside the get the bag she was carrying earlier. "I better bring the bandages with me just in case."

"Good idea, I doubt the others are hurt but, we can't be too careful now can we?" Shining replied with a slight chuckle.

Again, Fluttershy nodded before following the Captain towards Ponyville. "We need hurry though." Shining added.

"Umm...Shining?" Fluttershy whispered out.

As soon as he faced her, she continued. "What will we...what will tell the others? About my Element I mean? They're going to be really mad at me for not being able to get it."

Shining shook his head. "No they won't. Don't worry about your Element Fluttershy, we'll get it back. If anything it was my fault that you failed to get it. I should have stopped Vanisher but he beat me, and I couldn't expect you to fight him, we should be just lucky that you weren't harmed."

Fluttershy looked at the ground as they continued to walk. 'But...but it was really my fault. If I hadn't helped him, he wouldn't have been able to take it, but then, the dragon would have killed us both.'

Noticing her expression, Shining said, "Cheer up Fluttershy, we're both okay, that's what matters, right?"

Looking at him, Fluttershy pushed the thoughts of what happened back in the cave out of her head and managed to return his smile. "Y-Yes...you're right." She turned and kept her eyes on the path ahead.

The thoughts of what happened in the cave immediately returned. Sooner or later she would have to tell him and the others how she lost her Element, and it was how they would react that scared her the most.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Somewhere in the Everfree Forest...

Cloud Hunter quickly descended down to the large staircase and looked up at the large ruined castle before him. "The Ancient Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters..." He muttered. After looking at the castle for a good long minute, he advanced up the stairs. "Just looking at this castle gives me the creeps, I can see why Celestia and Luna live in Canterlot."

Upon reaching the main entrance, he heard somepony shouting and cursing.

Knowing who the voice belonged to, Cloud Hunter sighed and slowly entered.

As soon as the Pegasus stepped inside, the red Pony standing in the middle of the throne room shouted at him. "It's about time you got back!"

Cloud Hunter set his eyes on Kickback, only for his expression to change to pure shock at what he was seeing.

"Laugh and I'll kill you." Kickback said as he tried to wipe off the frosting and sprinkles that covered his entire body.

Suppressing a chuckle, Cloud Hunter said, "Let me guess, Pinkie Pie?"

Kickback glared daggers at him. "The next time I see that annoying chatterbox, I swear...I swear..." He groaned loudly as he realised his continuous attempts to wipe the frosting off was only making his coat more messier. "Ugh...look at this! It's gonna take FOREVER to get every last bit of this frosting out of my coat! Let's not forget about my beautiful mane and tail! Seriously! How could they possibly do such a horrible thing?!"

Cloud Hunter rolled his eyes. "Relax, nothing a good wash won't sort out. You can fix yourself when we back to the castle..." He looked at his surroundings for a moment before continuing. "OUR castle I mean."

Kickback looked at him and raised a brow. "Doesn't look like you got the Element you went after either."

"No." Cloud Hunter quickly replied. "I can certainly say the same for you though."

Before the red Pony could respond, the throne room doors slammed open. "You will not BELIEVE what I've been through today!" A dirty looking blue Earth Pony entered and approached the two.

"Air Break..." Cloud Hunter faced the Pony and sighed, noticing he wasn't carrying anything with him. "You didn't get the Element you went after either?"

Upon reaching them, Air Break said, "No, I didn't!" He looked at Kickback and raised a brow. "What happened to you?"

Kickback shook his head. "Nothing. What happened to you?"

"Nothing. And as for the Element, I'd rather not talk about it, I'm already in a bad mood enough as it is." Air Break replied.

They were all blinded for a brief moment by a blue flash. They all turned to the source and their eyes widened when they saw Vanisher slowly approaching them, all bandaged up. "Vanisher?" Cloud Hunter made his way over to the silent Unicorn. "Vanisher, are you okay?"

Vanisher looked at him, his expression was blank as always.

Cloud Hunter looked down and again, his eyes widened when he saw the necklace around Vanisher's neck. "The Element of Kindness?!"

Kickback and Air Break rushed over to them to get a closer look. "Vanisher got the Element?!" Kickback yelled.

Air Break narrowed his eye at the blind Unicorn. "You know what..." He turned and walked away from them. "Why am I not surprised."

Cloud Hunter recalled which Element belonged to who, and as soon as he remembered which one the Element of Kindness belonged to, again, his eyes widened, this time, in shock. "Vanisher..." He said, getting the silent Unicorn's full attention. "What did you do to the Element wielder? The one called Fluttershy." His eyes then drifted towards all of the bandages that covered Vanisher's body. "And...who bandaged you up?"

Vanisher looked blankly at him for a moment before charging up his horn and placing it against Cloud Hunter's head.

A small blue glow surrounded the two as Vanisher showed Cloud Hunter everything that happened during his search.

When the glow dissipated, Cloud Hunter opened his eyes and stared at the silent Unicorn in shock.

Kickback and Air Break stayed silent and watched curiously.

Cloud Hunter turned his back and slowly walked outside onto the balcony. 'Vanisher...how could you? Fluttershy didn't deserve to have her Element taken away like that, after what she did for you.' He looked up at the dark sky and sighed. 'Such actions are dishonourable. I'll have to wait until we get back to the castle before I can fix this.' Looking at the bandages covering Vanisher's body, Cloud Hunter let out a sad sigh. 'Fluttershy, thank you. And don't worry about your Element, I'll take care of that, personally.'

Just as the blue Pegasus was making his way back inside, he heard a flapping sound coming from behind. Turning to the source, Cloud Hunter and rest of the Iron Five watched as something slowly descended down to the balcony outside.

It was a cyan Pegasus whom they hadn't seen before. In her forelegs, was a silver Pegasus, who was clinging to her to stop himself from falling. As soon as the two flew inside, they landed on the rusty floor of the throne room.

"Blitz Bolt?" Air Break raised a brow in confusion.

Blitz Bolt let go of the cyan Pegasus and got to his hoofs. "I take it I'm a little late?"

"No, we all just got here too." Air Break replied before setting his sight on the cyan Pegasus.

Noticing Cloud Hunter and the others were also looking at the cyan Pegasus, Blitz Bolt said, "Umm...this is Lightning Dust." He unfurled his wings and pointed to the one that was slightly bent. "I...kinda hurt my wing so I wasn't able to fly. She, offered to fly my over here."

Lightning Dust smirked a little. "You're welcome by the way."

Cloud Hunter looked back and forth between the two for a moment. "Blitz Bolt..."

Blitz Bolt raised his hoof. "It's not what you think!" He took a deep breath before explaining. "While I was trying to get the Element from Rainbow Dash, Lightning Dust showed up and got involved. A little tussle, here and there, I hurt my wing and Rainbow Dash got away. Lightning Dust offered to fly me over here so I figured, what the heck."

Looking at the silver Pegasus up and down, Cloud Hunter said, "You don't have the Element you went after either?"

Letting out a nervous sigh, Blitz Bolt said, "No. Rainbow Dash got it..." He looked at the others and raised a brow. "Wait, you guys didn't get the other Elements either?"

Cloud Hunter gestured towards Vanisher. "Vanisher got the one he went after, the rest of us though? Nope."

Blitz Bolt stomped his hoof on the floor before glaring at the silent Unicorn. "I should have figured! Of course, OF COURSE! ALL of us fail to get the Elements we went after except VANISHER! WHY AM I NOT SURPRISED!" Taking in a deep breath, he glared at Vanisher again and said, "Don't even think about rubbing it in Vanisher."

Vanisher said nothing and just looked blankly at him.

Lightning Dust looked at Vanisher and raised a brow in confusion upon noticing the blindfold around the silent Unicorns eyes. "Why is he wearing that blindfold?"

Cloud Hunter faced her. "He's blind that's why." Before the cyan Pegasus could ask further, Cloud Hunter continued. "It's a long story, there'll be time for explanations later. Right now..." He took a few small steps towards Lightning Dust, who began to grow a little nervous upon looking up into his piercing red eyes. "We should discuss what to do about you."

Blitz Bolt quickly cut in. "She said she wanted to join us!"

Giving him a surprised look, Cloud Hunter turned back to Lightning Dust and raised a brow. "You want to join us? You want to join the Iron Empire?"

Lightning Dust managed a slight smirk and nodded. "Of course. Apparently, Rainbow Dash is your enemy, and I'd do anything for a chance to make her suffer."

Surprised a little by her dark words, Cloud Hunter said, "You do realise that there will be a war right?"

"Yeah." The cyan Pegasus replied.

Cloud Hunter looked into her eyes and could see she was dead serious. "Lightning Dust, this war will probably take quite a number of lives. Ponies, Pegasi, Unicorns, many lives may be lost."

Lightning Dust looked at the floor for a moment, almost as if she was having second thoughts, but she immediately looked back up at him and said, "I know. I don't care, I just want to make Rainbow Dash pay, that's all. And if this war gives me that chance, I'll gladly take it."

Seeing as he was nowhere near persuading her to change her mind, Cloud Hunter sighed. "Are you sure this is what you want? Lightning Dust, if you join the Iron Empire, you will be making yourself an enemy of Equestria, an enemy of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Are you willing to go through with this knowing there is a chance that you may die?"

Again, she looked at the floor, this time she remained silent for a little longer. She let out a sad but firm sigh and said, "I've got nothing to lose."

Cloud Hunter nodded. "Very well. Although I am the Iron Empire's Commander, I will need to take you to our leader, lord Metal Wing, so he can make the decision. As for the others..." He looked at the rest of the Iron Five. "You've already met Blitz Bolt. That's Kickback, Air Break and Vanisher."

Lightning Dust looked at each of them before replying with a simple nod. Blitz Bolt looked at Kickback and snickered.

"Blitz Bolt..." Kickback said, ready to rip the silver Pegasus's wings off.

Cloud Hunter interrupted. "We'll get more acquainted later, right now we have to return to our castle." He turned to Vanisher. "Vanisher, take your time to charge up a teleportation spell, nopony will find us here."

Vanisher nodded and began charging up his horn.

They all sat in silence and waited. Though they were aware of the eclipsed sun, they were not aware of the events that were transpiring outside Ponyville.

________________________________________________________________________________________

In Ponyville...

Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie continued to wait for the others while Princess Cadence was busy keeping everypony calm. The eclipse had caused a mass panic and most of the towns citizens were starting to worry, thankfully, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie had jumped in to help the Princess keep everypony calm.

Some time after it had started, Applejack arrived, with her Element in hoof, much to their relief. The three friends didn't waste any time informing each other of what happened during their search and how they had retrieved their respective Elements, although Rainbow Dash decided to leave out the part with Lightning Dust. Applejack didn't leave out any of the details, she even included how Air Break had nearly strangled her to death, much to her friends horror.

"In any case, I'm just glad you're alright Applejack, from what Shining told me, Air Break was quite ferocious. You're really lucky you managed to get away." Cadence said.

Applejack shrugged. "Hey don't worry about me Princess, ah can take care of mahself."

Before Cadence could reply, Rarity had emerged from the crowd of Ponies. "Rarity! Over here!" Pinkie Pie yelled.

Seeing her friends standing in a small empty spot, Rarity rushed over to them. "What is going on?! That horrible eclipse is blocking out the sun! Do you know what is causing it?!"

Cadence shook her head. "I'm afraid not Rarity..." She looked down and noticed Rarity had her Element around her neck. "It's good to see you got your Element too. The others also got theirs so don't worry."

Rarity looked back at her friends. "Twilight and Fluttershy have yet to show, oh I hope they don't take too long!"

Rainbow Dash unfurled her wings. "I'll go and look for them!"

"Wait!" Cadence held her hoof out. "We can't split up now, we all agreed to meet up here. Let's just wait until the others arrive, if they don't arrive in the next few minutes we'll-AHHH!" Cadence immediately screamed upon seeing Shining Armour approaching them, covered in bandages. "SHINING!"

"Hey dear..." Shining said as the Princess threw her hoofs around him and hugged him. "Ow! C-Careful...! It still hurts..."

Cadence loosened her grip and backed away to face him. "I'm so sorry!" She charged up her horn and started using her healing magic on him. As soon as she was done, she faced him again. "What happened?"

Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Rarity all approached them, also very eager to hear what happened to him. "It was Vanisher." Shining Armour said.

Eyes widening at the name, Rainbow Dash said, "You mean that blind freak that doesn't talk?! HE did this to you?!"

"Y-Yeah..." Shining said, clearly still showing exhaustion despite being healed. Not far behind, Fluttershy was slowly approaching the group.

"FLUTTERSHY!" Rainbow Dash and the rest of the Element wielders rushed over to their friend. However, before they could ask any questions, their eyes all widened in horror when they noticed she wasn't carrying her Element. "Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy looked at the ground, unable to reply to the cyan Pegasus.

"Where's yer Element sugarcube?" Applejack asked.

Again, Fluttershy didn't reply.

Rarity put a hoof on her friends shoulder. "Fluttershy dear, what happened?"

Shining sighed and spoke up for the shy Pegasus. "Her Element was taken by Vanisher."

Again, their eyes widened in horror. Rainbow Dash's expression immediately changed to one of anger. "Darn it! If I ever come across that blind freak again-"

"You'll do what?" Shining Armour interrupted, getting all of their attention. "Rainbow Dash, just because he's blind, doesn't mean he's not dangerous. He DID do this to me after all." He said, referring to all of the bandages covering his body.

Rainbow Dash wanted to reply but couldn't find any words to say and merely sighed.

"I...I'm really sorry, you all probably hate me right now for not being able to get my Element." Fluttershy muttered out.

Rarity shook her head. "Of course not darling! We could never hate you! We all make mistakes, and besides, that brute Vanisher managed to hold his own against Princess Celestia and Princess Luna! It's a miracle you're not hurt!"

Fluttershy tried to attempt a smile but failed.

Just as they were about to continue their conversation, they heard their names being called. "Rarity! Rainbow Dash! Princess Cadence! Guys!"

"That sounds a lot like..." Rainbow Dash unfurled her wings and jumped into the air. She saw a small purple dragon fighting his way through the crowd of Ponies. "SPIKE! OVER HERE!"

Spike saw the cyan Pegasus waving at him and quickly rushed his way towards them. "You guys...gotta...help!" He said between breaths.

"What is it Spike?!" Cadence asked.

Spike pointed to the large hill outside Ponyville. "Twilight...Starlight... they need help! It's...it's..." He took in a deep breath to finish. "It's Metal Wing!"

They all froze upon hearing the name. "M-Metal Wing? Are... are you sure?" Cadence stuttered her words a little.

"Big Unicorn! Tall and scary! Large metal wings! I'm POSITIVE!" Spike replied.

Cadence turned to Shining Armour. "Let's use our magic and try to teleport there..." Getting a nod from her husband, Cadence turned back to Spike. "Spike, quickly, go and write a letter to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna."

"You don't have to tell me twice!" The dragon said as he ran off.

Applejack began to shake nervously. "Ah...ah can't believe we're actually about ta fight him."

Pinkie Pie was not her usual cheery self for once, as she too was extremely nervous. "Maybe we should just stay here and-"

"No Pinkie Pie. Twilight and Starlight are trouble and they need our help!" Rainbow Dash interrupted.

Rarity looked at Fluttershy. "Fluttershy doesn't have her Element though, we won't be able to use the Elements of Harmony!"

As Shining Armour and Cadence charged up their horns, the Princess said, "Then we'll just have to make due with what we have."

________________________________________________________________________________________

"Dusk, do you have any idea what could be causing this eclipse?" Celestia asked as she and Luna stood outside on the throne room balcony.

Slowly walking to their sides, Dusk said, "I would assume it is Metal Wing's doing."

Celestia faced him. "He has the power to do such a thing like this?"

"Of course." Dusk replied. "I told you he was very powerful did I not?"

Luna narrowed her eyes at him before turning back to the eclipsed sun. "Whatever the case, I hope the Element wielders aren't having any trouble retrieving their Elements. If they succeed, we can use the Elements of Harmony and stop Metal Wing today."

Celestia faced her sister. "Though I would also very much like to end this as quickly as possible sister, I want to have a word with Metal Wing first. I'm hoping I can persuade him to see reason and put a stop to this war he's attempting to start without violence."

"Hmph." Both Alicorn's turned to Dusk. "You can try Celestia, although I very much doubt that you'll succeed."

His tone frustrated Luna to no end, but she refrained from saying anything.

A good long moment went by as the three continued to look at the eclipse. Just then, their attention was caught by a scroll that appeared out of thin air. Celestia quickly used her magic to open the scroll and started to read through it.

"What is it sister? What does it say?" Luna asked.

Celestia finished reading the scroll and turned to her sister. "...Luna, alert the guards."

________________________________________________________________________________________

Twilight stood and watched helplessly as Metal Wing kept Starlight pinned under his large metal hoof. She tried everything, from magic beams to attempting to teleport Starlight away from the Iron King, but no matter what she did, Metal Wing's magic was just too powerful, and it stopped all of her attempts at saving her friend.

"I'm waiting Twilight Sparkle..." Metal Wing said.

Starlight growled in pain and shouted out to her. "DON'T...DON'T DO IT TWILIGHT! PLEASE!"

Twilight looked at the ground and clenched her eyes shut. If she gave her Element to Metal Wing then he would spare Starlight, but if she refused then Starlight would die, and she didn't want to be responsible for somepony else's death, especially Starlight's.

Mustering up her confidence, Twilight stepped forward and said, "Metal Wing, no matter what happens, we will defeat you, somehow, some way, we will defeat you. We've defeated others before you, and you will be no different!"

Metal Wing narrowed his eyes at her. "You believe you can defeat me Twilight Sparkle? Hm...maybe you can..."

Twlight's eyes widened at his words. Before she could reply however, he continued. "But know this. You only defeated Nightmare Moon because she made the mistake of underestimating you and your friends. As for...Discord..." Metal Wing, to Twilight's confusion, said Discord's name in disgust and anger. "Discord was a fool. He was too busy with his idiotic hobbies, you and your friends only defeated him because he didn't take immediate action, he didn't have it in him to finish what he started. As for Queen Chrysalis, well, she also made that same mistake, instead of getting rid of you all right away, she believed she had already won when she captured you all, and that overconfidence led to her defeat. King Sombra was defeated only because he was weak. Defeating him was no great achievement."

Twilight just looked at him in shock. 'How...how does he know all of this? Could he have been watching us the entire time?'

Metal Wing chuckled. "Twilight Sparkle...you and your friends victories, they are all nothing but flukes. I am neither of those foolish weaklings, I am greater than all of them. Yes, you do have the Elements of Harmony, but even they have a weakness. Divided, they are but mere jewellery, thus, they are useless. Everything has a weakness Twilight Sparkle, and I know yours..." He looked down at Starlight, who was starting to lose consciousness. "You value the lives of your friends over anything else. I could command you to attack your other friends if I wanted to, and you would do it to keep your friend here alive. Rest assured though, that is not my intent." His smirk lowered. "Now, surrender the Element and your friend will live, refuse and...well, you know the rest."

Twilight fell to her knees, on the verge of crying. She wanted to give her Element to him to save Starlight, but Starlight told her not to, and that only made deciding even more difficult.

Suddenly, their attention was caught by a bright pink flash.

"TWILIGHT!"

Looking up, Twilight was more relieved than ever when she saw her friends rushing to her side. "You all made it!"

"Well of course we did darling, we couldn't just leave you out here by yourself now could we?" Rarity said.

Twilight managed a smile and turned to Cadence and Shining Armor. "Shining, are you okay?" She asked, noticing the bandages around Shining Armor's body.

"Don't worry about me Twily, I'm perfectly fine." Shining replied before turning back to Metal Wing. He tightened his grip around the spear he brought with him and turned back to his sister. "So...that's him?"

"Yes..." Twilight said with a nod. "Metal Wing."

Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie looked at the Iron King and immediately stood behind Cadence and Shining Armor as fear overtook them. Applejack remained more confident but she still stayed behind the older Ponies. "Ah can't believe it, his wings really are metal."

Upon seeing the barely conscious Starlight, Rainbow Dash flew into the air and pointed at the Iron King. "Hey! Let him go right now!"

Metal Wing smirked. "Ah, the rest of the Element wielders have come. And what a surprise, Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor themselves, I must say, it's a pleasure to finally meet you."

Cadence stepped forward. "Release their friend at once Metal Wing!" She said, surprising the others with her confidence and bravery.

"I'll release him, as soon as Twilight surrenders her Element..." Metal Wing replied. His eyes widened a little when he noticed all of them had their Elements, except one. He let out a low sigh and said, "I can see my officers failed to complete their tasks, nonetheless, as long as you're one Element short, you won't be using those anytime soon."

"One Element short?" Twilight turned to her friends and noticed Fluttershy was the only one who didn't have her Element. "Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy looked away from her friend. Shining Armor, once again, spoke up for the shy Pegasus. "We'll explain later Twily, right now we need to save Starlight."

Metal Wing chuckled again. "You can save him, all you have to do is surrender the Elements. But, not just Twilight Sparkle's. ALL of them this time. Since you all have them before me, what better way to exchange them here and now, for the life of your friend."

Twilight looked at the barely conscious Starlight and once again held in the tears that threatened to appear. "I want to save him but...but if we surrender the Elements..."

Starlight slowly looked up at them and managed to find the strength to speak. "Don't...don't...don't do it Twilight! R-Rainbow...Rainbow Dash...don't let her!"

Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes at the red Pony before turning to Twilight. She wanted to save Starlight too, but even she had no idea what to do at this point.

"Be silent." Metal Wing pushed his hoof down further, forcing Starlight to let out another loud painful cry.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Rainbow Dash shot towards him.

Metal Wing merely stood and watched as she bolted towards him. "RAINBOW DASH! NO!" Twilight yelled.

Rainbow Dash didn't stop and continued to fly towards the Iron King. The moment she reached him however, she was blown back by a powerful wind, sending her flying back to her friends.

"RAINBOW DASH!" Twilight rushed to her friends side. "ARE YOU OKAY?!"

Getting back to her hoofs, Rainbow nodded and glared back at the Iron King. "I'm fine..."

Cadence and Shining Armor charged up their horns and fired a barrage of beams at Metal Wing. They did so carefully in order to avoid hitting Starlight.

Even so, it didn't matter if their beams were perfectly aimed or not, the large silver barrier appeared around Metal Wing and Starlight and deflected every last one of them.

"How is that possible?!" Cadence said in disbelief.

Shining Armor let out a quiet growl. "Sorry Cadence, I'm still drained from my fight with Vanisher. If I had more time to recover...I..."

Metal Wing chuckled again. "Don't be so hard on yourself Shining Armor, after all, we all have our moments where we show signs of weakness."

Knowing they weren't in any position to do anything, the group of Ponies just stood and glared at the Iron King.

As Starlight finally went unconscious, Twilight could feel tears forming in her eyes again. "Oh Starlight...I...I wish..." She dropped to her knees and was on the verge of giving up. "...I wish Princess Celestia was here."

Silence followed for a long moment before...

"But I am here, my most faithful student."

There were no words in existence to describe how happy Twilight and the others were to hear that voice.

Following a bright flash, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna appeared before them all.

"PRINCESS CELESTIA!" Twilight rushed towards the white Alicorn and hugged her.

Celestia smiled at her. "Are you okay Twilight Sparkle?"

Twilight returned her smile. "I'm better...now that you're here."

"That's good." Celestia said, keeping up her smile. "Rest easy now my most faithful student, we will take care of the rest."

Nodding in response, Twilight and the other Element wielders stepped back and watched as Celestia and Luna stood in front of them.

This was the moment she herself had been waiting for. The moment she had heard about the Iron Empire, Twilight knew that this day would come eventually. And now it had.

Here they were. Metal Wing, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, staring each other down. The leaders of Equestria and the leader of the Iron Empire.

Metal Wing kept his eyes on the Alicorn sisters, his expression was completely unreadable, but Twilight noticed something. Metal Wing looked like he was...happy. Happy that Celestia and Luna were here.

"You are Metal Wing, leader of the Iron Empire, yes?" Celestia asked.

Metal Wing looked at her and, much to all of their shock, gave her a friendly smile. "If that is who you believe me to be, then yes, I am."

Celestia narrowed her eyes at him. 'Something isn't right here. The way he said that, it was almost as if he was expecting me to know something...'

Metal Wing kept up his smile as he continued. "Celestia...it brings complete and utter joy to my heart to see you. Words alone are not enough to describe how I feel."

Celestia and Luna exchanged confused looks before turning back to him. Upon seeing the unconscious Starlight under his hoof, Luna said, "Release that Pony immediately!"

Metal Wing raised a brow at her. "Temper now Luna, I won't harm him, just as long as your precious Element wielders surrender their Elements." He turned back to Celestia. "I would like nothing more right now than to speak with you Celestia, but I'm a very busy Pony, we shall exchange words another time, but for now..." He glared at Twilight. "I want the Elements of Harmony, now." He pushed his hoof down further, causing the unconscious Starlight to let out a weak and painful groan.

"ALRIGHT! THEY'RE YOURS! PLEASE STOP!" Twilight shouted.

Celestia and Luna turned to Twilight. The young Alicorn Princess rushed past the two older Alicorns and took off her crown. "Here! Take it! Just please, let Starlight go!"

Metal Wing smirked. "I asked for all of them Twilight Sparkle, not just yours..."

Celestia and Luna exchanged looks before charging up their horns. "We will not allow to take the Elements of Harmony Metal Wing, nor will we allow you to harm one of our subjects." Luna said as she and her sister prepared to attack.

Twilight turned to the two Alicorn sisters. "Princess Celestia! Princess Luna! No! Wait! PLEASE!"

Thump, thump.

Twilight froze.

Thump, thump.

Rainbow Dash looked around and rubbed her ears. "What's that?"

Twilight looked at her. "You can hear it?!"

"Ah can hear it too Twi." Applejack replied.

Thump, thump.

Rarity turned to Pinkie Pie. "Pinkie Pie, can you hear it too?"

Pinkie Pie nodded nervously. "I do...I do...and my Pinkie Sense is acting up! Look! My tail is twitching like crazy!"

Celestia and Luna stopped charging their horns and faced the group. "What is it? What do you hear?"

Twilight faced them. "Princess Celestia, can't you hear it?! The heartbeat!"

Thump, thump.

"There! Right there! Did you hear it?!" Twilight added.

Celestia tilted her head confusion. "I...don't hear anything Twilight Sparkle."

THUMP, THUMP.

THUMP, THUMP.

"It's...it's louder...and...closer." Fluttershy slowly dropped to her knees and hid behind her mane.

Metal Wing just watched them in confusion for a moment, also wondering what they were going on about.

THUMP, THUMP.

"It's...right here." Twilight whispered out.

As if on cue, a large explosion of black flames erupted from the ground not far from the side of where they stood.

Standing in the small charred area where the explosion erupted from, was a Unicorn, clad in Pitch Black Armour. He was shrouded completely by a dark aura much like that of King Sombra's. His eyes glowed a blood red colour from the eye slits of his helmet.

Fluttershy's eyes widened with horror upon looking at him. "It's...it's him." She looked at his long metal horn and slowly backed away. "The Unicorn from my nightmare." Her words caught their attention for a slight moment.

Celestia and Luna rushed in front of their subjects. "That is no mere Unicorn...!" Celestia said.

Luna narrowed her eyes at the dark armoured shadow.

The black armoured Unicorn slowly turned and faced them. Followed by a low growl, he let out a loud monstrous roar.

"That is Stormrage...the Mad Unicorn."